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Yield: 4 Servings
Ready In: 50 mins
I have to make a confession: It's been a long time since I ate meatballs at IKEA. But these juicy homemade meatballs in a delicious brown gravy? These happen all the time, and I could eat the whole pan by myself if it wasn't for my kids and husband, ahem.My Swedish meatball recipe id simple to whip up and taste delicious – we love them for dinner with mashed potatoes, but they're just as good with egg noodles if you prefer.
Recommended Equipment:
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion (very finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (finely minced)
- 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- black pepper (to taste)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 egg
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
For the gravy:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
- 1/2 – 1 tablespoon grape jelly OR lingonberry jam
- salt and black pepper (to taste)
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Ready In: 50 mins
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: Add all ingredients for the meatballs EXCEPT the oil to a large bowl. Knead very well. I like doing this with a handheld mixer with the hook attachment – it’s so much faster! Using about 2 teaspoons of meat mixture, roll into firm balls. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and freeze for 5-10 minutes.
- Cook the meatballs: Heat the oil in a wide, deep skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides, until just cooked through. This will take between 6-8 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. If you prefer baking the meatballs, place them on a lined baking sheet and bake them at 425°F for 10-12 minutes or until browned and no longer pink in the middle.
- Make the gravy: Bring the skillet back to medium heat. Melt the butter, then stir in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until medium brown. Quickly pour in the beef broth while whisking constantly. Simmer until thickened, then whisk in the milk, mustard and jelly. Simmer gently over medium-low heat until creamy, about 1 minute. Season to taste.
- Finish the dish: Place the meatballs back in the gravy and warm until heated through. Serve immediately.
Step by Step Recipe Video
Nora’s Tips
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Important Cooking Tips:
- if you’re in a hurry: use regular store-bought meatballs – you’ll need about 1.5 pounds
- make sure to shape homemade meatballs tightly, or they’ll fall apart in the sauce
- if you don’t knead/shape the meatball mix well, the meatballs will fall apart as you’re cooking them in the pan. if you’re unsure, bake the meatballs instead of pan-frying them to help them retain some shape (they could still fall apart in the sauce, so please do really make sure to roll them into firm balls).
- if the jelly and mustard in the sauce sound weird to you (apparently those kind of people exist 😉), feel free to leave them out – but you’ll lack some of that beloved IKEA flavor if you do
- to keep the meatballs round during cooking: freeze them for 5-10 minutes on a baking sheet after shaping them. sounds weird, but it works!
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VIP Tips to Keep the Gravy Lump-Free:
Swedish meatball sauce starts with a roux. That’s just the fancy French word for gently heating some butter and flour before adding the liquids. The first step to perfect gravy is to make sure you don’t burn the flour and butter for the sauce! It should turn a medium brown, but no more. (I’ve had to re-start the sauce before because I burnt the flour, it can’t be saved.) For lump-free gravy, you’ll need to whisk very well and fast once you start adding the liquids. As soon as you start pouring the beef broth into the cooked flour and butter mix, it will begin to seize up and thicken. Do not be alarmed by this, it’s important that you keep going and add all the liquid while whisking! Whisk all the while you’re pouring the liquid into the pan, and then keep whisking until it’s smooth.Â
What we enjoy these with:
We love eating these either with the best mashed potatoes in the world (really, so easy and so good!) or with simple egg noodles. PS If you have an Instant Pot? Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes! As a veggie side, we often enjoy my easy sautéed green beans or roasted asparagus.Nutrition
Serving: 4people | Calories: 509kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 25g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 885mg | Sugar: 4g
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Swedish Meatballs are my family’s favorite type of comfort food – especially with all that delicious and creamy gravy. For more comfort food dinner recipes, see my Beef Tips and Gravy Skillet or my Instant Pot Sour Cream Pork Chops!
I’ve been meaning to share my Swedish meatball recipe here on the blog since 2014, ever since my Sticky BBQ Slow Cooker Meatballs got so popular, ha! I just never managed to snap a photo I was happy with.
Why are the tastiest foods the ugliest?
But my word of the year is pursue, so I’m making it my mission to pursue everything I want for Savory Nothings. And thus, here’s the best Swedish meatball recipe for you today.
No matter how you serve them (oh hey, I just wrote a post on all the possible side dishes for any kind of meatballs!), I can guarantee you one thing:
They definitely taste better than IKEA’s – well, at least in my opinion they do.
Enjoy!
P.S: Check out our collection of easy dinner recipes with ground beef for more ideas!
Pmm
The fat content of the meat can be a big factor. The leaner the meat the more likely it will crumble.
Nora Rusev
Yes, absolutely! Thank you for mentioning. We buy ground beef from a local farm (they only have one fat content and it’s definitely not low) and it never even occurred to me to take note of this. When I make meatballs with ground turkey, I usually either add another egg plus more breadcrumbs to make them hold their shape, or 1/2 cup of shredded and squeezed zucchini.
Jamie
I feel like baking the meat balls would be better. I followed instructions and mine all fell apart while frying
Nora Rusev
Jamie, I added instructions about baking, and another note to please shape the meat mix into very firm balls. If the meatball mix isn’t combined enough and the meatballs are too loosely shaped, they will always fall apart, no matter how they are cooked. I recently made crockpot meatballs and totally rushed it, and ended up with ground beef in BBQ sauce (I baked the meatballs!). It happens to me, too, so it’s really important to shape the meatballs properly.
Liz
Made this for my brothers birthday because he loves swedish meatballs. there were no leftovers but he said more sauce next time please , lol.
Jen
I made these for a party – big hit. I changed the recipe slightly to be gluten-free and it came out great. Substituted ground brown rice for the bread crumbs and GF flour for reg. flour.
aNu
This is a super simple TASTY recipe! I added a secret ingredient (secret to my son anyway)- grated zucchini! It helped keep the meatballs moist and added a nutritious component to the list of ingredients. I’ll be making this again!
Monica
I made this last night just as the recipe stated and it was fabulous!!! I was skeptical with the ingredients of the nutmeg and allspice but it definitely tastes like Ikea’s meatballs in my opinion! Thanks for the recipe!
Nora
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the meatballs, Monica! Thanks for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it!
Jen
Have you ever baked the meatballs instead of individually browning them??
Nora
Yes, definitely to serve a crowd. And it absolutely works! Just make sure to scrape any browned bits off the baking pan and add them to the gravy!
Amber
Can you cook them in the crock pot?
Nora
To be honest, I have never tried them in the crock pot, Amber. But I don’t see why it wouldn’t work – maybe you’ll need to cook them with the lid open for the last 15 minutes to thicken the sauce, but otherwise it should be fine.
Jeanine M Bedell
Do you think this would freeze well with the gravy or should I freeze apart from gravy? My mom in-law is about to start chemo and my husband and I are making some meals for her to freeze for later. Thanks so much. Sounds delicious!
Nora
Hi Jeanine, that’s such a sweet gesture. I would freeze the meatballs and gravy separately. Defrost the sauce before reheating. Simply plop the frozen meatballs into the sauce and heat until everything is piping hot – they hold their shape better that way!
Joon
Will the gravy be okay with chicken broth rather than beef broth?
Nora
Yes, definitely!
Debbie Wood
We always have had Swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve and my moms homemade meatballs are so much better than IKEA too. Just a note, she puts a little instant coffee granules in her gravy giving it a really rich distinctive flavor.
Nora
That’s such a great tip, Debbie. I will definitely try the instant coffee granules next time we have Swedish Meatballs, thank you!
Mary
Thanks for the great recipe, the whole family loved them! Served them with your mashed potatoes and salad – delicious.!
Nora
Glad the recipe was a hit with the family, Mary! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review – I appreciate it very much!