My Swedish meatball recipe is simple to whip up and tastes delicious – we love them for dinner with mashed potatoes, but they’re just as good with egg noodles if you prefer.
My Swedish meatball recipe
I have to make a confession: It’s been a long time since I ate meatballs at IKEA. Unpopular opinion, but I’m not their biggest fan.
Juicy homemade meatballs in a delicious brown gravy, though? These happen all the time around here, and I could eat the whole pan by myself if it wasn’t for my kids and husband, ha!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- meat: I use lean beef, but you can also use a fattier ground beef if that’s what you have – I recommend draining some of the fat after browning the meatballs. You can also use a mix of ground beef and pork if you prefer.
- broth: Beef broth is best here, but you can also use chicken broth with a dash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce added.
- mustard/jelly: these are optional and can be left out if you think they’re too weird in a gravy – but I will say these are the ingredients to help get that “IKEA taste”
Step by step photos
Cooking Tips
- if you’re in a hurry: use regular store-bought meatballs – you’ll need about 1.5 pounds
- 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).
- likewise, brown the meatballs very well, until browned and crisp, or they’ll fall apart as you’re turning them.
- 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
- to keep the meatballs round during cooking: freeze them for 5-10 minutes on a baking sheet after shaping them. sounds weird, but it helps them retain their shape!
Tips for lump free gravy
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.
Side dishes
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. Or frozen peas, if I’m in a hurry. A Creamy Cucumber Salad is another favorite, especially when it gets warmer outside!
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.
More classic comfort food
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Easy Swedish Meatballs
Recipe details
Equipment
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion very finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
For the gravy:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour use 2 tablespoons if you prefer a thinner gravy
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon grape jelly OR lingonberry jam; or less, to taste
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Make the meatballs:Add all ingredients for the meatballs EXCEPT for 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. (Freezing the meatballs for 5-10 minutes at this point helps them to keep their shape.)
- Cook the meatballs:Heat the oil in a wide, deep skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides, until well browned on all sides. 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 very gently until heated through. Serve immediately.
Candace says
If I don’t have whole milk, am I better of using half & half cream or 2% milk?
Nora says
2% milk should be just fine, Candace! But you can also use the half & half if you want a richer result. I’ve even made this with evaporated milk before. I just wouldn’t suggest using 1% or skim milk, as they really aren’t rich enough.
Peggy says
I love Swedish Meatballs. I liked the idea of the adding of the jelly and mustard to the gravy. I think I will have to make this in the near future.
Nishat says
This was absolutely delicious! I made a couple of switches just to accommodate what I had on hand. I used chicken instead of beef and chicken stock. I used strawberry jam instead lingonberry jam and I used a Malfadine linguine instead of egg noodles. I also switched the cup of milk for a cup of cream and added a little starchy pasta water to thin out the sauce a little as I cooked the meatballs in it. I dudnt have all spice so I simply added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper. The flavour was incredible!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Nishat!
Terry says
Love this recipe!!
How long can I keep in fridge?
Made ahead for Christmas because of time factor.
Nora says
Terry, most cooked meals should last for 3-4 days in the fridge. I personally do not keep leftover food for more than 3 days in the fridge, so that’s the longest I have kept these meatballs. They were perfectly fine after 3 days in a sealed container, constantly chilled in the fridge.
Claudia Phillips says
Delicious! Especially the gravy. I made it exactly per the directions. The only thing I’ll do differently is that I will try grating the onion instead of dicing. I didn’t dice it small enough.
Mark says
I used Trader Joe’s frozen meatballs to save some time, and it turned out great. My wife even liked it, and she is a very good cook.
Nora says
I’m so glad you and your wife enjoyed the meatballs, Mark!
Chelsie says
This was an excellent recipe base to add my personal touches to and build off of. Tonight I swapped out ingredients in the recipe with what was at home. See below:
-no nutmeg
-added sprinkle of mustard powder
-used beef consomme instead of broth
-black berry preserves instead of grape jelly
-tablespoon mixture of mayo, honey mustard
-1 squirt of worchesire sauce
-small pour of soy sauce
-added several full fresh mushrooms
-added one tablespoon of corn starch to cold water, then added to warm gravy to thicken
-served over thick noodles with salad & garlic roll
Family Favorite !
Thanks 🙂
Nora says
I’m so glad to hear, Chelsie!
Julia says
Hey, I don’t have either grape jelly or lingonberry jam. Anything else that would sub for those?
Nora says
Hi Julia, you could just leave it out if you don’t want to bother with substituting the jam. I will say I have done blackberry jelly before, and blackcurrant, both worked just fine. Jellied cranberry sauce would also be an option. I would guess you could go with any jelly from a tart berry, but I would steer clear from jams with seeds and from jams made from very sweet fruit (like strawberries for example). Hope this helps!
Mimi says
Just made these! The grape jelly is the best addition to the gravy!!!
Rita says
I used ground turkey instead of hamburger and it was sooo yummy! The flavors in the meatballs and sauce are amazing!
Lisa says
These were fantastic! I was a little uneasy about the grape jelly and Dijon mustard but it works. Soooo good! Will definitely put in our dinner rotation!
Sheryl luitjens says
Damn this was good!!!! The recipe was so easy to follow. However, this was a last-minute late dinner idea and I used frozen veggie meatballs, added some spices from the meatball recipe, and just browned them. I then made the gravy as instructed. So good! I will have to try the entire recipe. I can only imagine.
Elle says
The meatballs were moist and flavorful. We loved the gravy also and served it over mashed potatoes. The only thing that I would change is to double the recipe for the gravy.
kelzi Daniels says
My fam LOVED IT. I doubled the jelly, and mustard because why not. Sooooo yummy. Thanks for posting.
Pauli says
I made these for dinner tonight using this recipe as a base but ended up adding more spices to my preference. They came out great! I only had chicken broth on hand, so I added Worcestershire (sp) sauce and beef bouillon to the gravy. Now, I know that smoked paprika is not part of this, but I added a teaspoon to the meatballs and about 1/2 tablespoon to the gravy, turned out amazing! Served over brown rice pasta (all I had on hand) and it was very good! Thanks for the recipe!
Angela Jackson says
My whole family loved it, including a picky 4yr old. I had my stomach removed from stomach cancer. So I don’t get hungry like normal people. Your recipes get me excited to cook and eat again! Thank you!
Jenny says
My dad loves this recipe! ?
Andrea says
So good! The family devoured the meatballs!
yanira Wilson says
My whole family loved it! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Sherry Septer says
This was a great meal❗ I let my guests pick between the noodles or mashed potatoes❗ Everyone loved it❗?
Nora says
That’s such a great idea, Sherry! Thank you for sharing.
AsjXx says
Very easy and delicious! I did add to much nutmeg on mine ? but that was completely my mistake and i didnt have beef broth i had to use chicken but still soooo good! Everyone asked for more!
Nora Rusev says
That has definitely happened to me before! But I’m glad they still came out good!
Diane says
Second time making this. I doubled it since the last time everyone wanted more. This is a great recipe very easy. I didn’t have dijon mustard so I used ground mustard and it turned out great. The Ligdonberry is a must in the gravy. I have seen many people leave it out. It makes the gravy taste amazing. My family thinks its better than IKEA.
Nora Rusev says
Diane, I’m so glad to hear this! My family likes these better than IKEA, too, so I’m glad you enjoy the recipe just as much as we do.
Sara says
Really tasty! Had to make a few shelter in place replacements (chicken broth and ground turkey) but maintained the integrity of the recipe and my husband and I enjoyed it.
Minx says
Very easy and very delicious! I have twins that are very picky eaters and they’ve already begged me to make these again.
I did edit the recipe to our taste but omitting the milk and adding sour cream instead and I did not add the jelly.
Four thumbs up from my family. ?
Cynthia Garfio says
Has anyone tried this recipe with gluten free breadcrumbs and flour. Also dairy free options : almond milk? My son is gluten, dairy and soy free.
Nora Rusev says
Cynthia, the gluten free breadcrumbs would definitely work. Instead of the flour, you could use cornstarch – but I’m sure gluten free flour would work, too. And for dairy free, I would use a mild oil in place of the butter. You can definitely try with the almond milk, but I have also had success with making creamy recipes dairy free by replacing the milk with a mix of broth and cashew butter. It’s a little less intense in nut flavor. Hope that helps!