The best Swedish meatballs recipe features tender, juicy meatballs seasoned with a hint of white pepper, allspice, and nutmeg, swimming in creamy Swedish meatball sauce. It’s a gorgeous 30 minute meatball dinner that’s even better than at IKEA!
Add the bread and cream to a large bowl and stir well to combine. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, sauté the onion. To do so, add 1 tablespoon butter to a medium skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until softened but not browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
Add the onion/garlic mixture to the soaked bread along with the veal, egg, salt, white pepper, ground allspice, and ground nutmeg. Use your hands to mix everything together, but try not to over-mix.
Use a 1 ½-tablespoon scoop to measure out the meat mixture and roll it into balls (you should get around 20 meatballs).
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the meatballs. Let them sear for about 2 minutes, and then turn the heat down to medium. Continue cooking until they’re cooked throughout, about 8 minutes more, flipping them over once about halfway through. Transfer the cooked meatballs to a plate and set aside for now.
For the Gravy:
Make the gravy in the same skillet you cooked the meatballs in (no need to wipe it out). To do so, turn the heat to medium and add the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Add the beef stock, milk, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper, and cook until thickened, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Whisk in the cream and remove from the heat.
To Serve:
Add the meatballs to the hot gravy, spooning the gravy on top to coat the meatballs. Sprinkle the parsley on top.
Serve the meatballs and gravy along with prepared egg noodles and lingonberry jam.
Notes
Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes around 20 meatballs. Each serving is 4 meatballs, for a total of 5 servings.
NutritionInformation: The nutritional information for this recipe was calculated without the egg noodles, green beans, and lingonberry jam.
Storage: You can store Swedish meatballs with their sauce in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: Swedish meatballs and sauce freeze well for to 3 months. However, I like to freeze them separately. To freeze, let the meatballs cool to room temperature, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and freeze until solid (about 2 hours). Then put them in a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag or storage container labeled with the contents and date. Freeze the meatball sauce in a separate freezer-safe container, or wait to make the sauce when you want to serve the meatballs.
What Can I Use Instead of Lingonberry Jam for Serving?Homemade cranberry sauce is a lovely alternative with a similar sweet/tart fruity flavor.