Easy Swedish Meatball Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the sauce for Swedish meatballs made from? ›

The sauce for Swedish Meatballs is a creamy gravy that is made with butter, beef broth/stock, thickened with flour and made creamy with cream. But the most important flavour for the a really good creamy gravy is the pan drippings after searing the meatballs.

Massage your meat

Get your hands into your mixing bowl and combine the ingredients for your meatballs using your fingers. The heat from your hands will help release the proteins in the meat which will in turn help the mixture stick together when it cooks. Don't overmix, just a few minutes will do.

They are super flavorful but what makes them so so tender and moist is this: Plain Greek Yogurt. The lactic acid from the yogurt tenderizes the meat while adding subtle flavor. The addition of egg and parmesan cheese help keep the meat together so that you get delicious weeknight meatballs in minutes.

Eggs: Eggs help bind the meatballs together so they don't fall apart. They also help keep the meatballs soft and tender. Bread crumbs: Bread crumbs are almost always used in meatball recipes because they absorb the fat and, along with the eggs, serve as a binder.

How to Thicken Swedish Meatball Sauce. The all-purpose flour in this recipe should do the trick to thicken your Swedish meatball sauce to the right consistency. But if it doesn't, you can add a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of water) to thicken it up.

Swedish meatballs are quite small, at most about an inch in diameter. As mentioned above, They are usually served in a creamy gravy with lingonberry jam or Lingonberry Sauce and Fresh Pickled Cucumbers. Swedish meatballs are usually served on top of mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles. Both are delicious!

The Key to Tender Meatballs

Here, we're soaking fresh or dried breadcrumbs in a little milk until the bread becomes soggy, then mixing that right into the meat. This binder (aka panade) helps add moisture to the meatballs and also prevents the meat proteins from shrinking and becoming tough.

Baking will result in meatballs with a crunchy exterior, though the caramelisation achieved from frying will be superior. Baked meatballs take the least amount of effort, as you'll only need to turn them once or twice throughout the cook and you can make a larger batch at once.

Do meatballs get more tender the longer they cook in sauce? ›

As the collagen in the meat dissolves over time, it transforms into gelatin, which not only adds a silky texture to the sauce but also contributes to the overall richness and depth of flavor. The longer the simmer, the more tender and succulent the meatballs become.

Egg and breadcrumbs are common mix-ins to add moisture and tenderness. Another binder option that people swear by is a panade, which is fresh or dry breadcrumbs that have been soaked in milk.

Rich with both pork and beef, and seasoned generously with parsley, allspice, nutmeg, grated onion, salt, pepper, and garlic, Swedish meatballs get half of their goodness from the creamy, peppery gravy that they're simmered in, and our Swedish meatball sauce is totally irresistible.

Bread crumbs are another popular binder for meatballs that can become problematic if used incorrectly. Adding too many bread crumbs to the mix will cause your meatballs to become loose and fall apart. The same applies to flour.

It's All About the Sauce

Flavored with nutmeg and cardamom, these little beef-and-pork meatballs are best served with a Swedish meatball sauce—a rich roux-based and beef stock gravy, spiked with sour cream and a little lingonberry jelly.

Italian meatballs are famously served in a bright, tangy, often chunky tomato sauce (marinara to the layman) whereas Swedish meatballs are cooked in a rich, roux-based, creamy gravy made with beef or bone broth and sour cream (or sometimes heavy cream).

These meatballs tend to be a bit smaller in size and are more savory than their Italian counterpart. They are seasoned with aromatic allspice that balances out the rich flavor of the white, gravy-like sauce they're served in.

Last week, Sweden's official Twitter account tweeted out a brief but momentous statement: “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century.