Seasoned bite sized ground beef meatballs in a cream sauce with nutmeg and allspice. Serve as an appetizer or dinner with noodles.
If you’ve ever had the Swedish meatballs at IKEA then you will fall all over yourself when you try these!!! I’ve been trying to recreate them for years and I think I’ve finally nailed it!
What makes me so confident? Because these meatballs are full of flavor, they are not bland like the ones at IKEA (sorry IKEA). So one of the key ingredients that give these meatballs their distinct flavor is dried minced onion. Please don’t leave this out, it is vital. It is a very accessible spice found in the spice aisle.
I know some of you out there want to skip the whole meatball step but I don’t recommend using frozen meatballs because … well, they’re processed and just taste nasty (IMO). I’ve kept the ingredient list for the meatballs as short as possible so you can get in and out of the kitchen.
You can also make the meatballs ahead of time too, say on Sunday when you have more time. That way on Monday all you have to do is cook them and make the sauce.
Speaking of cooking, I bake my meatballs. First of all it’s so much healthier than frying them, not to mention my kitchen doesn’t get all splattered with grease that I have to clean up later.
As a timesaver, while the meatballs are baking you can make the sauce so it all comes together that much quicker!
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Swedish Meatballs
Description
Swedish meatballs just like IKEA, only better.
Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS:
- 1 1/2 lbs. Ground Beef
- 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Parsley, chopped up fine
- 1/4 Cup Dried Minced Onion
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt, Pepper to taste
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/4 Cup Whole Milk
FOR THE SAUCE:
- 5 Tablespoons Butter
- 5 Tablespoons White Whole Wheat Flour (I use Bob Mills)
- 2 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 1/4 Cups Heavy Cream (you can use Half & Half for a lighter version)
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Allspice
- 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400° F.
- In a medium sized bowl break the egg and whisk, add the milk, ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, dried onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt. Mix until combined and form into small meatballs, approximately 1 Tablespoon in size.
- Prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and bake the meatballs for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, add the butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Once it’s melted add the flour and whisk until it turns a light brown, approx. 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly stir in beef broth and heavy cream. Add worchestershire sauce, spices and dijon mustard and bring to a simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour over meatballs and serve over rice or egg noodles.
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I cooked them on 400 and after only 20 minutes, the meatballs and parchment paper was completely burnt. Parchment paper shouldn’t be used for this high heat, I recommend lower heat and less time.
Hi Emma – I have been using parchment paper in the oven at high temps for over a decade. I’m not sure what happened.
So bland, I had to add a lot of extra to make this taste like something or even ok. We’re not going to make this again.
★
I love dishes that make you want to lick the plate. This is one! Yum.
★★★★
I just made this tonight for dinner and they are epic! I’ve been wanting to make Swedish meatballs but couldn’t find a recipe for baking the meatballs until now. I baked my meatballs for 30 minutes.
The sauce is really easy to put together and oh so creamy! I’ll definitely be keeping this in my rotation, thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
Thanks for leaving a comment Jennifer. I’m really glad you enjoyed them!
I did not have parsley for the meatballs or nutmeg for the sauce and only had half a cup of half and half. The rest of the dairy was nonfat milk. Other than that I made the recipe just as described. Found it delicious. Will definitely be making this again
★★★★★