Swedish Meatballs with an Epic Sauce

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.

While they are baking you can make the sauce so it all comes together that much quicker!  You can thank me later 🙂

Here at Happily Unprocessed we want to make meals SIMPLE for you to encourage you to cook more meals at home.   We believe it IS possible to make great simple dinners for your family during the week.

But if you do have a little extra time to bake, check out our Honey Wheat Bread recipe.  Homemade baked bread is simply delicious and these rolls pair great with these Swedish Meatballs.

Swedish Meatballs

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Ingredients

FOR THE MEATBALLS:

• 1 1/2 lbs. Organic Ground Beef (80/20%)
• 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs (I used these)
• 1 Tablespoon Organic Parsley, chopped up fine
• 1/4 Cup Dried Minced Onion
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt, Pepper to taste
• 1 Organic Egg
• 1/4 Cup Organic Milk

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 5 Tablespoons Organic Salted Butter
• 5 Tablespoons White Whole Wheat Flour (I use Bob Mills)
• 2 Cups Beef Broth
• 1 1/4 Cups Organic Heavy Cream
• 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

1. Preheat an oven to 400° F
2. 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
3. Prepare a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper and bake the meatballs for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through
4. 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
5. 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
6. Pour over meatballs and serve over rice or egg noodles

Recipe Source:  HappilyUnprocessed.com
I used all organic ingredients when possible when making this recipe and hope you do too!  🙂