Traditional Swedish Meatballs
A family recipe of juicy Swedish meatballs with onion and allspice. Served in a rich creamy gravy.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (or mix of beef and pork)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt, 6 grams
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon oil and butter for frying
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoon (remaining oil and butter from pan)
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 2 cups heavy cream or cooking cream
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon reduced beef broth. -optional
Instructions
- Finely chop the onion, fry in oil until it is soft. Add the soy sauce. You can brown the onion a bit for extra flavor. Set aside and let cool.
- Mix breadcrumbs, milk, and spices in a bowl, leave to swell for 5 minutes. Add in the onion and ground meat. Massage the mixture thoroughly for a minute or two. Let stand in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
- Wet your hands and roll even-sized meatballs. Heat up your pan and some oil, and space out half of the meatballs on your pan. Sear them in medium-high heat. Add some butter and keep on frying until they have color and are done. Remove from the frying pan and set aside. Do the same with the rest of your meatballs.
- In the same frying pan in which you fried the meatballs (do not wash it out), add flour. Gently grind the flour for a few seconds while stirring. Mix in cream, soy and bring to a boil while stirring. Let simmer slowly for 5 min.
- Pour in the meatballs and let them warm up in the sauce. Alternatively, serve the sauce separately.
- Serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam and a side salad or pressed cucumbers. Also, boiled fresh peas, steamed broccoli or baby carrots go well as a side.
Notes
Alternatively, you can bake your meatballs in the oven on a parchment paper covered oven tray at 435F (225C) for 15 minutes.
In an air fryer use parchment paper or baking tray, since they drip a lot of fat. Cook at 400F for 10-15 minutes.
To make more dense meatballs, knead the mix a bit longer with your hands. Breadcumbs and milk can be replaced with milk soaked white bread or even boiled potato as a binder.
Beef broth or veal stock gives extra flavor to the sauce, but is optional if you don't have at home.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to three days. Meatballs do freeze well and are great for meal prep.
1 Serving of meatballs, Swedish mash, and gravy with lingonberry jam and pressed cucumbers is around 850 calories.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 550kcalCarbohydrates: 13.8gProtein: 19.4gFat: 46.6gSaturated Fat: 26.6gSodium: 1000mgFiber: 0.7gSugar: 0.2g
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