Swedish Meatballs

Cuisine: Scandinavian

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 4

Juicy meatballs with a creamy sauce is a classic dish from Sweden. This quick Swedish Meatballs recipe will leave everyone wanting more!

For the meatballs:

Ground pork - ½ pound
Ground beef - ½ pound
Breadcrumbs - ¼ cup
Yellow onion - 1, medium, finely chopped
Egg - 1 large
Black pepper - ½ teaspoon
Salt - ½ teaspoon
Ground allspice - ¼ teaspoon
Parsley - 2 tablespoons, finely chopped
Salted butter - 3 tablespoons

For the sauce:

Salted butter - 3 tablespoons
All-purpose flour - ¼ cup
Beef broth - 3 cups
Worcestershire sauce - 2 teaspoons
Heavy cream - ¼ cup

A drool-worthy home-cooked meal

Mix the ground pork, ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, egg, pepper, salt, allspice, and parsley in a bowl. Once mixed, roll the mixture into 1 ½ inch balls.
Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Melt the butter, and fry the meatballs for about ten minutes until they’re browned on all sides. Set them aside.
For the sauce, use the same skillet to melt the butter. Gradually add the flour while whisking vigorously. Cook until it turns slightly golden.
Slowly begin adding the beef broth, whisking continuously. Cook it for 6-8 minutes until it starts to thicken.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and the heavy cream. Lower the heat and continue to cook until the mixture can coat the back of a spatula.
Finally, add the meatballs and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve with creamy mashed potatoes.

Chef Tip: Add a pinch of nutmeg to the meatball mixture for a delicious twist. Remember — a little can go a long way.

This easy Swedish Meatballs recipe is a crowd-pleaser and even beats the ones that Ikea serves! Share it with your friends — they’ll love it.

Quick Bites

Fun Fact

• In a declaration that has shocked the country's culinary aficionados, Sweden's official Twitter account has suggested the dish may have originated in Turkey. "Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century," the tweet said.

• The IKEA Swedish meatballs debuted in stores in the 1980s, and have become one of the most popular items on the menu.

Historical Fact

• In 1708, King Charles XII invaded Russia, but his troops were destroyed by the Russian forces, which forced him to flee and take refuge in the Ottoman Empire for five years.

• Over the course of time, he and his men gained a taste for Ottoman Turk cuisine and encountered kofte, the spiced lamb, and beef meatballs of Turkish cuisine. He returned to Sweden in 1714.

Nutrition Fact

• A serving of 100 grams of Swedish meatballs contains 197 calories. To break it down further, it consists of 9g fat, 550mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate, and 21g protein.

•People who often eat meatballs will have good intelligence, compared with the rarely eat meatballs. Because meat meatballs contain a variety of vitamins that are good for brain intelligence.