I’ve had Swedish Meatballs on mind for awhile and I don’t mean since The Muppet Show last aired either! When I worked at a downtown bank, there was a diner I used to go to for lunch that had the same specials on the same day, each week.
Monday was schnitzel, Tuesday was chicken, Wednesday was Swedish Meatballs. They used to serve them BIG and on a bed of rice.
I’ve seen Swedish Meatballs served with potatoes, on pasta but for nostalgic reasons, I served it with rice. Oh what hell, it’s Wednesday today….must be Swedish Meatballs!
You should know, this isn’t the first time I’ve tried Swedish Meatballs. Other attempts were, shall I say…even snorted at by the dogs.
I’m very happy with the result of this dish. The flavours surprisingly appealed to my Greek parents and I think it’s quite wonderful that a Swedish dish would include nutmeg, allspice, dill, sour cream (reminiscent of yogurt).
Another aspect that pleased me was that I successfully by-passed pan-frying the meatballs. I have no problems with sauteeing, frying or browning but I just don’t like ground meat being fried. One often has to cook them off in batches, wasting time over the stove and often you end up with burnt bits rather than brown bits.
With my approach, I baked the meatballs off in the oven and the colour was like from a grill, some pan drippings and a healthier meatball.
Swedish Meatballs
(for 4)
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
2 tsp. ground all spice
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 to 3/4 bread crumbs
1 medium onion, grated
1 clove of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
- In a large bowl, grate your onion and add your minced garlic. Add your ground meat, egg, spices, salt, pepper and bread crumbs. Mix well with your hands. Add more breadcrumbs until the mixture holds together well in your hand. Microwave or fry off a small meatball to taste test. Adjust seasoning and refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Take your meatball mixture out of the fridge and form the meatballs.
- Preheat your oven to 400F (middle rack). Grease a large, oven-safe skillet with some sunflower oil and lay the meatballs out on the tray.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes (turn them halfway through) until they are browned. Reserve the meatballs and keep warm.
Sour Cream Dill Sauce
2 Tbsp. of butter
2 Tbsp. of flour
1 cup of beef broth
1/2 cup of sour cream
2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh dill
1 tsp. of paprika
salt and pepper to taste
- Return the same skillet to low heat on the stove and add your butter. Once it’s melted, add your lour and stir it for 1-2 minutes until it’s turned light brown.
- Add your beef broth and paprika then bring the heat up to medium and keep stirring until you see the sauce thickening.
- Lower the heat a bit and add your sour cream one spoonful at a time. Stir each spoonful until it’s incorporated into the sauce.
- Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add your chopped dill, stir it in and add your meatballs to heat through in the sauce.
- Serve immediately over a bed of rice or pasta.
32 Responses
Hi Peter =D
I would never have thought of nutmeg and allspice in meatballs. . .and the thought of trying a meatball with seasonings such as this sounds enticing. Your pictures are appetizing as well and now my curiosity is peaked. By the way, I did do your Spaghetti with Aspargus and Shrimp dish and I would like to post it with reference to your webpage for the recipe if that is okay with you? The dish was absolutely delicious and I am going to make it again, maybe with just a little less lemonthough, simply because I am not use to it. Hugs and thank you for being such a sharing person =D
Shandy, the Swedish Meatballs were delicious and you wouldn’t be disappointed with it.
I’m delighted to hear that your tried the asparagus & shrimp dish and that your enjoyed it.
Certainly, you can reference to my page. Thank you so much!
Peter I love the look of this dish… but… not frying the meatballs… this is against my believes!!! However, it’s good to know there’s other possibilities! :D
hello peter, i make meatballs dish all the time..but i havent tried this version yet!! the sour cream dill sauce must really be lovely with it…is it served over rice pilaf?? your shots makes me forget about my diet :-)
I like the idea of cooking the meatballs in the oven Peter.Making them large also keeps them tender. Nothing worse than having little bullets for meatballs. I have bookmarked this recipe for the future!
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
TYour meatballs look very appetizing! A wonderful dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
Peter, you amaze us every day with the variety of recipes you can make. These sound delicious. Your mum is a very lucky woman.
Delicious! I’ve never made Swedish Meatballs, before, can you believe it? I think you’ve inspired me to rectify the situation. :)
I love the idea of baking the meatballs, Peter. I should make them for Joao!
Nuria, the meatballs browned nicely in the oven.
Dhanggit, yes…that’s rice pilaf under the meatballs.
Val, no little bullets here! lol
Ivy, “h manna einai Griniarra”!
Nikki, I’m shocked to hear that a Minnesota Swede hasn;t made these.
Pat, Joao will ask for it regularly (meatballs that is).
Peter, I used to make swedish meatballs all the time in college. It was my go-to dish. Your recipe is making me crave them again. They are so good and comforting. Since, I’ve long since lost my college recipe, I will definitely give yours a try!
so cute
My english bloke and I were just talking about Swedish meatballs last night. I love them! Your dill sauce gets 5 stars :)
The muppets are the best! Pigs in Space are my favourites. :)
We love swedish meatballs but I usually just serve them with lingonberry sauce. Will have to try this next time.
I have never made Swedish meatballs after being scarred by a very ugly Swedish meatball incident as a child. Please, please don’t ask me to go into details. It’s too painful….
But, yours are making me reconsider. It’s been a really long time; perhaps I should move on?
Susan, time to forget about the meatball eating contest. Besides…you won didn’t you? ;)
Meatballs in sour cream and dill…mmm… Nice photos.
Mm, love Swedish meatballs. Interesting to see a recipe that doesn’t call for potatoes. The dill sauce sounds great.
Hi Peter =D. I so need to learn the Clash’s “Lost in the Supermarket” song. It would have been so fitting! Iplan on making Sushi this weekend and will be going back to my new found Asian market after work tomorrow night. There will be plenty of practice(BIG smile).
Thank you for all your wonderful comments on the sashimi dish and as soon as I read about not having a picture of the seared Yellowtail to show the contrast, well, I am really glad you said that because you are so right! I love it when others give input because that picture would have been beautiful. The dish turned out so well that I haven’t been able to quit thinking about the flavors so I thought I would make it again this weekend. I will definitely remember to take the picture! Hugs and thank you,
Shandy
Your meatballs look wonderful! I usually cheat at Swedish meatballs – packaged sauce, or just lunch at Ikea. I love that you serve them with rice, I’ve never seen that before.
Shandy, be fearless in the kitchen.
Sara, I’ve had the IKEA meal too but there’s something about recreating it at home and perhaps, I’ll attract some Swedish model to the dinner table!
Looks so yummy! I made Swedish Meatballs last night and the browning was a big pain (my meatballs kind of fell apart in the process). I’ll try your approach next time.
Laura, I too have had issues with browning the meatballs…the oven was a good solution.
Meatballs in this gorgeous sauce….. what could be better?? Love the pics, n must complement you on an awesome blog.