These Authentic Swedish Meatballs are a real Swedish family recipes. They’re soft and delicious and make a great dinner or appetizer recipes.
Authentic Swedish Meatballs
A great majority of my side of the family is Swedish, and this is our family recipe. It’s pretty dang authentic. Every Christmas my grandma would host a Smorgasbord on Christmas, and these would always be on her menu, along with some other authentic Swedish foods and some American ones too. Since having my own family, I’ve decided to carry on the tradition, and these meatballs are still on the menu.
They’re soft, juicy, and comforting, and waaaay better than the ones you can buy at the store! They make a great and filling dinner or a yummy appetizer recipe too. I hope your family enjoys these as much as mine does!
What you’ll need:
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided (more might be necessary)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1/4 pound lean ground pork
- 2 cups half & half (more might be necessary)
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 2 tablespoons flour
Directions for Authentic Swedish Meatballs
1. In a small bowl
, mix together bread crumbs and milk. Set aside and allow to soak for 5 minutes.
2. In a skillet, saute onions in 2 tablespoons of butter. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add your meats, onion, 1 cup of half-and-half, parsley, bread crumbs, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1 teaspoon instant coffee. You can use a mixer
for this part, but I usually just roll up my sleeves and knead it together with clean hands. Continue mixing until everything is incorporated very well.
4. Scoop about a tablespoon of the meat mixture, and form into a ball. Continue rolling until you’ve used all your meat. Your balls should be about a 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (If the meat is sticking to your hands, just wet your hands with cool water to prevent sticking. You can also do the same with your tablespoon if it’s sticking to that too)
5. In a large skillet
, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Brown the meatballs, a few at a time, in the butter. They will need near constant rolling to get them to keep their ball shape (which I haven’t entirely mastered). I also usually brown only 5-6 at a time so I can watch them and try to get them to keep their shape. Remove meatballs from skillet and place in a large baking dish
. Continue browning your meatballs until they’re all done. If you feel you need more butter, go ahead and add some.
6. The browning process might not cook your meatballs all the way through, depending on the size of your meatballs. Cut one in half, and if it’s still pink on the inside, place in a 350° oven until they’re cooked all the way through.
7. You’ll have some drippings leftover from browning the meatballs, and we’re going to make gravy from them. You need 2-3 tablespoons of drippings (read that: leftover grease) so if you don’t have enough, just add some butter. Warm your drippings and/or butter in the skillet, if you’ve taken them off the heat.
8. Stir 2 tablespoons of flour into the drippings, and allow to warm for about a minute.
9. Slowly add your remaining half-and-half (1 cup), and stir to combine until the mixture is smooth. Your mixture should be fairly thin at this point, about the consistency of plain half-and-half. If your mixture is to thick, add a little more half-and-half, a quarter cup at a time until it thins.
10. Add the remaining ginger (1/4 teaspoon) and instant coffee (1/2 teaspoon), and continue stirring over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until gravy thickens.
11. Pour gravy over meatballs, and you’re finally ready to dig in!
Did you like this recipe? Find more on my Appetizers and Main Dishes boards on Pinterest!
Authentic Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter divided (more might be necessary)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground veal
- 1/4 pound lean ground pork
- 2 cups half & half more might be necessary
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 2 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and milk. Set aside and allow to soak for 5 minutes.
- In a skillet, saute onions in 2 tablespoons of butter. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your meats, onion, 1 cup of half-and-half, parsley, bread crumbs, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1 teaspoon instant coffee. You can use a mixer for this part, but I usually just roll up my sleeves and knead it together with clean hands. Continue mixing until everything is incorporated very well.
- Scoop about a tablespoon of the meat mixture, and form into a ball. Continue rolling until you've used all your meat. Your balls should be about a 1 1/2 inches in diameter. (If the meat is sticking to your hands, just wet your hands with cool water to prevent sticking. You can also do the same with your tablespoon if it's sticking to that too)
- In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Brown the meatballs, a few at a time, in the butter. They will need near constant rolling to get them to keep their ball shape (which I haven't entirely mastered). I also usually brown only 5-6 at a time so I can watch them and try to get them to keep their shape. Remove meatballs from skillet and place in a large baking dish. Continue browning your meatballs until they're all done. If you feel you need more butter, go ahead and add some.
- The browning process might not cook your meatballs all the way through, depending on the size of your meatballs. Cut one in half, and if it's still pink on the inside, place in a 350° oven until they're cooked all the way through.
- You'll have some drippings leftover from browning the meatballs, and we're going to make gravy from them. You need 2-3 tablespoons of drippings (read that: leftover grease) so if you don't have enough, just add some butter. Warm your drippings and/or butter in the skillet, if you've taken them off the heat.
- Stir 2 tablespoons of flour into the drippings, and allow to warm for about a minute.
- Slowly add your remaining half-and-half (1 cup), and stir to combine until the mixture is smooth. Your mixture should be fairly thin at this point, about the consistency of plain half-and-half. If your mixture is to thick, add a little more half-and-half, a quarter cup at a time until it thins.
- Add the remaining ginger (1/4 teaspoon) and instant coffee (1/2 teaspoon), and continue stirring over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until gravy thickens.
- Pour gravy over meatballs, and you're finally ready to dig in!
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Mmmmm…I LOVE me a good Swedish meatball…you definitely got my mouth watering! Thank you so much for linking up at Snickerdoodle Sunday- hope to see you again later this week!
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
Authentic Swedish Meatballs looks amazing, pinning it!
These look wonderful! Is the coffee flavour noticeable? I’ve never heard of it in gravy before.
It’s a little noticeable, but it’s not overpowering. It just gives it a little bitterness and blends really well with the other flavors.