Easy One-Pot Swedish Meatballs

These easy Swedish meatballs are made in the Instant Dutch Oven as a one-pot meal. Less dishes and more convenience most of the time for this dish is hands off. A bowl full of comfort food that you'll want to make over and over again.
Homemade Swedish meatballs in white dish

These easy Swedish meatballs are made in the Instant Dutch Oven as a one-pot meal. Less dishes and more convenience most of the time for this dish is hands off. A bowl full of comfort food that you'll want to make over and over again.

meatballs and gravy in white serving dish
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Why this works

Ingredients you will need

Here is a quick snapshot of the ingredients you'll need. Scroll down to the recipe card where you'll find exact measurements.

ingredients for Swedish meatballs

Ingredient notes

  • Ground beef - it's best to stick with an 80/20 mixture for these easy Swedish meatballs since this will not produce to much or to little grease. A ground beef with more or less than 20% fat will likely cause issues.
  • Beef stock - I used unsalted for this recipe, but Better than Bouillon Beef or regular will work.
  • Sour cream - full fat or reduced fat will work for this recipe. Avoid fat free.
  • Parsley - can be fresh or dried.

How to make this

Step 1: Making the meatball mixture

soak the bread and combine all the ingredients

Soak the slice of bread in milk. Finely dice the onion, and saute in the olive oil. Cook until soft and translucent.

Combine in a large bowl the ground beef, ground pork, eggs, bread crumbs, slice of bread, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves.

mix everything together and form the meatballs

Stir all the ingredients until well combined and smooth. The mixture should be moist, and smell flavorful. Form into 1 ½- to 2-inch meatballs for this easy Swedish meatball recipe. I like them larger but you can make them smaller if you like.

Step 2: Braising the meatballs and cooking the egg noodles

brown the meatballs & start the sauce

Place the formed meatballs on a greased baking sheet. Broil for 10-minutes in the oven. Or, you can brown the meatballs on saute in the Instant Precision Dutch Oven.

Heat the Instant Dutch Oven to sear/saute. Melt the butter, and then whisk in the flour. Cook the flour mixture for a couple of minutes. This will prevent the dish from having a "doughy" taste.

Whisk in the sour cream quickly and stir with flour mixture until smooth.

add the broth and cook the meatballs

Whisk in the beef broth slowly until the sauce is smooth. Add in the salt, pepper, and parsley.

Add the meatballs to the Dutch oven. Cook the easy Swedish meatballs on manual mode 2 for one-hour and 10-minutes. Add the egg noodles the last 15-minutes of cooking. Stir every 5-minutes to make sure they all cook evenly, and nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

Expert tips

I like to make my easy Swedish meatballs a little on the large side, but you can make them as small as about 1-inch round. This will reduce the cook time by about half.

When you prepare the meat mixture for these easy Swedish meatballs it should smell fragrant and pleasant. If it doesn't you may want to adjust the spices. The meatball mixture should be moist but not overly wet.

You can omit the egg noodles if you like, but you will need to thicken the gravy with a cornstarch slurry of equal parts cornstarch and water to the desired consistency.

FAQs

What is the difference between Swedish meatballs and regular meatballs?

Swedish meatballs are typically smaller than regular meatballs. It is a mixture of ground beef and pork. Swedish meatballs use spices like nutmeg and gloves instead of garlic or Italian herb seasonings.

Are Swedish meatballs supposed to be sweet?

Due to the nutmeg used in the recipe yes it they do have a hint of sweetness.

Serving suggestions

Serve the easy Swedish meatballs with a green salad or over mashed potatoes if not adding the egg noodles at the end. Follow dinner with a delicious peach crisp for dessert.

Storage & reheating

Serve the easy Swedish meatballs immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator. These can be frozen for up to three months, and thawed in the refrigerator prior to reheating.

How to video

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close view of swedish meatballs with noodles and gravy

Recipe

Easy One-Pot Swedish Meatballs

Homemade Swedish meatballs in white dish
These easy Swedish meatballs are made in the Instant Dutch Oven as a one-pot meal. Less dishes and more convenience most of the time for this dish is hands off. A bowl full of comfort food that you'll want to make over and over again.
Tina
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Serving Size 6 servings

Ingredients

Meatball Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef 80/20 mixture
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 onion finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil for sauteeing
  • 1 slice bread
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pepper
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cloves may substitute with allspice

Gravy Ingredients

  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • cup flour
  • cup sour cream
  • 4 cups beef broth I used unsalted
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 2 Tablespoons parsley can use fresh or dried
  • 4 cups egg noodles uncooked

Instructions

  • Finely dice the onion, and saute in a small pan or the Instant Dutch oven with the olive oil. Cook until softened and translucent.
  • Soak the slice of bread in the milk until absorbed.
  • In a large mixing bowl combine the ground pork, ground beef, eggs, milk soaked bread, onions, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cloves. Mix until combined well.
  • Form into 1 ½- to 2-inch meatballs. This recipe will make about 24 meatballs of this size. If you want to make smaller meatballs then make then 1-inch.
  • Brown the meatballs in the oven on broil for about 15-minutes. Or, you can saute in the Instant Dutch oven in batches until they are all browned.
  • Preheat the Instant Dutch oven to saute. Melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to combine to make a roux. Cook for a couple of minutes so the dish will not have a "doughy" taste later.
  • Add the sour cream and whisk quickly to combine. Add the beef broth a cup at a time to combine with the flour-sour cream mixture.
  • Add the remaining salt, pepper, and parsley to the liquid. Return the meatballs to the Instant Precision Dutch oven.
  • Cook on manual mode 2 at 250-degrees for one-hour and ten-minutes.
  • When there is 15-minutes left on the timer add in 4-cups of egg noodles. Stir every 5-minutes to make sure all the noodles cook and nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot as the noodles absorb the liquid. The sauce will thicken naturally as the noodles cook.
  • You can omit the noodles, but will want to thicken the gravy with a cornstarch slurry of equal parts cornstarch and water until the desired consistency of gravy is achieved.
  • Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container for up to one week. This can be frozen for up to three months, and thawed in the refrigerator prior to reheating.

Video

Notes

When you prepare the meat mixture for these easy Swedish meatballs it should smell fragrant and pleasant. If it doesn't you may want to adjust the spices. The meatball mixture should be moist but not overly wet.

Don't forget to join our Facebook Group for Instant Pot and Air Fryer or our Instant Dutch Oven group for recipes!

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