Old Fashioned Swedish Meatballs
This is a beloved family recipe of a reader named Sherrie. The tender meatballs in the sour cream sauce are full of nostalgic flavor!
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ lb ground pork (or use more ground beef)
- ½ cup soft breadcrumbs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 1¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups beef broth (or 1 tablespoon bouillon + 4 cups water)
For the gravy:
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt to taste (might only need a pinch, or none at all)
- Dash of allspice
- 1 cup sour cream
- To serve: lingonberry jam, optional
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- In a large bowl, place the ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, ½ cup sour cream, egg, finely chopped onion, salt, allspice, and black pepper.1 lb ground beef, ½ lb ground pork, ½ cup soft breadcrumbs, ½ cup sour cream, 1 egg,, 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion, 1¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon allspice, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Gently mix until combined, taking care not to over mix, which will make the meatballs tough.
- Shape the meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat.2 tablespoons butter
- Fry half the meatballs until browned, about 2–3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
- Melt the remaining butter in the skillet, and fry the remaining meatballs until browned, about 2–3 minutes per side.
- Add the other meatballs back to the skillet, and pour the beef broth over the top. Cover and cook at a simmer for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.4 cups beef broth
For the sour cream gravy:
- While the meatballs are cooking, place the flour and ¼ cup water in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine.¼ cup flour
- Remove the meatballs from the skillet.
- Add the flour/water mixture to the broth in the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened slightly.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the onion powder, salt, dash of allspice, and sour cream.1 teaspoon onion powder, Salt to taste, Dash of allspice, 1 cup sour cream
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet and stir to coat with the sour cream gravy.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice with a side of lingonberry jam if you like.
Notes
Original recipe notes: Sherrie's mom's recipe had half the amount of sauce as listed above. Sherrie mentioned that she doubles the sauce because she likes a lot of sauce. I agree that double sauce is a good idea! Sherrie's mom's recipe also had you add the flour directly to the hot broth, but I always get lumps when I do that despite whisking it well. So, this recipe calls for shaking flour and water together, and then adding it to the hot broth. It's lump-free every time.
Be sure to take the skillet off the heat before adding the sour cream to the sauce (it'll curdle if it gets too hot).
Make your own soft breadcrumbs by placing one piece of white sandwich bread into a food processor and pulsing until it makes small crumbs.
The meatballs can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. The sour cream can get curdled if it gets too hot, so just watch that as you reheat them.
Nutrition
Calories: 456kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 28gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 944mgPotassium: 782mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 518IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 97mgIron: 3mg
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