The Best Swedish Meatballs and Gravy

The Best Swedish Meatballs and Gravy are made with a combination of ground pork and beef and spiced to perfection for a flavorful meatball — all with a rich and flavorful gravy to go with it!

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs

1 pound lean ground beef (84-93%)
1 pound ground pork or country style ground pork sausage
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Gravy

1/4 cup salted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
4 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (optional)
2/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon salt , or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper , or to taste

For Serving

1 pound cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

In a medium-size mixing bowl, stir together ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, egg, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Form into 1-inch meatballs.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, fry the meatballs in the oil until browned on all sides and cooked through. Be sure not to crowd the pan. Remove cooked meatballs from pan and set aside, draining any excess grease.
Make the gravy by melting butter in the same skillet used to cook the meatballs. Once butter is melted, stir in flour, nutmeg, and allspice until it forms a paste.
Slowly pour in beef broth and 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (if using for added flavor) and heat over medium-high heat until thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in sour cream until combined.
Return cooked meatballs to skillet and stir with gravy to coat. Serve hot over mashed potatoes or cooked egg noodles. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

SAUSAGE OPTIONS

To add even more flavor in this recipe, you can always use a country style pork sausage instead of just ground pork. That can really add a lot to this recipe. Just make sure you stay away from Italian style ground pork sausage. It just isn’t the right flavor profile.

EGG SUBSTITUTES

You have a few options for egg substitutes in meatballs:

Buttermilk: 2 tablespoons per egg
Yogurt: 1/4 cup per egg
Unsweetened Applesauce: 3 tablespoons per egg
Ricotta Cheese: 1/4 cup per egg

OVEN INSTRUCTIONS

Simply place shaped meatballs onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degrees Fahrenheit oven for approximately 30 minutes.

ROUX

Step 4 in this recipe involves making a roux. The flour in the recipe acts as a thickening agent. If you just added flour to a liquid you’d end up with a clumpy mess. By combining the flour with a fat source (melted butter), you will be able to distribute the thickening agent throughout the sauce without leaving clumps behind. This same principle can be applied to any sauce or soup that needs to be thickened. A roux is equal parts flour to fat. Cornstarch is a stronger thickening agent that I use (with butter) in things like puddings and cream pies.

SERVING SUGGESTION

We prefer to serve Swedish Meatballs over egg noodles. Another more traditional option is to serve them with mashed potatoes. You can also serve them over rice if you want.