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swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes in a white bowl with lingonberry preserves on a wood board with a white towel

Swedish Meatballs

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 24 reviews
  • Author: Whip & Wander
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 27 minutes
  • Total Time: 37 minutes
  • Yield: 36 meatballs 1x
  • Category: Mains
  • Method: Stovetop, Oven
  • Cuisine: Swedish
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

Swedish Meatballs are a traditional Scandanavian dish comprised of lightly peppery + sweet spiced meatballs bathed in a sherry cream sauce. This recipe is gluten-free and low-carb.


Ingredients

Scale

For the meatballs:

  • 1 lb ground sausage
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 cup pork rinds, crushed or blended until fine and granular (may sub gluten-free panko)
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped finely
  • 1/4 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely
  • 2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped finely
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground allspice

For the sauce:

  • 6 tbsp sherry
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Optional: I love to serve these with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower*


Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (205 C). Place your cast-iron pan in the oven while it preheats to warm it. A cast iron pan that has been pre-heated will yield more even cooking.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs with a wooden spoon or spatula, until evenly combined.
  3. Remove the cast iron pan from the oven carefully and place on a heat-safe surface. Roll the meat mixture into meatballs and place each one in the cast iron pan in one even layer. I prefer to make mine a bit smaller than a golf ball, and usually end up with around 36 meatballs. You can make yours larger if you'd like, but this will affect the cooking time.
  4. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 C) when tested with a meat thermometer.
  5. Carefully remove the cast iron pan from the oven and transfer it to your stovetop. Transfer each meatball from the pan to a clean prep bowl or dish with a spoon. The meatballs should have rendered some residual fat in the pan and around each meatball. I like to quickly scrape the remaining fat from the pan and discard it, but I don't worry about scraping it off each meatball; The little bit of rendered fat will melt into the sauce making it rich and flavorful.
  6. Set the empty pan to heat on the stovetop over medium. Add the sherry and allow the alcohol to come to a simmer. When reduced by about half, add the heavy cream, sea salt, black pepper, and nutmeg and whisk together. Allow the sauce to maintain a low simmer for around 5 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce coats the back of a spoon, add the reserved meatballs back to the pan, turning to coat each one.
  7. These Swedish Meatballs are delicious served on their own, but I prefer to serve them on top of or alongside a neutral base like mashed potatoes or low-carb mashed cauliflower so I can take advantage of all the creamy sauce. If your diet allows for a little sugar, I love to serve them with a spoonful of lingonberry preserves as well. For more serving options, see the section titled "What Should I Serve these Swedish Meatballs With?" above.

Notes

Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

*See "What should I serve these Swedish Meatballs with?" section in the above post for more serving ideas


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 6 meatballs with sauce
  • Calories: 659
  • Sugar: 7 g
  • Sodium: 1233 mg
  • Fat: 53 g
  • Saturated Fat: 25 g
  • Carbohydrates: 6
  • Fiber: 0
  • Protein: 33
  • Cholesterol: 265 mg