Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (2024)

· by Jenn @ The Spice Kit Recipes · 2 Comments

Swedish “meatballs” meat sauce with egg noodles is a delicious, quick, easy, inexpensive dinner and a nice change from the usual noodle, or Hamburger Helper routine.

Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (1)

Do you love meatballs but sometimes don’t feel like getting your hands all icky and taking the time to make them? Me too! I was recently having a random craving for Swedish Meatballs, which I’ve never made. I didn’t have a recipe of my own to reference so I did a Google search and a whole slew of recipes came up- they all looked so good! Which recipe do I choose?

Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (2)

I decided I wanted to do something Swedish Meatball-ish for the blog and, being the rebel I am, couldn’t conform to the standard Swedish Meatball recipe. I decided to kinda sorta deconstruct it- making a slightly different, easier, less messy, Swedish Bolognese, or dare I say, Swedish Hamburger Helper. Yikes!

Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (3)

Did I just say the “H.H.” words as in a meal from a box? Remember those? Maybe you still eat them. Nothing wrong with them. They’re certainly quick and get the job done, but they’re usually loaded with salt so we steer clear from the “helper” type purchases. Plus, we both like to cook so we’ll just make our own!

Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (4)

While this recipe looses the breadcrumbs and eggs, it still maintains the classic Swedish Meatball ingredients using ground pork and lean ground beef. I chose to use 90% lean ground beef because ground pork tends to be on the fattier side and I’m not a fan of really greasy, fatty meat. Ok. Sometimes I am, just not this time :).

Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (5)

I found the juices and grease that was leftover from browning the meat was a perfect base for making the delicious, creamy sauce. So to make up for my savings, I added 4 Tbsps. of butter. OK. So now I’m contradicting myself. It sounds like a lot, but this recipe should feed at least 4 people, so it’s not too bad. Right?

Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (6)

Whisk in the flour, broth, sour cream, allspice and nutmeg and you have a tasty, spicy, Scandinavian sauce to switch-up your usual dinner routine that is perfect for drowning egg noodles in. And since my daily to-do lists seem to be growing…. and growing…. that leaves me with less and less time for cooking and cleaning- which is bad…. and good. Adding the noodles in the sauce is a time and cleaning saver = SCORE! And voila! A delicious, comforting 1 pan meal. Hope you guys enjoy!

Swedish Meatballs Deconstructed

Author:Jenn @ The Spice Kit Recipes

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Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (7)

Ingredients

  • 8 ozs. egg noodles

Meat

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 cup (1 medium onion), chopped
  • ¾ lb. 90% lean ground beef
  • ¾ lb. ground pork
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. each allspice, nutmeg

Sauce

  • ⅓ cup flour
  • ¼ cup (4 Tbsps.) butter
  • 5 cups low sodium beef broth, divided ½ cup and 4½ cups
  • ⅔ cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. each allspice, nutmeg, salt

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large saute pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute about 5 minutes.
  2. Add beef and pork and cook until browned, about 5-6 minutes. Use a potato masher to crumble the meat.
  3. Sprinkle in salt and spices and mix to combine.
  4. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer meat mixture to a plate leaving the juices in the pan.
  5. In a measuring cup whisk together ½ cup broth with the sour cream until well combined and set aside.
  6. Add butter and flour to the saute pan (the heat is still on medium) and whisk together until you get a smooth paste. Continue whisking for a minute or 2.
  7. Turn off heat and whisk in the 4½ cups of beef broth stirring for about a minute. Now add the ½ cup broth mixed with the sour cream and continue whisking another minute until everything is well combined and smooth.
  8. Whisk in sugar, salt and spices and increase heat to medium.
  9. Add noodles and meat. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and simmer cooking 5-7 minutes until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally.

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Swedish "Meatballs" Meat Sauce with Egg Noodles - The Spice Kit Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the sauce for Swedish meatballs made from? ›

The sauce for Swedish Meatballs is a creamy gravy that is made with butter, beef broth/stock, thickened with flour and made creamy with cream. But the most important flavour for the a really good creamy gravy is the pan drippings after searing the meatballs.

What's the difference between meatballs and Swedish meatballs? ›

Swedish meatballs are slightly smaller than traditional meatballs — think the size of a golf ball — so that they can be easily picked up by a toothpick and popped into your mouth. As for the sauce, Swedish meatballs are cooked in a rich, creamy gravy that is most often created from bone broth and cream.

What is Ikea meatball sauce made of? ›

Iconic Swedish cream sauce: Melt 40g of butter in a pan. Whisk in 40g of plain flour and stir for 2 mins. Add 300ml of bouillon (or consommé) and continue to stir. Add 150ml double cream, 2 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of (Dijon) mustard.

Why do Swedish meatballs taste different? ›

The Seasoning

While both varieties include ingredients such as grated onion and panade (milk-soaked bread) or bread crumbs, plus the usual salt and pepper, Swedish meatballs traditionally use spices like allspice, nutmeg, white pepper, and sometimes ground ginger as flavoring.

Why is my Swedish meatball sauce not thickening? ›

How to Thicken Swedish Meatball Sauce. The all-purpose flour in this recipe should do the trick to thicken your Swedish meatball sauce to the right consistency. But if it doesn't, you can add a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of water) to thicken it up.

Why are my Swedish meatballs falling apart? ›

ANSWER: Usually when meatballs fall apart, it's the binder that is the problem. Most meatball recipes call for using bread crumbs and eggs. But too much bread crumbs make them too loose, and not enough bread crumbs won't help them hold together either.

Are homestyle meatballs the same as Swedish meatballs? ›

Swedish meatballs are typically smaller than the Italian style. Seasonings are different for Swedish meatballs but every recipe for them has variations on spices.

What is so special about Swedish meatballs? ›

There's something truly magical about Swedish meatballs. The moment you take that first bite, you're transported to a world of tender, juicy meat and rich, creamy gravy that tantalizes your taste buds and leaves you craving more.

What is the best meat for meatballs? ›

Most meatballs served in marinara sauce are made with a mixture of beef and another ground protein, like pork sausage or veal—or all three. Pork gives the meatballs extra flavor, and veal helps keep them moist and tender.

How are Ikea meatballs so cheap? ›

If the meatballs are so delicious and so popular, why are they so inexpensive? Like many other things in business, selling inexpensive meatballs is a strategy for the company to turn more profit. To sell their products, they need to get people in the door. To do that, they entice people with cheap meatballs.

What is the jam they put on Ikea meatballs? ›

It's lingonberry season and the small sour berries that thrive best in cold climates are ready to be picked. Swedes love eating the jam made from lingonberries with meatballs, mashed potatoes and cream sauce.

How do Swedish people eat Swedish meatballs? ›

Traditional Swedish way: Do not make the cream sauce at all. Serve meatballs over plain or stewed macaroni, plain or mashed potatoes, and lingenberry jam (optional)

What do Swedish people eat with meatballs? ›

Swedish meatballs are quite small, at most about an inch in diameter. As mentioned above, They are usually served in a creamy gravy with lingonberry jam or Lingonberry Sauce and Fresh Pickled Cucumbers. Swedish meatballs are usually served on top of mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles. Both are delicious!

Do Swedish meatballs have horse meat? ›

LONDON — The furniture giant Ikea joined a growing list of brands that have been touched by Europe's food scandal on Monday and withdrew its signature Swedish meatballs from its markets and cafeterias across most of Europe after one batch was found to contain traces of horse meat.

What are real Swedish meatballs made of? ›

Mix ground beef, ground pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger with onion in the mixing bowl. Lightly mix in bread crumbs and cream. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pinch off about 1 1/2 tablespoon meat mixture per meatball; form into balls.

What is served with Swedish meatballs? ›

Traditional: Serve the meatballs and gravy over mashed potatoes with a side of lingonberry sauce. (Or if you can't find lingonberries, cranberry sauce works well too!) Over noodles: Serve the meatballs and gravy over wide egg noodles.

Does Swedish meatballs contain sour cream? ›

It's All About the Sauce

Flavored with nutmeg and cardamom, these little beef-and-pork meatballs are best served with a Swedish meatball sauce—a rich roux-based and beef stock gravy, spiked with sour cream and a little lingonberry jelly.

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