In this easy recipe for skillet Swedish meatballs, tender meatballs are smothered in a delicious, thick gravy. Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes!
I’ve been making this recipe for over a decade, and it is easily in my family’s top 10 favorite meals ever! It is so incredibly yummy!
Swedish Meatball Variations
There are many variations of Swedish meatball recipes out there on the interwebs. Some use ground pork or ground beef or a combination. Oftentimes, nutmeg or allspice are added while other recipes don’t use those spices at all. And the sauces are as varied as the meatballs! Thin or thick, creamy or dark.
My recipe for Swedish meatballs results in the most flavorful, tender meatballs swimming in a delectable, thick, rich brown gravy. THEY ARE SO GOOD.
The meatball mixture is a simple combination of ingredients:
- ground beef or ground pork (or a combination – even ground turkey works well)
- bread crumbs
- grated onion
- a hint of brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg
- egg
- milk
- salt and pepper
Skillet Cooked Meatballs
The meatballs and sauce are made in one skillet. You can use a 12-inch nonstick or cast iron skillet. But, I find that most often, I make this recipe in my trusty electric skillet {aff. link}.
It is big enough to cook all of the meatballs in a single layer in one batch. 🙌🏼 I literally keep this skillet around almost exclusively for this recipe. (Well, this one and ham fried rice.)
Here’s the process for whipping up these Swedish meatballs:
- Make the meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs in a skillet and remove to a plate.
- Make a simple roux and whisk in broth to make the base of the sauce.
- Add the meatballs back in and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in sour cream.
How to Serve Traditional Swedish Meatballs
Traditionally, Swedish meatballs are served with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and often pickled cucumbers, as well.
The jam and cucumbers may sound like an odd combination, but the tangy, fresh flavors of both balance the richness of the meatballs, gravy and potatoes. It’s a winning combination!
However (Swedish meatball purists, look aside)…
I rarely have lingonberry jam and cucumbers hanging around together. So, in our household, we often enjoy this meal in a more simple manner: meatballs, sauce, potatoes, and a simple green veggie.
Applicable Life Lesson: don’t put off making this crazy good meal if a few of the more traditional components aren’t available. It can be enjoyed many different ways!
A Huge Favorite
This skillet Swedish meatballs recipe is one of our go-to Sunday meals when I have a bit more time to cook dinner, and, many of my kids have requested it as their birthday dinner over the years.
That’s high praise considering we take our birthday meal requests very seriously. 😉
This recipe is a definite tried-and-true favorite. We’ve been loving it for over 10 years! And I have no doubt it will be made for generations to come.
Be sure to read through the recipe and comments for additional tips and insights!
A Few Other Rave Reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow! These are delicious! So flavorful! My mom is Swedish so I can attest that these pass the test! Adding this to my favorite recipes. Thanks Mel! I feel like every recipe I try from you is a winner! -Tammy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ These are the most requested meal from my kids currently. I sub the sour cream with double cream yoghurt (just because I always have it in the fridge) and it works great. Yummy with spaetzle!!! -Lauren
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I have made this recipe many, many times. It is an all-time family favorite. I usually have to double it so that we will have leftovers. -Kelley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you thank you thank you. This was the first win I have had in weeks with my teen son. He loved this dish, well everyone did including me as it was delicious and easy. -Jeri
Skillet Swedish Meatballs
Meatballs:
- 1 ½ pounds ground pork, ground beef or ground turkey (see note)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup milk
- ⅓ cup bread crumbs (see note)
- ¼ cup finely minced or grated onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons oil for cooking
Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- Chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley
- Cooked egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, for serving
Prevent your screen from going dark
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For the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except for the oil and mix until evenly combined.
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Scoop the meat mixture into meatballs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
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Heat the oil in a 12-inch, nonstick skillet or electric skillet over medium heat until hot and rippling.
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Add the meatballs to the pan in a single layer an inch or so apart. You may need to cook in batches, depending on the size of your pan. (*See note for oven-baked method.)
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Brown the meatballs on all sides. They’ll finish cooking in a later step. Remove the meatballs to a pan or plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs adding a bit more oil to the skillet, if needed. Remove them from the skillet once browned.
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For the sauce, return the skillet to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. If the skillet was mostly dry before adding the butter and oil, you may want to add another tablespoon or two of either butter or oil so the sauce isn’t lumpy. Heat until melted. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes.
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Slowly add the broth, just 1/2 cup at a time, whisking quickly to remove any lumps. Let each addition of broth cook until thick and smooth before adding the next bit. Once you’ve added about 2 cups, add the remaining broth and whisk until combined.
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Stir in the brown sugar and bring the sauce to a simmer, whisking constantly.
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Add the meatballs back to the skillet and cook 10 to 12 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through, turning them once or twice while cooking.
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Off the heat, stir in the sour cream to the sauce (just whisk it in around the meatballs). To help it blend in easier, you can ladle out a bit of the warm sauce into a bowl and whisk the sour cream in before adding it all back in to the skillet.
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Garnish with fresh or dried parsley and serve over hot, cooked egg noodles, potatoes, or rice.
Bread Crumbs: you can use any variety of bread crumbs here: panko, storebought, homemade, etc.
Nutmeg and Allspice: the nutmeg and allspice add a delicious flavor to the meatballs; however, they can be reduced to a pinch of each or omitted completely.
Sauce: if you want the sauce slightly thicker, increase the flour by another tablespoon.
Oven Method: place the rolled meatballs on a foil-lined greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked through. While the meatballs cook, make the sauce in a saucepan on the stove. Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce immediately out of the oven and serve (or keep warm until serving).
Serving: 1 Serving (about 3 meatballs), Calories: 296kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 31g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 105mg, Sodium: 983mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspired by a couple recipes online – Cook’s Illustrated and Damn Delicious – with lots of my own changes both with ingredients and method to simplify the process and also cut down on butter/oil for the sauce.
Recipe originally published April 2015; updated March 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc
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