Swedish Meatballs with Sour Cream Sauce
This Swedish meatballs with sour cream sauce recipe offers many delightful aspects. The dish features moist and tender meatballs in a flavorful version of my popular sour cream sauce. It’s versatile enough to be enjoyed with various sides, making it a crowd-pleaser. They can also be spooned over just about anything!
There are so many versions of Swedish meatballs out there. Each of my family members make it different. My sister makes a sweet and sour version with lingonberries, but I prefer a savory sauce with my meatballs.
When I came up with this recipe, I actually started thinking about my sour cream enchilada sauce and how I could use it on something other than enchiladas. So I thought of Swedish meatballs. I adore this sauce and make it different ways to suit whatever I’m serving it on.
Just wait until you taste it.
Helpful tips
- You can make these with either ground beef, turkey, or chicken. When you use ground beef, always use grass-fed because it has a much better taste. You can also use a mixture of ground pork and beef.
- When you brown the meatballs, don’t flip them too often, but let the the sides of the meatball become a little crispy. The insides will stay moist and delicious.
- You don’t have to sprinkle parsley on the dish, but I love the fresh flavor.
- You can make the sour cream sauce ahead of time, but just know that it will thicken somewhat once it sits for a bit. When that happens, just add a little chicken broth to loosen it.
- Even though I ladle the meatballs on zoodles, they also go well on mashed potatoes, pasta, egg noodles, rice, toast, or even by themselves.
- You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. This dish also freezes well and can be kept for up to four months.
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How to make these Swedish meatballs
Step one
Get out a large skillet, medium bowl, and metal spatula.
Step two
Gather the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, herbs, and spices. (A)
Step three
In a medium mixing bowl, place grass-fed ground beef, an egg, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, all the herbs, spices, and salt. (B)
Step four
Use your hands to mix the beef mixture. Roll into medium sized meatballs.
Step five
Heat a sauté pan on medium heat. Add olive oil, and once that heats up, place the meatballs in the pan and sauté them for 10 – 12 minutes, turning them occasionally.
(Browning them gives the outsides of your meatballs a firmer and crispy texture and a nice flavor, so don’t rush them. Once they are done, turn the heat off under the pan)
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Time to work on the Swedish meatball sauce.
Step six
Gather 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and butter. (C)
Step seven
Heat up a sauce pan on medium low and add 3 tablespoons of butter. Once it melts, add 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk together for at least a minute. It will turn into a paste.
Step eight
Add chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg, salt, and dried parsley. Whisk the mixture until it thickens a little. (D) If you want more detailed photos of how to make the sauce, go here.
Step nine
Turn the heat off under the sauce pan and let it cool for 5 minutes before adding the sour cream (so it doesn’t curdle). Stir it all together.
Step ten
Turn the heat under the meatballs to medium and pour the sour cream sauce on top and heat for 5 minutes before sprinkling dried parsley on top as garnish.
Let’s look at this dish from above.
Time to serve them.
I like my meatballs on the side and Christopher likes his on top of the zoodles.
Yum. I hope you enjoyed this Swedish meatballs recipe!
Other popular meatball recipes
And as always, may all your dishes be delish!
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Swedish Meatballs with Sour Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef grass-fed
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon tarragon (dried)
- 1 teaspoon parsley (dried)
For the Sauté
- 1 tablespoon olive oil to sauté meatballs
Sour Cream Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons white flour
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley (dried)
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cup sour cream 3/4 to 1 cup – depending how thick you want it
Instructions
Make the Meatballs
- Add all the meatball ingredients to a stainless steel bowl. Use your hands to mix together the meat. Roll meat into medium sized meatballs. Mine made 16.1 pound ground beef, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground all spice, 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon tarragon, 1 teaspoon parsley
- Heat sauté pan on medium and add oil. Once that heats up, place meatballs in pan and sauté for 10 – 12 minutes turning them every once in a while. Once they are done, turn the heat off under the pan.1 tablespoon olive oil
Make the Sour Cream Sauce
- Add butter in a medium sauce pan and heat it on medium low. Once the butter has melted, add flour and whisk until it becomes a paste. Make sure to whisk at least for 1 minute.3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons white flour
- Add all the other ingredients for the sour cream sauce EXCEPT for the sour cream. Whisk together until it thickens somewhat – about 10 minutes.1 3/4 cups chicken broth, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Turn heat off under pan and let the sauce cool for 5 minutes before adding the sour cream. Stir until combined.3/4 cup sour cream
- If you are putting these on zoodles – you can make them before starting the recipe
- Turn the heat back on under the meatballs and add the sour cream sauce to the pan. Heat for 5 minutes. If you are having zoodles, sauté them in a big pan for 3 minutes.
- Serve, eat, and enjoy.
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Helpful tips
- You can make these with either ground beef, turkey, or chicken. When you use ground beef, always use grass-fed because it has a much better taste. You can also use a mixture of ground pork and beef.
- When you brown the meatballs, don’t flip them too often, but let the the sides of the meatball become a little crispy. The insides will stay moist and delicious.
- You don’t have to sprinkle parsley on the dish, but I love the fresh flavor.
- You can make the sour cream sauce ahead of time, but just know that it will thicken somewhat once it sits for a bit. When that happens, just add a little chicken broth to loosen it.
- Even though I ladle the meatballs on zoodles, they also go well on mashed potatoes, pasta, egg noodles, rice, toast, or even by themselves.
- You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. This dish also freezes well and can be kept for up to four months.
That sour cream sauce was delicious with the perfect meatballs!
Thanks Hannah! I appreciate it! It’s super tasty!
Ohhh that sour cream sauce was perfect with those meatballs. I haven’t made Swedish meatballs in forever and this is a keeper.
Thanks so much Lisa! It’s a delicious recipe!
I haven’t had Swedish meatballs in forever. Totally pinning this!
Thanks Emily! I hope you like it when you make it!
How much sour cream do you add? I see it in the recipe but don’t see it listed in the ingredients. Otherwise, the recipe looks delicious!
Thanks so much for catching that. I’ve included it in the recipe card now!
I love the combination of hearty meat and tangy dairy. It was so delicious and right up my alley !
Thank you so much Kiki!
This sour cream sauce is so good with the meatballs. Definitely a keeper.
Thanks Prasanna! 🙂
I love Swedish meatballs, but have never tried to make them myself. For some reason I always thought they were hard to do. I’m going to have to give your recipe a try
Thanks Karyl! They are truly easy! I hope you enjoy them!
I love your combination of flavors. They are so perfect with your sour cream sauce.
Thank you Marisa! I so appreciate it!
I have to make these for John!! For years he has talked about the Swedish meatballs that one of his employees made when we lived in Miami, but we’ve never actually made them. He loves any kind of sour cream based sauce, so I know he’d love these. Pinning them, so I don’t lose the recipe.
Yay, Kim! Thank you! It’s so good. Christopher wants them all the time!
This was so flavorful and melt in mouth good. Yummy
Thank you Sri! I appreciate it!
I love Swedish meatballs and this sour cream makes a great sauce!
Thanks Sara!! The sauce is divine!
One of those rare recipes that is SO good you could cry when you’re eating it. I’m teary-eyed just writing this comment.
Lol!
Can these be made in a crock pot? If so, how would I go about making it?
Ooo. Good question. Here’s what I’ll say – first, make the sour cream sauce. Then make the meatballs and place them in a slow cooker. Pour the sour cream sauce over them and set the crockpot on low for 7 hours or if you want to streamline them for 4 hours on high. I do think the slower cook time would be better. It should come out great. I need to test them but I think it would be awesome! Thank you so much for your question!
Hi Elaine, thanks for your reply. Here’s what I did over the weekend: I made the meatballs (64 of them) per your recipe and placed them in my crock pot and set it to low heat. Then about 30 minutes prior to serving I made the sour cream sauce on the stove (again per your recipe). After it had thickened, I poured it in the crock pot of meatballs and turned the heat to Warm. This worked perfectly as it kept the meatballs in the sauce warm for several hours without breaking down the sour cream. I also had 2 other kinds of meatballs: Grape Jelly/BBQ meatballs and the other was Bacon and Bourbon meatballs – 64 each of these as well. The sour cream meatballs vanished in about 10 minutes! I have lots of leftovers of the other 2 meatballs! Want some? These were a huge hit and EVERYBODY asked for the recipe – so I pointed them to your website.
By the way, I had these meatballs a little over a year ago at a wedding I officiated. I begged the caterer for the recipe but he refused to give it up, so I’ve been on the hunt ever since. And on June 26, 2019 – I hit pay dirt by landing on your website! These are, by far, the best meatballs I’ve every had. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Hehe. Yes, Michael, I’d love some meatballs! 🙂 I’m so glad the recipe worked in the crockpot. Thanks so much for letting me know! You made my day with your comment and I so appreciate it!! 🙂
Excellent recipe. The herbs and spices are on point. I’ve made this several times and it’s delicious. I serve mine with a nice salads and organic pasta. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Thanks so much Penny! You made my day and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorite recipes to serve guests!
OMG!! I have never left a comment before on recipes I have tried, but this recipe is just so amazingly good! I used 1-1/2 pounds of ground turkey, increased the other ingredients as well, and served over rice. I didn’t use allspice because i didn’t have any, but the sauce was just so amazing. I make small meatballs so just trying to figure out how to compute the nutrition information. This is definitely going into the rotation!
I am so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Suzanne. We love it here in my house and I have modified the sauce for different recipes. It’s my favorite sauce. Thank you so much for commenting.
Could you or have you ever used beef broth instead of chicken for the sour cream sauce ?
You can definitely use beef, it will just change the color somewhat as it’s darker. But it gives it a delicious deeper flavor. Good luck, Paula.