Swedish meatballs
Tender little meatballs in a silky, peppery cream gravy over buttered egg noodles, cozier than any store trip.
- 50 min total
- 45 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.15 a serving
- 760 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 2 cups beef broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 8 oz egg noodles
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
Each serving has about 760 calories, 35 g protein, 54 g carbs and 44 g fat, and costs about $3.15 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
- No egg noodles? Fettuccine or penne works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, cover, and set it on high to come for the noodles.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
the onion. In a large bowl, stir the panko into the milk and let it soak 5 minutes.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Timer: 5 min
Add the beef, egg, onion, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to the bowl, and mix gently with your hands until combined.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. You should get about 24.
Dolly’s tip: Wet your hands with cold water every few meatballs and nothing sticks.Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large over medium.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium heat
Brown the meatballs 8 to 10 minutes, turning them every couple of minutes, until all over and 160°F inside.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Give them room. A crowded pan steams them gray, so cook in two batches if you need to.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Move them to a plate.
the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in the same pan, sprinkle in the flour, and 1 minute, until it smells toasty.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heat
Slowly in the broth, then the cream, Worcestershire, mustard and remaining ¼ teaspoon pepper. 3 to 4 minutes, until it coats a spoon.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
While the gravy , cook the noodles in the boiling water 6 to 7 minutes, until tender, then .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 6 min 30 sec
Return the meatballs to the gravy and 2 minutes to . Taste and add of salt if it needs it.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Heat through. Heating through means warming food that’s already cooked until it’s hot all the way to the center. You’re not cooking it more, just making sure no part is still cold.
How you’ll know: It’s steaming, and a piece from the middle is hot, not lukewarm.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Low heatTimer: 2 min
Spoon the meatballs and gravy over the noodles and scatter parsley on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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