These Swedish meatballs are so delicious, and easy to make too! From start to finish, you can have this meal on the table within 3o minutes, and your family will love it!
This year, I have vowed to make meals as easy as possible from start to finish. I also wanted to add some new recipes to our weekly menus that our kiddos will actually eat. On a recent trip to IKEA, my daughter and I discovered Swedish meatballs, and WOAH! They are so delicious! My daughter loved them so much that she asked if we could have it at home sometime, and of course, I said yes!
On a recent trip to Walmart, I was perusing the frozen food section and saw that Cooked Perfect® offered frozen Homestyle Meatballs made with chicken, pork and beef. I have used their Italian Style Meatballs many times for meatball subs and spaghetti and meatball dishes, but for this dish I didn’t want the Italian flavor, so these were the perfect choice for Swedish meatballs! So, I grabbed a bag and brought them home!
To start this recipe off, I followed the instructions on the back of the Cooked Perfect Meatballs bag, and cooked them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
While the meatballs were cooking in the oven, I started melting 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan on medium-high heat.
Once the butter was melted, I added in 1/3 cup of all-purpose four and whisked it together with the butter until it browed up a bit, making a roux.
Once the roux was slightly browned, I slowly stirred in 4 cups of beef broth, whisking the entire time. I let it cook for 2 minutes, and it thickened up.
Once the sauce thickened up a bit, I added 3/4 cup of sour cream and whisked it in until fully combined.
Now it’s time for the fun part! Let’s add in the cooked meatballs to the hot tub! Once the meatballs are in the sauce, I let them cook in the sauce for 10 minutes so all the flavor from the meatballs and sauce would really combine well.
Once they finished cooking, I wanted to make sure to serve them with something that could soak up some of the sauce and pair nicely with the meatballs too, so I chose egg noodles.
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Delicious Swedish Meatballs Using Frozen Meatballs
Description
These Swedish meatballs are so delicious, and easy to make too! From start to finish, you can have this meal on the table within 3o minutes, and your family will love it!
Ingredients
- 1 bag of Cooked Perfect® Frozen Homestyle Meatballs
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
- 4 cups of beef broth
- 3/4 cup of sour cream
- Cooked egg noodles (optional)
Instructions
Bake meatballs on a sheet pan for 20 minutes at 350°
While the meatballs are cooking, melt 1/4 cup of butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once butter is melted, whisk in 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour and continue to whisk until it browns up and thickens a bit. Slowly stir in 4 cups of beef broth and whisk while cooking for 2 minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Once the sauce has thickened, add 3/4 cup of sour cream and stir well. Now add your baked meatballs to the sauce and let cook for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately over cooked egg noodles.
Y’all, I can’t even tell you how delicious these Swedish meatballs turned out! The meatballs were nice and moist, and really soaked up the sauce that I made. My entire family gave them two thumbs up, and Kate said they were even better than the meatballs that we had at IKEA! The best thing for me was not having the pressure of having to make homemade meatballs, brown them and then cook them on top of creating the sauce to go with them. These Cooked Perfect® Meatballs really were just that…cooked perfectly and delicious! I could really tell that they had been made with quality ingredients and flame-broiled before freezing, which made them taste just like homemade!
You can Find Cooked Perfect Meatballs in your grocer’s freezer section, and believe me, you will want to pick up several bags to keep stocked in your freezer for those nights when you don’t know what to cook! They are a huge time saver, so delicious and you can use them in tons of meatball recipes!
This was delicious! My roux was WAY thicker than yours with 3/4 cup of flour, so next time I’ll definitely be reducing that. Other than that plus some baby bella mushrooms and seasonings, I’ll definitely make again! :)
The ratio of butter to flour is not right. It had no real gravy; just a sticky, glue-like substance although the flavor wasn’t bad.. I think with a 1:1 ratio of butter to flour would be more appropriate, at least that is what I intend to try the next time I want Swedish meatballs and don’t have a lot of time to make them. Thank you for the recipe.
I followed recipe exactly and sauce never thickened. Ended up stirring some of the sauce and 2 tbsp cornstarch and adding that. That did the trick for mw
The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of flour not 3/4. The sour cream was 3/4. But even with 1/4 c of flour my sauce was a bit thin but still tastes delicious.
The recipe said 1/4 cup of all purpose flour!! Lol
She said 1/4
It’s 3/4 cup sourcream not flour
Yum! So easy and delicious! I’ll definitely use less flour next time (I should have read the comments first!). There is no need to bake the meatballs in the oven — I just put them in the sauce and let them simmer until heated. I did add the sour cream at the very end because I didn’t think it was a good idea to let sour cream simmer for so long. This recipe makes a lot! With two adults and two teenagers, we have a lot of leftovers.
What size bag of meat balls
26 oz or 1.6 lbs.
How many meatballs would that be?
46 meatballs
I tried this recipe today because of the simplicity. It was amazing! I have never made Swedish meatballs before and I was sure missing out. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this for my husband and daughter tonight… it was a hit! I added the meatballs a bit sooner than the recipe called for and added some dehydrated onions from our garden as well as a bit of nutmeg. We served it over egg noodles like my mother used to. Thank you for sharing this quick easy recipe!
I only used half a bag of meatballs and it was plenty. The sauce was a little thin but it was fine. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg plus 1/4 teaspoon of allspice to make it more like the traditional recipe.
Very good, and simple.
★★★★★
Thank you!
This is my 2nd time making this recipe…Love it!!!!! Thank you!!!
This looks great! But is the amount of flour 1/4 cup or 3/4 cup? The list of ingredients and the directions say different amounts. Thanks!
The recipe calls for a quarter cup of flour my Adviceis to use less than a quarter cup and then gradually add some more if it needs thickening.
This was perfect! Very tasty and it took exactly 30 minutes to make and my toddler was licking his fingers! My husband ate the leftovers two days in a row. The instructions were easy to follow. Thanks
Very easy recipe. Tasted yummy. Next time I will use more flour. Or use less broth. I couldn’t get the sauce to thicken once I added the broth.
My sauce was thin in which I prefer. I added onions Italian season,garlic, and parsley. Def a good quick recipe and this was my first time ever making Swedish meatballs. Thumbs up from me
I had those meatball they are very good with tomato based sauce and melted cheese on and toasted roll yum yum yes .but I’m no way are they Swedish ( Do it right or you know). Theres not a oz of pork,no all spice, no nutmeg, no heavy cream, no plain dried bread crumbs, no parsely. And no tender loving care or pride in a frozen meatball rolled not not by hand, but by machine. And real Swedish meatballs have ground veal ( but that’s hard too find and they kill baby cows to get veal. But talk about tender.) I was looking for the perfect sauce and this recipe and thought in twenty more years all Swedish meatballs
Will be made from( You guessed it frozen meatballs.If We are such a hurry to cook classic dishes like these beauties, do We deserve the real thing anyway?
After adding the sour cream and letting summer for a while (stirring constantly) there seems to be white flakes on top of the sauce. Does this mean my sour cream was bad??? Is it safe to eat??? I also added some beef gravy for more flavor.
I’m not sure what the flakes could be, but I hope your sour cream wasn’t bad. I can’t tell you if it is safe to eat without seeing, but fingers crossed that you figured it out. Best of luck!
The sour cream probably curdled from the heat.
If you add the sour cream in slowly it allows you to mix it in the way the sauce needs it to. and that way you wont have little white flakes :)
These we’re very easy to make on a busy weeknight and yummy! Even my two-year-old and 8 month old loved it, thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad they loved it!
Can I use frozen italian meatballs instead of the homestyle ? I grabbed the wrong bag.
Absolutely…the taste will be a little different, but I’m sure it will still be delish!
Hi Jessica,
I made this awesome recipe, but the gravy did not get thick at all, I had to add more butter and another 1/4 of a cup of flour, and by the time all was done, it took an hour and 33 mins.
Looks good to me. FYI- IKEA sells their Swedish Meatballs at their store. Just remember to bring an insulated bag when you go to shop. Thanks for sharing.
Any suggestion for a sour cream substitute?
Plain yogurt can be substituted for sour cream.
INSTEAD OF SOUR CREAM I USED ONION DIP AND CREAM CHEESE WITH CHIVES EXTRAORDINARY FLAVOR !! WOWWW!
I just served these and they were a hit. One change I made was I added 1/4 tsp of both nutmeg and allspice to the sauce.
★★★★
The sauce was too thin. The flavor is good but I prefer a thicker sauce.
You could always thicken the sauce up a little bit at the end using some cornstarch.
Good recipe! It’s nice to not have to make scratch meatballs first. If you’re looking for an authentic Swedish experience, you’ll need to add allspice and grated onion to your meatballs. You can use nutmeg, though, as the flavor is similar. The sauce needs cream, not sour cream, and they are served with mashed potatoes. It was a popular dish growing up. My fathers mother was from Sweden (she spoke almost no English!) and my mother learned her recipe before passing it on to me. I do like them over egg noodles, though!
Can I put it in a crockpot to keep it warm?
Absolutely!
OH MY GOODNESS! I am vegan, so I substituted the ingredients and this was SOOOOO delicious! My husband was very impressed! Thank you for sharing!!
Lol, after removing the beef, beef broth, and sour cream to adhere to your vegan diet, what was left?
Can I make this dish the day before and reheat the day if my party?
Absolutely…I almost like them better the next day!
This came out really good! I was very surprised considering how simple this was. I followed the receipe mostly except that I used one can of beef broth and one can of chicken broth.(I had to use chicken broth because i didnt have another can of beef). I seasoned broth mixture with garlic and slap yo mamma seasoning. That’s it. This is something i will definitely make more often.
★★★★
You can just buy frozen meatballs and the gravy from IKEA’s Swedish Food Market!!! Easier and just at yummy!!! 😀
I’m making this now and used mushroom broth with sauteed mushrooms with a tad thicker roux with no noodles, a little oregano in the roux, with mashed potatoes on the side, gonna use the rest of it tomorrow with noodles. DELICIOUS!!! Aaaaah!!!!!!
I followed the directions as written and my sauce came out runny. I’ll try again with less broth and possibly corn starch as a thickening agent.
★★★
Oh my gosh this was so good, thank you so much! Even the leftovers the next day were just as good! I followed the recipe exactly (topped it with some hot sauce because I add it to everything :P)
2 minutes of stirring is not nearly long enough to thicken. I would up the flour a bit and simmer for 10 minutes to get a nice thick sauce. Easy and tasty otherwise
★★★★
This was amazing! I added a can of cream of mushroom and it was delish!!
This recipe was SO good! I added 2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce for added flavor. My whole family loved it. I will definitely make it again.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you and your family loved it! Happy New Year!
FYI What makes meatballs actual Swedish meatballs is nutmeg! While your meatballs may be good, they are in no way Swedish! Perhaps you should rename them…
Ummm..I read 1/3 cup of flour! Recipes was fine. I too waited until the end to add sour cream. Added thyme and placed over noodles. It was good.
Made it last night. First time for cooking meatballs. It turned out really good. Only difference was I used 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream instead of sour cream. Mom and I loved it
I thought this recipe was delicious. Thank you!
★★★★★
I added 3 cups of beef broth instead of 4 cause we like a thicker sauce ..turned out good
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delish! One minor change; I incorporated the frozen meatballs directly onto the sauce and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Came out great used 1 stick real butter 10 TBS flour, 9 small beef bouillon cubes 8 C water, poured over 18 oz prepared egg noodles. Mixed in baked meatballs. 1/4 C sour cream. Was very good.
★★★★★
My whole family loved this! I followed the recipe as described. Thanks for sharing this – it’s definitely going into our favorite meals rotation. 😊
★★★★★
I’m so glad they loved it!
Is there any way to freeze these and if so how could you reheat them back up after frozen?
Hi! How many servings does this make?
I would say it will easily feed 5-6 adults.
★★★★★
OMG, Jessica!! I love when someone says, this meal will be on your table in 30 minutes and it actually happens!! I am the only vegetarian in my family, so I’m relying on what they told me. They all said that they loved this recipe better than mine that has handmade meatballs in it! Fine with me folks. My husband asked what to do with the cup of egg noodles that we had left. I told him to just mix it with the remaining sauce. My daughter laughed and said what sauce? Lol. I’m just glad that they loved it. We are a family of five. My skinny son had three helpings!! I added 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 2-3 tablespoons of defydrated onions. I let these cook for awhile, before putting the sour cream in. My family raves about this. Sauce was the perfect consistency, etc. If your sauce is too thin, add a little more flour. You can do this!
★★★★★
We absolutely enjoyed every bite. Tasted great! Easy to make. Will definitely make this one again…but, in bigger bulk so I can share with extra family members.
Thanks again for sharing your recipe 👍🏻
★★★★★
This was an amazing meal. I did just as the recipe calls, but I added a packet of mushroom soup/dip. At first my husband did not like it. He said it had no flavor, but he had seconds and loved it! Just needed a little time to absorb all of the flavor. We will wait a few minutes for it to cool off next time.
We normally make Swedish meat balls with cream cheese, I liked this so much more!
★★★★★
Great easy recipe! I added some Worcestershire & garlic powder the 2nd time I made the dish & it was really tasty. I also let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for 20 minutes & that helped thicken the sauce. Thank you, Delish!
I made this and added a can of Cream of Mushroom soup because I wanted mushrooms in it. Only going by what we had at home. Sauce was on the thinner side but was still a hit. My 1 yr old who only usually likes PB&J loves this dish. We will be having it again for sure! Thanks!
I hear that plane Greek yogurt is a good substitute. Especially cabot brand
Everyone loved it but most altered it.
Also, what if you have no sour cream on hand? Does it matter?
Thanks
This was very easy to make and my family loved it! I liked that the ingredients were everything I already had on hand.
Thank you! I finally found a new meal that my family of 5 all enjoyed. It made dinner more pleasant not to see 1+ person quietly eat out of obligation. My picky crew (kids 13,11,9) even requested it to be added to our rotation. It’s taken many tries of new recipes for us to agree on a keeper. Seconds and empty bowls! We found it here and it was easy, fast, and I can keep all the ingredients on hand!
★★★★
This was really good. I made it twice. The first time I cooked exactly as written, and it came out perfect. The second time I added sauteed onions and mushrooms, which I think made it a little runny given the excess water that the veggies gave out. I just added a little corn starch and that did the trick!
★★★★★
This was delicious! Thank you! I did added 1/4 nutmeg and 3/4 tsp allspice per another reviewer to make it more “Swedish”. I think the sauce was perfect and I mixed the noodles (we used bowties) and the sauce together. I think this would be very good over mashed potatoes also. It was very simple and definitely a quick meal. Husband asked to add it to rotation!
★★★★