These Keto Swedish Meatballs are a spinoff of recipes from Scandinavian family members and friends, made keto, gluten free, and with a few extra touches. Think of the IKEA favorite, but with fewer carbs, and homemade!
Note: This recipe was originally published in May 2020, but we have updated the instructions for clarity, as well as taken new photos. We hope you enjoy!
These Swedish meatballs are an authentic family recipe and a whole family favorite. Incredibly flavorful and spiced, made with both pork and beef, and served in a hearty, luscious, and creamy sauce.
Pair with creamy mashed turnips, sugar free lingonberry sauce, and some pickled cucumbers for a decadent Nordic-inspired dinner.
Looking for more meatball recipes? Be sure to try these Italian-style cast iron meatballs baked with cheese, these buffalo turkey meatballs, or these lamb meatballs with lemon and feta!
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❤️Why we love this recipe
- Nostalgic flavor - Many of us ate Swedish meatballs growing up, or, maybe you just have fond memories of trying them at IKEA. These are the real deal! They taste just as good as traditional Swedish meatballs, or everyone's favorite IKEA meatballs.
- Gluten free & low carb - These ingredients are straight forward, and they work, for a meal that is incredibly delicious, without extra sugar, carbs, or any gluten!
- Perfect for meal prep - Make a big batch of these and reheat them throughout the week for easy, tasty meals.
- Made with pantry staples - These flavorful meatballs are made with ingredients that are nearly always in the pantry or fridge. You can also pick up anything you don't have at nearly any grocery store.
🇸🇪Ingredients
You can find the full quantities and nutritional information in the recipe card.
✏️Ingredient notes
Meatball ingredients
- Ground pork & beef- Ground beef and pork is a combination that makes these meatballs more authentically Swedish.
- Ground allspice & nutmeg- The essential "warming" spices necessary for these meatballs. They truly aren't Swedish meatballs without these two spices!
- Ground cloves- Not a traditional ingredient, but the flavor is so perfect and pairs nicely with the allspice and nutmeg, and is common in Scandinavian cooking and baking. Optional, but we recommend it!
- Kosher salt & black pepper
- Eggs - Room temperature for best results.
- Almond flour - To help bind the meatballs together and keep them moist.
- Heavy whipping cream- We add heavy whipping cream to the meatballs in place of milk, adding even more richness. It helps keep these meatballs moist.
- Fresh onion & garlic- To add lots of flavor to the meatballs. Garlic actually isn't a traditional ingredient in Swedish meatballs, but it's one of those additions we think really take these to the next level.
- Unsalted butter or any frying oil- To brown the meatballs. We prefer unsalted butter to create a very creamy and rich sauce. You can also use avocado oil or olive oil.
Savory gravy ingredients
- Pan drippings- We will use all of the pan drippings from browning the meatballs to create the base of this luscious sauce. The fatty, salty bits will create a great brown sauce base with lots of flavor.
- Unsalted butter- We add a bit more butter to the sauce to add more richness. You could use slated butter if you want, but we like the ability to control the salt level by using unsalted butter.
- Heavy whipping cream- To make a creamy and rich sauce, you will need heavy whipping cream.
- Beef broth - For that classic beefy flavor! You could use beef stock or even beef bone broth for even more added nutrients, as well as to add a lot of protein to the sauce.
- Dijon mustard- Add to taste, but this will give you a truly great flavor to your sauce.
- Worcestershire sauce- Technically this ingredient is optional, but we recommend using it.
- Sweetener of choice- Sweetener is optional and to taste, we recommend Swerve granular to round out all of the flavors in the sauce.
- Xanthan gum- We add xanthan gum to the sauce gradually to thicken it as needed.
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Parsley for garnish, optional
- Serve with: Creamy mashed turnips, and traditionally, lingonberry sauce or keto cranberry sauce, since lingonberries are so hard to find in the US! You can also serve with a side of cucumber salad.
📖Instructions
🔪Prep work
- Bring meat, eggs, and heavy cream out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before beginning. This will help the mixture to bind together better.
- Mince garlic, and onions.
- Measure out all spices, liquids, almond flour, and xanthan gum.
Form the meatballs
First, make the meatball mixture. In a large bowl, add ground meat, onion, garlic, eggs, almond flour, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves, plus some of the salt, pepper, and heavy whipping cream. Wearing gloves, combine very well until all ingredients are incorporated.
Using a small to medium-sized cookie scoop, roll the meatballs into 36 - 48 small meatballs. We ended up making 36 meatballs. We placed them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet so we could chill the meatballs in the fridge while waiting to cook them. This helps them hold their shape.
*Please note, the size of the meatballs may impact the total cooking time. The larger the meatballs are, the longer they will take to cook. Ideally you want small meatballs.
Brown the meatballs
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add some butter, then place meatballs in the skillet in a single layer. Brown on all sides and cook through. This should take roughly 6-8 minutes.
You will likely need to work in batches as to not overcrowd the pan. Add more butter for frying the meatballs as needed. Between batches, place cooked meatballs on a plate and cover with aluminum foil.
Make the Swedish meatball sauce
With the meatballs removed from the skillet, add the remaining butter to the pan, followed by beef broth and cream, whisking constantly and scraping the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
*Do not drain the skillet after cooking the meatballs, as the brown bits are what create such a flavorful sauce.
Add in the Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and sweetener to taste.
Now, sprinkle in the xanthan gum extremely slowly, and whisk constantly to incorporate. Allow the sauce to simmer and watch the sauce thicken, stirring often. You will know the sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. This should take 10-15 minutes.
*Be very careful not to add too much xanthan gum, as it can turn your sauce slimy.
Add the meatballs and any of their drippings back to the sauce for a few minutes to warm through (about 3-5 minutes) and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Now, serve and enjoy!
✨Substitutions & Variations
- No almond flour? Try crushing up some pork rinds using a spice grinder or blender until they're super fine. You will need 40 grams of crushed pork rinds.
- Dairy free - Swap butter for vegan butter, and heavy cream for your favorite substitute, like coconut or cashew cream.
- Pork free - If you don't eat pork, you can use all beef in this recipe.
- Use garlic or onion powder - If you don't have any fresh on hand, you can use garlic and onion powder instead.
- Worcestershire sauce - is the ingredient used in our family recipes, but it is optional. You could also substitute soy sauce, coconut aminos or tamari.
💭Frequently asked questions
Yes, this recipe is authentic! Bri's heritage is mostly Swedish and Finnish, and she spent some time in Norway as an exchange student in high school. You could say her love of Scandinavian food runs deep, and she takes great pride in reviving old family recipes, and reinventing her favorite Scandinavian dishes with a low carb or gluten free twist.
This particular recipe is based off of recipes from Bri's grandmothers and family members, that have been passed thru the family for years. This version has some added special touches, and has a few substitutions that make these meatballs gluten free and keto friendly. This recipe is a gluten free version of an authentic family recipe!
Allspice and nutmeg are the essential spices in these meatballs, aside from salt and pepper of course. Allspice and nutmeg add that traditional "warmth" of spice that you will find in many Scandinavian dishes.
Scandinavian food is certainly not spicy, but relies on simple, subtle, and often warm spices like nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. The cloves are optional in the recipe, and they are something that Bri added. She loves the extra layer it brings to the dish.
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🥣Storage
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
We do not recommend freezing this recipe.
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📖 Recipe
Keto Swedish Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1.5 pounds ground beef, 85% lean
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves optional
- 2 whole eggs, room temperature
- 40 grams almond flour
- 2 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet onion, minced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (for browning the meatballs)
For the cream sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (in addition to pan drippings)
- 2 ounces heavy whipping cream
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (optional)
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- 2 teaspoon granular erythritol (optional and to taste)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (optional and added slowly to thicken)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)
- parsley for garnish
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- In a large bowl, add ground meat, onion, garlic, eggs, almond flour, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves, plus some of the salt, pepper, and heavy whipping cream. Wearing gloves, combine very well until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Using a small to medium-sized cookie scoop, roll the meatballs into 36 - 48 small meatballs. We ended up making 36 meatballs. We placed them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet so we could chill the meatballs in the fridge while waiting to cook them. This helps them hold their shape.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add some butter, then place meatballs in the skillet in a single layer. Brown on all sides and cook through. This should take roughly 6-8 minutes. You will likely need to work in batches as to not overcrowd the pan. Add more butter for frying the meatballs as needed. Between batches, place cooked meatballs on a plate and cover with aluminum foil.
For the cream sauce:
- With the meatballs removed from the skillet, add the remaining butter to the pan, followed by beef broth and cream, whisking constantly and scraping the browned bits at the bottom of the pan.*Do not drain the skillet after cooking the meatballs, as the brown bits are what create such a flavorful sauce.
- Add in the Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, and sweetener to taste. Now, sprinkle in the xanthan gum extremely slowly, and whisk constantly to incorporate. Allow the sauce to simmer and watch the sauce thicken, stirring often. You will know the sauce is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. This should take 10-15 minutes.
- Add the meatballs and any of their drippings back to the sauce for a few minutes to warm through (about 3-5 minutes) and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and enjoy! We love eating them with creamy mashed turnips, homemade lingonberry sauce, and pickled cucumbers. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- The size of the meatballs may impact the total cooking time. The larger the meatballs are, the longer they will take to cook. Ideally, you want small meatballs.
- Add salt to the gravy slowly and to taste after you add the meatballs back into the sauce to avoid over-salting.
- Pork rind crumbs can be substituted 1:1 for almond flour.
- Garlic and onion powder can be substituted for fresh onion and garlic.
- Add xanthan gum slowly and whisk constantly until the texture of the sauce has thickened. A little bit goes a long way, and be careful as it can make the sauce slimy if you use too much!
MissyBouwman says
Can these be made ahead fit a Christmas dinner and warmed back up later?
Briana says
We don't see why not! Just simmer very gently on the stove, covered until warmed through.
Joy D colon says
Very good!
Briana says
That's awesome Joy, thank you! Really glad you enjoyed!