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    Home > Blog > Freeze Ahead > Mini Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

    Mini Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

    by Jenny Park · Published: Sep 18, 2020 · Modified: Sep 5, 2021

    Jump to Recipe
    A deliciously rich and cozy recipe for Mini Swedish Meatballs and gravy. It's a perfectly satisfying dinner for any night of the week!
    A platter of Swedish meatballs over mashed potatoes with plates to serve.

    Our recipe today is one of my favorite meatballs ever – our Mini Swedish Meatballs over Mashed Potatoes. I love how soft and flavorful Swedish meatballs are. The secret to the recipe is in the milk soaked bread that makes the meatballs extra soft and the addition of all spice and nutmeg that gives them their unique and addicting flavor. The simple, savory gravy the meatballs are smothered in, and the extra creamy mashed potatoes, are a very welcomed bonus.

    How to make Swedish Meatballs

    Ingredients for Swedish Meatballs all layed out.
    1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
    2. Place the cubed bread and milk into a large mixing bowl, stir together and allow the mixture to sit. This mixture is what provides the soft texture to the meatballs.
    3. As the bread soaks up the milk, melt 2 tablespoons butter into a sauté pan, over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until onion begins to get translucent. I like to saute the onion and garlic before adding them to the meatball mixture so the flavor and texture melts into the meatballs.
    4. Remove from heat and add to the bread and milk mixture. Let mixture cool, about 5 minutes.
    5. Add the beef, pork, egg, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg to the mixing bowl and thoroughly mix together.
    6. Form 2 teaspoon sized meatballs and place them onto a baking sheet, ½ inch apart, then bake meatballs for 10 to 12 minutes or until they have just cooked through.
    Cubed white bread soaking in milk.
    Soak the cubed white bread in milk.
    A pan of garlic cooking on a kitchen counter.
    Sauté onion and garlic.
    Satuéd onion and garlic in a glass bowl with the bread and milk mixture.
    Add sautéd onion and garlic to bread and milk mixture.
    Swedish Meatballs in a glass bowl ready to be mixed.
    Add the rest of the meatball ingredients.
    Swedish Meatball mixture in a glass bowl ready to be balled up.
    Mix together. Form 2 teaspoon sized meatballs.
    Swedish meatballs baked on a baking sheet.
    Place formed meatballs on a baking sheet half an inch apart and bake.
    A metal scooper.

    We love this two teaspoon scoop for our Swedish Meatballs, it makes it so easy to create evenly sized meatballs.

    How to make mashed potatoes

    Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes to go with Swedish Meatballs all layed out.
    1. Place potatoes into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until potatoes are fork tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove potatoes from heat and drain. Add butter and cream to the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
    2. Using a potato masher (or hand mixer) mash potatoes until you get your desired consistency. Adjust seasonings. Cover and set aside.
    A pot of cooked potatoes with butter and cream, and salt and pepper.
    Cook potatoes until they are fork tender. Add in all the other mashed potato ingredients.
    Combining potatoes with a potato masher.
    Use a potato masher or a hand mixer to combine the mashed potatoes.

    How to make gravy

    1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour. Continue to whisk for about 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
    2. Slowly whisk the beef broth into the mixture, making sure to whisk out any lumps. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the gravy to simmer and thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cream, if using.
    Melted butter and flour in a skillet to make gravy.
    Melt butter in a skillet and whisk in flour.
    Gravy made in a skillet for Swedish Meatballs with a whisk.
    Add beef broth and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, if you are using cream add it in!

    FAQs

    Are Swedish meatballs from Sweden?

    Contrary to popular belief, Swedish meatballs are actually from Turkey and was brought to Sweden by King Charles XII, after he spent 5 years in Turkey.

    What makes Swedish meatballs different from Italian Meatballs?

    They’re different because they’re made with a combination of both beef and pork. They’re also generally made with the addition of milk soaked bread or breadcrumbs which gives them their soft texture. They also contain allspice and nutmeg, giving them their unique and delicious flavor.

    Can the meatballs be frozen?

    Yes! To freeze the meatballs, make and bake meatballs as directed in the recipe. Cool meatballs. Once cooled, place them in the freezer (on the baking sheet) until fully frozen. Then place them into a freezer-proof resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

    To reheat, place them in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a 350˚F oven until heated through, about 15 minutes.

    Can the mashed potatoes frozen?

    Yes! To freeze mashed potatoes, cool completely and pour into a freezer-proof resealable bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.

    To reheat, thaw mashed potatoes in the refrigerator. Once thawed, pour potatoes into a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat. Add a couple tablespoons of cream and butter and stir frequently until heated through. Re-season with salt and pepper as needed.

    Can the gravy be frozen?

    Yes! To freeze, cool gravy completely and pour into a freezer-proof resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

    To reheat, break frozen gravy up and pour into a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until melted. Once melted, simmer gravy until heated through and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, frequently stirring. Adjust seasonings as needed.

    A platter of Swedish meatballs over mashed potatoes with plates to serve.

    This recipe for Mini Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and gravy is so delicious and makes a great dinner. Although there are a few different components, it can still be made in under an hour, making it a great dinner for any night of the week. If you love this recipe you may also love our vegan version which is also so good!

    Looking for other delicious and decadent dinner recipes? Check out our recipes for White Wine Braised Short Ribs, our Schnitzel over Buttered Spatzle and our One Pot Fettuccine Alfredo!

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    A close up of Swedish meatballs over mashed potatoes.

    Mini Swedish Meatballs

    5 from 46 votes
    PRINT RECIPE Pin Recipe
    A deliciously rich and cozy recipe for Mini Swedish Meatballs and gravy. It's a perfectly satisfying dinner for any night of the week!
    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 35 minutes mins
    Total Time: 45 minutes mins
    Servings: 6

      INGREDIENTS  

    Swedish meatballs

    • 1 slice white bread, finely diced
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • ½ cup finely diced onion
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • ½ pound lean ground beef
    • ½ pound lean ground pork
    • 1 large egg, beaten
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

    gravy

    • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
    • 1 ½ cups warm beef broth
    • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
    • salt and pepper to taste

    garnish

    • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley

      INSTRUCTIONS  

    meatballs

    • Preheat oven to 375˚F.
    • Place the crumbled bread and milk into a large mixing bowl, stir together and allow the mixture to sit.
    • As the bread soaks up the milk, melt 2 tablespoons butter into a sauté pan, over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes or until onion begins to get translucent.
    • Remove from heat and add to the bread and milk mixture. Let mixture cool, about 5 minutes.
    • Add the beef, pork, egg, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg to the mixing bowl and thoroughly mix together.
    • Form 2 teaspoon sized meatballs and place them onto a baking sheet, ½ inch apart, then bake meatballs for 10 to 12 minutes or until they have just cooked through.

    gravy

    • Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour. Continue to whisk for about 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
    • Slowly whisk the beef broth into the mixture, making sure to whisk out any lumps. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the gravy to simmer and thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cream, if using.

    assembly and serving

    • Add meatballs to gravy and toss together. Scoop and spread mashed potatoes (if using) onto a large platter and top with gravy covered mini meatballs. Ladle extra gravy over the top and finish with fresh parsley.

      NOTES  

    • To freeze the meatballs: Make and bake meatballs as directed in the recipe. Cool meatballs. Once cooled, place them in the freezer (on the baking sheet) until fully frozen. Then place them into a freezer-proof resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
    • To reheat meatballs: Place them in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover tightly with foil and bake in a 350˚F oven until heated through, about 15 minutes.
    • To freeze gravy: Cool gravy completely and pour into a freezer-proof resealable bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
    • To reheat gravy: Break frozen gravy up and pour into a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until melted. Once melted, simmer gravy until heated through and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, frequently stirring. Adjust seasonings as needed.
     
    Calories: 282kcal Carbohydrates: 7g Protein: 18g Fat: 20g Saturated Fat: 10g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 7g Trans Fat: 0.4g Cholesterol: 104mg Sodium: 1280mg Potassium: 357mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 2g Vitamin A: 411IU Vitamin C: 3mg Calcium: 64mg Iron: 2mg
    CUISINE: turkish
    KEYWORD: gravy, mashed potatoes, meatballs
    COURSE: dinner, Main Course

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    September 18, 2020 / 41 Comments

    About Jenny Park

    Jenny Park is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food stylist and recipe developer. One of her favorite foods is donuts. #sfbJENNY

    Previous Post: < Previous Post Leftover Vegetable Soup Recipe
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    Reader Interactions

    September 18, 2020 / 41 Comments

    Comments

      5 from 46 votes (25 ratings without comment)

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    1. Angie

      September 11, 2023 at 4:40 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have potatoes but we put it over fries and it was amazing!

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        September 12, 2023 at 9:23 am

        Whoa, what an awesome idea!

        Reply
    2. Lacey

      August 20, 2023 at 4:18 pm

      5 stars
      Great! Cooked the meatballs in the air fryer. 15 min @ 380 flip halfway through.

      Reply
    3. DiDi

      January 18, 2022 at 9:20 am

      I don’t eat pork, what do you suggest to use a substitute?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        January 18, 2022 at 12:03 pm

        You can substitute the pork with ground turkey (my preference when making the swap is to use ground turkey that is all dark meat or a mix of dark and light)

        Reply
    4. Gail

      August 12, 2021 at 9:13 am

      Made these last night. Husband said, “This is really good”.

      Reply
    5. Kaija

      July 02, 2021 at 12:12 am

      5 stars
      This is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made, so much so I’ve already made it twice in 3 months. Since then I returned to IKEA and have to say this is so much more delicious. I use a ricer for the potatoes to be extra silky, but this is truly an excellent addition to anyone’s recipe book!

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        July 02, 2021 at 10:36 am

        So happy you enjoyed this recipe! We love this one so much!

        Reply
    6. Liz

      January 31, 2021 at 3:10 pm

      5 stars
      Fantastic recipe! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    7. Dennis Yannakos

      September 19, 2020 at 4:24 am

      5 stars
      Wow! Thank you for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
      Best Kitchen Utensils

      Reply
    8. Rosalie

      September 19, 2020 at 2:43 am

      5 stars
      These meatballs were absolutely delicious. The only change I made was adding a tablespoon of soy sauce to the gravy.

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        September 19, 2020 at 8:12 am

        So glad you enjoyed this recipe!

        Reply
    9. Meera

      September 18, 2020 at 11:59 am

      Is there a way you can sub the beef broth with chicken broth? :)

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        September 18, 2020 at 3:04 pm

        Totally! The flavor will just be a little bit different

        Reply
    10. Sherry

      August 28, 2020 at 11:20 pm

      5 stars
      I made this recipe tonight..I went by the recipe except I didn’t have allspice…they were the best meatballs I have ever made..I’ve been cooking for 49 years..they were so tender…my husband said they melted in his mouth.. :) thank you for your recipe…we moved I haven’t unpacked everything yet so I couldn’t find my allspice…

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        August 30, 2020 at 9:35 am

        So happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed this! I love this recipe as well! Thanks for the feedback!

        Reply
    11. Rita

      June 24, 2020 at 12:35 pm

      If you domt have parchment paper can you us a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet instead to bake the meatballs?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        June 24, 2020 at 5:35 pm

        Absolutely!

        Reply
    12. Janis

      May 29, 2020 at 1:31 pm

      5 stars
      Just made this, with just ground pork, because that’s what we have. Everything – the potatoes, gravy, and meatballs are delicious :-)

      Reply
    13. Valerie Weisenfeld

      March 24, 2020 at 6:37 pm

      5 stars
      This was delicious! Popped them under the broiler for a few minutes at the end of cooking and it was a hit with my family. Thank you!

      Reply
    14. Elizabeth

      March 22, 2020 at 4:24 am

      This looks amazing! What can I use as a substitute for heavy cream?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 22, 2020 at 11:04 am

        You can actually leave it out all together, for both the gravy + potatoes. I would just add more butter to the potatoes, about 2-3 tablespoons! If you really wanted you could also stir a little sour cream into both!

        Reply
        • Colleen

          March 24, 2020 at 4:54 pm

          5 stars
          I made this for dinner, and even my picky eaters liked it! I swear I’m not the “make tons of substitutions” type, but with this quarantine, I had to use what was available! Made the meatballs with all ground pork, and instead of 1/4 tsp. allspice and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, I used 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger.) As for the gravy, I used a pack of brown gravy mix and added black pepper and sour cream. I thinned it out with just a little water, and it was delish! I just wish I had made more gravy! Thanks for the recipe!

          Reply
          • Teri Lyn Fisher

            March 25, 2020 at 7:21 am

            Yay! Love that you were able to get creative and make this recipe with stuff you had on hand. Glad you all enjoyed it! :)

            Reply
    15. Megan Jackson

      January 25, 2020 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely delicious, and easy to make! I have a lot of allergies so modified the recipe some – 2-slices or Gluten Free Bread pulsed in the good processor, left out the onion and garlic, added green onion and an extra egg to the meat mixture at the same time as the meat. I made my own gravy – but mmmmmmm – the flavor on the meatballs reminded me of my Mom’s recipe when I was a kid. Thank you!!!

      Reply
    16. Linda K

      January 18, 2020 at 11:52 am

      5 stars
      Dinner is done! Tender meatballs but baking time was about 20 min…Delicious.A win for a lazy Saturday. Thank you

      Reply
    17. Marco

      January 02, 2020 at 2:43 pm

      Would you recommend using Panko breadcrumbs in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        January 03, 2020 at 10:41 am

        Panko would definitely work! You may just need to play around with amounts

        Reply
    18. Jada

      October 06, 2019 at 6:52 pm

      5 stars
      This was delicious. I made it for dinner tonight and my family loved it. I found the gravy to be a bit bland (maybe because of my low sodium broth), so I added in a cube of crushed beef bouillon and the flavours all came together. Thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
    19. sandra

      January 29, 2019 at 12:10 am

      Can I use condensed milk instead of heavy cream?

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        January 31, 2019 at 3:09 pm

        Hi! Do you mean evaporated milk? Condensed milk is generally very sweet + syrup-like and wouldn’t sub in well. Evaporated milk would work though!

        Reply
    20. Sabrina

      January 10, 2019 at 5:33 pm

      love this, saw this recipe on the top of the site and it started my mouth watering, so thank you

      Reply
    21. Dana Rogers

      April 15, 2018 at 8:02 am

      5 stars
      I have made several times. Excellent.

      Reply
    22. Imah Mwaba

      March 14, 2018 at 12:30 pm

      5 stars
      Made it tonight. My sauce was heavier than I would have liked otherwise got rave reviews.

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 14, 2018 at 12:39 pm

        Glad people enjoyed it!

        Reply
    23. Alicia Bradley

      March 12, 2018 at 4:00 pm

      I can’t wait to make this! Do you think the meatballs will freeze okay? Single gal here will never eat all of them!! (Or maybe I would…)

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 12, 2018 at 11:08 pm

        Lol, yes they freeze well! :)

        Reply
    24. Marisa

      March 10, 2018 at 10:54 am

      I’m drooling. I can’t wait to make this.
      What if I don’t have a slice of white bread?
      Can I substitute with bread crumbs, if so, how much?
      Thanks!!

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 10, 2018 at 11:12 am

        Yes! You can add about 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs instead! :)

        Reply
    25. Jessie

      March 08, 2018 at 4:37 pm

      5 stars
      I made this last night! My husband and I LOVED it (: Different taste from the spices, easy to make. (: I added cabbage on the side. mmmm (:

      Reply
      • Jenny Park

        March 09, 2018 at 8:12 am

        Yay!! Glad to hear that!

        Reply

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    Mini Swedish Meatballs recipe on a plate with mashed potatoes.
    Close up on Swedish Meatballs recipe on a plate with mashed potatoes.
    Mini Swedish Meatballs recipe on a plate with mashed potatoes.
    Mini Swedish Meatballs recipe on a plate with mashed potatoes.

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