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Swedish Meatballs

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These tasty Swedish Meatballs are always a hit with my family! They’re lighter than most recipes but still have all the flavor.

My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.
Swedish Meatballs

My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.

My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.

While most Swedish meatball recipes call for a mixture of pork and beef, I use half beef and half turkey to make them lighter. This mixture gives them a wonderful beefy flavor with fewer calories. I also don’t use heavy cream – instead, I use reduced-fat cream cheese to make the sauce creamy.

How to Make Swedish Meatballs:

First, sauté the onion, garlic, celery, and parsley to enhance their flavors. Then, add these vegetables to the other meatball ingredients: ground beef, ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and allspice and mix together. Form the mixture into 16 meatballs.

Next, it’s time to cook the meatballs. Bring the broth to a boil, add in the meatballs, reduce the heat, and cook for about 20 minutes. Once they’re cooked through, remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside.

To make the Swedish meatball sauce, strain the broth and put in a blender with the cream cheese. Once smooth, return the sauce to the skillet with the meatballs and cook on medium-high uncovered until the sauce thickens.

What to Serve with Swedish Meatballs

We usually serve these meatballs with noodles, roasted veggies, or mashed potatoes. I use roasted cauliflower or cauliflower mash when I am going low carb. I’ve also served them over cabbage noodles, which are basically sautéed shredded cabbage.

If you have leftovers, you can freeze the meatballs and sauce for up to three months in a freezer-safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Onions cooking with herbs in a black skilletHow to make swedish meatballs.Meatballs on a plate before cooking.My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.

More Meatball Recipes You Will Love:

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Swedish Meatballs

4.57 from 99 votes
8
Cals:293
Protein:30
Carbs:8.5
Fat:14
My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Swedish
My family loves these Swedish meatballs. They are so tender and flavorful and much lighter than traditional recipes out there. And, let’s not forget the sauce! The creamy sauce really makes the dish.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 4 meatballs

Ingredients

  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 celery stalk, minced
  • 1/4 cup minced parsley
  • 1/2 pound 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 pound 95% lean ground beef
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs or gluten-free crumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 2 cups reduced sodium beef broth
  • 3 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
  • chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  • In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 more minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • In a large bowl, combine beef, turkey, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, ¼ teaspoon salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well and form into 16 meatballs.
  • Add beef broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes, until cooked through.
  • Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Strain the broth, transfer to a blender with cream cheese and blend until smooth. Return to the skillet with the meatballs and simmer

Last Step:

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Notes

This makes 16 meatballs, nutritional info is based on 4 meatballs with gravy.

Nutrition

Serving: 4 meatballs, Calories: 293 kcal, Carbohydrates: 8.5 g, Protein: 30 g, Fat: 14 g, Saturated Fat: 5.5 g, Cholesterol: 131 mg, Sodium: 784 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 3 g

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347 comments on “Swedish Meatballs”

  1. My family loves this, especially my husband and his dad. Reminds them of their Dutch mother’s cooking.
    My variation: all ground beef, no turkey, throw a couple rosemary sprigs into the bouillon.
    I use non-dairy cream cheese (bean and coconut based) without any issues.
    I triple this recipe but it doesn’t last with my family. ✌️

  2. I love your recipes but not this one. I’ve made it a few times and I guess it’s not for us. Sauce was too thin, even when adding corn starch to thicken. Allspice seemed odd. Needs other seasonings. Sorry!

  3. Didn’t love this one unfortunately. Sauce was thin, flavors were strange (allspice was odd). The cream cheese hack to avoid heavy cream may seem healthier but it felt sort of gross and very processed.

    1. Allspice is one of the most traditional ingredients in Swedish meatballs. Perhaps you would prefer a different meatball altogether.

  4. These were the best Swedish meatballs I ever made or ate. The flavor was spot on. The cream cheese did everything for the gravy. Only change was I needed to add flour to thicken it. Added a little more beef better than bullion to compensate for the salt. I’ve made many recipes for this including ikeas copycat recipe. Nothing comes close to the deliciousness!

  5. This is amazing! My husband and son both announced this was one of their favorite meals. And to my surprise, this came together very fast. I only used ground Turkey,
    no regrets.

  6. I love how these meatballs are made on the stove! I changed some things but still five stars bc this site is my go to when I have ideas for what I want to make. Thank you Gina!

  7. I noted others comments on thin sauce. So, I adjusted that to use cornstarch slurry. I did it in crockpot but otherwise followed recipe exactly. Great as always.

  8. Always a great recipe. I serve over celery root puree instead of potatoes. Delicious, less carbs and calories than potato.

  9. I get these at four-star because they tasted really good, and I love all things ground beef. I do not give them a five because the recipe took me almost 2 hours(including cooking some egg noodles and zucchini albeit at the same time the meatballs simmered),and the sauce does not thicken at all. Nonetheless, we did like them enough that I may make them again.

  10. This was good…with some modifications. I will reduce the allspice next time. I was worried about the sauce being too thin. Instead of beef broth, I used 2 packets of mccormick brown gravy mix which is 1 pt for 1/4 cup. Then I added the cream cheese to that and whisked over med heat until mixed. I seasoned with a little woozy sauce and a couple dashes of Tabasco. Delicious.

  11. I’ve been making your recipes almost exclusively for at least 7 years. This was the first time I made this and my family loved it! I served it over mashed potatoes with roasted green beans. I will be making this on a regular basis. Didn’t change anything!

  12. Did these again, there are a couple versions of these, in air fryer book and here and I combined some of the recipes-I decided to mix them with the seasonings in the airfryer book, but I sauted celery and onion like this recipe before adding to the meat. I also used ground turkey and turkey broth instead of beef and we thought they were great. I made 22 meatballs and baked them at 425 awhile then added to the broth cream cheese mixture in a skillet to finish. A favorite.

  13. This is the bomb! I have made it 3 times now and it gets better every time – I like the mix of the meats for the added flavor, the more the pepper the merrier here – I use just a tad more cream cheese than called for a slow simmer for it to thicken – over egg noodles and my picky kid eats it all! Keep it up

  14. I have made this 4 times now. I use all turkey, and twice I haven’t had cream cheese so I’ve just boiled down some milk instead it works pretty well. It is absolutely delicious!

  15. I did change a few things with the gravy since my husband is lactose intolerant and it needed more flavor. I used lactaid free sour cream instead of cream cheese and did not use blender as it seemed very liquidy already. I mixed in sour cream , added fresh rosemary , salt , pepper , Worcestershire sauce and flour to thicken it. That being said , it came out really good after the alterations. The meatball recipe itself
    Was good – just needed more salt . I get it they are healthy , but this recipe really needed more flavor and salt. I doubled the recipe and froze half for future uses. I’ll probably make again since my husband likes it , but will stick with the alterations.

  16. This is Not Swedish meatbolls.
    THIS IS SWEDISH MEATBOLLS
    Gör så här
    Blanda ströbröd och mjölk. Låt svälla 10 min.
    Lägg i färs, lök, ägg, salt och peppar. Rör till en jämn smet.
    Forma smeten till jämna köttbullar. Stek dem i smör-&rapsolja på medelvärme 3-5 min

  17. This is truly delish! It’s easy, comforting and so yummy. I did not find the sauce too thin. Just cook it down until the consistency you want. 

  18. Meatballs were delicious. As made, the sauce was delicious a bit runny, so if you’re not GF, then you may want to try starting with a rue or a béchamel sauce. 

    Super tasty!

  19. I had a hankering for these and used ground pork from a farmshare I’m in but followed the rest of the recipe to a T. You all know that excited moment when kids AND parents with different tastes all love it!! So, so good. We will be using our excess sauce (which we thought was just fine, not runny at all) for veggies for days!

  20. This is one of my family’s favorite go-to recipes! I have been making it for over 5 years now. A couple small adjustments- if making a single batch, I do 1.5 times the broth/cream cheese for gravy, 2 cups simply isn’t enough. I also add a slurry of a couple tsp of corn starch to thicken the gravy as it’s very thin. I leave out the allspice as I don’t love the taste of it. I also use all ground turkey. Usually, I double the recipe so there’s plenty of leftovers! So good! 

  21. Great quick healthier version! Just left broth in pot added light sourcream instead of cream cheese and thickened up the sauce with cornstarch. No blender/food processor/straining necessary. Also I didn’t brown the celery, onions and garlic i just chopped them super fine and the 20 minutes in the broth cooked them just fine- I didn’t want to dirty another pot and it didn’t seem to matter! If you want thicker sauce use flour or cornstarch and thicken it to your liking

  22. January 6, 2022
    I love the Swedish meatballs.   But being on WW I see today that the points are not shown anymore.  Why is that?

    1. Avatar photo
      Monica Klenawicus

      Because since they changed to personal points, the points are different for everyone depending on what your zero point foods are. There is a link in the actual recipe, top right under the picture. It will take your own account’s recipe builder and give you the point value. 

      1. HI @MonicaKlenawicus I as well was curious about the WW points. So when we hit the orange tab it will calculate the points for us individually according to our own personal plan, is that correct? Thank you for any info!

  23. Really enjoyed this!!! Had most ingredients at home was perfect for lazy Sunday dinner. The half turkey half ground beef combo was great. Never have tried that combo before. Was happy to find a recipe for Swedish meatballs that was not pork based. 

  24. Wonderful taste; I used 93/7 ground beef and Italian turkey sausage.  The gravy was very thin; but otherwise this is a great recipe! 

  25. Just made this for dinner for my family.
    Our daughter “wasn’t hungry” but ate a full portion 😉
    I did sub dairy free sour cream for the cream cheese as I’m dairy free but no one noticed a difference.

  26. Made this for my dad and my husband and kids and they all loved it!! I tripled the recipe, used a mix of veal/pork/ turkey and beef (50% beef)  and cooked the meatballs in the air fryer. I did add a little arrowroot to thicken the sauce and it was perfect. Thank you!

  27. Very, very good:) I used all turkey. I tripled the meatball ingredients-made 16 meatballs for dinner and froze 2 packs of 16 each so I can pull out of the freezer and make this quickly. It was amazing!!! I browned the meatballs in cast iron pan and then added the broth. I think this gave it more flavor. I also used full fat cream cheese and added maybe 6oz instead of 3oz. This was fantastic. Thanks Gina!

  28. Avatar photo
    Tiffany Blodget

    The recipe is wonderful as is and if you don’t have fresh parsley just use a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. The sauce was personally too thin so we added a bit of cornstarch to it to thicken it up. 

  29. Never disappointed with a Skinnytaste recipe and this one was no exception. Easy recipe, and I actually cooked them the night before so that we could reheat for dinner the next day. I was pleasantly surprised with how flavorful these were based on the simple ingredients. Will include in our regular dinner rotation.

  30. Wonderful healthy take on a classic! Super flavor. I’ve made it twice, the first time as written and the second time with a couple of tweaks.
    I found a good solution for thickening the sauce. While blending the broth and cream cheese, I now add 1 Tablespoon of corn starch to the blender before returning the sauce to the pan. It thickens the sauce beautifully as it warms through, and adds only 1 more point to the whole recipe on Blue.

  31. Great recipe! I used a 1/8 cup measure to make the meatballs and ended up with 24. I wanted the meatballs to have more color so I baked them on a raised baking mat at 350 degrees for 15 minutes before adding to the broth. Since we served over noodles I thickened the gravy.

  32. Extra salt didn’t make too much of a difference in taste, but I’m sure my sodium levels are up.
    I didn’t thicken the sauce bc that will add to calories. Making this all beef is really good, but it adds more calories and fat.
    My blender is in storage, so I used a whisk, worked well.
    Mushrooms would taste well in this.

    My favorite recipe for Swedish Meatballs I would use left over pot roast gravy. That would taste good on these meat balls and again would make a difference in calories and fat….

  33. A good recipe that I had to make some modifications too! I didn’t use celery in the meatballs because I was out of celery and I had to add corn starch slurry to the sauce because it was too liquidy but after that, this was soooo delicious! 

  34. I made this recipe with a few changes. I didn’t have celery on-hand, so omitted it, only used ground turkey, and used a tablespoon of dried parsley rather than fresh. Like other reviewers, my sauce was thin, so after it was blended, I put it back in the skillet and added some flour until it was thickened. It came out perfect. They were delicious.

  35. Great flavors – used turkey and beef. But the gravy was so runny. Disappointed that I did not take the time to thicken before eating. Did take the time after dinner to thicken and it was so much better.

  36. We’re on WW Purple, so I used all ground turkey and FF cream cheese to reduce the points. It was FABULOUS!!!! Meal prepped on Sunday, ate on Wednesday and the flavor was out of this world. Even my picky 10 y/o was begging for more! Will definitely be making these again in big batches to freeze and have on hand.

  37. This my favorite recipe! The only things I do different is I seat the meatballs first(I just like the texture better) and I add a corn starch slurry to thicken up the sauce a bit. It is so delicious though and I can’t help eating a little extra at dinner time.

  38. Avatar photo
    Sanoori Welmillage

    Love this recipe!!! I made it for my best friends and they said it was the best thing I ever made. Love this site and use a lot of the recipes here when I’m cooking cause it’s low in fat and always healthy!

  39. Before I made this recipe, I read through the comments and adjusted the recipe accordingly. And just WOW. These are so good. I meal prepped these for the week and they were great for the whole time. 
    Here’s how I adjusted my recipe:
    -I used all beef instead (personal preference)
    -Added quartered mushrooms to the broth when the meatballs were cooking  (I used baby Bella’s because they were on sale) SO GOOD I wish I added more.
    – I put the strained broth back on the stove top and added a small cornstarch slurry to thicken it up. It worked great.

    Not to toot my own horn, but these adjustments were perfect for this recipe! 
    Looking forward to making this again with many more mushrooms and over egg noodles. 

  40. The gravy is quite watery.. so I did like I’d do with any gravy.. removed the meat, brought it to a rapid boil, and slowly added a flour/water mixture. Came out perfect!

  41. Just tried this recipe for the first time and it was delicious. I made a few adjustments for convenience. I used the mirepoix easily bought at market to cut back on prep time, I used half in the meatballs and half to season broth. I placed meatballs in beef broth until cooked, removed them, then added 6 ounces of Philadelphia Lite cream cheese the Chive and onion flavor and mixed with emulsion blender. I then added 1 can of Campbell’s healthy request cream of mushroom soup, added mushrooms and Worcestershire sauce to taste. The cream of mushroom soup will add some points but totally worth it.Thanks for the great recipe!

  42. I had to have done something wrong b/c the sauce is crazy runny. I doubled the recipe to have leftovers; even with adding cornstarch per the comments below it was more soup-y than a gravy/sauce I would expect. I ended up adding a tablespoon of better than bouillon beef paste and 1/3 cup of heavy cream and letting it cook down. The consistency is slightly better… flavor is good though!

  43. This recipe has become the most requested meal I make. I have made it more times than I can count and have only tweaked it with one little hack. Since the sauce can be a little runny, I like to roll each meatball in a little flour. I end up only using a total of about 1 tablespoon, as I remove as much excess as possible. The flour ends up adding a little body to the sauce, which I definitely prefer. Also, the sauce is so delicious that we end up running out of it before the meatballs are gone so making the sauce a little thicker seems to help it go a little farther. I serve the meatballs over brown rice and it is so good EVERY time! You will not be disappointed with this recipe:)

  44. I made this tonight and it was absolutely DELICIOUS! This was my first time to make meatballs myself instead of using frozen ones and I will never go back to using frozen. I used only ground beef so I adjusted the points accordingly. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!!

  45. I made these last night and they turned out so good! I used all turkey because thats what I had, and had to omit the celery and allspice because I did not have any. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight. If I had any mushrooms I would saute those up and add to the sauce as well–maybe next time!! Great recipe!!

  46. Very delicious! I thought it was a little bit of work but well worth it! I made a double batch. My gravy was quite thin next I’ll use less broth.

  47. Hi, I made the Swedish meatballs and they were delicious! I froze half of them and I wondering, when we have them again next week, do I need to remake the sauce too or will there be some sauce left over from thawing the meatballs in the fridge? I know some of you froze the meatballs too, so I’m wondering what you did, thanks so much for any info!

  48. Avatar photo
    KAREN FRADLEY

    This was delicious and fast!  The whole family loved it.  I did make some adjustments to the recipe though that I wanted to share.  I had a bag of meatballs in my freezer already, so I didn’t follow the directions for making the meatballs.   I heated the meatballs in the broth on the stovetop.  I didn’t want to miss out on those aromatics though, so I incorporated them into the sauce.  I sautéed it all up as the recipe says, then I  added the broth to deglaze the pan and then the cream cheese.  Using an immersion blender, I blended it all together.  In the final minute I thought the sauce neeed to be thicker, so I added Wondra to get the consistency I wanted.  Served over egg noodles with a side of broccoli. I also served it with lingonberry preserves which totally kicked it up a notch!  Thank you for a keeper recipe!! 

  49. Soooo good! I wanted to experiment and see how they would be using 99% lean ground turkey breast, and we all still loved them! I served it over carba-nada egg fettuccine and it was a hit! I made extra sauce. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for another awesome recipe!

  50. I must admit, I was skeptical about using the allspice because I thought it would be weird but it worked in this recipe! I took others suggestion of adding cornstarch to the sauce when in the blender.  I served the meatballs over blurred egg noodles & fresh green beans. 

  51. These were amazing! Very easy to modify with available ingredients…I used all ground beef (93% lean) because I didn’t have turkey on hand, and also was out of celery so added a shallot and some chopped up bell pepper to the mixture. I did what other reviewers suggested and used a smidge of cornstarch to help thicken the sauce, but otherwise prepared everything according to instructions. Super easy and a huge hit with the boyfriend. We’ll definitely be making this again!

  52. I usually love Skinnytaste recipes, and this is the first one that felt like a big ol’ waste of ingredients. Bland and the cream cheese just didn’t taste right in the sauce. Yuck.

  53. The ingredients list says 1/2 tsp for allspice and salt, but the recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. Which do I go with? Or am I missing something? 🤔

  54. Avatar photo
    Teena Fithian

    This was really good!  The sauce was exceptional!   The only thing I I added was mushrooms because I had them in my refrigerator and needed to use them up. To thicken the sauce, I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with about little over 1 tablespoon of water and pour that into the sauce. That made the sauce a perfect consistency. This is definitely a keeper. 

  55. Avatar photo
    Daniela Maile

    These were such a hit! Even my picky toddlers enjoyed them! The only thing I did differently was add 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch into the blender when mixing the broth with the cream cheese. It simmered into the perfect think and delicious gravy! I will definitely add these to our family rotation! 

  56. Avatar photo
    Willow Woodall

    This was seriously delicious. I made it exactly as written except for omitting the allspice, because I had none and putting the cooked  meatballs under the broiler to crisp them up while I finished the sauce. I served this over cauliflower rice, which I hate and the delicious sauce made even that taste delicious. 

  57. Avatar photo
    Stella Begley

    These are absolutely delicious!!! Light but still feels decadent. I didn’t have allspice so I just used extra garlic. Will make again! 

  58. These were very tasty!  Agree the sauce was a little thin but suggest serving it over rice which perfectly soaks up the sauce.  And a word of caution for lazy cooks like myself—yes you need to put the sauce and cream cheese in the blender.  It dirties another dish but is much easier than trying to mix in the cream cheese in the pot.  

  59. Sadly not what I was expecting. I LOVE most of the recipes on here and am used to it being a light version of things but this was just bland and no matter how I doctored it, it just wasn’t worth it ☹️. The Salisbury steak meatballs are my go to and has such good flavor.

  60. These meatballs are incredibly tasty and the sauce is to-die-for! I’m not a huge lover of cream cheese so I nearly left it out but am so glad I didn’t! Ate them with Trader Joe’s frozen mashed potatoes and oven-roasted zucchini. So yummy!

  61. Just tried this last night and it was really yummy!!! I did agree that the sauce was thin, but at the end I added a little cornstarch mixed with beef broth to help thicken it a bit and it worked great! I also thought the leftovers reheated well! Great recipe. 

  62. This recipe is delicious! I doubled the meatball mix and put half in the freezer for another time. 

    The sauce was pretty thin but I didn’t mind.  I put the meatballs on top of mashed potatoes. 

  63. A couple of tweaks that I made — I baked these at 400 for 22 minutes instead of simmering them in the sauce. I probably could’ve gone for less time (they were a little dry), but they were fully cooked instead of the difficulties some had with simmering them. I also ended up making a bit of a variation on the sauce, I made a roux with butter/flour and then whisked in beef stock, cream cheese, salt/pepper, and some garlic powder. It really made the sauce come alive and I didn’t have to deal with the runny stock problems other had

    1. You can’t really rate a recipe when you change the majority of it. The point of Skinnytaste is lightened up recipes – adding butter and flour defeats this purpose.

  64. These are spectacular! My kids (9 and 11) told me that this is their all time favorite Skinnytaste meal (we paired it with the skinny garlic mashed potatoes and the Roasted Parmesan Green beans as suggested in the meal plan, they were also spectacular). Then my 11 year old said, “I’m so glad that you started doing this Skinnytaste thing!”. My toddler wolfed these down too! 

  65. Another winner.  We had over rice and my husband said it’s a keeper.  

    Thank you, Gina, for all your hard work providing these great recipes.

  66. I love skinnytaste but this recipe didn’t work for mw. The sauce came out super watery and bland. I used ground chicken in place of turkey and found the meatballs to be kinda chewy. Maybe swedish meatballs are just meant to be fattening!

    1. Doubled the recipe. Also I baked the meatballs at 375 for twelve minutes before simmering. Spray pan first with non stick spray. Freezing the leftovers for those go to lunches or dinners.
      We are over a side of egg noodles. Along with fresh green beans and sauted mushrooms. Added a little soy sauce to the mushrooms.
      A delicious dinner that was also appealing to the eye.

      1. Did you freeze the meatballs in the sauce? Wondering how that came out when thawed. Sometimes creamy sauces don’t freeze well. I making this today and doubling the recipe to freeze.

  67. Has anyone made this with ground beef and ground chicken? For some reason I can’t find ground turkey that I actually like that doesn’t smell gamey. So happy I found Skinnytaste!

  68. I usually love all Skinny Taste recipes but I did not love this one. As someone with strong swedish heritage, I grew up eating Swedish Meatballs all the time. I was so excited to try this lighter version, but was sorely disappointed! The flavors just aren’t right. The cream cheese makes the sauce taste quite different than I’m used to. If I had never had SM I probably wouldn’t mind it though. I’ll stick to the less-healthy but way more tasty traditional recipe.

    1. The sauce was way too watery and bland. I ended up adding cream and flour to try to salvage it

  69. Made this last night. We really liked it but were a little unhappy with the thin sauce as many here have mentioned. We served it in large bowls over brown rice so the thin sauce was actually not a problem. My DH said to double the sauce next time to make sure the leftovers had plenty!

  70. Interesting taste even if the colour a bit anaemic. Gravy just a bit too thin for my liking but all in all, I’d do it again, we enjoyed it. Oh and are you kidding – ten minutes prep???

  71. Avatar photo
    Janet Carmichael

    While 10 minute prep to mince stuff and make actual meatballs is a gross exaggeration for this recipe, the prep is worth it. The meatballs are truly tender and very flavorful. I did think that four meatballs for 7 points wasn’t terribly filling (not a recipe issue of course) but I loaded the side with air fried carrots (which were also spectacular).

    In the end, before adding the meatballs back in, I think you have to cook down the sauce to make it creamier. Boiling it for a five minutes will thicken it.

  72. Avatar photo
    Weslee Swain Lauder

    Tried this last night was DELICIOUS! I changed the broth up; made it with tomato and onion gravy. Delicious. 

  73. Avatar photo
    Claudia Parker

    I tried this recipe last night for my family and they really enjoyed it! I served it with some steamed broccoli and small potatoes. It’s a keeper! Thanks ST! 

  74. These meatballs are delicious! I clicked ‘Save’ but don’t know how to locate the recipes that I save. Any advice will be appreciated!

    1. I would also love to know the answer to this.  My sister and I were just discussing this yesterday. We have both “saved” numerous recipes but there doesn’t seem to be a way to locate them.

  75. Avatar photo
    theresa leahy okvist

    there’s no cabbage listed in the ingredients and yet in the directions we’re told to brown the CABBAGE until tender…

  76. Step 2 says to make 16 meatballs but then the “notes” says it makes 22 meatballs. Is the nutrition information based on the recipe making 16 or 22 meatballs? Thanks

  77. Avatar photo
    Deb Quillinan

    I am confused by step 4. Just salt and pepper into the pan? Cabbage? The recipe looks delicious and I want to try it.

    Thanks for all you do! Your recipes are fresh, easy and delicious. I make at least 3 a week.

  78. This sounds delicious but in the middle the instructions mention cabbage but there isn’t any cabbage in the ingredient list, please advise  

  79. Is step 4 in the cooking instructions a typo?  I don’t see cabbage listed as an ingredient.  Maybe I completely overlooked it?!? 

  80. A bit confused about step #4 that mentions another skillet with cabbage. Is this supposed to be part of this recipe? 

  81. Avatar photo
    Andrea Jorgensen

    I made these today and they are delicious 😋 
    After reading the sauce was thin, once I took out the meatballs out I took a little broth and mixed it with cornstarch then added it back in before melting in the cream cheese.  Nice thick sauce!
    Thank you Gina.

    1. Avatar photo
      Marsha Wilson

      Hi Gina,
      Have you tried using nonfat Greek yogurt instead of the cream cheese? I’ll definitely be making these.

      1. Avatar photo
        Janet Carmichael

        I know this question is for Gina but I thought I’d comment: You could but note the following: yogurt may curdle with heat so I would boil down the sauce for five minutes to thicken it first. Then I would whisk in yogurt and warm gently.

  82. Avatar photo
    Jenny Sassman

    This recipe is amazing! We double the ingredients for the sauce and serve over egg noodles. We also substitute ground turkey for beef. The sauce is runny and hard to thicken but it tastes so good, it really doesn’t matter. Would HIGHLY recommend this recipe!

  83. This was delicious, although the way I made it, it wasn’t skinny. I had some ground pork that I wanted to use up, so I used one pound of ground pork and about a half pound of lean ground beef. I didn’t have low-fat cream cheese, so I used regular. The sauce did not thicken up at t he end, so I made a slurry of flour and water and stirred that in. It got a little thicker, but not much. But as I said previously, the flavor was yummy and my hubby loved it. I’ll certainly make it again.

  84. Avatar photo
    Victoria Szor

    Made this for dinner tonight. Soon as the hubby took a bite, he said Yum. Daughter said Wow. It was really good. Light too. I would double this to hopefully have some leftovers.

  85. Anyway to make this for those who are lactose intolerant? Or what are some substitutes for the cream cheese?

  86. Does anyone know if this recipe is in one of the Skinny Taste cookbooks and if so, what does the cover have on it? Thanks!

    Loved this recipe!

  87. I added a cup of mushrooms to the broth before adding the meatballs. Then I took out the mushrooms to cook the meatballs. After the meatballs were fully cooked, I used a stick blender to blend 1/2 of the mushrooms and cream cheese. I also took the advice from the previous comments and added a teaspoon of cornstarch. I also noticed that 2 cups of the stock were not enough and I added 4 cups.

  88. Pingback: Meal Planning Monday – Week of March 11 – Our Life, Just Healthier

  89. Loved this! My picky 10 year old even asked if he could take leftovers to school tomorrow. 
    I also love the hidden celery in the meatballs! Perfect for picky kids.
    These definitely taste rich and full of flavor. Nobody will ever guess that they are light. ?

  90. Absolutely delicious! However, I had to make changes based on what I had. Used 99% fat free ground turkey breast and fat free chicken broth. Added extra salt, pepper and garlic to spice up the turkey because it’s usually bland. Omitted celery because I didn’t have any. I used Greek yogurt cream cheese (Walmart is the only place I can find it) and added gravy master too the sauce and thickened with a little cornstarch mixed with water. I will definitely be making this again

  91. I am always happy with your recipes. These meatballs were delicious. Thanks for consistently good recipes.

  92. Pingback: Swedish Meatballs - Powerful Handmade site

  93. My entire family (husband and 4 kids ages 1-9) ate these happily and asked for seconds!  We served it over egg noodles with the Parmesan Roasted Green Beans from this site.  I ended up cooking the meatballs in a soup pot and then used my immersion blender to mix up the gravy – I also added a mixture of cornstarch and water to thicken the gravy.  The gravy tasted buttery but I knew that there was no butter in it!  Excellent recipe!

  94. Pingback: Mostly Successful Swedish Meatballs | Diary of a Hungry Chick

  95. this was outstanding. when i looked at all the complicated recipes out there and I saw this, i was so happy. and the gravy/sauce was so creamy. thank you for such a great recipe

  96. Pingback: Swedish Meatballs – fitdishdiaries

  97. These are delicious! I did add a couple tbsp of flour to the sauce to make it a little thicker. We ate it over egg noodles. The kids approved!

  98. Gina has not failed me yet on a great recipe! Another winner for my family! I didn’t have beef stock on hand so I used chicken instead and added Worcestershire sauce to it. Very yummy!

  99. I am not sure where you got this recipe, but it is NOT how Swedish meatballs are made.
    First you mix breadcrumbs and seasonings together, then add water and allow to rest until the mixture thick. Then add your onions and garlic and finally stir in the meat. Shape into small meatballs. While doing that, preheat the oven to 425-450 degreas. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet or two lined with parchment paper. Bake them for about 20 minutes. While baking prepare the gravy. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a saucepan then add 2 tbsp all-purpose flour. Stir into a paste. Then add 1 cup beef stock and 1 cup cream or condenced milk. Stir and cook until all mixed and hot. Serve on the side with steamed new potatoes and vegetables of you choice. This is how my mother, and various aunties in my family made them. Since I am the only family member living in the US, this is a pretty authentic way of making Swedish meatballs except for the baking part. They all fried them in a skillet. In Denmark they do boil their meatballs in a soupy kind of affair. But no sel respecting Swede would ever do that.

      1. Oh mylanta.. relax and go have a meatball!! They are amazing, better than any others I’ve made..

    1. Avatar photo
      Helen L Walsh

      I think you are being a little harsh here. These are for SkinnyTaste. I’m not looking for the original recipe.

  100. There is NEVER ever cream cheese in the gravy for Swedish meatballs. I was born and raised in Sweden and meatballs were pretty much a staple. In the gravy they use cream. I use unsweetened low fat condenced milk. Also meatballs are traditionally served with steamed new potatoes not noodles or pasta. Swedes love their potatoes and cook them almost all the time to go with their favorite dishes. But, please no cream cheese or sour cream. It is not to be found in any traditional Swedish recipes ever. They may also combine beef with pork and sometimes lamb.

    1. Hej Clara 🙂 I agree this is definitely not Swedish meatballs funny I was looking at the recipe and thinking the same thing. I am a native swede and there are many skinny yummy ways to make meatballs, I normally take the edges of whole wheat bread and grate my onion and soak this with milk (I have tried regular non fat or 2% or even almond milk.) If I am making for guests I may use cream for this and for the gravy as well this is how I grew up having them Traditional Swedish meatballs are made with ground beef or ground beef and ground pork 50/50 but I have made them with ground chicken, ground turkey, bison.. and they all turn out good. After the bread is soft I add the ground beef salt and white pepper, then I either bake in the oven or make them on a pan on the stove  where i first brown them and then make  a lighter gravy with a tablespoon or so of butter and some flour and skim milk then I put the meatballs back in and let them finish cooking to give the gravy some flavor. My grandmother and mom sometimes would put a few drops soy sauce for the color of the gravy if it is too light. Also in Swedin we normally have these with boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam. 

      With all that said 🙂 I love skinny taste recipes and i am most definitely making these they sound delish!

      Thank you Gina for all your inspirational recipes!

  101. Happy to find these. I'm wanting to make Swedish meatballs, but I do not like ground pork and love that these are healthier. Will be trying them soon!

  102. Avatar photo
    Jolynn Lloyd

    Ok I may have commented on this before but even if I did it's worth another go. First I ALWAYS double the ingredients for the meatballs. Takes hardly any additional time. I cook half with the sauce and put the other half on a wax paper lined cookie sheet in the freezer. When frozen I put them in a freezer bag or container and voila! Two meals for not much more time than one. Can't beat that deal. When I want the other ones I just whip them out of the freezer, thaw them overnight in the fridge (or microwave in a pinch) and make the sauce. I even freeze my beef broth to go with them. The carton from trader joes has 4 cups – perfect for 2 recipes. That way I know I'll have it on hand. I've done a couple of different things with this recipe. I've made it not pre cooking the veggies but then I browned the meatballs before making the sauce and it worked just fine. I've also blended the cream cheese with an immersion blender and with a whisk in the pan. The whisking method left tiny bits of cheese but made no difference in the overall consistency of the sauce. I prefer it thicker so I add a little cornstarch mixed with water and let it simmer a couple of minutes at the very end. Oh yes my hubby likes meatballs with some pork so I've also made them half lean beef half lean ground pork (we have a great local meat source at our farmers market). My 8 year old chows down every time and fights us for leftovers in his lunch the next day. Thank you thank you thank you Gina for making healthy eating easier and more delicious and enjoyable.

  103. Absolutely delicious. Perfect recipe and so many subtle changes can be made, for example adding nutmeg or in my case, sage, which adds some extra flavour to it.

  104. This recipe rocks and is in my regular reserve rotation. I thicken the sauce with a bit of cornstarch. Oh yeah, and make extra meatballs. Freeze on a cookie sheet, store in a bag and pull out of the freezer for a quick meal in a couple of weeks – just make fresh sauce and noodles. Loving the cookbook also. You rock! Keep those real food recipes rolling. We are fans!

  105. Wow, these were incredible! I made exactly as written and served over pappardelle. My husband couldn't believe these were light. We both loved them. They're the perfect comfort food. Gina, thank you so much for what you do!!

  106. I made this tonight and my family loved it!!!! It was so incredibly tasty and it smelled delicious!!!

    1. 8.5 grams *per serving.* I count 20 grams of carbs from the breadcrumbs, 4 from the cream cheese, 7 from the onion, and 1 each from the garlic, parsley, celery, and broth. That's 35 for the entire recipe, so one serving would be 8.75 by my count.

  107. These are Delic! but my mtbls look raw inside but nicely brown outside. after I simmered for more than 30 . What am I doing wrong? Im concerned we are eating raw beef
    tnx Sue

  108. Avatar photo
    Jaiper Feliciano

    I completely agree with you. I really like this article. It contains a lot of useful information. I can set up my new idea from this post. It gives in depth information. Thanks for this valuable information.

  109. Great recipe! I changed it up just a bit using turkey, no-chicken chicken broth, gluten free egg noodles, and shallots. This was my first time making this dish and it turned out great. My husband loved it!. Thanks!!!

  110. Made these last night, delish! On another note, I could eat the sauce and noodles just by themself and be happy – delish.

  111. I made this tonight. Hit with me, still waiting for my husband's verdict. I started with 2 C. of beef stock but as the meatballs simmered, the stock evaporated. I added more before adding the cream cheese (I didn't do the blender step). Mine thickened fine, I just had to give it some time. I wonder if my stock evaporated from being on too high of a heat? Or because I added mushrooms? I probably could have cut down my simmering time a little, but I was afraid my meatballs wouldn't be cooked thoroughly. And I used ground turkey and they tasted fine. For this recipe I will probably use ground beef next time, but turkey works in a pinch.

  112. Wondering if this can be done in the crock pot? I see your other meatball recipes for the crock pot but am nervous to do it without some guidance. Any suggestions?

    1. Hi Gina – I *love* your site and recipes. Plus I got your cookbook for my bday yesterday – can't wait to start trying out the recipes! 🙂 I was wondering the same thing about cooking these in the crock pot. Do you think it would work/have any tips on how to make it work? Thank you in advance!!

  113. I've made this twice and strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into the blender. it gets rid of all the little soft meat pieces that come off during simmering. I also have thickened the sauce with a bit of flour and water and cook until thick- otherwise it is too thin. I made it with mashed potatoes the second time and LOVED the combo! We had broccoli too.

  114. I am confused about the straining also. Are we talking about pouring it through a strainer to get chunks out, or skimming the fat off the top of the liquid?

  115. i commented a while ago that i have made this exact recipe before and every time i make it the sauce turns out really runny, but i follow the recipe.. the only thing i am unsure about is straining the stock, i just pour the stock from the pan into a strainer that strains into the blender, straining a few small chunks out… am i doing the right thing? i follow it exactly and its way too runny. help?

  116. My whole family loved this recipe. Even my super picky 7-year old ate without complaining – and my husband went back for seconds. I made a double batch, and for the second batch, I did use an entire carton of beef broth so we could have more gravy. This definitely will become one of our staples. Thank you!

  117. Made this tonight for the first time. The only thing I did differently was use 99% fat free ground turkey breast. This was SO good! This does not taste light at all! My family is not doing WW, but we are elminating all the "junk" from our diets and are trying to make smarter food choices. Recipes like this make it easy to do! Thank you!

  118. Swedish meatballs does not contain neither celery, garlic or allspice. It's a shame to call it " Swedish" if it's not :p
    SWEDISH meatballs: lean beef, breadcrumbs, water, egg and mustard. And serve them with potatoes and lingonberry yam. THAT'S swedish.

  119. Gina. How can I make this best while adding mushrooms. I saw you have a mushrooms stroganoff but I don't know how to combine the two. Any suggestions?

  120. This was fantastic. I used ground venison in place of the beef, but kept the rest of the recipe exactly as is. My husband raved about this and said it tasted even better the second day when he gobbled up the leftovers. Thanks Gina for a great and easy recipe!

  121. I am speechless after seeing these pictures! I love them all! I teach kindergarten and I'm going to make a theme, and photographs have given me so many ideas! You are so talented! Thanks!
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  122. Avatar photo
    Elizabeth Speight

    Made these for dinner tonight and it got the husband seal of approval and the request to make them again. I used ground vension and 1/4 cup egg beaters but i doubled the low fat cream cheese to get the color and consistency i wanted. The meatballs are tender and delicious. Keep the cream sauce seperate, plate the meatballs over the noodles and then pour the sauce so your noodles are well coated. Ronzoni Smart Taste Extra Wide Noodles (180 cal,.5g fat) worked beautifully for this dish.

  123. Hi Gina, I hope you don't me posting this, but I wanted to let you know that a correction on the Points Plus Value for this recipe might be needed. I just entered Fat: 10 g • Protein: 25.1 g • Carb: 8.5 g • Fiber: 1 g in my etools and I got 6PP for 1 serving?

  124. These look great! Do you have any idea whether it would affect the points value if I made them with 90% lean ground chicken instead of beef?

  125. This dish was a huge hit! I made the recipe just as written and it worked out just terrific..I would not have minded having a touch more sauce….so creamy and yummy!

  126. Just made them with small changes. I used ground veal and in place of the cream cheese I used no fat sour cream and low fat chicken broth, only because it's what I had in the house. Still a winner delicious .

  127. Avatar photo
    Surrealgamer

    This is a really good recipe. I had to make some substitutions due to what I had on hand but I was very happy with the results. I used 93% lean ground turkey and chicken broth instead of beef and omitted the bread crumbs altogether. I love the flavor. I'll have to try it unsubstituted asap.

  128. Delicious! My husband wants to add it to our rotation. I used ground turkey and added flour to my sauce to thicken. Hubby has two plates. I really want to put the gravy in a cup and drink it! LOL. So good!

  129. I'm a new follower and this is now one of my favorite blogs. Lots of inspiration. And I'm from Sweden, well raised in Sweden and married to a Swede.

    Actually Swedish meatballs are made with lesser ingredients: ground meat, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper. I do them in the oven and exclude the breadcrumbs – less carbs!

    We usually eat it with a brown cream sauce (brunsås) which is basically a bechamelsauce where you replace the milk with cream and beef stock, and add som soy sauce to it. All the kids LOVE it over here. You eat it with mashed potatoes or just boiled potatoes. Traditional Swedish food =)

    /Ansam

  130. Avatar photo
    xpynkpanthurx

    what do i pair these with? could i use rice or just noodles? and if so what kind of noodles? i also love the IKEA ones, cant wait to try this

  131. I made these for dinner tonight- very tasty!! Is the sauce supposed to be pretty thin? or should I have simmered it longer after blending it? (It was kind of the consistency of whole milk) …still VERY good.

  132. I love this recipe! Was hoping to make some ahead and freeze? Do you know if the sauce freezes OK? Thanks for all your great recipes!

  133. I am making these right now so that we can have a healthy dinner before my children get home from school and have other activities. I have made these before and they are awesome.
    I can't wait for dinner. My house smells so good right now!!!
    Thanks Gina.

  134. This is the first recipe of yours I've tried and it was delicious! I used reduced fat sour cream instead of cream cheese (it was the only ingredient I was missing, so I wasn't going to go out just for that) and it tasted great. My only suggestion would be to double the sauce – I added some cornstarch and let it cook down for a bit to get it thick enough for my liking, but by that time, there was barely any sauce left and our meatballs were a little dry. I don't do WW, so I'm not sure how that would affect the points, and might not even be necessary if you don't mind sauce that's a bit runny. It did taste great, and I'll definitely be making it again!

  135. Made these tonight and served over noodles with a spinach salad. So yummy and filling!!! I did use quick oats instead of the breadcrumbs (I tend to use oats rather than breadcrumbs in anything as a binder) and the meatballs came out great. Thanks for another excellent dish Gina!

  136. I LOVE all of your recipes; I cook almost exclusively from your site as my husband and I are on WW maintenance. I made these last night but I had to simmer them for almost twice as long before they were cooked through (I used a meat thermometer). I have noticed this trend with most of your recipes (having to cook much longer); do you have gas or electric appliances? Are they industrial (like Viking)? I've got a house full of electric, so that might explain my extended cooking times :-p

    Thanks for all the great recipes!

  137. This was extreme comfort food my husband wants to make it part of our rotation. Thanks so much Gina!!!!

  138. This recipe was fabulous. I love swedish meatballs when they are made well and that is what this recipe does -makes them great! Like other readers, my sauce did not thicken at all – not sure if it is because I use water/beef cubes instead of stock (it's cheaper and normally works well!). I tried adding cornstarch but was in a rush and you can't rush cornstartch! Next time I would use a little flour to thicken it. Otherwise, it really is a perfect recipe!

  139. We loved the Swedish Meatball recipe, but last night we were a little pressed for time, so instead of making meatballs we cooked the meatball ingredients in the pan and broke the meat apart. Then we made the sauce and thickened it with cornstarch, added the meat back and mixed in 4 servings of Yoder's wide egg noodles. It was an amazing version of Beef Stroganoff!!! We will never make our full fat & calorie version again because this was so much better than that!

  140. I made this last night and followed the directions to a T, except the blending part of the sauce. I added the cream cheese to my pan and let it melt over very low heat. As other reviewers have commented, my sauce was still very runny, so I ended up using a bit of cornstarch to thicken it. It was delicious!! Thanks for the fabulous recipes, and keep them coming!!

    1. I also used a little cornstarch mixed with water first and it worked great. They were awesome. I didn't think I would like the allspice either, but it was actually good. Thanks for wonderful recipes that are actually good for you!!

  141. I found out when making this recipe that I apparently do NOT like Allspice….is there anything you could use in this recipe that would still be tasty, but not use Allspice?

    1. Hello, a lot of recipes call for nutmeg.  I make a danish meat patty Thant calls for a little nutmeg and poultry seasoning.  I think it’s great flavor with beef.  

  142. Thanks so much for your amazing,delicious recipes. My family has loved every one I've made. You've made following weight watchers so much easier than it's been in the past. Planning out meals using your recipes truly makes eating healthier feel 'normal' instead of leaving us feeling deprived. I made your broccoli mac and cheese for supper last night, and my daughter and I kept checking and re-checking point values after eating it, because it was so amazing.(Not that we were not believing you…it just tasted too good to be true!) – a compliment to you. I know we wouldn't be as successful as we've been in losing those extra pounds if not for you and your wonderful recipes. Thank you so very much!
    Also, we're in Canada and wondered if our Catelli Smart Pasta would be the same as the Ronzoni Smart Taste ones that you use in alot of your recipes. They are also made by Catelli. I find it difficult to compare the values in converting to metric.

  143. These were so yummy! I tried thickening the sauce with a little corn starch but it got all clumpy so I had to strain it – I'll try flour next time. I served the meatballs over rice and my whole family loved it! (Even my extremely picky 1 year old!) Thanks so much! Your recipes are making it so much easier for me to "diet" and still eat the same meal I fixed the rest of the family!

    1. Katie – did you put the cornstarch directly into the hot stock? Cornstarch needs to be dissolved in a little cold water before you can add it to something hot or you will get the clumps. I made that mistake many times before I picked up that tip. It really does help!

  144. Delicious! I was hesitant to make this, since my MIL makes the world's best, most decadent (lots of cream!) Swedish meatballs every Christmas and it seemed unlikely a "light" recipe could live up to it. Boy was I wrong! My husband asked, "These are LIGHT?!" Thanks again!

  145. This is the third recipe I've tried from Gina's site. I'm officially hooked and obsessed. My husband and I both loved the recipe. The only thing I may alter next time, a little less parsley? It's a little too fragrant for me. But, I wouldn't omit it entirely. Another simple and delicious recipe! My husband said he can't wait to find out what's for dinner tomorrow from SkinnyTaste. 🙂

  146. Absolutely delicious!! My kids gobbled it up! Thank you! Another recipe success! Everything on your site that we've tried is tasty and delicious! Thank you!

  147. Second recipe I have tried and second thumbs up. Thanks Gina! Real food and points are small. Love it!

  148. Avatar photo
    SandyandSerena

    YUM!!! These are delicious! I made them in accordance with Gina's recipe, except I skipped the 'strain the stock, put in blender' part. I just added the cream cheese into the stock after taking out the meatballs and whisked it awhile. No, the cream cheese didn't fully incorporate, but the tiny little white lumps weren't a problem to us. Definitely get the stuff called "stock," and don't try to use broth. It has a ton of rich flavor. Thank you for such a delicious recipe. I loved it, and my fourteen year old daughter loved it, too. We are in our second week of WW, and we are so grateful for your recipes! Thank you! Also, we agree with the poster who said she preferred these to IKEA. Gina's meatballs beat IKEA by a mile!!! Thank you, Gina!

  149. OMG! My daughter made these for dinner tonight and they were INCREDIBLE. Someone above posted about the Ikea catalog. I'll just say these are so much better than Ikea's meatballs!!

  150. This recipe is sooo easy and delicious. Even my extremely picky preteen loved them. She even took the leftovers for her school lunch. I will definitely be making this recipe again!

  151. I made these tonight and they were a big hit!! Definitely going to be a regular meal in our house! Only thing is that when I entered the info into my WW calculator it came up as 6 points??

  152. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Holly, too funny!

    Laurie, great idea using oats to make it gf.

    Amber, cooked meat weighs less than raw weight. Are the points for cooked or raw? If it's for cooked, 4 oz of meat becomes 3 oz when cooked.

    Me, great, welcome!!

  153. I am new-ish to your site- I found you from Snack-girl.com mentioning that you were a great option for healthy, weight-watcher ready, dinner ideas. Anyway, I have been browsing your site, gathering ideas on what I wanted to try first, and last night I finally dove in and made these Swedish meatballs, served over potatoes (think Ikea:) with your Roasted Broccoli with smashed garlic on the side. HEAVEN!!! Both of my toddlers loved it, and so did the parents! The leftovers today heated up wonderfully. Thank you so much for the time and energy you put into creating DELICIOUS healthy food, with normal ingredients! (Not just healthy and tasteless:) Especially with the WW points already figured! It is a huge time saver for a mommy who loves cooking yummy food. I am going to try your easy broccoli pasta and went to my local market to buy the romano cheese yesterday. Thank you thank you thank you! I am passing your site along to everyone I know, and I will be a regular visitor here in the future:)

  154. Had these tonight and they were yummy. I want to try them next time with ground turkey since we like ground turkey a lot around here. I did add some cornstarch to the gravy near the end because my sauce wasn't thickening as much as I would have liked. If I figured it right, I came up with about 5 points a serving and not 4. Still not sure how you came up with the points and am wondering because of course I am all for it being less points. 🙂

  155. Hey Gina! I love your blog and have made a few of your recipes. Am about to start cooking this, and I was just looking at the points and wondering how you came up with them. My 95% lean ground beef is 16 points for the whole pound, so divided 4 ways, that would be 4 points a serving for just the meat. Add in the eggs, breadcrumbs, and cream cheese, and I am figuring it would be more like 6 points a serving or so. Am I not figuring this out right? Thanks!

  156. Avatar photo
    Your Frugal Friend, Niki

    Wow, this one was a home run for the whole family! Made it tonight for the first time and hubby ate 3 helpings and even the picky 6 year old liked it.

    This was amazing!

    I told everyone at my WW meeting today about your site. Everything I have tried so far has been awesome. Thanks for making "real" food that is WW-friendly!

  157. I made these last night and they were wonderful! I was skeptical at first because my kitchen smelled of allspice, but they tasted great and my 2 girls & husband loved it!

  158. Made these tonight and my husband and I both loved them! Another healthy but still delicious meal! Thanks, Gina!!!

  159. Incredible recipe! I made these with a few minor substitutions–used 85/15 beef, vegetable stock, and served them with mashed potatoes. Such a delicious dish! Thank you. Blessings 🙂

  160. This is excellent! I was skeptical that the sauce would be good without all the fat in it. It was PERFECT. My husband loved it! This is a keeper for sure! I made my meatballs with ground turkey and they were delish! Thanks!

  161. So delicious! Made these tonight and I almost couldn't walk away with just one serving. I only did half the recipe, omitted breadcrumbs, and used 99% FF Ground Turkey. I'm excited to make these again.

  162. These are amazing! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe with us. I finely ground oats (in place of the bread crumbs) to make it gluten free but still give it a binder. They were very moist and super yummy. Everyone gave it 5 stars and said that they want me to make it again. Definitely comfort food for all of us. Thanks again Gina…you definitely have the gift of creating amazing recipes.

  163. We got our copy of the 2012 Ikea catalogue in the mail yesterday! I have made your meatballs for dinner to celebrate while we oh and ah over all the things we want to buy…I was looking for a swedish meatball recipe and luckily looked here first, thanks for another great skinny save!

  164. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    When I cook for two I usually have leftovers for lunch but yes, you can split the recipe in half including the egg (beat the egg and use half)

  165. Hi, you're recipes serve so many people. If I am just cooking for 2, do I cut everything in half including the beef stock and (somehow) the egg? Please answer, LOVE your website!!

  166. My bf made these for dinner the other night…. He doesn't cook… Like ever… But recently he decided he wants to cook dinner every other Friday. He made this… And this to him is a lot of work and took him about 2 hours to make, seriously. Lol but they were so good! I was impressed and he couldn't believe he had made them! He says they are the best meatballs heals ever eaten. I was so proud!

  167. This was amazing, and earned an A+ from the hubby. I doubled the sauce and didn't use blender. Just whisked it a bit. Had to add a little corn starch to thicken. Served over no yolk egg noodles. Everyone loved it!!!

  168. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    So weird, I think it depends on how much of the broth is reduced and it's possible mine reduced more than yours. You can add a tbsp of flour, that should do the trick.

  169. Hi Gina,

    I LOVE all your recipes, your website is the only place I go to now for all my cooking.
    Quick Q – I've made this twice, both times very delicious but the sauce will NOT thicken. I blend the beef stock & cream cheese in blender…then I let it simmer for a while, but still very soupy (not thick at all). It's still delicious, but most of the sauce falls on the bottom because it's so thin. Any advice? Thanks so much!!

  170. All turned out great but the sauce was runny. Added about two to three tablespoons of flour and that did the trick!

  171. There were SOOOO good. Just make sure to literally 'mince' the vegetables, I did a fine chop and they stayed together, but it was close! Thanks again Gina, you rock!

  172. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    That's awesome and of course, my goal!! To make everyone enjoy their meal, especially the non-dieters. Thanks for commenting!

  173. I made this dinner and it was sooooo filling and YUMMY!! My hubby and teenagers love it when I make your recipes because they're always great and they don't feel like their eating my "diet food". The teenagers polished off what was left for lunch the next day. Thanks Gina for all your hard work.

    Danielle in Las Vegas

  174. Thanks for all the fabulous recipes. Your Stroganoff and Swedish meatball recipes hit a particularly special note with me. They are very close to my mom's recipes (she's passed on and no one seems to know where her recipe collection went)and I am so grateful to have these. Do you happen to have a scalloped potato recipe (also using canned soup, yikes)? They are the best I've ever tasted.

  175. Gina- I made these last night and they were absolutely fantastic!!!!. I did have trouble getting the sauce to thicken properly. Did I pulse it too much? Any thoughts?

  176. I tired these and loved them! Thank you! Whenever I do meatballs, I use a small cookie scoop to shape the balls. It works great and it is about the perfect size for these, 1/8 cup. Just thought I would share something that works so slick! Thanks for all your yummy recipes!

  177. I made this tonight for supper. I used ground turkey as well as I dont eat beef. These are SO yummy! Thank you for posting! I have leftovers for the week as well 🙂 ~~Melanie

  178. Avatar photo
    lovepinkroses

    I LOVE swedish meatballs, so I was excited to try this recipe tonight. I used turkey (we don't do red meat), had to add a bit more bread crumbs, but they were still good. BUT, I could not get the sauce thick. I let it boil and boil and boil. After dinner, I added some flour and boiled more. It's still runny???

    Thanks,
    Jenn

  179. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I'm so happy you all liked them.

    Mia you could always leave it out.

    Sarah I'll have to try it with turkey 🙂

    Oops Gwyn!!

    Cynthia, noodles and peas… perfect!

  180. Loved it! I didn't have allspice so I just used a pinch of nutmeg. Served it over egg noodles with peas. So good! This will be a regular in our house. Thank you so much. ~Cynthia

  181. DELICIOUS! Just a word of warning… when Gina says to use a blender… don't use a food processor… you will spray your kitchen with beef broth. 😉 Lesson learned. 😉 But this recipe was worth the mess it made (due to operator error). I had to have 1-1/2 servings & use up some of my weeklies for this one (my husband had 2 servings & my kids devoured it too). I served it over brown rice & the rice just soaked up the yummy sauce. Thanks for another awesome recipe Gina!

  182. WOW! So delicious! I used ground turkey instead, but it tasted just like beef. The only thing my husband and I talked about at dinner was the moist meatballs and to-die-for gravy. I could eat that gravy all day (I even added some to the steamed broccoli we had with dinner). Thank you Gina for a fabulous recipe!

  183. Hi Gina,

    Just wondering, I am not a fan of allspice, is there anything else I can substitute or would it greatly effect the recipe if I left it out all together?

    Thanks,
    Mia

  184. Avatar photo
    Imperfect Mommy

    Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes with us! I'm new to Weight Watchers and have previously avoided it because I love to cook really great food – your website allows me to still do that while losing weight. This recipe was wonderful. I've never made meatballs before, but they came out great and my husband was delighted!

  185. Had these for dinner tonight and they were a great hit!!! Thanks for the awesome recipe Gina. BTW, I used a small cookie scooper which was exactly 1/8 cup. I scooped all of the meat out onto parchment paper, then rolled them, made for quick work!

  186. Avatar photo
    Kristina Vanni

    I am part Swedish and these sound outstanding! Can't wait to give it a try. The original recipe can be a diet-buster, so this is a great alternative.

  187. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    @kayveebee – that is unusual that they crumbled, they always hold together well. In fact I've made them without the breadcrumbs and they held fine, just not as soft. Maybe you added to much breadcrumbs?

  188. This was delish! I made it with ground venison (husband is a big time hunter) and it worked very well. Felt like a comfort food without all the extra fat and calories. Thanks!

  189. Another great recipe. I really didn't think I'd be eating swedish meatballs anytime in the near future. It's nice to get some comfort food.

  190. Awesome, going to make them today! I own a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop that works amazing for making smaller more WW friendly meatballs. as well as cookies. I hope it yields close to your 1/8th cup. Cant wait to try it out. I am also a huge fan of homemade noodles I just wish it was not so point heavy. Semolina flour is not friends of the WW community…

  191. Awesome blog! Feel free to stop by and follow me back at www.ageekswifeandherdog.com and also link up with Friendly Friday Follow

  192. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I use both but when I buy stock it's Swanson I think. As far as it getting thick, you can let it simmer a few minutes, it will thicken.

  193. One more question….is light cream cheese the 1/3 fat neufchatel cheese at 70 calories an ounce or are you referring to the fat free cream cheese at 30 calories an ounce.

  194. I made these tonight for my husband and I and they were so delicious! We love Swedish meatballs, but my recipe is so fattening and leaves us feeling uncomfortably stuffed and weighed down. The meatballs were so fast and easy. They had a great taste and filled us both. I split the recipe in half and it was the perfect amount! Oh and I must comment…simmering the noodles in the beef stock was so much easier than browning them and adding them to the sauce. The only problem I had was from substituting water and a beef bullion cube for the stock…it did not make a thick enough sauce so I added one TBSP of flour. Please tell me Gina…do you make your beef stock or purchase it? All I saw at Wall-mart was broth.

  195. Looks delis!!! Can't wait to try. Love your recipies. You make losing weight fun. What kind of bread crumbs did to use?

  196. A cookie scoop would work really well for the meatballs. Just so happens mine is 2 Tbsp. or 1/8 cup!

  197. I am new to Weight Watchers, and new to your site. I made this recipe for dinner the other night and my husband and I both cleaned our plates! I served them over egg noodles and they were just delicious! Thank you for making healthy food a bit easier (and yummier!). I was starting to get discouraged with Weight Watchers, but now I am on the road to success!

  198. Avatar photo
    The Gutsy Mom

    I have an 1/8 cup measuring cup which I love. Comes in handy for halving recipes. Sometimes you can find them packaged as a "coffee scoop" (but it looks like a mini measuring cup) and if you look closely, it will say "1/8 cup" on it. Look near the measuring cups and near the coffee in your grocery store or at a kitchen supply store.

    Thank you for this awesome recipe, Gina! Looking forward to making these later in the week.

  199. How about lightly browning the meatballs first? Love the idea of adding a little wine to the stock. ~ CaptainLefty.

  200. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I'm really happy you all liked it!

    Miss Julie, I know what you mean, and I have more meatball recipes in my head so this is not the end 🙂

    The noodles are pappardelle, but no I didn't make them. Trader Joes 🙂

  201. I keep trying to post a comment but it's not working …love your site. This recipe looks great…did you make the noodles homeade or did you buy them? If you bought them what are they? They look delicious. I can't wait to make this recipe:)

  202. Oh, Miss Gina. You've done it again. I made these for dinner tonight, and I didn't want dinner to end!! I used a shallot instead of a small onion, and beef bullion instead of beef stock. I also just let the cream cheese melt in the stock. I served them over egg noodles with fresh asparagus. I'm a sucker for your meatball dishes. Something about making meatballs is calming to me. Thank you for the recipe. I'll make it again for sure!

  203. Avatar photo
    Food Glorious Food!

    I was just thinking what to do with the wide noodles I bought recently! Meatballs with sauce! Perfect timing! I may add a little paprika as I love it a little spicy 🙂

  204. Can't wait to try these! They sound yummy. And I actually have a 1/8 c measuring cup! Love your recipes and the amazing thing is my family will eat the same food I am eating now and not even realize it is healthy!

  205. Oh boy; how timely is this; my grandson is coming this weekend and he just loves Swedish Meatballs – and I always make them for him and send him home with the leftovers, I don't want them around to tempt me; well looks like he won't be going home with a 'doggie bag' this weekend. Thank you so much for all your amazing recipes and ideas; it makes WW so easy – don't have to give up anything!!!

  206. Avatar photo
    My Little Space

    I love lots of garlic and shallots in my meatball too. An addition of wine even better! Yours look really juicy delicious. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.
    Kristy

  207. This recipe is absolutely a keeper! I just made this for dinner (I already had ground turkey thawing and thought I was going to make meatloaf until I saw this :)). To give the turkey a little extra "beefy" flavor, I did grind up a beef bouillon cube and added that to the mix. Incredibly tasty–my hubby went nuts over it. 🙂

  208. Excuse my French (or maybe Swedish?) but OMFG! I have a deep, DEEP love for swedish meatballs. THANK YOU for posting this. I've rearranged my weekly menu to incorporate this. Yum!!!

  209. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Marie question, did the sauce look curdled when you added the yogurt? I've always had that experience when adding yogurt to hot sauces.

    Fredah, I prefer stock for gravies and sauces, it has a richer, meatier flavor. Broth would work in a pinch.

  210. Thanks for posting another great looking recipe Gina! I was wondering: I have beef broth in my pantry. What's the difference between that and stock? Is stock more flavorful? If I simmer beef broth will it condense down to stock? Thanks for the advice!

  211. This ones a keeper!

    Just tried this tonight and it was a hit. Had to alter the recipe due to not having certain ingredients. Used Greek Yogurt in place of the cream cheese and some cornstarch to thicken- was very satisfied. Also, didn't have quite enough beef broth so I made up the rest with chicken broth. Used an allspice substitution that I googled. Was very pleased with the outcome.
    Next time I plan to follow the recipe more exactly so I can experience the way it was written.

  212. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    Go for it, all my other turkey meatballs are great, so why not! There are no rules in cooking 🙂

  213. Avatar photo
    Lauren (Healthy Delicious)

    Yum! So funny, I was just searching your blog for a swedish meatball recipe recently. I had to come up with my own version. I used extra-lean ground turkey, which I really liked – the flavor is milder than beef so you could really taste the warm spices.

    1. Good to know about the turkey, that's kind of my plan but was wondering if it worked okay. Thanks.

  214. This looks yummy and I hope to try tonight or this week!

    I saw someone ask about using turkey in this recipe and I say go for it! My mother used to make a swedish turkey meatball recipe and it was fantastic…unfortunately the recipe has been lost! =(

  215. I LOVE Swedish Meatballs and have made my own version for quite a while. This one looks delicious as well, I can't wait to try it. I think I'll add some mushrooms into the sauce as well. Just a question, I don't eat beef, so I always make turkey meatballs. Would chicken broth work instead of beef broth for the sauce?

  216. I can't wait to try these! I make them all the time except I use the non-fat cream of celery soup for the sauce. Delicious!

  217. Awesome..I am Swedish and love my meatballs, but they are not on the WW plan! Now they are, thanks so much!

  218. Avatar photo
    Cait @ Beyond Bananas

    This looks just like the ones my gram used to make! Healthier I am sure.. I don't eat red meat, but I bet they'd taste good with turkey balls toO!

  219. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    I love the idea of adding minced mushrooms to the beef!! I will try that next time!

    Yes, you could thaw the frozen meatballs and drop them into the broth then proceed with the recipe.

  220. HOW AWESOME! I was just searching for Swedish Meatballs on your site last week, and now you've got a recipe! (I never made the recipe I found on a different site, it seemed too involved). Thank you! I've been craving these for a few weeks now.

    If I wanted to make these with frozen meatballs, would I just thaw them and start with the step of simmering the beef stock with the meatballs? I know the results would be slightly different than homemade meatballs, but I'm a mommy of 5-month old twins…. gotta take shortcuts where I can! 🙂

  221. Gina, I think I love you! I was just thinking about Swedish meatballs (and how much I wish I had some) yesterday, no joke. I know what's for dinner tonight!

  222. Avatar photo
    The Texas Peach

    Swedish meatballs is one of my favorite dishes. It is total comfort food for me. Your skinny version sounds great! Definitely need to give this one a try!

  223. Avatar photo
    Gina @ Skinnytaste

    My hour glass- You are welcome! It was a no-brainer when you asked, my daughter was happy you requested them!!

    You could probably use turkey but the flavor will change. What is unique about Swedish meatballs is the beef base. I'm sure they would still taste good with turkey, but better with beef. Buy the leanest beef you can find.

  224. Yum. I have to admit, I would have never considered myself a fan of swedish meatballs, but they look so heavenly in your photo that I may have to change that!

  225. Avatar photo
    Mushrooms Canada

    I love serving meatballs as an appetizer on a toothpick! They always go over very well at my family get-togethers! I like adding in some finely diced mushrooms to my meatballs, it keeps them moist… just a secret tip of mine 😉
    Thanks for sharing!
    – Brittany

  226. That looks AWESOME!!

    Do you think ground turkey would taste ok? – I've got a package thawed in the fridge and was trying to think of what to use it in

    1. I have always used half ground beef and half ground turkey. Turns out great. However, I have never tried all ground turkey.

  227. AWW Gina!! Thanks SO much for fulfillinf my request!! Can't wait to try them this week! You are SO awesome <3