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Comfort food just got tastier with Swedish Meatballs in the Instant Pot. Our whole family loves Swedish meatballs with their creamy sauce and allspice seasoning. Serve them over egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or just eat them whole!
Seriously friends...these have SO much flavor!
What are Swedish Meatballs?
Swedish meatballs are traditionally made of ground beef or pork, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper and spices. They are usually served with gravy made from the cooking liquid in the pan. This makes them perfect for cooking in the electric pressure cooker, aka Instant Pot!
The Swedish Meatball originated in Sweden in the 1800s where they were originally called "Kottbullar" which is Swedish for "dumplings." I don't know about you but I'm not gonna attempt to pronounce that. I'll just call them delicious Swedish meatballs and leave it at that.
This Swedish dish became popular among Americans when IKEA started selling it in 1963. God bless Ikea, it's such a great store. I could spend an entire day wandering their zig zagged aisles!
Swedish Meatballs are a delicious dish that is easy to make. I've simplified things even more in this easy recipe made in the Instant Pot in a recipe that very similar to my Swedish meatball casserole.
Ingredients
To make the perfect Swedish meatball recipe, we'll need a few simple ingredients
For the Instant Pot Meatballs
ground beef - you can substitute ground pork if you like, or a combination of ground beef and pork.
dried minced onion - fresh onion could also be used, but I find that it's hard to dice it small enough. Basically, using dried onion is easier, so that's the route I take!
bread crumbs - to make your Swedish meatballs gluten free, substitute gluten free bread crumbs here
egg - this helps to hold the meatballs together as they cook
spices: allspice, salt, ground black pepper
olive oil - to saute the meatballs
For the creamy sauce:
flour - for thickening the Swedish meatball sauce. You can also substitute cornstarch
beef broth or beef stock - this makes the sauce, plus the Instant Pot always needs liquid in order to cook anything under pressure
sour cream
egg noodles, for serving
fresh dill and fresh parsley for garnish
Tools:
The benefit of making this recipe in a 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker is that everything cooks in one pan. There’s no need to bake the meatballs in the oven after browning them in a skillet.
How to make easy Swedish meatballs
In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, minced onion, bread crumbs, egg, allspice, salt and black pepper. Use hands to gently mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Try not to over mix.
Did you notice there was no chopping involved? That's what makes this meatball recipe easy peasy!
Next up, use the pot to saute the meatballs, browning them on all sides. Work in batches if you need to, then set the meatballs aside.
Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom.
To make the Swedish meatball gravy, add the flour and whisk until a light golden color. Add the beef broth and whisk it in gradually.
Add the meatballs back to the pan and cook under pressure for 6 minutes.
Once the meatballs are done cooking, remove them and give the sauce a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and add in the sour cream.
Serve over egg noodles and garnish with fresh dill and parsley.
Recipe Shortcuts
You can use frozen meatballs as an alternative, but really I find making homemade meatballs is super easy for this recipe. If you go the frozen meatball route, make sure to pick up regular meatballs, not Italian meatballs.
How to store leftovers
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. For best results, reheat leftovers on the stovetop over low to medium heat, though you can microwave them, too.
How to make this a gluten free Swedish meatballs recipe
Substitute your favorite gluten free breadcrumbs. I like the Schar gluten free breadcrumbs.
What to serve with this recipe
Swedish meatballs can be served with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, rice or pasta. Or, enjoy them served on their own! I like to serve them alongside a simple vegetable like green beans or peas.
Or, channel the spirit of Ikea, and serve them with lingonberry jam.
These flavorful meatballs make a delicious dinner, I hope you'll give them a try!
More Instant Pot recipes
Instant Pot Cube Steak and Gravy
Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
If you make Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs, head on back and leave a recipe review. I'd love to hear from you!
Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 Tablespoon dried minced onion
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 Tablespoon flour
- 14 ounces beef broth
- ¼ cup sour cream
- egg noodles for serving
- fresh dill and parsley for garnish
Instructions
- in a medium bowl, combine ground beef, minced onion, bread crumbs, egg, allspice, salt and black pepper. Use hands to gently mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Try not to over mix.1 pound ground beef, 2 Tablespoon dried minced onion, ½ cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ black pepper, 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Set your Instant Pot to Saute to heat olive oil. Using a spoon, scoop out portions of the meat mixture and gently roll in your hands to make meatballs in uniform size.
TIP: Press the scoot against the side of the bowl to help compress the meatball.
Working in two batches, add meatballs to the pot and cook until browned on all sides, about 3-4 minutes. Try not to flip the meatballs before they're browned or they'll stick to the bottom of the pot. A spoon works well to give them a flip! - Use a slotted spoon to remove the browned meatballs from the pot and set aside. They will not be cooked through yet.
- Add the flour and whisk until a light golden color about 30-60 seconds. Add the beef broth and continue to whisk . Season with salt and pepper to taste.3 Tablespoon flour, 14 ounces beef broth
- Add meatballs back to pan. Set pot to Pressure Cook for 6 minutes. You may be a burn message for a moment but it should disappear relatively quickly. When cooking time is complete, do a quick pressure release.
- Remove meatballs. Set the pot to Saute and bring sauce to a gentle boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in sour cream. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
Serve over egg noodles and garnish with fresh dill and parsley.¼ cup sour cream, egg noodles, fresh dill and parsley for garnish
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
