There is something special about Swedish meatballs with cream of mushroom soup. The depth and richness of mushroom soup takes meatballs to the next level that can't be replicated by other ingredients. Whenever possible, I make my own cream of mushroom soup, but a can of store-bought soup will do the trick. A cup of the soup is enough for this recipe but you can easily add another half a cup if you like.
To introduce some color and acidity, and more flavor, I like adding a tablespoon or two of Worcestershire to the mushroom sauce, but that's totally optional in this recipe.
The trick to making the Swedish meatballs more flavorful is to roast bread crumbs before mixing them with ground meat. Very few recipes that I've seen recommend doing and that's a big omission. Seriously, follow this tip and you will understand what I am talking about. It only takes a few extra minutes.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 lb lean ground pork
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or granulated garlic)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
For frying meatballs:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
For the sauce mushroom soup sauce:
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup cream of mushroom soup (you can add 1 1/2 cups if you want more sauce)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional; plus more to taste)
For garnish:
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (finely chopped)
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet, roast the bread crumbs over medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Bread crumbs are done when darker in color and smell toasty. That takes about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In the same skillet, heat two tablespoons of olive oil, add the chopped onions and cook them until soft, about 3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and transfer to the bowl with the breadcrumbs.
- Add the ground meat, milk, egg, parsley, salt and spices to the bread crumb and onion mixture. Mix well to combine.
- From the meat mixture, make approximately 20 meatballs of even size. Set aside on a plate.
- Heat oil and butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. If you skillet is not big enough, you may wan to do it in two batches so that it's easier to turn the meatballs. Set aside on a plate.
- Pour the broth to the skillet and bring a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. If you used a non-stick pan, you probably won't have many of those, which is OK.
- Stir in the cream of mushroom soup and the sour cream.
- Return the meatballs back to the pan. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Serve the meatballs while they are hot with noodles, with the sauce poured over and a sprinkle of fresh parsley on top. If you don't want to serve immediately, keep the meatballs warm, tightly covered.
Nutrition
Susan says
Delicious! I made a couple of changes -
1 due to necessity: Used only ground beef - did not have sausage - and beef bone broth in place of beef broth. No regular beef broth, either. LOL
2 by accident - for whatever reason, I thought I needed to add some minced garlic to the onions when I cooked them. Turned out to be a happy accident.
3 While I was browning the meatballs, I added about 1/2 of a medium chopped onion and got it really dark brown in the skillet. I love the browned onion in my gravy/sauce.
This was sooooo much better than the boring meatballs/mushroom gravy I've been making for 50 years. It will definitely be a repeat. Thanks!
victor says
Happy to hear it. Thanks for the tips, Susan. Sounds delicious. Enjoy!
kristie pearsall says
I made this for superbowl tonight. It was a decent hit….but I wish I could find msg free cream of mushroom. Overall great tasting, and good for a budget friendly meal.
victor says
Glad to hear it. Thanks for your feedback.
greg says
I made this recipe, but I used a large can of mushroom soup and it got a bit runny. So I added some ramen noodles. Made it twice as good.
victor says
Enjoy!
Mickey says
Fantastic recipe and easy to prepare!
victor says
Enjoy!
Kelly says
Made this tonight it was very good
victor says
Glad you liked my recipe, Kelly. Enjoy!
JJ says
This tasted really good.
COOKMAN says
WHICH NOODLES ARE BEING USED IN THIS RECIPE??
victor says
Papardelle
Kelly Gilbert says
This was really yummy! I've made it a few times and I've never had any leftovers.
victor says
Glad to hear it, Kelly. Enjoy!
Bette Teague says
Can I use frozen meatballs for this???
victor says
I am sure you can make it work but I've never tried using frozen meatballs in this recipe.
Randall Cummings says
Always looking for different tastes to try. My darling wife is not very adventurous with different foods to try. Cooked this tonight and bingo, instant winner!! So full of flavour and very tasty. Thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Two thumbs up from the bride.
Jessica says
Love this recipe
Rick says
Made tonight and the wife lived them. Followed the directions, except used fresh garlic and cooked it with the onion. Excellent recipe.
Snowy says
We are gluten free, so forced to make some changes. Gluten free breadcrumbs, gluten free Progresso Cream of mushroom soup and served over boiled red potatoes (cut up but skin on). Next time I will omit the beef broth because this is not a condensed soup and just use more soup.
Robin says
I just made them but added fresh mushrooms n they came out good!! Will make this more often.
victor says
Glad to hear that. Happy cooking!
BeBeLu says
Made this for dinner tonight and we enjoyed it a lot!!! A little time consuming to assemble since I used the meatball recipe. Could use some good frozen meatballs to save time. Sauce was yummy. I’m saving it to put in my rotation...thank you!!!
victor says
You are very welcome.
HotnDivine says
Happy New Year! Was looking for a recipes for two bags of frozen Trader Joe's meatballs. Great and easy recipe to follow. Baked frozen meatballs until done. Cook mushroom sauce in another pan. Butter Sautéed fresh chopped onions/garlic before adding 2 cans soup, 1 can of beef consomme, vegetable broth and sour cream. I also added the nutmeg and allspice to the soup mixture since I didn't make the meatballs fresh and still wanted the flavor. Included the Worcestershire and a few splashes of red wine. Lastly, I added the meatballs and drippings to the mushroom soup and simmered for a few more minutes. Served over rice. Easy and delish! Thank you for sharing!
victor says
You are very welcome. Happy New Year!
Albert Rains says
This was easy and absolutely delicious! Just the meatball recipe I was looking for.
Carrie says
Delicious recipe. Omitted the nutmeg, allspice, and parsley. Used real garlic instead of powder. Didn’t toast the breadcrumbs, too much work. Used 2 full can of mushroom soup.
Sam says
When there are 6 changes..is it still the "recipe"...???
Susan says
Sam, I agree with you. If a person changes the recipe the first time making it then they haven't actually made the recipe and should not make comments (good or bad).
Samantha says
Love this recipe! So full of flavor.
Cathy says
I've made something similar for the last 30 years but I wondered if there was something better, something to make the meatballs more tender, I just needed a little refresh on the recipe.
And sure enough I found that the spices and toasted breadcrumbs make a big difference. I ended up making them a couple hours early and putting them in the Crock-Pot to keep warm., and free up stove space. Delish!
GladysJ. says
I had to substitute beef broth for chicken broth and sour cream for cream cheese since it’s what I had on hand but I followed the steps and the rest of the ingredients and it turned out delicious.
Cynthia says
Very good! Easy to make. Tasty. I added a little extra sour cream.
Matt says
Absolutely delicious and easy!
Sierra says
Made it a few times now and it's definitely a family favorite!
Heather says
Delicious!
JimD. says
My first time cooking Swedish meatballs and they turned out super delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
victor says
You are very welcome!
Jen says
Love your recipes and this is one is no exception. These Swedish meatballs are delightful!
Malachi says
I would add more sour cream to make it thicker, and definitely Worcestershire sauce. That is a must.
victor says
I think it's a great idea to add more sour cream to make the sauce thicker.
Elise says
I've never been a fan of store-bought cream of mushroom soup so I don't make recipes that use it. When I saw your meatballs I couldn't resist and decided to make them but I made my own cream of mushroom soup using the recipe that you linked to in the post. It took some time but the dish turned out fabulous. The Swedish meatballs themselves are quite delicious even without the sauce. It's a great recipe.