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Although everyone has their own ideas about what makes great comfort food, the wonderful combination of meatballs and potatoes often tops the list. This creamy meatball stew recipe makes a great meal after a tiring day at work and it’s equally ideal for a chilly evening. The meatballs are juicy and flavored with herbs and spices, while the creamy gravy smothering the creamy homemade meatballs and potatoes is heavenly. For a pop of color, there are also green peas on the plate.
Treat your tastebuds to a creamy meatball stew. This Swedish meatball dish is easy to prepare and it’s been a staple in many households for years because it’s so delicious.
Also try meatball marinara subs, poor man’s stew, roasted tomato meatball polenta, or Italian wedding soup.
Why You’ll Love It
Really delicious: You aren’t going to forget to eat this tasty dish in a hurry. Everything from the succulent meatballs to the velvety gravy and green peas has such a wonderful flavor.
Easy to prepare: The recipe is a simple one to make. You shape and bake the meatballs, boil the potatoes, prepare the gravy, and then combine everything.
Crowd-pleasing comfort food: Sometimes you just want comfort food and that means meaty flavors, creamy dishes, or anything that brings back nostalgic warm memories and tastes good. This creamy meatball soup or stew definitely fits the bill.
Swedish Meatball Stew Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below
Ground meat: I like to use half beef and half pork but you can use whatever you prefer. If you’re using sausage, you will need to adjust the seasonings you add because it might already be seasoned with salt and pepper and maybe other spices or seasonings too.
Panko breadcrumbs: These help hold the meatballs together. Substitute regular breadcrumbs if you want.
Parmesan cheese: To add more flavor to the meatballs.
Egg: This also helps with the meatball consistency.
Seasonings: The meatballs are flavored with garlic, fresh parsley, allspice, and nutmeg.
Beef broth: This is the basis of the gravy. Sub chicken broth if you prefer.
Cream: You need heavy cream to make the gravy rich and creamy, and sour cream (or you can use creme fraiche) too.
Peas: To add a pop of color to the plate. Feel free to sub broccoli or green beans. Carrots would work too.
Potatoes: Choose baby potatoes. If you only have larger ones, chop them up first. There’s no need to peel the potatoes unless you want to.
How to Make Meatball Stew
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card
Preheat oven: First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Make the meatballs: Mix the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and use a 2-tablespoon scoop to make the meatballs.
Cook the meatballs: Arrange the meatballs on a greased foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then keep warm.
Make the gravy: While the meatballs are cooking, melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over a medium-high flame and stir in the flour. Cook for a minute and then whisk in the broth, cream, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and dill.
Add the potatoes: Add them to the gravy mixture and cover the pan, then gently simmer for 20 minutes or until tender, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
Add the meatballs: Mix the cooked meatballs into the gravy.
The finishing touches: Serve the meatballs and potatoes in bowls, adding a spoonful of hot cooked peas and some sour cream. Garnish with dill and parsley (which is more than a pretty garnish).
Substitutions and Variations
Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs (here) in place of the regular ones that are made with wheat.
Tweak the meatball seasonings: You might like to use other seasonings in your meatballs. Anything from red or white pepper to cumin or Italian seasoning works.
Make a low carb version: Swap the panko breadcrumbs for panko pig (basically, ground fried pork rinds!) and the potatoes for a lower-carb vegetable like turnip or radishes.
Serving Suggestions
Appetizers: Kick off your comfort food style meal with a burrata caprese salad or pizza sliders. They’re both easy recipes too.
Side dishes: If peas aren’t your thing, you might prefer to have mushroom focaccia or sweet potato gnocchi with your creamy meatball soup. You could serve the stew on top of mashed potatoes or even polenta for a different presentation.
Dessert: Finish this tasty meal with raspberry truffles or one of these chocolate desserts.
How to Store Leftover Meatball Stew
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 4 days.
Freeze: You can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Defrost the frozen meatballs and potatoes in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: Warm it back up in a pan on the stove or in the microwave.
Top Tips
Grilled version: You might like to cook the meatballs on the grill or in the smoker. They will take about 12 minutes on the grill or about half an hour in a smoker at 250 degrees F.
Perfect potatoes: Cut the potatoes into even-sized pieces so you don’t end up with some still raw while some are cooked. If you’re using baby potatoes, you can cook these whole, of course, perhaps halving any that are especially large.
Experiment: Feel free to have fun experimenting with the recipe, adding more ingredients to the meatballs and the gravy. You might like to add onions to the gravy or throw a finely chopped handful of parsley into the meatball mixture instead of just a couple of tablespoons. Other fresh herbs can work too, such as oregano or basil. Or sprinkle in some garlic salt.
Meatball Soup Recipe FAQs
You can use a combination of ground beef and pork or just use one or the other. Perhaps you’d prefer to use ground chicken or turkey, in which case sub chicken broth for the beef broth in the gravy.
You can swap the ground meat for your favorite vegetarian protein and the beef broth for vegetable broth if you want a veggie version.
Because the gravy is so delicious you won’t want to miss a single drop, which is why a slice of crusty bread is a good side. You can use it to mop up every last delicious drop!
For a slow cooker version, cook the meatballs and gravy and then transfer into your slow cooker with the potatoes. Cover and cook on a high heat for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, or until the potatoes are done.
Swedish Meatball Stew Recipe
Creamy Meatball Stew
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 Pound ground beef
- 1 Pound ground pork
- ½ Cup onions, finely chopped
- ½ Cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ Cup milk
- ¼ Cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- ½ Teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ Teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ Teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Gravy:
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- ½ Cup all purpose flour
- 4 Cups beef broth
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 Teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tablespoons dill, chopped
- 2 Pounds potatoes, small, halved
- 1 cup peas, cooked
- ¼ cup sour cream, or creme fraiche
Optional Garnish:
- dill, Chopped fresh
- parsley, Chopped fresh
Instructions
For the Meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and spray with nonstick spray.
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and scoop 2-tablespoon portions of the mixture to form meatballs.
- Place on the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes until cooked through. Keep warm until ready to add to the gravy.
For the Gravy:
- Melt the butter in a large pan and stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the beef broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and dill.
- Add the potatoes and place a lid on the pan. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent the gravy from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the meatballs to the gravy.
- Serve plates of the meatballs and potatoes with a heaping tablespoon of peas, some sour cream and (if liked) a sprinkle of fresh dill and/or parsley.
Notes
Perfect potatoes: Cut the potatoes into even-sized pieces so you don’t end up with some still raw while some are cooked. If you’re using baby potatoes, you can cook these whole of course, perhaps halving any that are especially large.
Experiment: Feel free to have fun experimenting with the recipe, adding more ingredients to the meatballs and to the gravy. You might like to add onions to the gravy or throw a finely chopped handful parsley into the meatball mixture instead of just a couple of tablespoons. Other fresh herbs can work too, such as oregano or basil. Or sprinkle in some garlic salt.
Nutrition
Meal time is going to be extra-delicious when you treat your family (and your tastebuds) to this creamy meatball soup or stew (it’s kind of like a stoup – half stew and half soup!) The meatballs are soft and juicy, perfectly seasoned with herbs and spices, while the gravy is rich and creamy. And then the green peas finish the dish off beautifully. All the ingredients are easy to find and the recipe itself is a breeze to cook. Make extra because you’ll want more!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
There was no leftovers. This has got to be my new favorite recipe from your site!!
This soup fulfilled all my cravings—it’s cozy, hearty, and perfectly seasoned.
Definitely want to make it again; it was that good, and no leftovers. My kids were licking their plates, LOL.
Hands down the best stew I’ve had. So deliciously creamy!