Guilt-free Swedish Meatballs, I made them low in calories and are delicious and tastes just like the authentic Swedish meatball recipe. There are many dishes that we crave for, but they are rich in calories. Today you will get to eat your favorite dish and not feel bad about it!
Eggs and heavy cream usually added to Swedish meatballs, and of course a lot of butter. There are no eggs in this recipe nor heavy cream, and I have used one tablespoon of butter.
I promise that you will enjoy every bite, the meatballs are juicy and flavorful, I have baked the meatballs instead of frying them, and that contributed to fewer calories.
How to make juicy meatballs?
There are two stars in this recipe, the meatballs, and the sauce. The secret for juicy and delicious meatballs are not to over bake the meatballs and to use less seasoning. The ingredients I’ve added in the meatballs makes it juicy and perfectly seasoned. The olive oil and milk make the beef bake without getting dry from the inside.
The onion and black pepper give a great flavor to the Swedish meatballs. The olive oil also replaces the eggs.
How to make the Swedish Meatballs sauce?
I know that beef stock is used in making Swedish meatball sauce, but I like to add chicken bouillon instead since that’s what I use at home and I like the flavor. But if you prefer using beef stock, then replace the water in the recipe with beef stock. Instead of heavy cream, I have used whole milk. I couldn’t notice any change in the flavor and the sauce was creamy and outstanding. If you dislike parsley, you can add Italian seasoning.
Can we make the meatballs ahead of time?
You can bake the meatballs and store them in an airtight container before refrigerating them. But the sauce has to be made before serving; this sauce tastes better when served immediately after cooking it.
Other meatball recipes:
Watch Swedish Meatball Recipe Video
Swedish Meatballs Recipe A Low Calorie Version
Ingredients
MEATBALLS:
- 2 tablespoon minced onion
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 250 gm ground beef
- 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
SAUCE:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cube of chicken bouillon
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
MAKING THE MEATBALLS
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Use a nonstick baking pan, or lightly grease the baking pan with oil.
- In a bowl, add the breadcrumbs, spices, salt, onion, milk, and olive oil, mix the ingredients well and then add the ground beef and mix until well combined.
- Form equal sized balls, you should be able to make 10 meatballs. Place the meatballs in the baking pan and bake for 18 minutes or until it’s cooked.
MAKING THE SAUCE
- In a pan, add the butter and when it melts add the flour and stir for two minutes on medium heat.
- Pour the water and whisk to avoid creating lumps. When the mixture is thick, add the milk and keep whisking to get a smooth sauce.
- Add the chicken bouillon and stir until combined. Season the sauce with black pepper and stir.
- Add the meatballs and parsley, stir for one minute.
- Cover the pan and turn off the heat.
- Serve the Swedish meatballs on mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.
Video
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and have been updated with new images and video.
My husband adores meatballs…this one looks perfect, Muna.
Thanks Angie 🙂
Those meatballs look ever so scrumptious! Wonderful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Ahem, the only Swedish meatballs I had was in IKEA…. I am very embarrassed… xD Would love to try making them at home. Such a gorgeous pictures of meatballs!
Oh yes! The Ikea ones are famous, but hope you try my version 🙂
These meatballs look so good! They don’t look low-cal at all!
Thank you Jeff, this is the whole idea but they don’t taste like low calorie Swedish meatballs 🙂
How many meatballs is 320 calories?
It depends on how small or big are the balls you made.
Had a hard time getting this recipe to thicken up. Followed the recipe. It tasted good but just not very thick.
You can add another half tablespoon of flour to thicken the sauce. I usually let the sauce cook until it reduces a little and get thick.