For years, people have been making treks to Ikea — the famously Swedish furnishings store — just to get their fix of Swedish meatballs. But guess what? Swedish meatballs aren’t actually Swedish. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know that — even the Swedes were confused. A little bit of digging has revealed that the dish was imported from Turkey to Sweden, brought back by Swedish King Charles the XXII, in the early 18th century. And if you can’t get to an Ikea, the recipe below makes it super easy to recreate the dish at home in your slow cooker.
This dish is so easy to make. Just mix the meat and add-ins, form the balls, and then put them into the slow cooker with some broth and seasonings before you head out for the day. When you get home, stir together some sour cream, flour, and pepper, and let it cook for another 30 minutes. All done!
Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large egg
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 (14-ounce) cans beef broth (3 cups)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, egg, and breadcrumbs, and mix with your hands to combine well. Form the mixture into 1 ½-inch balls, and arrange the meatballs in the inner pot of your slow cooker.
2. Add the broth, allspice, nutmeg, and Worcestershire sauce to the pot.
3. Cover and cook for four hours on high or for eight hours on low.
When the cooking time is done, in a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, flour, and pepper. Add couple of tablespoons of the liquid from the pot to the sour cream mixture and stir to mix well. Add this mixture to the pot over the meatballs. Cover the pot, and cook on low for an additional 30 minutes. Stir and serve the meatballs and sauce hot over rice or noodles.
