Keto "Swedish" meatballs in gravy

Keto “Swedish” meatballs in gravy

While my Swedish friends tell me this isn’t truly a Swedish meatball, everyone agrees that these meatballs in gravy are delicious. And low carb! For a quick variation, you can try making this as a meatloaf and baking longer in a loaf pan.

Keto “Swedish” meatballs in gravy

While my Swedish friends tell me this isn’t truly a Swedish meatball, everyone agrees that these meatballs in gravy are delicious. And low carb! For a quick variation, you can try making this as a meatloaf and baking longer in a loaf pan.
USMetric
8 servingservings

Ingredients

Meatballs
  • 1 lb 450 g ground beef or ground turkey
  • 1 lb 450 g ground pork
  • 2 2 eggeggs
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp dried minced onion
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ½ cup 120 ml ground pork rinds (optional)
  • 1½ oz. 45 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Gravy
  • 2 oz. (523 tbsp) 55 g (80 ml) red onion, mincedred onions, minced
  • 2 oz. 55 g butter
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 cups 475 ml beef broth
  • ½ cup 120 ml sour cream
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp cream cheese
Creamy cauliflower
  • 1¾ lbs 800 g cauliflower
  • 6 oz. (¾ cup) 170 g (180 ml) cream cheese
  • 5 oz. 140 g butter
  • salt and ground black pepper
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Instructions

Meatballs

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (185°C).
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Shape the meat mixture into 24 balls.
  3. Place meatballs on a baking sheet in a single layer approximately ½” (3-5 cm) apart from each other.
  4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until meatballs are browned and cooked thoroughly.

Keto gravy

  1. Brown the onion in butter in a large skillet.
  2. Add salt, pepper, and broth. Let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the sour cream and the cream cheese. Simmer to thicken the gravy to the desired consistency, about 5-10 minutes.
  3. Add the cooked meatballs to the gravy and let simmer on low for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Creamy cauliflower

  1. While the gravy is simmering, start preparing the cauliflower. Place a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil.
  2. Chop the cauliflower into florets and add to the boiling water along with a generous pinch of salt.
  3. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until soft but not mushy.
  4. Drain the cauliflower and discard the water.
  5. Use a fork or a masher to mix the cauliflower, cream cheese, and butter until creamy. For the creamiest texture, use a blender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Substituting pork

If you avoid pork, this recipe can be made using all ground beef or a combination of ground beef and lamb, chicken, or turkey while omitting the pork rinds.

Add some color

Serve with quartered radishes and parsley if desired.

Video

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💬 Have you tried this recipe?

What did you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

25 comments

  1. Deborah
    I am wondering how this recipe compares taste wise to the other Swedish meatballs recipe. There are no comments on either recipe.
  2. Sara
    These meatballs were delicious! The cauliflower with cream cheese was an excellent accompaniment, gave it a good sour cream flavor that you expect with meatballs. I subbed flax meal for the crushed pork rinds.
  3. 1 comment removed
  4. Samantha
    Could someone advise why some recipes are classed as low carb (yellow) and not keto (green)? Im finding the difference confusing. I am doing Keto (5wks now) so trying to stay under 20g carb a day (with IF 16/8) so Only eating 2 meals a day. This meal is only 7g so providing i keep to under 20g for the rest of the day, is this an acceptable meal on Keto? Thank you
    Reply: #5
  5. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    Keto is not just low carb, it's also moderate protein and high fat. The fat ratio is a little low on this recipe, compared to the protein. However, if you account for that, then yes, you can eat this as a keto recipe! There is frequently quite a bit of overlap between the categories and those colors are just a general guide.
    Reply: #8
  6. Piper
    Is the nutrition info for both the meatballs and the creamy cauliflower rice? Also, it would be helpful to know the meatball count -- my mix made about 39 meatballs. Thanks. This was yummy even though my "gravy" wasn't very thick.
    Reply: #7
  7. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    The nutrition information is for all of the components of the dish.
  8. Samantha
    ahhh light bulb! Thank you, yes that makes sense!
  9. 1 comment removed
  10. muriel
    Is there a printed 'cookbook' with these delicious recipes available?
    Reply: #11
  11. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    Is there a printed 'cookbook' with these delicious recipes available?

    This recipe is available in Kristie's Keto Living Day by Day book.
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/1628602724/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_aaN8zbD8CDN6G

  12. Doreen
    I love these. My kids eat these, too, which speaks volumes.
  13. Nora
    I am a little confused about how to measure a serving size for all the recipes, like how much do I actually put on the plate?
    Reply: #14
  14. Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor

    I am a little confused about how to measure a serving size for all the recipes, like how much do I actually put on the plate?

    This recipe, as written, makes 8 servings. However many meatballs you make, divide that number by 8 and that's a serving. You can also adjust this recipe to make fewer servings if you don't need 8.

  15. Joey
    60ml of onion??? Glad I thought to convert to US (this usually confuses me as I'm in the UK) but at least I know what quarter of a cup of onions looks like! 😂
  16. 2 comments removed
  17. Laurel
    I am having trouble with the gravy. Everything goes fine until I turn the heat down to low and add the sour cream and cream cheese. It makes a curdled mess. I even tried tempering the sour cream by warming the cream cheese and mixing that into it and then stirring some of the liquid from the pan into it before adding. No good. I like the meatballs, but it looks like I might be trying a different sauce. Any tips or ideas?
    Reply: #20
  18. 1 comment removed
  19. HeatherB
    I found making cauliflower cream sauce makes a nice gravy for these meatballs. You cook cauliflower until very tender and then blend it with bone broth, parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast and a Iittle bit of oil. The cream sauce holds up very well It may be low carb high fat but not technically keto.
  20. kathleenmarieconway
    Great recipe and easy to follow. We made meatloaf rather than meatballs. Seemed easier to put it all into a loaf pan. Baked at 400 for 40 minutes. I agree the meat(loaf) and gravy are both salty, but I like salty food, so I thought it was good.
  21. Cee
    I made this tonight for the first time. It was delicious. I made 2 portions and got 10 meatballs, so 5 each serving. I am not a huge fan of cauliflower and thought the creamy cauliflower was AMAZING!! Will definitely have again...and again.
    Reply: #23
  22. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    I made this tonight for the first time. It was delicious. I made 2 portions and got 10 meatballs, so 5 each serving. I am not a huge fan of cauliflower and thought the creamy cauliflower was AMAZING!! Will definitely have again...and again.

    Thank you for your feedback! I am so glad you enjoyed this one!

  23. Lorraine
    Thanks as I needed a Keto sauce! Tasty and easy. Looking forward to making this whole dish as well.
  24. Kristie Sullivan, PhD Team Diet Doctor
    Hello there!
    Thanks so much for your feedback. We've listened, re-tested this recipe, and improved it. We hope once you try it again yourself, you'll notice the difference — and love it as much as we do.
    Happy cooking!

    /The recipe team

    P.S. To keep the comments section up-to-date, we've gone ahead and removed any comments regarding the now-resolved issues. Thanks!"

  25. CW
    I am planning to make 8 servings and freeze some servings (I will freeze the meatballs and gravy separately). I’m sure the meatballs and gravy will freeze well...but what about the creamy cauliflower? Will that freeze well?

    Thanks! Loving these recipes!!

    Reply: #27
  26. Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor

    I am planning to make 8 servings and freeze some servings (I will freeze the meatballs and gravy separately). I’m sure the meatballs and gravy will freeze well...but what about the creamy cauliflower? Will that freeze well?
    Thanks! Loving these recipes!!

    It should freeze well, but you will want to reheat it gently, perhaps thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating.

  27. Jennifer
    This was amazing...my husband and I loved it!! I served it over thinly sliced and sautéed cabbage, as I'm saving my cauliflower for different dish. Thank you!!
  28. Sophie
    Just made this recipe and god it is so delicious! I blended the cauliflower and made mash out of it and together with the gravy, it is very very tasty. The meatballs may not be Swedish but they are TASTY. Highly recommend the recipe.
  29. Carole
    Another delicious winner from this site! I made it per the recipe for 4 servings, but next time I will make a couple of changes. We were 3 people, but I have a son who wanted to eat more than this particular recipe for 4 so next time I will do the recipe for 6. Second, there wasn't really enough gravy, so if I made the recipe again for 4 people I would double the gravy recipe. I think next time I will also add some sliced mushrooms. I used half ground beef and half ground pork and it was a nice flavor, and different from using all ground beef, and that was a nice change since we tend to eat a lot of ground beef. The creamy cauliflower recipe is quite delicious and beyond fabulous, really as close to mashed potatoes as you can get when on keto!

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