Craving the iconic flavors of Swedish meatballs without sacrificing your keto diet? Look no further! This low-carb recipe delivers all the juicy, savory goodness of traditional Swedish meatballs but with a keto-friendly twist.
This recipe is part of our keto ground beef recipes menu including our delicious low-carb spaghetti sauce and our tasty keto cottage pie.
These delicious keto Swedish meatballs are a perfect blend of ground beef, herbs, and spices, capturing the flavors of the classic recipe in a creamy low-carb sauce for a mouthwatering main dish. It’s a grain-free, gluten-free main dish ready to cook with only 10 minutes of prep time. This recipe is inspired by IKEA’s famous meatball recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Low-Carb: With only 2g net carbs per serving, they fit perfectly into your keto lifestyle.
- Flavorful: Packed with herbs and spices, they capture the essence of the classic dish.
- Quick & Easy: Ready in under 30 minutes, making it a perfect weeknight meal.
- Family-Friendly: A crowd-pleasing dish that even picky eaters will love.
- Make-Ahead: Prepare a big batch and enjoy it throughout the week.
Ingredients:
For the Keto Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Creamy Low-Carb Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 cup beef stock
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
How to Make Keto Swedish Meatballs
- Make the Meatballs:
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, onion, garlic, almond flour, salt, pepper, allspice, and egg. Mix well until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Shape the mixture into small, bite-sized meatballs (about 1 inch in diameter). You should get around 24 meatballs.
- Cook the Meatballs:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the meatballs to the skillet in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook until browned on all sides and cooked through about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove the cooked meatballs from the skillet and set aside.
- Prepare the Creamy Sauce:
- In the same skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Whisk in the beef stock, heavy cream, mustard powder, nutmeg, pepper, and salt.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, then whisk in the xanthan gum. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 8-10 minutes.
- Combine & Serve:
- Return the cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmer for a few minutes to heat through.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately with your favorite keto-friendly sides, like cauliflower mash or zucchini noodles.
Adjust the serving sizes in the recipe card below to make a larger batch of keto Swedish meatballs.
Tips & Substitutions:
- Meat Variations: For a richer flavor, experiment with different ground meats, such as pork, lamb, or a combination of beef and pork.
- Almond Flour Alternatives: If you’re out of almond flour, you can substitute crushed pork rinds or finely grated parmesan cheese.
- Make-Ahead Option: These keto Swedish meatballs are perfect for meal prep! Cook them ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. When ready to serve, reheat them in the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
Serve your meatballs with a buttery keto cauliflower mash, or try this healthy low-carb broccoli mash for a bit of color and extra flavor. We also love smothering keto bread in butter to dunk in the sauce and clean up our plates.
How To Store
Swedish Meatballs can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. They can be frozen raw or cooked, with or without the sauce.
Reheating
Reheat refrigerated meatballs gently in a pot on the stove over medium heat so as not to burn in a medium oven. The meatballs can also be reheated in the microwave. Thaw frozen meatballs before reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use avocado, ghee, or coconut oil instead of olive oil.
You can substitute the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk and use vegan butter for a dairy-free version.
These meatballs pair perfectly with cauliflower mash, zucchini noodles, or your favorite keto-friendly vegetables.
Keto Swedish Meatballs
Rate it
Print Pin Share EmailUnit Conversion
Ingredients
Meatballs Ingredients:
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 small Onion diced
- 2 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- ¼ cup Almond Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper ground
- ¼ teaspoon Allspice
- 1 large Egg
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Cream Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon Salted Butter
- 1 cup Beef Stock
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Mustard Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper ground
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg ground
- ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Place all the meatballs ingredients, except the oil, into a mixing bowl. Mix well.1 pound Ground Beef, 1 small Onion, 2 cloves Garlic, ¼ cup Almond Flour, 1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Pepper, ¼ teaspoon Allspice, 1 large Egg, 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Roll into balls that are about 2 tablespoons worth of mixture (you can use a cookie scoop to make this step easier). We got 24 meatballs.
- Place a cast-iron skillet over high heat and add the oil.
- Saute the meatballs, adding a few at a time to the skillet, to avoid overcrowding. Turn the meatballs until browned on all sides and cooked through. Spoon onto a plate. Keep the skillet on the heat, including all the little bits left by the meatballs in the pan.
- Add the butter, then once melted add the beef stock, cream, mustard powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk together.1 tablespoon Salted Butter, 1 cup Beef Stock, ½ cup Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Mustard Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Pepper, ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- Bring to a simmer then whisk in the xanthan gum. Continue to simmer until thick, about 8-12 minutes.½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- Add the meatballs back in and simmer for about 3 minutes, until the meatballs are hot.
- Sprinkle with parsley.1 tablespoon Parsley
- Serve with Buttery Cauliflower Mash and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Serving Suggestions
Serve your meatballs with a buttery keto cauliflower mash, or try this healthy low-carb broccoli mash for a bit of color and extra flavor. We also love smothering keto bread in butter for dunking in the sauce and cleaning up our plate.How To Store
Store Swedish Meatballs in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. The meatballs can be frozen raw or cooked and with or without the sauce.Reheating
Reheat refrigerated meatballs in a pot on the stove over medium heat gently so as not to burn; in a medium oven. The meatballs can also be reheated in the microwave. For frozen meatballs, thaw them out before reheating.Nutrition
Want more yummy Keto meatball recipes? Try our;
Delicious!
G
🙂 Thank you Anita, glad you enjoyed the meatballs.
I’ve made this dish a few times and it is delicious, my husband and I love it. We triple the sauce, though, for you sauce lovers. I hate xantham gum, so use cream cheese to thicken. Tonight, I added some mozzarella cheese to change it up. I’ve even made it into a meat loaf when I’m too busy or lazy to make the meatballs! Thanks for such an awesome recipe!
Hi Cathy, I’m glad you enjoy the meatballs. I might give your cream cheese idea a go next time. Thank you.
Made these tonight and my daughter loved them. There is a mistake above. Shows adding 2 tblsp of oil into the meat and then another 2 tblsp into the pan. Next time I will just add it to the pan. Used wagyu ground beef and substituted xanthan gunm for psyllium husk since I didnt have any. Absolutely delicious and will be making this on rotation often! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hey T, Glad you liked the meatballs and thank you for the feedback.
This is a really delicious dish and matched it with some cauliflower rice – feel very full and satisfied! Will make again!
Hello Sandra, thank you for the feedback and I’m glad you liked them. Matt
Very delicious!!! I am diabetic and my husband is on a low carb diet to lose weight. I am always after recipes that are delicious and make you feel like your not eating “health food”. Thank you for posting this. Will make again for sure
Hello Heidi, thank you so much for the feedback. Glad you and hubby enjoyed the meatballs.
I am a Swede so I had high hopes. I doubled the recipe and used half pork. I substituted ground pork rinds for the almond flour due to watching my oxalate intake. Trying to keep this kind of Carnivore. I just had the meatballs with the gravy. My spouse had them with 1/2 a potato and broccoli. Very good!!!
Hello Alexandra. So happy that we passed the taste test from a true Swede. It would be embarrassing if we didn’t. Thank you for your kind words.
One more Swede about to make these for church potluck!!! Will let you know if we have any leftovers!!!
Hope everyone enjoys them Tracy.
I made these using ground venison. Followed the recipe and it was tasty.
Hi Linda, we haven’t tried venison yet, I might give it a go. Thank you for your feedback.
That sounds wonderful.
Used half pound beef and half pound of pork, along with a dash of mace, mom’s secret. Wonderful.
Hey Amy, thank you for the tip, I might try that next time.
So good. Creamy sauce with a hint of nutmeg. I cooked up some mushrooms and put sauce on them separately from the meat. The sauce alone makes this recipe worthwhile. Combined with the meat, it’s over the top.
Hello Kathryn, thank you so glad you enjoyed the meatballs.
these were amazing, I didn’t have beef broth so I put chicken broth with a tsp of marmite, it came out delicious! thank you
hello Rona, I might have to try out that chicken and marmite trick of yours. But of course we are Australian so we’ll have to use vegemite 😉
This was so good! The sauce was amazing. I will definitely be making this again!
Hi Sophia,
Thank you so much for your feedback, so glad you liked it.
Delicious! We loved your recipe. The sauce was perfect.
What percentage ground beef did you use?
Hi Jamie,
We prefer to use the higher-fat beef, so 18-20% 🙂
I just made these for dinner. I used ground chicken instead of beef and chicken broth in place of the beef broth. My family loved it!
Chicken sounds delicious, Tamara! I’ll have to give it a try!
Is it possible to replace the almond flour with coconut flour? And how much coconut flour would I use in place of it?
Hi Tegan,
I haven’t made the recipe with coconut flour but I think 1 tablespoon would be a good place to start. Let me know how they go!
Easy to prepare. Taste is wonderful.
I didn’t have the spices or mustard, but it was yummy without it