Easy homemade Instant Pot Swedish meatballs recipe! Total comfort food at it’s finest and takes less than 20 minutes to make. You’ve got to try it with pressure cooker frozen meatballs or make them yourself! Keto friendly, delicious, and can be made in your Ninja Foodi or Crockpot express too.
This easy homemade Instant Pot Swedish meatballs recipe is so great. Tastes like my Grandma’s and it’s one of our very favorite Instant Pot recipes. Use our homemade creamy sauce to eat as is or over egg noodles. (affiliate links present)
Table of Contents
Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs
I don’t know about you but year round I am all about comfort food! I used to throw it in the oven but especially when it is 100 degrees outside I have no interest in that. Thank goodness for my fancy pressure cooker! 😉
Ninja Foodi Swedish Meatballs
On my counter are a few different brands and they all work basically the same. That means if you are looking for a great and easy Ninja Foodi recipe you can follow the same directions using the lid that is not attached and the pressure cook button. A Mealthy and crockpot express work the same way as in the recipe card below
Let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!
- Then LIKE our IP Facebook page for new ideas daily.
- This is a great InstaPot cookbook to grab too.
- I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. It is easier to clean and will avoid the burn message too.
- For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations.
I know…it looks delicious right??!! If you remember eating a version of these with your family members back in the day you can make them quicker now, with the same taste.
Of course you could use Instant Pot frozen meatballs for this dish. I think my easy meatball recipe is so simple and is packed with flavor though, so I prefer to make them myself. If you have a favorite meatloaf recipe just use that and instead of a large hunk divide it up into palm sized balls.
Meat with a bit more fat content work a bit better just so the meatballs don’t fall apart in the pressure cooking process. 80/20 is usually best or you can mix half spicy ground sausage with beef which tastes amazing but that is totally up to you.
Swedish Meatballs without Frozen Meatballs
Yes you can make this with a “bag of meat” but from scratch isn’t that hard and so much better. I like wide egg noodles the very best. They don’t get too soft if you just boil for a bit of time and taste great all different ways. From making butter noodles to folding them in with this meat and sauce it soaks up the goodness.
What is a Swedish meatball?
They are traditionally made with onion, ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. The sauce ingredients typically include butter, flour, beef broth, sour cream, salt and pepper.
It is an “old fashioned” dish I remember my Grandmother making as I grew up and I thought it was just a normal dish. As I got older I realized how lucky I was to have enjoyed her homemade dish and had to figure it out myself once I had kids.
Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs using Frozen Meatballs
If you are going with the faster method you just skip the saute function at the beginning to brown them as that wouldn’t be necessary. As far as the rest goes everything else would work the same way. I suggest trying both and see which you prefer.
If you want a side I would suggest a bit of egg noodles or Instant Pot white rice. We love them just as they are. 😉 I think that it is best to boil them to slightly al dente on the stovetop separately. Then when done pour them in and fold together so the sauce can coat everything.
OR you can make it together in the oven with our Swedish Meatball casserole (shared below). For dinner when we have a quiet house (very rare, but it does happen), or just as a special treat I love pairing this with a glass of Chardonnay too!
Now you could in fact use ground turkey or chicken if you wanted to. I think personally that beef works better with this creamy sauce as to not break apart as much but up to you.
Ingredients
- Homemade meatballs – or use this is how to cook frozen meatballs other ways
- Ground beef or half sausage and half ground beef or turkey
- Bread crumbs or if making Keto Swedish meatballs substitute for fried onions
- French onion soup mix – yes really
- Egg
What is the sauce for Swedish meatballs made from?
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Beef broth
- Onion
- Sour cream
- Worcestershire sauce
- Cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
- Dijon mustard
How to Make Swedish Meatballs in a Pressure Cooker
- Mix together your ground beef, packet of french onion soup mix, 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce, bread crumbs, and 1 egg. Make into medium size balls.
- (skip if using frozen meatballs).
- Spray the inside of your Instant Pot with non stick spray and add a bit of olive oil inside. Set to saute, low.
- Add your meatballs and diced onions to your pot and cook until the outsides are browned (if using frozen meatballs skip this step). Turn pot OFF.
- Take them out and add 1/2 your can of beef broth to deglaze your pot.
- Mix together all your other ingredients in another bowl and use a whisk to make sure all lumps are gone.
- Pour your cream mixture into the pot and put meatballs back in. Put your lid on, close your steam valve.
- Set to high pressure on your Instant Pot for 3 minutes for homemade meatballs. If using defrosted previously frozen meatballs cook for only 3 minutes as well.
- If using frozen you’ll need 5 minutes (for small frozen, larger may take longer). Once it’s done and beeps do a quick release.
- Check insides to ensure they’re cooked thru. Remove the meatballs from the pot.
- Set Instant Pot to saute low again. Add remaining 2-3 tbsp. of cornstarch and whisk into liquid in pot.
- Allow to bubble and thicken, add more cornstarch if desired. Add meat back into sauce mixture and serve!
Using frozen is a great alternative to save time and prep time. I have done this. With that said I will say I prefer my homemade meatballs better but here’s what you do if you want this easier version:
How to Cook Frozen Swedish Meatballs and Noodles
- Pour 1.5 c. water inside your inner liner with a vegetable steamer inside.
- Empty bag of frozen meatballs into basket.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to pressure high for 3 minutes followed by a quick release.
- Timing will vary but this is pretty good for all brands. Differences will come if yours are quite large but even if they’re not cooked all the way through they will be with the second heating time with the sauce
- You can skip step one since these are precooked and now defrosted.
- Take out, set aside, drain water out of pot and start with whisking your sauce ingredients together.
- In a pot on the stove boil egg noodles to al dente
- When done fold both together to coat
Put diced onions in as is without sauteeing first with the meat, that is fine because they’ll soften in the cooking process. Or make our baked Easy Swedish meatball casserole recipe.
What is the IKEA meatball sauce?
They keep these details under tight wraps, but I must say this could be a copycat IKEA meatball recipe because our Swedish meatballs sauce with sour cream tastes so similar. The key to success is the sauce really, made right in the skillet where you brown the meatballs. As stated earlier, it is a mixture of butter, flour, beef broth, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce.
This creamy sauce picks up all the flavorful fond on the bottom of the pan. Try it for yourself and let us know if it’s as close and good as you remember having it there.
What do you serve with Swedish meatballs?
Traditionally these are served with potatoes and lingonberry jam, which I love! We have also served them alongside white or brown rice or noodles. If you like spiced meatballs, add a dash of allspice to the meat mixture.
- Mashed cauliflower is a great choice for a low carb alternative
- What vegetables go with Swedish meatballs? Well you’d probably get a different answer depending on whom you asked. For us if you want a really healthy option you can just make these mixed steamed vegetables in pressure cooker
- Instant Pot mashed potatoes using red potatoes is probably our favorite.
Well maybe nothing for you unless you’re like me and had a Swedish relative who made these! THEN they come with a boat load of memories I tell you. If you are looking for a recipe specific to your heritage this may be something you could make and pass down to younger generations. Recipes with meaning are so much better no matter what they really taste like. Yes I love my slow cooker but quick is where it’s at nowadays.
Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 pkg french onion soup mix
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c bread crumbs, substitute french’s fried onions if making keto
- 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 can beef broth, 14.5 oz.
- 1 c heavy cream
- 1/2-1 onion, diced
- 1/2 c sour cream
- 3 tbsp cornstarch, varies according to thickness desired
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- mushrooms, quartered, optional
Instructions
- Mix together your ground beef, packet of french onion soup mix, 1 tbsp worchestershire sauce, bread crumbs, and 1 egg. (skip if using frozen meatballs). Make into medium size meatballs.
- Spray the inside of your Instant Pot with non stick spray and add a bit of olive oil inside. Set to saute, low.
- Add your meatballs and diced onions to your pot and cook until the outsides are browned (if using frozen meatballs skip this step). Turn pot OFF. Take meatballs out and add 1/2 your can of beef broth to deglaze your pot.
- Mix together all your other ingredients in another bowl and use a whisk to make sure all lumps are gone.
- Pour your cream mixture into the pot and put meatballs back in. Put your lid on, close your steam valve.
- Push the pressure high button on your Instant Pot for 3 minutes for homemade meatballs. If using defrosted previously frozen meatballs cook for only 3 minutes as well. If using frozen meatballs need 5 minutes (for small frozen, larger may take longer).
- Once it’s done and beeps do a quick release.
- Check meatballs to ensure they’re cooked thru. Remove the meatballs from the pot.
- Set Instant Pot to saute low again.
- Add remaining 2-3 tbsp. of cornstarch and whisk into liquid in pot.
- Allow to bubble and thicken, add more cornstarch if desired.
- Add meatballs back into sauce mixture and serve!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve cooked this recipe several times for my husband. It’s quick and easy and he loves it with egg noodles (which I cook on the stove).
Thank you for being nice and not a tool, I like your egg noodle idea been doing it along time. I wish these dummies would just move on.
I was shocked that this was Keto. The amount of Carbs in it is so high. I’m allowed 20 carbs per day. Why is the carb count so high?
Did you remove bread crumbs from the count? If you subbed them with fried onions it will look a whole lot better carb-wise.
I haven’t tried this recipe, but as a SWEDE… please do not call these Swedish meatballs because this is not at all how we do it. I’m sure this recipe can be absolutely lovely still 🙂 but, it is not SWEDISH. 🙂
that’s just the name… as we all know French fries aren’t actually French and fortune cookies are not Chinese. You can blame King Charles the XII for the name 😛
It’s not actually “just the name”, since there are TONS of variations on meatballs from all over the world. Italian meatballs is only one example. French fries are always french fries. Duh. So that’s not a very good argument here I’m afraid. 🙂
And for you second point about King Charles the XII – That story is fabricated and has been debunked by several different sources since it first surfaced online. You can look it up, but unless you speak Swedish I think it will be hard for you to find any good information on this.
I took the liberty of finding a quote for you from one of these articles:
“Tellström säger att ordet köttbulle för första gången nämndes 1755 i Cajsa Wargs kokbok, alltså långt efter Karl XII död 1718.”
“The word meatball is first mentioned in a cook book by Cajsa Warg from 1755, which is long after Karl XII died in 1718.”
So, accurate sources aside… 🙂 I still don’t think it’s a cool move to toss around names and titles when it’s inaccurate, like calling something Swedish when it ISN’T. The flavor profile doesn’t even line up with Swedish flavors. Again – not dissing the recipe or the creator behind it. I am simply questioning the name since to me, as a swede who is passionate about cooking, I find it fundamentally wrong and almost insulting.
Call the recipe American meatballs, if anything. But. It. Aint. Swedish.
Well…..I am Swedish and my Grandmother who came from Sweden gave this recipe to me and I adapted it to work in a pressure cooker. SO…..it is authentic to me. Please just pass it on by if it doesn’t suit your needs or verbiage. No need to leave negativity on a site you have the ability to access for free, you’re welcome for that.
French fries are called “chips” in the UK-furthermore, in the US, chips are definitely not what we call “French fries”. Call your recipes what you like, people can search for “traditional” recipes if they really want to.
Is it the lack old spices such as nutmeg? Or something else that significantly deviates from an authentic Swedish recipe? Also, please evaluate your priorities if meatballs cause offense.
Exactly!
Holy moly… it’s just a recipe! Move along.
First time making these, felt the instructions were a little unclear. Did I miss something or does it never mention what to do with the other 1/2 the beef broth?
I would assume that it falls into the next step… “all other ingredients”.
This is amazing! I made it tonight and my hubby gave it two thumbs up. The only problem I had is that before the instant pot pressurized it shot out the “burn message.” I stopped everything, turned off the instant pot and tried again-same thing happened. Anyone else have this happen or an idea of why it happened? The sour cream and heavy cream is really supposed to go in on the step where the meatballs finish cooking, right?
It may have done this because either you didn’t deglaze the pot after sauteeing and there were bits of meat stuck on. Or you didn’t turn it off after saute to give it time to cool off a bit before hitting the pressure button. Some pots are very sensitive and this happens.
We did this tonight, and added “ALL” the rest of the ingredients, INCLUDING the cornstarch. We finally figured out that the cornstarch was burning to the bottom of the instant pot. I know it’s good habits to read the instructions all the way through before beginning, which my daughter did (she’s an adult), but when actually making the recipe, she just followed that step exactly, and tossed in the cornstarch, too!
Have made this serval times and my family begs for it! I have altered so that it’s Keto friendly:) substitute breadcrumbs with French Fried Onions. IT’S AMAZING
Yeah so glad it’s a hit.
If you use frozen meatballs, would you use 1lb. or 1.25lb?
Girl, this looks delicious, but you GOTTA make it an option to get rid of that video in the bottom left corner. So distracting!
There’s an x on the top right corner if you’d rather not see it.
This was very good! After reading through the comments, I opted to make the meatballs and saute them in onions until browned first in the multipot (as directed). Then rather than removing the meatballs, I just pured the beef broth over them and pressure cooked for 3 minutes, quick released the pressure. Then I removed the meatballs and threw all the other ingredients in on saute mode on low and made the gravy and then mixed the meatballs back in at the end. I am new to the multicooker and was worried about amount of liquid or burn warnings mentioned. This method worked for me and it was delicious.
Also…I used 1/2 and 1/2 just cause it’s what I had.
Thanks for your method too.
So glad you loved them!
I am excited to try this recipe. I have never used the instant pot before. I would like to add noodles or rice to the dish. Is there any way to cook the noodles in the sauce and then add the meatballs back in.
You could try adding them with everything else, maybe egg noodles 1 c. and pouring the sauce over the top. Then go ahead and do the pressure high for 4 min.
I thought the recipe itself is poorly written.
Was my first time making this and the taste is divine but the sour cream and heavy cream curdled. That was a bummer. Don’t know what I did wrong but we ate it anyway. Maybe I have to use another setting??? At any rate this will be made again!
What setting did you use? That’s never happened to me.