Swedish Meatball Sauce with Sour Cream

Easy Swedish meatball sauce with sour cream you can make on stovetop, in Crockpot or Instant Pot. Use homemade or this is how to cook frozen meatballs with this homemade copycat IKEA Swedish meatball sauce.

Ok so my Grandmother was Swedish so she was all about authentic. She had to have a bit of lingonberry jam spooned on top of the cooked meatballs and sauce. Once I made this I used it for all sorts of dishes. I’ve made it on the stove and then in our Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs recipe.

A note about making our homemade meatball recipe without breadcrumbs is that you need to precook them just so that they don’t break apart. Just make sure the outsides are nice and crispy so they stay together well over the next few hours surrounded by sauce. With frozen you are set, and can dump them right in and cook together.

What makes Swedish meatballs different?

Swedish meatballs differ from other meatball varieties primarily in their seasoning, size, and sauce. Typically smaller in size, they’re seasoned with warm spices like which give them a distinctive flavor. Unlike Italian meatballs these are traditionally served in a creamy, savory gravy made with beef broth and cream. Commonly accompanied by mashed potatoes or buttered noodles with a side of lingonberry jam, this adds a sweet contrast to the rich savory dish

Once you get the hang of making this sauce you can use it in a number of different ways, and a variety of cooking methods. Combining with a bag right out of the freezer you can follow our Crockpot frozen meatballs for the easiest appetizer ever.

Ingredient Notes

For the main part of the sauce you want to use stock or beef broth as the base. That will give you the richest flavor in my opinion.

For part of the creaminess, use 1 can cream of mushroom soup (10.5 oz size). I have made our homemade cream of mushroom before starting this if I want from scratch all the way which is great too, just takes longer.

Worcestershire sauce gives it that really bold deep flavor that you taste when it hits your tongue. There isn’t a great alternative to this, it’s like soy but much stronger.

Seasonings to include would be some; Garlic powder, Salt and black pepper into the mix to enhance the overall flavor.

I highly recommend using a Grey Poupon type of dijon spicy mustard but if you are super sensitive to heat you could use “regular”.

And the trick to getting this to taste out of this world delicious is the sour cream, don’t use low fat people, that just ain’t right for this YUM.

Tips for Success

With all methods I recommend adding the sour cream at the end. You’ll want to whisk some of the hot sauce in with it warms before adding so it doesn’t break down and get a little clumpy. Then let it warm with the meat to become rich and creamy.

Most of the time I will make a batch of al dente egg noodles to serve with this but you could mash taters or go for fluffy rice with it too. Use lower fat turkey meatballs or beef if you prefer. There are even meatless versions out there that are actually quite delicious.

To cook with meat (from homemade) you should use clean hands to form your favorite beef and pork meatloaf mixture and brown with olive oil in a pan. You’ll need to brown these in a pan on the stovetop before adding sauce so they stay together well. A nice crispy outside with keep them from falling apart.

In a bowl whisk together all other ingredients (EXCEPT the sour cream) and cook your frozen or cooked homemade meatballs. At the end whisk about 1/2 c. of your hot sauce with your sour cream to warm it a bit. Gently fold this into your sauce and meatball mixture, re-cover and let warm.. If you want to thin sauce out add 1/2 c more broth.

If you want to cook the egg noodles and meat together you’d need to follow our Swedish meatball casserole recipe. We use this same sauce, cook, and then bake with some of our fried onions on the top. OMG y’all that is good.

Variations and Substitutions

This tastes very similar to the ones you get at IKEA, but no waiting in line required. 😉 Variations you might be wondering about? Okay so you realize that you are missing something and wondering if you can still make this happen? Plain Greek yogurt can work for sour cream (but not quite as good), beef stock for broth and can double if needed.

Dairy Free Option

Need it to be dairy free? Here are options I have heard others make that you could try; There is dairy free sour cream out there. I have bought this for my husband who needs lactose free products and he says it is pretty decent. You can make your own dairy free condensed soup yourself if you are really sensitive.

I have been in a place where I ran out of condiments, these are Worcestershire sauce replacements. You can just use soy sauce 1:1 but if you have tasted the two side by side they are not the same. I mean both will still bring a richness to the dish, sodium, and a punch of flavor.

What goes best with Swedish meatballs?

Mashed potatoes are great, but our air fryer mashed potato balls are even more fun (and go with the same theme) If you want to make this as a Swedish meatballs sauce IKEA copycat version then noodles are a given of course, egg is typical but shells are kinda’ fun too

OR you can just serve as is, we have done that too. You can find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, nutritional information only accounts for the sauce itself. Saturated fat, calories etc… will vary with the type of meat you use.

What can you do with leftover meatballs besides spaghetti?

This is a great option! If you make a batch to enjoy for dinner and have leftovers you can save it to enjoy the next day over noodles or frozen meatballs too. The Swedish meatball sauce itself is best made from scratch fresh. It may separate made as is and saved alone. With the meat inside though you can reheat in 1 minute in the microwave.

What to do with leftovers

Just make sure you allow your dish to cool to room temperature first off. Then transfer into a sealed container and into your fridge for up to 48 hours. Note that the sauce may separate slightly but will taste the same. Just stir and heat for 1 minute, stir again and may need another 60 seconds or so to warm.

Make fresh mashed potatoes to serve with it or some rice is nice stirred in to make more like a meatball soup of sorts. That is another nice way to enjoy this. You can make a double batch of this sauce with meat inside and enjoy as a soup. Believe me, it is quite rich but OH MY is it wonderful.