These quick and easy Swedish meatballs in the crock pot have all the flavor of a great Swedish meatball, with none of the fuss for a truly set it and forget it meal that's ready in about 3 hours! Making the Swedish meatballs in the slow cooker makes them a great effortless meal you can make any night of the week! Not sure What to serve with Swedish meatballs? Read on for my fave Swedish meatball sides!

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Easy Swedish meatballs in the crock pot!

These Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs are the ultimate lazy day comfort food! Super moist, and made with ground beef and ground pork, these delectable meatballs are well seasoned, and 100% cooked in the crockpot! No searing or baking involved! Just pop everything in your slow cooker, binge some Netflix, and boil egg noodles (or some other great sides for Swedish meatballs- listed below). Dinner effort level: zero.

homemade swedish meatballs and egg noodles

Making the meatballs

These meatballs are packed with flavor, and made extra moist with grated onion and grated bread. No dry crumbly breadcrumbs from a box here! To make the meatballs, you will need:

80/20 ground beef, as well as some ground pork. More fat = more flavor and moisture.
Grated white bread. You can use any white bread you like, or even sandwich rolls. Sourdough would also be great here. Steer clear or rye or wheat breads, as they will significantly adjust the flavor of the meatballs.
Some flavor bombs: Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. For umami and tang, respectively.
Fresh parsley and garlic, for herby flavor.
Fresh grated nutmeg. I prefer to grate as needed from whole nutmeg. It's flavor is fresher and more prominent than it's pre-ground cousin.
Garlic powder, salt and fresh ground pepper.
A grated onion, for flavor and moisture.
A couple eggs, to tie it all together.

Once all the ingredients are prepped, mix everything up in a large bowl with your hands. Form into balls about 1 tablespoon each, and layer in a pre-greased slow cooker. Some overlap is ok- but try and get as many layered on the bottom as you can.

Whipping up the sauce

Once the meatballs are all nestled in, you'll whip up the quick and easy sauce. All you need to do is whisk together a few ingredients, and pour right over the meatballs in the slow cooker. Set slow cooker to high, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours, until the meatballs are cooked through.

Finishing the sauce for the Swedish meatballs in the slow cooker

Once everything is cooked through, it's time to finish the sauce. For this step, you'll add a cornstarch slurry and some sour cream to help thicken the sauce and give it more body.

You'll notice in the recipe that you add even more Kitchen Bouquet, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon in this step. This helps give the sauce layers of flavor. Once you add the thickener and these ingrendits, cover and cook the meatballs 5-10 minutes more until the sauce is thick and creamy.

What is Kitchen Bouquet, anyway?

Kitchen Bouquet was a staple of my mom's kitchen growing up, and is an ingredient I always keep on my spice rack. A browning and seasoning sauce, it's been around for over 100 years! My mom always used it for her gravy (which is amazing) and I use it in my gravy as well as in soups, stews and sauces. It adds a bit of richness that I love.

finished meatballs in crockpot with sauce

What to serve with Swedish meatballs

While there are plenty of sides for Swedish meatballs, I love to serve them with the traditional egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Other great sides for Swedish meatballs

Aside from the obvious classics, here are some of my favorite sides for Swedish meatballs:

Steamed green beans
Roasted Broccoli
Roasted Potatoes
Smashed Potatoes
Cauliflower Mash
Spicy Zucchini and Carrots

In my house, we also like the occasional Swedish Meatball sandwich. Just add a thick slice of provolone to a roll, layer on the meatballs and sauce, and sprinkle on a bit of grated parmesan. Heaven!

Want to give this recipe a try?

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If you make my Easy Swedish meatballs in the crock pot, please be sure to leave me a comment! I would love to hear from you, and value your feedback! Lastly, if you make the recipe and love it, please tag me on Instagram! I love to see your photos!

Looking for more easy dinner ideas?

Why not try my Greek Lamb Feta Meatball Bowls, Sunday Sauce with Meatballs, Bracciole and Sausage, World's Best Pot Roast, or Easy Chicken and Dumplings!

Print Recipe

Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs

Prep Time20

Cook Time3 10

Total Time3 30

Course: Appetizer, Dinner

Keyword: crockpot recipes, meatballs, Swedish meatballs

Servings: 12

Equipment

6-7 quart slow cooker
cooking spray

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 lb 80/20 ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 cup grated white bread
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 small yellow onion, grated
2 large eggs

Sauce

3 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet*
3 cups beef stock
1 cup half and half
2 tablespoon melted butter
¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
3 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Finishing the sauce

4 tablespoon cornstarch
4 tablespoon water
⅔ cup sour cream

Instructions

Make the meatballs:
1. Spray a 7 quart slow cooker with non stick spray to coat.
2. Add all meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl, and mix together with hands until homogenous and well combined. Do not over mix.
3. Form mixture into balls (about 1 tablespoon each), and roll between your hands until smooth and well formed. Place in bottom of crockpot layering as needed.
Make the sauce and cook meatballs:
1. Whisk Worcestershire sauce, Kitchen Bouquet, beef stock, half and half, melted butter, nutmeg, and dijon mustard until well combined. Pour the mixture over the meatballs, cover, and cook for 3-4 hours on high, until meatballs are cooked through.
Finish and serve:
1. Once meatballs are cooked through, In a small bowl or liquid measure, whisk together 4 tablespoon cornstarch and 4 tablespoon water to make a slurry to thicken the sauce.
2. Add ⅔ cup sour cream and a ladle of warm sauce to the slurry and whisk well to combine. Adding the ladle of warm sauce keeps the sour cream from breaking in your finished sauce.
3. Pour the slurry/sour cream mixture into slow cooker, and stir well to combine.
4. Cover, and cook 5-10 minutes more, until sauce is thickened to desired consistency.
Serve meatballs hot over noodles or with mashed potatoes.
Makes about 50 meatballs.

*Notes and Substitutions:

Kitchen Bouquet is a flavor enhancer/browning liquid that lends lots of flavor to the dish! You can find it in your grocers soup and stock aisle.

I highly recommend layering the flavors as directed above for the sauce!

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