Kid friendly and crave worthy, Swedish Meatball Soup combines the classic flavors of Swedish meatballs and their signature rich and creamy gravy into a one-pot recipe bursting with flavor. This healthy, family friendly meal is packed with protein and vegetables and ready in under an hour – the perfect cozy comfort food.
Are you ready for a one-pot wonder packed with protein and vegetables that the entire family will go gaga over? Good, because that’s what I’m serving up today!
We love Swedish meatballs, but putting together a full meal around these bite-sized delights can be a drag on a weeknight (not to mention all the extra dishes – no thanks). Enter Swedish Meatball Soup – all of the classic, mouth-watering flavors of this traditional recipe in a tidy one-pot meal brimming with vegetables in a luscious, creamy broth.
Why This Recipe Works
- Mini meatballs stay moist and tender – plus they’re bite sized! Perfect for little mouths.
- By using garlic and onion powder, I can easily avoid the dreaded “but there’s something IN THERE MOM!”. These mini meatballs are still perfectly seasoned for an adult palette, with a texture to please even the pickiest kiddos. Win/win.
- I don’t know about your family (unless you tell me in the comments), but my kids will eat vegetables in a soup nine times out of ten over vegetables on a plate. Kid logic!
- There’s just enough cream to make the broth rich, but not so much that it competes with the rest of the ingredients.
How to Make Swedish Meatball Soup
This kid friendly soup combines the classic flavors of Swedish meatballs and their signature creamy gravy into a tidy, one-pot recipe brimming with vegetables (and nutrition too!). Mini Swedish meatballs are browned for flavor, then simmered in a rich and creamy broth with tender vegetables and just the right dose of umami for a mouth-watering meal that packs in flavor.
Let’s make some mini Swedish meatballs! Combine a pound of ground beef (85/15 for best flavor) in a large mixing bowl along with the spices and seasoning – salt, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, allspice, and nutmeg. Mix until the seasonings are evenly distributed into the ground beef.
Form one-tablespoon portions (about half an ounce) into meatballs and set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add half the meatballs in a single layer and cook until browned, turning every minute or so to cook evenly. Remove the first batch using a slotted spoon, then repeat with the remaining meatballs.
The meatballs won’t be fully cooked, and that’s totally fine, and in fact ideal – fully cooking them at this stage will cause them to dry out. They’ll finish cooking later in the broth.
Pour out all but a tablespoon of fat from the dutch oven and prepare the soup base.
- Sautee the diced onion until soft and just starting to brown around the edges.
- Pour in one cup of beef broth to deglaze the pan – stir continuously until the liquid stops bubbling, and be sure to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the remaining beef broth, along with the soy sauce or coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, and diced vegetables (carrot, celery, and potatoes).
- Bring the liquid to a low boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
While the vegetables are simmering, prepare a cornstarch slurry by combining two tablespoons of cornstarch with an equivalent amount of water. Whisk until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and the slurry is smooth.
- Pour the cornstarch slurry into the dutch oven.
- Add the heavy cream to the soup.
- Return the browned mini meatballs to the pot.
- Once again, bring the liquid to a low boil and simmer until the broth thickens and the meatballs are cooked through (5-8 minutes). Taste the broth for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Add fresh chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
Swedish Meatball Soup Dietary Accommodations
- This hearty soup recipe is naturally gluten free. Make it entirely grain free by using arrowroot in place of cornstarch for the slurry.
- It’s lower carb, with 21g net carbs per serving.
- Best of all, it’s packed with veggies and protein, so it’ll fill you up and keep you full while supplying over a full serving of Vitamin A and healthy punches of Vitamin C and iron.
- As prepared, this soup is a bit high in sodium, so choose low sodium beef broth and use either coconut aminos or a lower sodium soy sauce if you need to monitor your salt intake.
My Best Tips for Perfect Swedish Meatball Soup
- Make the meatballs small so they’re easy to eat – about 1 tablespoon portions, or half an ounce.
- Be sure to brown the meatballs, but not fully cook, to prevent them from drying out.
- Simmer long enough to slightly thicken the soup, but not so long that the meatballs become overcooked – 5-8 minutes is perfect.
- Wait to season with salt until the end, as the broth, meatballs, and coconut aminos (or soy sauce) will add plenty of salt.
More Hearty Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Curried Cauliflower Soup
- Chicken Zoodle Soup
- Veggie-Packed Hamburger Soup
- Red Wine Beef Stew
- Pumpkin Chicken Chili
DID YOU MAKE THIS SWEDISH MEATBALL SOUP?!? I’D LOVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT! LEAVE A COMMENT AND A RATING BELOW 👇
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Swedish Meatball Soup
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Ingredients
Mini Swedish Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef, 85/15 for best flavor
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Swedish Meatball Soup
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 4 c beef broth
- 1 tsp coconut aminos, or soy sauce
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 8 ounces yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- ¼ c heavy cream
Instructions
- Combine the ground beef with the parsley, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, allspice and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Mix until the seasoning is worked into the ground beef. Form the beef into half ounce (1 tablespoon) meatballs.
- Heat a dutch oven over medium heat; add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add half the meatballs to the olive oil and toss to coat in the fat. Sautee until the meatballs are browned, turning every minute or so to evenly cook on all sides. Remove the browned meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside onto a plate. Repeat with the second batch of meatballs.
- Pour out all but one tablespoon of fat from the dutch oven, then return to medium heat. Add the onion and sautee until translucent, 5-6 minutes.
- Pour in 1 cup beef broth to deglaze the pan. Cook until the broth stops bubbling and stir continuously to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the remaining beef broth, as well as the coconut aminos or soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Bring the liquid to a low boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, 15 minutes.
- Whisk the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the soup along with the heavy cream. Stir to combine. Add the meatballs back to the pot. Simmer until the broth has thickened and the meatballs are cooked through, 5-8 additional minutes.
- Ladle into bowls. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
- Make the meatballs small so they're easy to eat - about 1 tablespoon portions, or half an ounce.
- Be sure to brown the meatballs, but not fully cook, to prevent them from drying out.
- Simmer long enough to slightly thicken the soup, but not so long that the meatballs become overcooked - 5-8 minutes is perfect.
- Wait to season with salt until the end, as the broth, meatballs, and coconut aminos or soy sauce will add plenty of salt.
Deirdre
Such delicious flavors – so nice for the raw, cold, rainy weather we’re having in the northeast tonight!
Danielle
So glad you enjoyed it Deidre, thanks for sharing!
LUCYG
Finally made this tonight and everyone liked it. I especially love the broth and will use this combination of flavors for a variety of beefy soups. Thanks so much. ❤️
Danielle
I love the broth too! Thanks for your feedback Lucy.