There are many delicious recipes you can make with ground beef. Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs is one of my top 5 favorites. The flavor of these pressure cooker Swedish meatballs is really good, and the rich sauce complements the meatballs very well. Served over noodles or mashed potatoes, these Swedish Meatballs are amazing!
Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs
Even though I have Swedish roots, I didn’t find out until I dug into my family history. Finding out about one’s roots feels like completing a puzzle. My obsession for pickled herring, and Swedish meatballs may come from there. Or, I just love them because they are delicious!
Speaking of delicious, these pressure cooker Swedish Meatballs are very delicious!
In this recipe for Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs, I wanted to stay with the traditional ingredients, but strayed a little. You will not typically find Worcestershire or Dijon in the sauce. I didn’t add a lot, but I think the flavor is so much better from the addition of these two ingredients.
Lightly browning the meatballs before pressure cooking them gives them, and the sauce, a richer depth of flavor that only something fried/browned can give. Please don’t skip this step unless you are using frozen meatballs.
I hope you won’t be put off by the Allspice and Nutmeg. There isn’t enough to make it taste strongly of those spices. They are warm spices, and just add a little something special, and they are traditional to Swedish Meatballs.
Serve Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs alone, or over a pile of egg noodles or mashed potatoes. The sauce/gravy is so good you won’t want to leave a drop of it on your plate!
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Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs are tender, flavorful meatballs with a delicate flavor. Covered in a rich sauce and served over noodles or mashed potatoes. These pressure cooker Swedish Meatballs are a family favorite recipe!
- 1 lb Ground Beef (90% lean)
- 1/2 lb Ground Pork
- 1/2 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1 small Sweet Onion, grated on a cheese grater
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, finely chopped, divided
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 6 Tbsp Butter, divided
- 2 10 oz cans Beef Consommé (or good beef broth, 2 1/2 cups)
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 cups Heavy Cream, divided
- 1/4 cup Flour
- Salt & Pepper to taste
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In a mixing bowl add ground beef. ground pork, panko, milk (pour over the crumbs), onion, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, garlic powder, beaten egg, and 2 Tbsp of the parsley. Mix together well to combine the ingredients.
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Form 30 meatballs and set them on parchment paper.
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Turn on the pot's Sauté setting, and when it is hot, add the olive oil and 2 Tbsp of the butter.
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Add 15 of the meatballs and brown lightly on outside. Do not cook completely. Remove to a plate and repeat with the second batch.
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Add the beef consommé and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to get up any of the browned bits (deglaze).
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Add the remaining 4 Tbsp of butter, dijon, Worcestershire, and 1 cup of the heavy cream (reserve the remaining 1 cup). Stir well.
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Cancel the Sauté setting.
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Add the meatballs back into the pot. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial (High pressure), and then the + or - button or dial to select 4 minutes. When the cook time is finished, let the pot sit undisturbed for 6 minutes (6 minute natural release).
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While the meatballs are cooking, mix the flour with the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream. Whisk it well so there are no lumps. Set aside.
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Do a controlled Quick Release of the pressure (*A controlled quick release means you release the steam in short bursts, then longer bursts, until you can be sure none of the sauce spews out of the vent with the steam from the intense pressure. Then fully open the vent and let it go).
When the pin in the lid drops down, you can open it.
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Remove the meatballs to a plate and cover. Turn on the Sauté setting (Med - Normal temp) and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the flour/cream mixture, stirring frequently, until thickened. Cancel the Sauté setting.
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Taste the sauce and adjust salt & pepper, if needed. You can either add the meatballs back in, or serve and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with remaining parsley.
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Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs go great over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Calories are variable based on the ingredients used. Based on 3 meatballs with sauce.
Resources to Make Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs and More
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Logan
If I want to use frozen meatballs, do I need to increase the cooking time at all? Do I just start at Step 5? Thanks!
Sandy
Just start at step 5. They will defrost as the pot is warming and coming to pressure.
Dianna
We have been making your instant pot recipes. They have all been delicious. Started with the Mississippi Pot Roast. Have ingredients to make your Cajun Pasta tomorrow. Tonight we tried the Swedish meatballs. The sauce turned out bland. What could we do to spice it up? The markets did not have the beef consommé. I subbed a carton of beef bone broth (2 1/2 cups). Would that make the difference? Wanted Lingonberry to go with it. Could not find any so we had berried cranberry sauce. It was delicious with the meatballs. We liked how tender the meatballs were. Just need more flavor.
Sandy
Yes, beef consommé makes a difference. Also, you can add a teaspoon or so of beef Better Than Bouillon and stir it in really well. Worcestershire also adds flavor.
Chris
This is disgusting. There are three significant flaws in this recipe:
1) Do you know what you get when you add milk to bread crumbs and egg? Slime. If you’re using egg and bread crumbs as a binder, all milk does is add more liquid to break down the bread. The result is the meatballs fall apart. Use either milk or egg, not both.
2) There is no cooling or tempering step. Adding heavy cream directly to hot broth breaks the cream and causes it to curdle, coating the meatballs with what amounts to cottage cheese and leaving sour milkfat curds and whey in the sauce. Tempering the cream by slowly blending some of the broth with the cream before combining, or cooling the broth and adding the cream off heat (something difficult to do in an Instant Pot) prevents this.
3) Pre-blending heavy cream and flour aerates the cream. While trying to smooth that slurry out, chances are you’re going to create whipped cream. Also, the fat in the cream binds to the flour, creating dumplings that cannot be smoothed. Then, once again, you’re pouring cream into simmering hot broth – see point #2.
Sandy
I have had none of the above mentioned issues. Also, did you even make this recipe? I do appreciate your tips, but you come off as harsh and arrogant. That is not the vibe I am going for.
Ginny
Made this tonight and it was very delicious! Think I will cut down on amount of sauce next time because I’ll be throwing half of it out. Also plan on freezing meatballs for about 30 minutes next time to make them easier to brown them without them falling apart. Thanks for the recipe.
Stuart Dick
Are you kidding me with these ridiculous prep times? I consider prep time to include taking all the ingredients out of the cupboard and refrigerator, cutting up any vegetables, making all the meatballs, grating the onions etc. I started this around 5 pm and was eating around 8:30. 20 minutes prep time??? Ridiculous. It takes that much time just to get the ingredients out of the cupboard. Every recipe i have ever seen you need to at least triple the prep time.
Sandy
I’m sorry. I appreciate your feedback and will add some time. Thank you, Stuart.
Lance
How do you keep the formed meatballs from crumbling apart when browning them? Any tricks or suggestions? Thanks!
Sandy
I think mixing the mixture well is important. You might try an additional egg. It could be the meat.
Lynn l
This was absolutely delicious. I used frozen meatballs and it worked out great. Thank you !!!
Sarah
Would regular bread crumbs work in place of panko? I have two containers of regular bread crumbs at home and don’t necessarily want to buy even more bread crumbs. 🙂 Looking forward to trying this recipe soon! My husband keeps asking when I am going to try making Swedish meatballs.
Sandy
Yes, you can use regular bread crumbs. Enjoy!
Starr Freist
For dietary restrictions, is there any way this can be made with 2% milk?!
Sandy
Yes, just add it last.
Braum
Maybe i am doing something wrong.. I have tried to make this recipe twice and each time my meat balls have turned into “meat blops” – do you have to sautee prior to pressure cooking?
Sandy
I’m sorry that happened. Yes, you do need to brown the meatballs first, as steps 3 and 4 indicate. It does make a big difference in firmness and flavor!
Annie
My gravy curdled, are you sure part of the cream goes in before pressure cooking?
Sandy
Yes, as long as it is heavy cream. The fat usually protects it from curdling. Also, tempering it so it’s not going in super cold would help.
Debra
Very tasty recipe.. It is a bit time consuming, but well worth the work. The mixture of pork and beef make for a great meatball. The seasoning was perfect 👌. I was told that it was better than Rachael Ray’s recipe 🙌
April
Fabulous recipe! My husband liked these so much and was happy there were leftovers! I ended up just making everything in the skillet I browned the meatballs in (I only have 3 at Instant Pot and wanted to brown as many meatballs as I could at one time so I browned them in a big skillet). Look forward to checking out your blog and trying other recipes! Thanks!
Dale
Nice to see you gave a recipe were you made your own sauce. Sick of seeing ones were they say throw in a can of cream of mushroom soup. High sodium values in canned soup made me look around. Can’t wait to try it tonight~
Sandy
Hi Dale! I appreciate that. I will admit, I do use “cream of” soups once in a while. I just did a slow cooker Beef Stroganoff recipe where I made my own sauce. Hope you like the meatballs!
KATHLEEN SMITH
Try it with a 7 oz creme fraiche or an 8 oz sour cream added at the very end. OMG! It adds a real nice little twang
Sandy
Yum!
Kristin
Hello! This recipe is delicious!!! I’d love to serve to my 10 month old, too, but he can’t do cow’s milk until 1 year. Do you think I can replace the heavy cream and milk with plain yogurt? Thanks!
Sandy
I have not tried that. If you do, try using full fat yogurt. The fat helps keep the milk from curdling, so that may be the case with yogurt. Also, you will want to add a little water before pressure cooking to thin it out and help build the pressure. Let me know how it works if you try it.
Patty
I made these for our Mother’s Day Dinner. They were delicious and so easy. The directions were perfect. This was the 3rd time I used my new Instant Pot and my favorite meal so far!
Daniel
Absolutely amazing recipe!!!! So good!! Will definitely use agaian and again and again!!
Sandy
Great! Thank you, Daniel! I appreciate your feedback.
Jen
Do you think you could do this in a crockpot? I bet the flavors would be richer!
Sandy
Yes, just brown the meatballs on the stove, and then add them to the crock and cook for 4-5 hours on Low or 2-3 on High.
Debbie
This was excellent! We had it with mashed potatoes and Lingonberry sauce, so good!
Sandy
Lingonberry sauce is so good! I’m glad you liked the meatballs!
Doreen Beauregard
Made this tonight….we loved it! I did not have heavy cream, so I used 1/2 &1/2. It curdled a little, but when I whisked in the rest of the cream with the flour, it smoothed out. And, although I had the egg out, I forgot to put it in (duh). But they still came out delicious! Thank you!
Melissa
This recipe is by far one of the best meals I have had in a long time. Thank you for sharing.
Ariel
If using frozen meatballs would I just add everything but the slurry ingredients and cook for 4 minutes? I happen to have a bag of frozen ones I want to use up instead of going out and buying some meat.
Sandy
Yes, just take it from the step after browning them.
Alicia
Oh my GOODNESS were these good! I had a go-to Swedish Meatball recipe before, but thought I would try this using our Instant Pot. So glad I did! Easy recipes, directions were spot-on, and it was a hit with the whole family. The only thing I did differently was use ground turkey instead of pork, because the grocery store was out of pork. The meatballs were perfect, and the sauce was divine. Served over egg noodles found in the freezer section and peas. Thank you for the great recipe!
Sandy
That’s awesome, Alicia! I’m so happy you liked this recipe! Thank you for your review!
Selina
Do I double the time if i am doubling the ingredients?
Sandy
No, keep the time the same.
Donna
How would you reduce this recipe for a 3qt instant pot? What would you use instead of heavy cream to reduce the fat content?
Sandy
You can try cutting in half and using half and half instead of heavy cream. If you want to make the full recipe, it will fit in the 3 qt.
Denise
Can I use one pound each of ground meat and ground pork while increasing spices slightly?
Sandy
Yes, if more meatballs is what you are going for, just double the meatball mixture.
Kira
Hi! I would like to try this recipe, but I can’t eat pork. What would recommend for the meatballs? Thank you!
Sandy
You can use ground beef or ground turkey.
Vallan
I have a box of frozen Angus beef meatballs, how would I use them if I skip the browning step?
Sandy
Add them in after the gravy ingredients and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Karla
Delicious! So easy, my first recipe in my instant pot and my finicky 6 year old loved it!
Sandy
That’s great, Karla! It’s so nice when the little like what you cook! Thank you for your review!
Anna
Can I just use ground beef? I’m worried they won’t have ground pork at my grocery store.
Thanks!
Sandy
Yes you can!
abby
made these last night for my family and we all loved them! this morning i am still getting compliments on dinner last night. thanks for the recipe i will come back to it over and over again.
Sandy
That’s so great, Abby! Thank you for your review.
Barbara Durbin
Hubby said “this is a keeper!!!” Only thing I did different ly,I rolled the meatballs in flour before I browned them and I had made then in advance. I didn’t use as uch butter& oil as called for,as about half seemed enough. The meatballs nd the gravy had awesome flavors!! Thanks for sharing!!
Jessica
I changed a few things to our flavour liking but it was delicious. Everyone loved the meatballs and oh so filling
Sandy
That’s great, Jessica! I’m happy that you liked this recipe! Thank you for your review!
Barb
Do you think I could make this as a make ahead meal to freeze and reheat? Just the meatballs and sauce not the noodles
Sandy
Yes. I would freez flat in a freezer bag so they are easier to separate while reheating.
Rachel
Thank you for condensing the instructions into 8 pictures. I’m a visual learner and I’ve never seen a recipe condensed so well before. Thank you!! We’re trying this tonight. I have Scandanavian roots too and love swedish meatballs! Awesome recipe. You just got a new follower! 😀
Sandy
Hi Rachel, I’m glad the visuals worked for you. I try to make them for most of my recipes. Thank you for your review!
Marie
These were DELICIOUS! Everyone enjoyed them from the pickiest to most adventurous eaters. I was disappointed I was too full for seconds, we’ll be fighting over the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Sandy
I’m glad everyone liked these, Marie! Thank you so much for your review!
Jennifer
Is there anyway I can cook the noodles with the meatballs and sauce? How long would that take to pressure cook? Thank you
Sandy
Hi Jennifer. This is one of those recipes that you want the sauce to be rich and thick, and adding water to cook the noodles would thin it. Not to say it can’t be done, but egg noodles cook very quickly. Maybe put the meatballs on the bottom, layer the noodles on top, then pour in the water/broth, and the sauce over the noodles (try to cover them all). You need 1 cup of water/broth for every 4 oz of pasta. Then cook for the 4 minutes and do the controlled Quick Release. I do this method for my Meatball Pasta Dinner, so maybe it will work. Let me know!
Melody
FABULOUS. Will be one of my go to recipes. Thank you.
Jennifer
In Step 12, do I set is the saute at medium or high?
Sandy
Hi Jennifer, it’s Medium/Normal temp. I added that to the instructions. 🙂
Angie
We loved these meatballs! The sauce was so good too. We had them over mashed potatoes. Even our picky toddler likes them! Thanks for a great recipe!
Sandy
Yay! It’s so nice when the whole family, picky toddlers included, like the meal you cook! Thank you for your review!