Home » mains » Swedish Meatballs (A Family Recipe!) 🇸🇪 gluten free & keto

Swedish Meatballs (A Family Recipe!) 🇸🇪 gluten free & keto

These gluten free and keto Swedish meatballs are a terrific spinoff of a family recipe. Think juicy and incredibly flavorful meatballs, bathed in a creamy and luscious gravy!

Traditional gluten free & keto Swedish meatballs in a cast iron pan
Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs

Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs

A Family Recipe!

This is a keto spinoff of a traditional family recipe for Swedish meatballs (not my family, we’re Dutch/Mexican!… but a friend’s grandmothers recipe). And let me tell you that it’s as legit as they come.

Always a plus is that they’re easy-peasy to whip up and they make epic leftovers.  Oh, and our (actually good!) mashed cauliflower comes highly suggested for these guys!

And yup, these are essentially ‘IKEA meatballs‘! But, perhaps unsurprisingly, they’re much (much!) better when homemade.

Gluten free & keto Swedish meatballs with almond flour
Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs

‘The Breadcrumbs’

As you know, meatballs traditionally employ breadcrumbs for best texture… so to keto-fy these Swedish meatballs you’ve got a few options:

  • actual keto breadcrumbs via our soft ‘n fluffy sandwich bread. Works great… though obviously not too practical, and you may not want to transform your hard work into crumbs…!
  • crushed pork rinds! these work surprisingly well in lie of bread crumbs… as in very little discernible difference (i.e. no after taste and they’re my top choice!!)! A lot of you ask me for brands, and I’ve loved the new baked variety from Epic (which have 40% less calories btw!). Because they’re not fried in lard, they’re drier and resemble panko crumbs so very much.
  • or simply throw in some almond flour if keeping things kosher! I’ve done it plenty and it works the charm. I found the almond flour to add a lovely depth of flavor, but they were quite a bit more fragile than with pork rinds (but tbh I didn’t find it to be a biggie at all!).

Keto Swedish meatballs over a bed of mashed cauliflower
Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs
Keto Swedish meatballs in a skillet
Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs
Keto Swedish meatballs with cranberry relish
Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs (A Family Recipe!)

p.s. Don’t forget to serve them up with our (actually good!) cauliflower mash and cranberry relish (a terrific sub for the traditional lingonberry jam). 

Traditional keto Swedish meatballs

Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs

These gluten free and keto Swedish meatballs are a terrific spinoff of a traditional family recipe.  Think juicy and incredibly flavorful meatballs, bathed in a creamy and luscious gravy!  
4.84 from 37 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine European
Servings 6
Calories 399 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Serving suggestions

Instructions
 

  • Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the onion, a pinch of salt, and sauté until it just begins to caramelize (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 
  • Add the ground meat, almond flour (or pork rind 'panko'), salt, spices, cooked onion, egg and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to a large bowl. Mix everything thoroughly together using your hands and form into rounds (either 20 small-is ones or 14 large). 
  • Heat up a touch of olive oil in your skillet over medium heat and cook the meatballs until brown all over and cooked through. You'll want to turn them around a few times so they cook evenly. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil while you make the sauce. 
  • Add the remaining butter to the skillet and cook until it begins to brown (don't clean the meatball remnants as they add the flavor to the sauce!). Add in the broth, remaining heavy cream and mustard to deglaze the pan. Allow to simmer for a couple minutes and make a slurry out of your thickener of choice (i.e. mix it with a couple tablespoons of cold water prior to adding it to avoid clumping). Continue to simmer until the sauce just begins to thicken and taste for seasoning. 
  • Add the meatballs back into the skillet, simmer for a couple more minutes and serve right away (think over a bed of mashed cauliflower!). 

Notes

* Or feel free to do half ground chuck half ground pork (my absolute favorite!)! 
**A few of you have had issues with reducing the sauce (i.e. cooking it down so it doesn't end up too thin). So start with 1 cup and add to taste! 

'The Breadcrumbs'

As you know, meatballs traditionally employ breadcrumbs for best texture... so to keto-fy these Swedish meatballs you've got a few options:
  • actual keto breadcrumbs via our soft 'n fluffy sandwich bread. Works great... though obviously not too practical, and you may not want to transform your hard work into crumbs...!
  • crushed pork rinds! these work surprisingly well in lie of bread crumbs... as in very little discernible difference (i.e. no after taste and they're my top choice!!)! A lot of you ask me for brands, and I’ve loved the new baked variety from Epic (which have 40% less calories btw!). Because they’re not fried in lard, they’re drier and resemble panko crumbs so very much.
  • or simply throw in some almond flour if keeping things kosher! I've done it plenty and it works the charm. I found the almond flour to add a lovely depth of flavor, but they were quite a bit more fragile than with pork rinds (but tbh I didn't find it to be a biggie at all!).

Nutrition

Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 642mg | Potassium: 319mg | Fiber: 0.25g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 565IU | Vitamin C: 1.3mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2.1mg
Keyword gluten free swedish meatballs, keto swedish meatballs
Whip up this recipe?Comment below or drop me a line @gnomgnom._ and tag #gnomgnomyum!

115 comments

  1. Romina says:

    I made these this morning .I added a spoon of psyllium husk to almond flour and they did not crumble and xantham gum with sauce. It’s definitely a keeper 👍

    • Sonya says:

      5 stars
      I added the psyllium husk and my meatballs held together. The recipe was yummy except next time I’ll add more spices.

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