Turkey Swedish Meatballs

This easy Turkey Swedish Meatballs recipe is a delicious but lightened-up version of traditional Swedish meatballs. Served with a tasty creamy sauce, this Swedish meatballs with ground turkey recipe is comfort food at its best!

Juicy, tender, and flavorful, these turkey Swedish meatballs make for the perfect dinner. While the Swedish meatballs from Ikea are made with a combination of beef and pork, these meatballs use turkey instead. Ground turkey is leaner and generally has less saturated fat in comparison to ground beef, so it’s a delicious lighter option for dinner.

 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• They’re tender and flavorful meatballs that are so soft and moist in the center! It’s also paired with a luscious and creamy sauce that makes the dish even better.
• It’s pretty straightforward to make! Roll your meatballs, brown them, pop them in the oven, then with the skillet, deglaze and make a delicious sauce.
• I will never not crave Swedish meatballs whenever I’m in the radius of an Ikea, so this always hits the spot whenever the craving hits.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• ground turkey — I’m using extra lean ground turkey, but you can use any ground turkey.
• garlic powder — Ikea’s recipe uses minced garlic, but I use garlic powder to make things more convenient.
• onion powder — just like garlic powder, I’m using onion powder in place of an onion. Ikea’s recipe calls for chopped onion, but I like swapping for the onion powder to make prep time shorter.
• panko breadcrumbs — I prefer using panko breadcrumbs for most of my recipes as I have the bulk boxes from Costco. You can use regular breadcrumbs if that is what you have on hand! The breadcrumbs will absorb the milk and any moisture released by the meatballs as it cooks to keep them moist!
• egg — the egg acts as a binder for the meatballs. You only need one to get the job done.
• milk — milk adds moisture and flavor to the meatballs.
• salt and pepper
• oil — to brown the meatballs with. You can use any other oil such as vegetable oil or avocado oil if that’s what you have on hand.
• oil spray — to grease a sheet pan.
• butter and flour — this makes the roux which becomes the base of the cream sauce for the meatballs. This helps thicken the sauce.
• chicken stock — I use chicken stock to make the cream sauce. Ikea’s recipe uses a combination of vegetable and beef stock. I went with just chicken to align the flavor with the ground turkey, and so it’ll save you from making to crack open two boxes of stock.
• cream — I use heavy cream to make a delicious creamy sauce. You can use half and half if you’d like a lighter sauce.
• soy sauce — soy sauce adds salt and an umami-rich flavor to the sauce. I use low sodium soy sauce.
• Dijon mustard — a bit adds a little extra depth of flavor to the sauce.

How to Make Turkey Swedish Meatballs

• To the ground turkey, add garlic powder, onion powder, and panko breadcrumbs.

• Gently mix the meat and then add the egg, salt and pepper, and milk to the ground turkey mixture.
• Mix until just combined.

• Roll mixture into small meatballs. Place on a small sheet pan, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
• Heat the oven to 350F. Grease a large sheet pan with oil spray.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add meatballs and brown on all sides. I like to use tongs. Make sure you do not aggressively squeeze them when you place them onto the skillet or remove them. No need to cook them through. Transfer them to the greased sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes.

• Meanwhile, in the same skillet, melt the butter, and using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits on the skillet. Slowly add a tablespoon of flour to the melted butter and mix until well incorporated. Continue with the rest of the flour, a tablespoon at a time until a roux is created.
• Add the chicken stock, bit by bit to the roux, stirring continuously until incorporated.

• Stir in the cream, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard.
• Simmer until the sauce thickens.

• Remove the meatballs from the oven and serve them with the cream sauce.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Add the flour to the butter slowly so you can incorporate it all into the roux easily and without clumps.
• Similarly, the chicken stock added to the roux should be added slowly so it becomes smooth.
• Always add cold liquid to hot roux to prevent lumps in the cream sauce.
• Refrigerating your meatballs before cooking helps them hold their shape throughout the cooking process.
• A cookie scoop is ideal for portioning out the meatballs to ensure they’re uniform in size and cooks evenly.
• Your Swedish meatballs with ground turkey will get denser as they cook, so avoid overpacking/over-rolling your meat mixture.
• Do not overmix the turkey meat. If the meat mixture is overworked, you end up with a rubbery and dense meatball.
• When browning the meatballs, try not to move them around too much. The meatballs will stick to the pan and tear if you try to move them before they’re browned.
• I love serving these Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes! Try my Instant Pot mashed potatoes recipe or rosemary mashed potatoes recipe. My Boursin mashed potatoes recipe is a delicious option as well! Want some veggies? Try my roasted brussels sprouts and carrots recipe!

Make Ahead Tips

• Meal prep: if you’d like to meal prep this meatball recipe, I recommend not immediately combining the meatballs and cream sauce. Store the cooked meatballs and cream sauce in separate airtight containers for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Freezer: you can freeze the meatballs but not the cream sauce. Allow the turkey Swedish meatballs to cool before transferring them into an airtight container and storing them in the freezer. They can last for up to 3 months.

More Meatball Recipes to Try

• Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
• Baked Turkey Meatballs
• Air Fryer Meatballs
• Instant Pot Meatballs
• Chicken Teriyaki Meatballs with Broccoli + Carrots
• Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
• Tteokbokki Inspired Korean Meatballs

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