If you ask our 10-year-old daughter, she'll tell you that these Venison Swedish meatballs are the best you'll ever eat. Gently warmed with allspice and nutmeg and covered in a heavenly creamy sauce, then served with fluffy mashed potatoes.

This Swedish meatball recipe is beginner home cook friendly, well-seasoned, and totally drool worthy! You will want to make this easy meatball recipe again and again.

Swedish meatballs get their distinctly different flavor from allspice and nutmeg and typically served in a creamy white sauce.

My recipe for Swedish meatballs also has a little garlic but gets its richness from the combination of beef broth and heavy whipping cream, and freshness from the fresh spinach. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles for a hearty, comforting weeknight dinner.

Swedish Meatball Ingredients

To make these Swedish meatballs, start with ground venison and ground pork. You’ll also need yellow onion, panko breadcrumbs, eggs, fresh spinach, allspice, nutmeg, kosher salt, black pepper, olive oil, beef broth, all-purpose flour, and heavy whipping cream.

For serving, you’ll also need some fluffy mashed potatoes or egg noodles (or your other choice of starch).

How To Make Swedish Meatballs

Make the Meatballs: In a large bowl, mix the venison, pork, onion, fresh baby spinach, minced garlic, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, panko and eggs until combined. Then roll the mixture into meatballs about 1 inch in size.

Jeff Benda making Swedish meatballs into 1-inch balls

Cook Meatballs: Place meatballs in a hot skillet with oil, rotating them with a fork until all sides are browned.

Make the Swedish Meatball Sauce: Melt butter in a skillet and whisk in flour until it gets slightly browned. Gradually whisk in beef broth, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Add salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Whisk a few more times. Then slowly add the heavy whipping cream.

Swedish meatballs and sauce made with beef broth and heavy whipping cream

How Do Swedish Meatballs Taste?

Swedish meatballs are tender and juicy, with the flavor of the allspice and nutmeg in the background, and the freshness of the baby spinach coming through. The gravy sauce is creamy and shiny with a rich consistency.

Swedish Meatball Recipe Tips

If you like the sauce a bit thinner, decrease the amount of flour to only ¼ cup instead of the ½ cup I use for this recipe. Likewise, you can increase it for a thicker sauce. Please note, this recipe yields a substantial amount of sauce and might actually look like it's too much when you're nearing the end. But it’s actually the perfect amount if you plan to serve the meatballs over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

I use a combination of lean venison and pork for an added dimension of fattiness, but you can also make this recipe entirely with venison if you prefer.

Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberries

Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with lingonberries, but at $15 a jar, I opted to leave it out. But by all means, if you want to serve a jar of lingonberries with these meatballs to impress family, friends, and co-workers GO FOR IT!

Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions for Meatballs

To Make Ahead: These venison meatballs can be made ahead of time (cook them until they reach internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F) and kept in the fridge for up to 4 days or freezer for up to 6 months until ready to use.

Swedish Meatballs For The Holidays

This time of year, I always search for recipes that bring people together, suitable for various occasions, and taste great. I love making dishes like my Deer Sausage Balls and Buffalo Pheasant Dip. When people gather around delicious food, like these Swedish meatballs, they create great memories with family, friends, and co-workers. Even during the busy and chaotic holiday season, good food helps make those moments special.

Swedish Meatballs For An Easy Weeknight Or Potluck Appetizer

I transformed this classic Swedish meatball recipe, filled with wintery spices like allspice and nutmeg, into an easy dish. You can serve it tonight for family dinner, as an appetizer at your next potluck, or for a special occasion like Christmas Day! It's one of my absolute favorite dishes to whip up when my wife is trying to figure out what to bring to a potluck at work. If a co-worker is going to try wild game for the first time, these Venison Swedish meatballs are a great choice.

You can also check out all my venison recipes for more inspiration when planning your holiday menu.

Venison Swedish meatballs and sauce served over mashed potatoes

Come Deer Hunting in North Dakota

If you are headed our way for North Dakota deer season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

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If you make this Venison Swedish Meatballs Recipe, tag @wildgameandfish so I can share it on my Instagram stories.

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Venison Swedish Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes

The Best Venison Swedish Meatballs Recipe

These Venison Swedish meatballs are the best you'll ever eat. Gently warmed with allspice and nutmeg and covered in a heavenly creamy sauce, then served with fluffy mashed potatoes.

5 from 39 votes

Print Rate

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Swedish

Keyword: dinner, ground venison recipes, kid friendly recipes, venison, venison swedish meatballs

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1

Servings: meatballs

Author: Jeff Benda

Ingredients

Meatball Ingredients

1 pound ground venison
½ pound ground pork
1 cup fresh baby spinach, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce Ingredients

1 stick of butter
½ cup all purpose flour
4 cups venison or beef broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from ½ lemon)
½ cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the venison, pork, spinach, onion, panko, eggs, garlic, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil until combined.
Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, measure out the meat mixture into about 24 1-inch balls.
In a large pan, heat the other 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ½ of the meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. This takes about 5 minutes. Set the meatballs aside on a large plate and cook the other ½ of the meatballs in the same pan. Set aside.
Lower the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. When the butter begins to bubble, sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth to the pan a little at a time.
Whisk the sauce until the broth is completely incorporated. Add salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Whisk a few more times. Slowly whisk in the whipping cream.
Once the sauce begins to simmer, add the meatballs back into the pan.
Simmer until the sauce has thickened and the meatballs are cooked all the way through (a minimum of 145 degrees F), about 8 minutes.
Serve warm over mashed potatoes or egg noodles or your other favorite starch.