Easy Gluten Free and Keto Swedish Meatballs Recipe

This Easy Gluten Free and Keto Swedish Meatballs Recipe is the perfect comfort meal for any weeknight as it cooks up fast and is easy to make!

My family fights over the last gluten-free meatballs and I almost always have to make a double batch of this easy meal using simple ingredients.

This is a copycat version of an Authentic Swedish Meatballs recipe like what you would find at Ikea, the popular Swedish store.

The biggest difference is that Ikea’s Swedish Meatballs are not gluten free, so I took the idea of the Ikea Meatballs and exchanged some ingredients to make them gluten free.

Even if you make this for a dinner when company is visiting, they will have no idea that these meatballs are made with easy gluten-free ingredients!

I will take you through making these tasty meatballs and give you two different ways to prepare them both in the cast iron skillet and the Instant Pot commonly known as an electric pressure cooker.

Keep reading to find substitutions for dairy free options and also tips on what to serve these easy gluten-free meatballs with and answers to the most frequently asked questions.

Here are the ingredients you need to make these Keto Swedish Meatballs!

• Heavy Cream
• Egg
• Almond Flour, or leftover Keto 5 Ingredient Biscuits
• Ground Pork
• Onion; chopped fine, or grated onion
• Garlic; minced
• Baking Powder
• Nutmeg; ground
• Allspice; ground
• Lean Ground Beef
• Beef Broth or Beef Stock
• Salt & Pepper
• Xanthan Gum or Glucomannan

Let’s get started making this delicious Swedish meatball recipe!

First you will need a small bowl to mix up 1/4 cup of the heavy cream with the almond flour or crumbled Keto 5 Ingredient Biscuits.

Stir them up well so the crumbs are covered with the cream.

I do prefer using my leftover biscuits as they hold up better, but the almond flour alone will stand in if you do not have any biscuits made for gluten free breadcrumbs.

Set this aside and start making your meatball mixture.

Get a large bowl and mix your meatball ingredients of ground pork, onion, garlic, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, allspice and black pepper.

Mix it well until it is uniform.

Don’t be shy to just dig into the meat mixture with your hands!

Now add in the wettened gluten free bread crumbs or almond flour.

Mix well again.

Now add in the ground beef and mix well.

Taking the time to mix the ground meat separately, rather than throw them together like other meatball recipes gives it the proper texture you are wanting.

Let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes to soak up all of the moisture.

Now get out a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper to put your meatballs once rolled.

This makes it easier to cook the meatballs without them sticking to one another.

I used a cookie scoop to portion mine out.

The one I used is a medium sized one that holds about 1 1/2 tbsp of meat.

If you use an ice cream scoop it will take longer to cook as that is significantly thicker.

You could scoop with the ice cream scoop then pinch them in half to make it work or use a tablespoon measuring spoon for a small size.

After I scoop them onto the pan, I put them in the freezer for 2 minutes.

This helps them to hold together better when its time to brown the gluten-free meatballs.

If you make them into small meatballs, then they will cook faster but will not fit well with this recipe.

Now if you have an Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker, turn it to sauté mode.

If you are cooking in a large skillet, put it on medium-high heat to preheat and get a good sear on the meatballs.

You will also need to turn your oven to 350 degrees F to cook your meatballs.

Now add a swirl of olive oil or some coconut oil to the Instant Pot or pre-heated skillet and place meatballs at least 1 inch apart.

Cook on the initial side for a couple minutes then gently push them over to the other side.

Getting a good sear on all sides of the meatball ensures they are very flavorful meatballs and that they hold up in the second cooking step.

Once the meatballs are seared good, remove them from the Instant Pot or skillet back to your baking sheet.

Pour in your beef broth and whisk the bottom of the pan to loosen up the browned bits and combine with the pan drippings.

Now put your meatballs back in the Instant Pot or skillet and spoon the broth over them.

For the Instant Pot, cook on HIGH for 5 minutes with a 10-minute NATURAL RELEASE.

Natural release is when you let the Instant Pot sit for the amount of time listed without releasing the pressure.

For the skillet method, make sure you are using an oven safe skillet and put in the oven, covered for 15 minutes.

If you prefer, use a small baking dish and pour the broth, brown bits and meatballs into it and cover with foil.

Once the meatballs are cooked, pull the cooked meatballs out of the broth and set aside.

Now let’s make the gravy, the best part!

With the cooked meatballs removed from the Instant Pot or skillet, turn it onto sauté mode again or medium heat.

Bring it to a low boil and then while whisking sprinkle in 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum or glucomannan.

Once the gravy has thickened, turn the heat off.

Whisk in 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream if you wish for an ultra creamy sauce.

You can also whisk in 2 tablespoons of sour cream for your creamy gravy.

Or you can skip this additional ingredient and leave it to be a thin brown gravy sauce.

Both ways are delicious and turn out fabulous!

Now that the gravy is ready, return the cooked meatballs to the Swedish meatball sauce and cover them with it.

Store any leftovers in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Check out How To Reheat Meatballs With Sauce in an Air Fryer so you can reheat these tasty meatballs easily.

This method of reheating works not only for the Italian Meatballs shown, but works for these Gluten Free Swedish Meatballs Recipe too!

How should I serve them up?

There are many ways you could serve up these Keto Gluten Free Swedish Meatballs and here are my favorites!

• Cook up some gluten-free pasta like egg noodles and serve the meatballs and sauce over them.
• My favorite way, plus it is Keto and Low Carb, is to put the meatballs and sauce over some prepared cauliflower rice!
• Use what you have if it’s only some gluten-free noodles, whatever shape they might be, it will still be delicious!
• Garnish with fresh parsley before serving alongside some lingonberry jam.

Tips and Substitutions

• If you do not want to use xanthan gum or glucomannan, you can always use some arrowroot powder. When it calls to add in the xanthan gum, just add in an arrowroot slurry that has been pre-mixed. Mix together 1 tablespoon of arrowroot flour and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl, THEN add it to the low boiling sauce. DO NOT add it in as a powdered form, it will clump into a ball!
• To store any leftovers, if you have any, is to put in an airtight container up to 5 days. You can reheat them in a covered frying pan over medium heat easily. For best results, microwave is NOT recommended at all.
• Turn this recipe into a more traditional Swedish meatballs recipe when you add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the sauce. It adds a unique flavor!
• You can substitute in ground chicken for the ground pork if you wish. This will lower the fat content.
• If you have a dairy allergy, it is easy to modify this recipe when you use coconut milk in place of the heavy cream. If you wish it to be creamier at the end, add in a tablespoon or two of coconut cream.
• If you want to mimic the traditional recipes recommendation for serving, put a dollop of lingonberry jam on top of your meatballs before digging in!
• You can make these ahead and freeze them too! Just freeze them on the parchment lined baking pan after you have seared them. Give it an hour, then transfer to a large freezer bag. When you want to serve them, jump into the recipe from the part where you make the gravy and add in the meatballs to simmer on low heat until thawed then serve.
• Some recipes incorporate Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or coconut aminos to the meat mixture for added depth of flavor. Using coconut aminos can serve those with food allergies to soy and gluten making it one of the best healthy recipes you can make.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories	419
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 26.6g	34%
Saturated Fat 11.4g	57%
Cholesterol 168mg	56%
Sodium 284mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate 3g	1%
Dietary Fiber 0.5g	2%
Total Sugars 0.4g
Protein 41.1g
Vitamin D 18mcg	92%
Calcium 38mg	3%
Iron 3mg	14%
Potassium 166mg	4%

Nutritional values are based on the actual recipe as written. Adjust amounts to fit what ingredients you choose if different than listed.

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If you love cast iron as much as I do, then you would absolutely LOVE my 2nd cookbook “Chaffles Cast Iron and The Crock” !!

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