Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Swedish meatballs and sauce are an indulgent, scrumptious comfort food, especially when served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes the way recipe creator Kristen Carli suggests. But, sigh, who has the time to pull off a meal like this, unless we're talking about a weekend? Enter Carli's genius method for making Instant Pot Swedish meatballs. "It is so easy with the Instant Pot," she told Mashed. "You can cook the meatballs very quickly and assemble the sauce right in the Instant Pot."

That's right — less fuss, less clean-up. It's a winning idea for getting dinner on the table in less than an hour. Making the meal even simpler is that as Carli notes, "A traditional Swedish meatball would use pork and beef, but this one just uses beef for more ease." 

And, believe it or not, you probably have almost all of the ingredients you need on hand to make Instant Pot Swedish meatballs tonight.

Contrary to what you might have thought, your ingredient list for Instant Pot Swedish meatballs is far from intimidating. As Carli said, you will need ground beef — this recipe calls for one pound — as well bread crumbs, half of a yellow onion, minced garlic, an egg, parsley, salt, pepper, olive oil, unsalted butter, beef broth, Dijon mustard, heavy cream, and flour. That's it!

Meanwhile, Carli recommends buying egg noodles as well, for serving. "You could also serve these over mashed potatoes," she told us. Once you have your ingredients assembled, you will turn your attention to forming your Swedish meatballs.

Start making this delicious meal by mincing your onion and chopping the parsley. Mince your garlic as well if you are not using the jarred variety. 

Indeed, Carli stresses the importance of prep work here, saying, "I would make sure to dice the onion fine enough so that when you roll up these meatballs, they adhere together easily. If you don't, they will have a hard time sticking in the ball shape."

Once your onion, parsley, and garlic is ready to go, grab a large bowl and add the beef, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, egg, parsley, one teaspoon of salt, and half a teaspoon of pepper. You will use your hands to combine the mixture well. Then, carefully roll out meatballs that are one inch in diameter, and set them aside on a plate.

Turn your Instant Pot to the "sauté" setting. Let's get ready to make an unforgettable meal!

To your Instant Pot set to the "sauté" setting, add your olive oil. Wait until the Instant Pot is hot, and then add your formed meatballs, with Carli instructing home cooks to sear them just until all the sides are no longer pink. "You are not trying to cook the meatballs all the way through," she said, adding, "but be sure to sear the sides." Remember, the meatballs with cook in the sauce shortly.

Now is the time to add the beef broth, Dijon mustard, and heavy cream to the Instant Pot. Not familiar with what this dish tastes like? Carli told Mashed, "The sauce is a creamy, savory gravy! It is delish!" 

To cook that sauce to perfection, close the lid of the Instant Pot. Place the valve to "sealing." Now, pressure cook the meatballs and the sauce for five minutes. 

Once five minutes have passed, you will allow the Instant Pot to naturally release. Then, open the lid and remove the Swedish meatballs, setting them aside on a plate. At this stage, add your flour to the sauce, whisking it well until combined. Carli instructs home cooks to turn the Instant Pot back to the "sauté" setting, continuing to whisk the mixture until it is nice and thickened. Season with salt and pepper.

All that's left is to serve the meal. Place the meatballs atop your egg noodles or mashed potatoes, and add a liberal ladle of sauce on last. Now, enjoy with family or friends. If it's just you dining on this dreamy dinner, the good news is that leftovers keep well. Carli told Mashed about her Instant Pot Swedish meatballs, "This stores well in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days."