Easy Swedish Meatball Sauce

In need of a quick, comforting, pick-me-up meal? This Swedish meatball sauce recipe is the way to go for easy Swedish meatballs — they're ready to serve over egg noodles or rice in just 20 minutes.

With the simple shortcut of using frozen meatballs, you'll have a flavorful and family-friendly meal on the table in no time at all. Sign us up!

What’s in Swedish Meatball Sauce?

Swedish meatball sauce is made up of just a few pantry staple ingredients:

Beef StockBeef stock gives the sauce its savory, meaty flavor.

Heavy CreamHeavy cream ensures the sauce will be rich, smooth, and creamy.

FlourA little bit of all-purpose flour will thicken the sauce to the perfect consistency.

Soy SauceSoy sauce adds salt and an umami-rich flavor.

SpicesBlack pepper and rosemary are all you'll need for this simple Swedish meatball sauce.

MeatballsOf course, you'll need meatballs. This recipe uses frozen cooked meatballs, but you can use homemade meatballs too.

How to Make Swedish Meatball Sauce

Making Swedish meatball sauce is so easy — there's only two steps! Simply add all the ingredients to a sauce pan and simmer until thickened. Then, add the meatballs and continue cooking until the meatballs are warmed through (and reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F).

How to Thicken Swedish Meatball Sauce

The all-purpose flour in this recipe should do the trick to thicken your Swedish meatball sauce to the right consistency. But if it doesn't, you can add a cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of water) to thicken it up.

What to Serve with Swedish Meatball Sauce

The most common way to eat Swedish meatballs is over egg noodles or rice. You can also serve them individually, threaded through a toothpick, as an appetizer.

If you're looking for a side for Swedish meatballs over noodles or rice, you can try one of these light dishes.

Roasted Garlic Lemon BroccoliRoasted VegetablesCaesar Salad Supreme

Or, explore our entire collection of side dishes.

How to Store Swedish Meatballs

Store Swedish meatball sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days. Reheat in a saucepan or microwave.

Can You Freeze Swedish Meatball Sauce?

Unfortunately, this Swedish meatball sauce doesn't freeze well. Heavy cream has a tendency to separate over time and can ruin the consistency of your sauce.

Cookdap Community Tips and Praise

“Just made this up for supper tonight. Absolutely wonderful, and not to mention soooo easy. Added thyme instead of rosemary, teaspoon of garlic powder and a pinch of nutmeg. I keep putting the spoon into it and licking it clean,” says OODLES_OR.

“This Recipe was awesome. It happens to be my son’s favorite now. The only thing that we changed was we didn’t add Rosemary and we didn’t put as much pepper in. The second time we made it, we fully cooked the meatballs. Instead of having them just thawed and then we added it to the sauce and cooked on low for 5 minutes and they turned out perfect. We will definitely be making this again,” according to Connie.

“This was so easy and yummy! Even my 5-year-old scarfed it down! I used chicken stock because that’s what I had on hand and a sauteed onion. I ended up using a whole 20-ounce bag of meatballs because there was plenty of sauce and I wanted leftovers. Loved this simple delicious recipe,” raves Hudson’s Mama.