These tender and juicy Keto Swedish Meatballs are a low carb version of the traditional recipe. Made with a combination of beef and pork, they’re simmered in a creamy flavorful sauce that makes them incredibly tasty. Serve as an appetizer at your next party or over creamy mashed cauliflower for a weeknight dinner your family will love.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Keto Swedish Meatballs Recipe

• Combination of tender ground beef and pork
• Loaded with traditional Swedish meatballs flavor
• Simmered in a silky smooth sauce
• Serve over creamy mashed cauliflower, zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash
• Gluten-free
• Easy to make and freezer friendly

Swedish meatballs are a classic comfort food. Traditionally, they’re made with bread crumbs making them too high in carbs. These Keto meatballs with almond flour are loaded with all the same classic flavors, without all the carbs.

Aside from my classic Italian meatballs, these are probably my favorite meatballs of all-time. They flavors are so distinct and really stand out from all other meatballs that I’ve ever made or tasted. And the best part is, I’ve made them low in carbs so I can enjoy them whenever I want.

My absolute favorite way to make them, which is pictured down below, is over my Cottage Cheese Cauliflower Mash, because with the addition of the sauce, you would swear you’re eating mashed potatoes. You honestly don’t even taste the cauliflower.

If you want to serve these as an appetizer, you can make them a little smaller and serve them on cute little party skewers like these. The great thing about this recipe is it’s perfect for meal prep because it makes 35 meatballs and they freeze perfectly!

🛒 Ingredients for Low Carb Swedish Meatballs

• Ground beef
• Ground pork
• Almond flour
• Sour Cream
• Beef broth
• Onion
• Garlic
• Nutmeg
• Eggs
• Fresh Italian parsley
• Allspice
• Worcestershire sauce
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Ground black pepper

*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

🥣 Recommended Tools

• Mixing bowl
• Large skillet
• Whisk
• Cookie scoop
• Baking sheet or platter
• Parchment paper

🔪 How to Make Gluten-Free Swedish Meatballs

Heat a large skillet to medium and add in the olive oil, onions, half the salt and pepper. Sauté the onions until tender, then remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, add in the eggs, parsley, remaining salt, remaining pepper, garlic salt, almond flour, allspice, Worcestershire and the cooled onions.

Mix to combine, then add the ground beef and pork. Mix just until combined, without over-mixing.

Form the meatballs using a cookie scoop so they’re all the same size, then set them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I was able to get 35 meatballs.

Using the same skillet, fry the meatballs until browned on all sides.

You will likely have to cook them in 2 batches. As they are done, set them on paper towels to drain while you cook the second batch.

Discard most of the fat from the skillet, as well as charred chunks of meat, then return it to the heat.

Add the garlic and sauté for about 20 seconds, making sure not to brown it or it will become bitter.

Pour in the beef broth to deglaze the pan.

Then whisk in the Worcestershire, nutmeg, Xanthan gum and sour cream.

Add the meatballs back in and continue to simmer for 10 minutes uncovered or until sauce has thickened to your liking and the meatballs are cooked through.

☑️ Storage Instructions

Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze.

🍴 What to serve with meatballs on keto?

• Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower
• Cottage Cheese Cauliflower Mash
• Spaghetti Squash
• Zucchini noodles
• Palmini noodles
• Low carb noodles

💡 Tips for Making Meatballs with Almond Flour

• Don’t over-mix the meatballs, or they can become tough and dense. This is why I like to mix the other ingredients first, then add in the meat last, so there is minimal mixing involved.
• Watch the meatballs carefully when they are browning, remember that they don’t need to cook all the way through, as they’ll finish cooking in the sauce, which is really what you want.
• If you want your sauce to be silky smooth, once you whisk in the Xanthan gum and sour cream, pour it into a high powered blender and blend until smooth, then pour it back into the skillet before adding in the meatballs to simmer. This will help puree any rogue onions or brown bits from the meatballs and make your sauce super creamy.
• Be patient with the thickening of the sauce. You might be tempted to add in more Xanthan gum, but don’t do it or you run the risk of ruining the texture of the sauce. Too much Xanthan gum can make your sauce gummy and after using it for many years, as me how I know this!
• You might be tempted to add in the onions raw, but sautéing them first really helps give them more flavor.
• The combination on beef and pork really lends great flavor to these meatballs, but if you’d like you can substitute the pork for all beef or even chicken or turkey sausage. To get the best results though, I’d definitely try to use both beef and pork.

🔄 Substitutions and Additions

• If you don’t have beef broth, you can use chicken broth instead and the sauce will still have amazing flavor.
• If you can’t find allspice, you can use a combination of ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Greek yogurt can be used as a substitute for sour cream, or you can use half Greek yogurt and half heavy cream.
• If you don’t have fresh parsley, you can use dried Italian parsley instead. Fresh thyme would also work well.
• I use Xanthan gum to help thicken the sauce, but if you don’t have it or prefer not to use it, you can use your favorite Keto friendly thickener. Another trick, if you’d rather let it thicken naturally is, instead of using sour cream, use mascapone cheese. It will give a creaminess to the sauce, but also help to thicken it, without making it too salty, which often happens if you reduce a broth-based sauce too much.
• If you’d like to add a little cheese to these Keto meatballs, add a little finely shredded parmesan to the meat mixture.

Do you use heavy cream or sour cream for Swedish meatballs?

You can actually use a combination of both, but I chose to use sour cream alone to give the sauce more flavor and tang.

What is the secret ingredient in Swedish meatballs? What gives Swedish meatballs its flavor?

While it’s more than just one ingredient that mades Swedish meatballs so special, but rather a combination of them, there is one standout that I never use in any other meatball recipes… the allspice! It gives them that classic Swedish meatball flavor that doesn’t taste like any others. Worcestershire sauce is another ingredient that gives them great flavor.

What can I use instead of bread crumbs for meatballs?

In this recipe, I use a super fine almond flour in place of bread crumbs to make them Keto friendly and also gluten-free. In some of my other meatball recipes, I’ve used it in combination with grated parmesan cheese and/or oat fiber.

Can you eat Swedish meatballs on keto?

Traditional meatballs use breadcrumbs as a binder. This causes them to have more carbs than what’s recommended on Keto. Instead, almond flour is used to make these Swedish meatballs perfect for Keto or a low carb diet.

Are There Carbs in Swedish Meatballs?

Traditional Swedish meatballs with breadcrumbs, can have as many as 30 grams for carbs, But this Keto meatball recipe made with almond flour only have 4 net carbs per serving. Talk about a carb savings!

🍽️ More Keto Meatball Recipes

• Italian Meatballs
• Salisbury Steak Meatballs
• BBQ Meatballs
• Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

*Originally published on May 5, 2018, updated on October 9, 2026 with improvements to the recipe, new photos, new recipe information and helpful tips.