Swedish meatballs are an old favorite that can be served as an appetizer or a main course. They're packed with flavor and served with a decadent cream sauce.
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Swedish meatballs are a classic comfort food. Traditionally, they have a filling that is not Keto friendly. Not these! They are loaded with all the same delicious flavor but without all the carbs!
And to kick the up a notch, they are served with the most rich and creamy sauce that can be poured over Palmini noodles, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash or shirataki noodles.
If you're wanting a hearty Keto appetizer to serve at your next get together, these Swedish meatballs are the perfect answer.
What's in Swedish Keto Meatballs
- Ground beef
- Ground pork
- Almond flour
- Sour Cream
- Chicken or beef stock
- Heavy cream
- Onion
- Garlic salt
- Nutmeg
- Eggs
- Fresh Italian parsley
- Allspice
- Worcestershire sauce
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Swedish Gluten Free Meatballs
In a heated skillet, sauté the onion in a little olive oil. Add a little salt and cook until translucent. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, add the eggs, parsley (reserve 1 tsp for garnish), salt, pepper, garlic salt, almond flour, nutmeg, allspice, Worcestershire and onion, mix to combined. Add the ground beef and pork and mix well.
Form the meatballs, using a cookie scoop, in uniform size and sauté the meatballs in olive oil (or other Keto-friendly oil) until well-browned. Remove the meatballs to a platter lined with paper towels as they are done.
Discard most of the fat from the skillet and return it to the heat. Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan, then add the sour cream and heavy cream.
Add the meatballs back in and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until sauce has thickened to your liking. Store leftovers in the fridge for a few days.
Serve over zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash, cauliflower rice or they are also great all on their own!
Can I Eat 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 5 net carbs per serving. Talk about a carb savings!
Tips for the Best Swedish Low Carb Meatballs
- The great thing about this recipe is it's perfect for meal prep! You can make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them in an air tight container. If you'd like more meal prep tips, 25 Keto Meal Prepping Ideas has some really amazing recipes and ideas to help you keep on track and save some time too!
- 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.
- 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.
- If you'd like to add a little cheese to these Keto meatballs, add a little finely shredded parmesan to the meat mixture.
- To really make this a complete meal, serve with your favorite Keto veggies and these Italian Breadsticks. They are amazing and go so well with this creamy sauce.
- Even though these Swedish meatballs are a family favorite, you can double the meatball recipe but instead of serving it with this Keto cream sauce, save some to serve with this Homemade Marinara.
More Keto Ground Beef Recipes
- Poblano and Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf
- Picadillo
- Baked Italian Meatballs
- Instant Pot No-Bean Chili
- Baked Southwest Skillet
Shop my favorite products on Amazon and check out my Keto Pantry List!
Swedish Meatballs - Keto and Low Carb
Recipe Video
INGREDIENTS
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ½ medium onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- olive oil (for sautéing)
For the sauce:
- 1 cup chicken (or beef stock)
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup heavy cream
- pinch salt and fresh ground pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat a skillet sauté the onion in a little olive oil. Add a little salt and cook until translucent. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, add the eggs, parsley (reserve 1 tsp for garnish), salt, pepper, garlic salt, almond flour, nutmeg, allspice, worcestershire and onion, mix to combined. Add the ground beef and pork and mix well.
- Form the meatballs (I use a cookie scoop) in uniform size and sauté the meatballs in olive oil (or other Keto-friendly oil) until well-browned. Remove the meatballs to a platter lined with paper towels as they are done.
- Discard most of the fat from the skillet and return it to the heat. Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan, then add the sour cream and heavy cream. Add the meatballs back in and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until sauce has thickened to your liking. Enjoy!
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Nut allergy... what can I substitute for the almond flour?
Maybe ground sunflower seeds? Just be sure they are ground super fine and they should work just as well.
Delicious
Thanks!
These are fantastic. I love serving these meatballs over rice. Perfect comfort food
How many meatballs does this recipe make?
These were DELICIOUS! Do you think I could cook them in the oven? We loved them with and without the sauce. Thank you!
Honestly, I don't see why not. But since I haven't tried it, I couldn't say for sure how long or what temp to bake them at. Glad you liked them though!
Hi there,
I made these and they were great! I loved them. I want to enter them in my Carb Manager, but it doesn't say what the serving size is. Is it 4 meatballs?
Thanks,
Maggie
Hi Maggie,
Glad to hear that you enjoyed them and yes, a serving is about 4 meatballs or so, depending on the size you make them.
These were so good! I made the meatballs ahead of time and froze them uncooked. When ready to use them for a meal, I put the sauce ingredients in a crockpot along with the meatballs and cooked on low for 7 hours. I thickened the sauce with some xantham gum before serving. Turned out great!
Hi Joanna,
Great idea to prep them in advance as you did, I love it! I'm glad you enjoyed them, thanks for letting me know 🙂
Is he heavy whipping cream ok, and would prokrinds be a good substitute from the almond flower or is this best. Can’t wait to make these 😋
Is he heavy whipping cream ok, and would prokrinds be a good substitute from the almond flower or is this best. Can’t wait to make these ?
Hi Ajone,
Yes, absolutely you can use heavy whipping cream! Personally I prefer using the almond flour because pork rinds are a much stronger flavor. But I actually love to use a combination of the two in my recipes that require breading. I hope you enjoy them, let me know how it goes!
Where does the 1 gram of sugar come from?
From the sour cream and a little from the almond flour.