Light Swedish Meatballs are little beef meatballs made with extra lean meat and no egg. Serve plain or with your favorite sauce. They make great appetizers too!
With hectic schedules from work, kids, grand kids and just trying to have a life, I am all about easy and delicious anytime meals. For years, Swedish Meatballs have been a favorite around here…everyone loves them! The only problem was that all that decadent rich flavor also carries a decadent calorie count. Since I am not getting any younger or thinner for that matter, I started researching how to make this amazing meal lighter and heathier, without sacrificing a day’s worth of calories.
I found a recipe from Cooking Light that I loosely adapted to fit to my family’s tastes.
Looking for more 30 Minute Skillet Recipes? Check my collection here:
- Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs with Garlic Thyme Butter – pan seared and dripping with butter
- Italian Sausage Bean and Tomato Bake – so much more than a can of beans
- Smokey Lemon Chicken Piccata – amazing flavor served with pasta and lemon
- Sweet and Soy Chicken – sporting an addictive sticky glaze
- Chipotle Sausage and Bean Bake – take the heat up a notch with chipotle puree
Tips and Hints for making the best Light Swedish Meatballs recipe:
- Start with quality meat – use organic ground beef if possible
- I always say this, but the best results start with quality ingredients, so use the best you can afford.
- When it comes to using spices, keep the shelf fresh by storing spices in a cool, dark place, away from direct heat or sunlight. In tightly closed containers whole spices will stay fresh for about 4 years, ground spices for about 2 to 3 years and dried herbs for 1 to 3 years.
- For the butter, make it the unsalted variety. Unsalted butter gives you, the cook, complete control of the overall flavor of your recipe
- For extra heat, increase the red pepper flakes from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon or to your taste.
Tools and Ingredients needed to make the best Light Swedish Meatballs:
- Cast Iron or other heavy duty skillet – I love my cast iron skillet. A well-seasoned cast iron skillet will develop a non-stick surface that can go safely from the stove top then right into the oven.
- Caraway Seeds – give this dish an authentic European flavor and is a popular ingredient in Germany, Scandinavia and Austria.
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Light Swedish Meatballs are little beef meatballs made with extra lean meat and no egg. Serve plain or with your favorite sauce. They make great appetizers too!
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1-1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped (about 2 medium)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1-1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Heat 1-1/2 tsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet.
- Once the skillet is hot, and oil shimmering, add the onions, garlic, salt, pepper, caraway seeds and red pepper flakes. Stir everything around to mix all of the spices with the onion.
- Cook the onions over medium heat about 5-7 minutes, or the onions are translucent.
- Scrape the onion mixture into a large bowl and allow to cool completely.
- Add the beef, bread crumbs and egg to the bowl. Use clean hands to combine everything.
- For each meatball, grab 2 TBSP of the beef mixture and roll into a ball using your palms. Line a baking pan with waxed paper to set the rolled meatballs onto before frying.
- Using the same skillet the onions were cooked in, start to fry the meatballs.
- Heat the skillet on medium-high heat. When hot, work in batches, adding the meatballs and cook on all sides until browned and cooked thru, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan with a slotted spoon and keep warm until serving, or refrigerate in a covered container for up 2 days.
Notes
*Note- if you are salt-sensitive, omit the salt in the recipe and salt to taste before serving
Keywords: meatballs,Swedish,beef,ground beef,dinner,appetizer
Post updated February 2018
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