Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs

Saucy, hearty, and comforting meal with slow cooker Swedish meatballs with rich and creamy sauce and yummy egg noodles for a hands-off family dinner during the week.

Freezer meal can be a tasty dish packed with rich and savory flavor. On days when you’re craving some homemade meatballs, I have an easy recipe for you – crock pot Swedish meatballs with a few simple ingredients that will taste better than any store-bought, even though they are not “traditional” meatballs from Sweden.

To jazz things up I like to serve Swedish meatballs over egg noodles instead of classic mashed potatoes because I love how the sauce coats all the noodles.

I am pretty sure with this recipe you won’t have to drive all the way to Ikea for your next meatballs fix.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Finger-licking good, tender, and juicy – that’s how I like my meatballs.
• Creamy sauce instead of classic tomato-based sauce.
• Practically non-existent prep time – it takes me barely 5 minutes.
• You will only need 5 ingredients to make these Swedish meatballs and a garnish of choice (egg noodles in my version).
• Hands down a family favorite when it comes to easy comfort food with that rich flavor of creamy gravy and delicious meatballs.
• Without noodles or mashed potatoes, these Swedish meatballs work as an amazing warm appetizer for any family gathering or potluck.
• These saucy meatballs can be served as a party appetizer as well as a main course making it an easy dinner.

Ingredients Notes

• Frozen meatballs (homestyle or Swedish). Making homemade meatballs can be tedious so nothing wrong with using frozen meatballs. If the frozen meatballs aren’t labeled “Swedish” but you like them, you can use them in a pinch. Note that these frozen meatballs should be precooked.
• Onion, white or yellow. All the onion juices will be soaked in sauce and meatballs directly. A close substitute will be dry onion soup mix, but I would not use simply onion powder.
• Beef broth (regular or low-sodium beef broth) makes the sauce rich and enhances the meat flavor.
• Steak sauce or Worcestershire sauce – classic ingredient for a thicker sauce. A1 Steak sauce is an easy choice.
• Condensed cream of mushroom soup. If you love mushrooms, add more sliced mushrooms to the dish, but if not, the mushroom soup is a perfect option since you don’t see or can’t really taste mushrooms, but they add a ton of umami earthy flavor.
• Sour cream or heavy cream to make the sauce creamy and smooth. Plain Greek yogurt works just fine too.
• Egg noodles. You can cook them by the end of the Swedish meatball cooking time. Serve over egg noodles

As you can see I don’t use added salt or black pepper, as all the sauce ingredients will have enough saltiness.

Kitchen Equipment

• 6 qt Crockpot
• Optional, slow cooker liner for easier clean-up
• Rubber spatula to gently fold the sour cream and noodles without breaking them or the meatballs.

How To Make Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs

1: Dump The Ingredients In Your Slow Cooker

1. Spray the slow cooker insert with cooking oil.
2. Add the meatballs and all the sauce ingredients (onion, broth, steak sauce, and condensed soup) to the cooker.

2: Slow Cook

1. Cover and slow cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.
2. If you want thicker sauce, remove the crockpot lid 1 hour before the end of cooking time, and leave the pot uncovered. It will make the sauce thicken quickly.
3. If the sauce doesn’t thicken still, you can stir in some flour or cornstarch.

3: Add Sour Cream And Egg Noodles

1. When ready to serve, fold in the sour cream and cooked egg noodles (don’t forget to drain) – gently working the mixture together before serving. Adjust salt and pepper, if needed, and serve.
2. Optional, sprinkle some finely chopped parsley on top.
3. You can keep the slow cooker on Warm setting to keep the meal at a perfect temperature.

Storage

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can keep meatballs directly in the sauce or store them in separate containers.

Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until hot all the way through.

• I would not recommend freezing these, as we have dairy among the ingredients and it will make the sauce grainy once thawed. Plus, these meatballs were already frozen once.

If you do end up freezing homemade Swedish meatballs, do not fold the noodles in. Place them in a freezer-safe bag and store them for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat really slowly to let the sauce warm up without splitting.

• You can also make a make-ahead freezer meal: combine uncooked sauce ingredients and meatballs and store in a bag in the freezer for 1 month. Thaw and cook as the recipe suggests.

Substitutions & Variations

• Any meatballs work. Beef, ground turkey, chicken, or mix (beef + pork).
• Classic Swedish meatballs contain nutmeg, so if you’re after a more authentic recipe, add some warm spices. To make them a bit spicy, mix in some red pepper flakes.
• You can use homemade meatballs for this recipe. You’ll need to cook or bake them till lightly golden brown prior to adding them to the slow cooker. Please do not add raw meatballs to the pot, they release too much juices.
• Serve over mashed potatoes, green beans, or rice if you would like to omit the egg noodles. Condiments can be cranberry or lingonberry jam.
• For extra punchy flavor, you can add Dijon mustard, soy sauce to the sauce, and grape jelly for a little tang and sweetness. For extra rich and creamy sauce, add some unsalted butter (real indulgence!).
• Change it up by using chicken broth, homemade cream of mushroom soup, cranberry sauce, or a side of lingonberry jam, 

Expert Tips For Making Crockpot Swedish Meatballs

• To cut cooking time significantly, switch to an Instant Pot.
• If you have homemade raw meatballs, I would recommend baking them laid out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 400℉ for 10-12 minutes.
• If you want to make a Swedish meatball recipe from scratch, grab ground meat of choice, onion, breadcrumbs, eggs, and seasonings, mix all in a large bowl, shape little balls, and bake. Follow my copycat Ikea Swedish meatballs recipe to get it right.

Popular Questions

How Do You Keep Meatballs From Falling Apart In A Slow Cooker?

If using frozen meatballs, they already have all the needed meatball ingredients to keep the shape. When making Swedish meatballs from scratch make sure to use the right ratio of eggs and breadcrumbs that will work as a binder. If you skip eggs in meatballs, they will fall apart and feel rubbery.

Can I Leave Meatballs In Crockpot For 8 Hours?

I do not recommend cooking meatballs longer than 6 hours, otherwise, they will start to fall apart and become overcooked, chewy, and tough.

What Is The Secret Of A Tender Meatball?

Using milk or heavy cream, eggs and ground meat are the key elements to make tender and juicy homemade meatballs. Slow-cooking meatballs will also keep them soft. 

If you love this meatball dinner recipe, you’re going to love these other meatball recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Meatball Recipes

Copycat Ikea Swedish Meatballs

Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs

Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Meatballs

Asian Pork Meatballs

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