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Ground turkey Swedish meatballs in a large stainless steel skillet.
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4.60 from 10 votes

Ground Turkey Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Tender, ground turkey meatballs covered in creamy sauce made with beef broth, heavy cream, sour cream and warm spices! Serve over egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 445kcal
Author: Stacey Adams

Ingredients

Ground Turkey Meatballs

  • 2 lbs lean ground turkey *I use 93/7% *see note below
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup gluten free plain breadcrumbs *see note below
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil *for sautéing meatballs

Brown Gravy Sauce

  • 1 can (or 1 & ¾ cups) beef broth
  • ½ cup heavy cream *or half and half
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons gluten free flour *see note below
  • ½ cup reduced fat sour cream *regular will also work fine!

Optional for serving:

  • Rice, mashed potatoes or gluten free pasta. Regular pasta or egg noodles are fine if you don't need to make this recipe gluten free.

Optional toppings

  • Fresh parsley, parmesan cheese

Recipe notes: 

Ground turkey: substitute ground chicken if desired. Or, you can make more traditional Swedish meatballs which often use a mixture of ground beef & ground pork.
Gluten free breadcrumbs: if you don't need to make this recipe gluten free, regular breadcrumbs will work.
Gluten free flour: if you don't need to make this recipe gluten free, regular all-purpose flour will work fine. 
General: this is a fairly large recipe. Sometimes, if I'm cooking for just 2-3 people I'll cut it in half. Though, you can't go wrong with making a full batch as leftover are delicious and make for a tasty, easy lunch the next day!

Instructions

  • Combine ground turkey, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, nutmeg and cloves in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands or a spoon to mix until well combined, but don't over-do it. Overmixing can lead to tough meatballs.
    2 lbs lean ground turkey, 2 large eggs, ½ cup gluten free plain breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • Form turkey mixture into 2 tablespoon sized balls (you'll end up with around 30 total). Try to keep them even in size, perfection isn't necessary. You can use a cookie scoop for even portioning, but I prefer to eyeball it and use my hands. A cookie scoop can create kind of a "packing" effect and result in dense meatballs.
  • Make your sauce mixture: measure beef broth, heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, allspice, cardamom and pepper into a separate mixing bowl. Whisk well and set aside.
    1 can (or 1 & ¾ cups) beef broth, ½ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, ¾ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • Measure oil into a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté meatballs, in batches if necessary, to avoid overcrowding. If the pan gets too full, this can prevent proper browning. Rotate each sphere until golden on all sides. Remove from pan and place on a plate or in a small bowl. Set aside.
    1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • Carefully wipe the skillet out with a paper towel. If there isn't a whole lot of residue from the meatballs, you can skip this step.
  • Add more olive oil to the pan and whisk in the gluten free flour to create a roux. Sauté oil and flour together for about 30 seconds, whisking continuously.
    1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons gluten free flour
  • Slowly whisk in the sauce mixture. Increase heat to high and bring ingredients to a boil, then add meatballs and reduce heat to medium/medium-low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until thickened. Stir occasionally and spoon sauce over the meatballs.
  • If you're making rice or noodles to serve with your meatballs, now is a good time to get that going on the side.
  • Once sauce has thickened, take lid off skillet, remove from heat and stir in your sour cream until well combined.
  • Serve meatballs and sauce (over rice or noodles if you'd like)! Add a sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley or grated parmesan cheese. Both are optional, but delicious.

Storing leftovers:

  • Place cooled leftovers in an airtight food-storage container. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days or freeze for 2-3 months. Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop until warmed through completely!

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6th of recipe (all values are approximate). | Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.2g | Protein: 33.7g | Fat: 26.9g | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 1.8g