Wholesome Swedish Meatballs

If you happen to love Ikea’s Swedish meatballs (köttbullar) however wish to keep on observe with factors, this recipe is for you! This lightened-up Weight Watchers-friendly model blends lean beef and rooster—baked or air-fried—and pairs them with a creamy yogurt sauce you’ll love.

Prepared in half-hour with simply 2 Factors per serving, you’ll wish to preserve these in your weeknight dinner or occasion meals rotation. Searching for simpler, satisfying dinners? Don’t miss our different Weight Watchers dinner ideas—good for busy nights!

What Makes These Lighter

Most Swedish meatball recipes construct their sauce on heavy cream, bitter cream or cream cheese. This one doesn’t use any of them. Low-fat plain Greek yogurt stands in for the bitter cream: the sauce is skim milk thickened with a teaspoon of cornstarch, and the yogurt goes in off the warmth so it doesn’t break up. You get the identical tang and the identical cling as bitter cream for a fraction of the factors.

The meatballs themselves are half lean floor beef and half floor rooster breast. You retain the beefy flavour that makes a Swedish meatball style like a Swedish meatball, and the rooster lightens the entire thing with out anybody noticing. They bake or air-fry as an alternative of pan-frying in butter.

Recipe Overview

• Serving Measurement: 260 g (about 9 oz)
• Variety of Servings: 4
• Time to Cook dinner: half-hour
• 2 WW Factors Per Serving. You possibly can view the recipe on the WW App here. (WW login required.)

Components in Swedish Meatballs

For the meatballs:

• 250 g (about 9 oz) lean floor beef
• 250 g (about 9 oz) floor rooster breast
• 1 egg
• 1 slice white sandwich bread, crust eliminated
• 2 tablespoons skim milk (30 ml)
• ¼ onion, grated
• ½ teaspoon floor nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon floor cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to style
• Cooking spray or 1 teaspoon oil (optionally available, provided that pan-frying)

For the creamy sauce:

• 1 cup skim milk (240 ml)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch (3 g), dissolved in just a little chilly water
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 6 Oz low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• Salt and pepper to style

For serving (optionally available):

Directions for making Swedish Meatballs

1. Place the bread in a small bowl and pour the 2 tablespoons of milk over it to melt. In a separate giant bowl, mix the bottom beef and floor rooster. Add the grated onion, egg, soaked bread, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Combine the whole lot by hand or with a spatula till totally integrated, however don’t overmix to keep away from robust meatballs.
2. Type ping-pong-sized balls and place them on a baking tray calmly greased with spray. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (390 °F) for 20–22 minutes, or cook dinner them within the air fryer for quarter-hour at 190 °C (375 °F), flipping midway by way of. You can even brown them barely in a skillet with only a teaspoon of oil.
3. Whereas the meatballs cook dinner, put together the sauce. Warmth the milk in a small saucepan, and as soon as it begins to simmer, stir within the cornstarch-water combine and the mustard. Cook dinner over medium warmth, stirring continuously, till the sauce thickens barely. Take away from warmth, wait a couple of seconds, then stir within the Greek yogurt. Combine properly and modify salt and pepper to style.
4. Serve the meatballs sizzling with the sauce on high and, when you like, a teaspoon of cranberry jam. Add a little bit of cauliflower mash, inexperienced peas, and roasted greens for a whole, satisfying meal that stays inside your WW plan.

Suggestions and Methods Part for Swedish Meatballs

In order for you these to style as shut as doable to genuine Swedish meatballs, observe these tips:

• Don’t skip the nutmeg and cinnamon, and don’t improve them both: half a teaspoon and 1 / 4 teaspoon is the entire trick. That heat spice is what separates a Swedish meatball from an Italian one, and it’s why these style just like the Ikea model although they’re baked and made with lean meat.
• The bread trick is non-negotiable. That slice of bread soaked in milk isn’t simply filler—it’s what retains your meatballs tender and juicy. Make certain to essentially mash it up with a fork earlier than mixing it in, and let it soak for at the least 5 minutes.
• I exploit a small ice cream scoop to make all of them the identical measurement—in regards to the measurement of a ping-pong ball. This fashion, all of them end cooking on the similar time.
• All the time let the milk combination cool for about 30 seconds earlier than including the Greek yogurt, or it’s going to curdle. I discovered this after ruining multiple batch.
• Make additional and freeze them. These meatballs freeze fantastically after cooking. Simply reheat them within the oven with a splash of broth to maintain them moist. 

When you’ve made these, the remainder of our lightened-up meatballs are price a glance. The Greek turkey meatballs use the identical bake-don’t-fry strategy with a very completely different flavour, our chicken meatballs are the quickest of the lot, and the Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Meatballs are the one to make once you need dinner to cook dinner itself. If weeknights are the issue, the whole lot in 30 minutes or less is constructed for precisely that.