Gluten Free & Keto Swedish Meatballs (2024)

• 4 tablespoons grass-fed butter divided
• 1 medium white onion finely copped
• 500 g ground beef chuck works great!*
• 1/4 cup almond flour or crushed pork rinds (see notes!)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup heavy cream divided
• extra virgin olive oil for cooking
• 1-2 cups beef broth to taste**
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2-1 teaspoon arrowroot powder or 1/4 tsp konjac (glucomannan) powder

Serving suggestions

• mashed cauliflower
• cranberry relish a terrific sub for lingonberry jam!

• Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the onion, a pinch of salt, and sauté until it just begins to caramelize (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

• Add the ground meat, almond flour (or pork rind 'panko'), salt, spices, cooked onion, egg and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to a large bowl. Mix everything thoroughly together using your hands and form into rounds (either 20 small-is ones or 14 large).

• Heat up a touch of olive oil in your skillet over medium heat and cook the meatballs until brown all over and cooked through. You'll want to turn them around a few times so they cook evenly. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil while you make the sauce.

• Add the remaining butter to the skillet and cook until it begins to brown (don't clean the meatball remnants as they add the flavor to the sauce!). Add in the broth, remaining heavy cream and mustard to deglaze the pan. Allow to simmer for a couple minutes and make a slurry out of your thickener of choice (i.e. mix it with a couple tablespoons of cold water prior to adding it to avoid clumping). Continue to simmer until the sauce just begins to thicken and taste for seasoning.

• Add the meatballs back into the skillet, simmer for a couple more minutes and serve right away (think over a bed of mashed cauliflower!).

* Or feel free to do half ground chuck half ground pork (my absolute favorite!)!

**A few of you have had issues with reducing the sauce (i.e. cooking it down so it doesn't end up too thin). So start with 1 cup and add to taste!

'The Breadcrumbs'

As you know, meatballs traditionally employ breadcrumbs for best texture... so to keto-fy these Swedish meatballs you've got a few options:

• actual keto breadcrumbs via our soft 'n fluffy sandwich bread. Works great... though obviously not too practical, and you may not want to transform your hard work into crumbs...!
• crushed pork rinds! these work surprisingly well in lie of bread crumbs... as in very little discernible difference (i.e. no after taste and they're my top choice!!)! A lot of you ask me for brands, and I’ve lovedthe new baked variety from Epic (which have 40% less calories btw!). Because they’re not fried in lard, they’re drier and resemble panko crumbs so very much.
• or simply throw in some almond flour if keeping things kosher! I've done it plenty and it works the charm. I found the almond flour to add a lovely depth of flavor, but they were quite a bit more fragile than with pork rinds (but tbh I didn't find it to be a biggie at all!).