Chicken Swedish Meatballs
A lightened-up classic. Serve juicy chicken Swedish meatballs for a cozy and satisfying dinner with less fat than traditional recipes. You’ll also love my gluten-free chicken meatballs, chicken sausage sheet pan, and healthy hamburger helper.
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Swedish meatballs are one of my favorite comfort foods. But as a dietitian, I don’t love that they’re usually high in fat and calories. Delicious, but not the most nutritionally balanced for everyday.
Enter: juicy and scrumptious chicken Swedish meatballs. You get all the lightly-spiced and gravy-soaked goodness of the real deal, but with less fat and more protein. If you’re working on weight loss, these meatballs make the perfect, balanced comfort meal.
This is one of my all-time favorite nutritious dinner recipes. Scroll down to learn exactly how easy it is to make.
Why you’ll love chicken Swedish meatballs
- Super juicy and delicious
- Lightened-up to support weight loss goals
- High in protein to keep you full
- Ready in 30-minutes or less
- Minimal ingredients and easy
What do Swedish meatballs taste like?
If you’ve never had Swedish meatballs, you’re in for a treat.
The meatball itself is pretty standard: ground meat, breacrumbs (or in this case, oats), parmesan, and an egg. The flavor, however, is lightly spiced with all spice and nutmeg instead of your usual Italian seasoning.
The juicy meatballs perfectly pair with the balanced and slightly tangy gravy. And this recipe makes a lot of gravy so you can cover your whole plate.
Think meatballs and gravy but with warming spices and a tangy twist.
What makes this recipe healthier?
- Dietitian-designed to maximize nutrition without sacrificing taste
- More protein to keep you full and support muscle growth
- Leaner mean for less saturated fats
- Less cream and butter for fewer calories than other recipes
- Oats instead of breadcrumbs for fiber and a nutritious boost
Key Ingredients
- Nutmeg and allspice: These are the main spices that give Swedish meatballs their distinctive flavor. Don’t skip these!
- Lean ground chicken: You could substitute ground turkey or lean ground beef, but I really think the ground chicken gives an incredible flavor.
- Yellow onion: Chop this as fine as you can. Or if you’re feeling lazy, substitute 1 teaspoon of onion powder instead.
- Oats: I like oats in meatballs instead of breadcrumbs, but you can substitute panko or unseasoned Italian breadcrumbs if you wish.
- Grated parmesan: I tested this recipe without parmesan, and I found the meatballs weren’t quite flavorful or juicy enough. I wouldn’t recommend skipping the parm.
- Chicken broth: This is the base of the gravy. I prefer to mix water with Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base, but you could use regular broth, too.
- Half-and-half cream: Don’t worry, we don’t use too much.
- Dijon mustard: This helps bring some unique flavor to the chicken meatballs and gravy.
- Fresh lemon juice: I’ve tasted the gravy before and after adding lemon juice, and it’s a bit shocking how big of a difference it makes! Don’t skip the fresh lemon juice. Trust me.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions.
How to make chicken Swedish meatballs
To a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for meatballs. Using a gloved hand, mix until well combined.
Use your hands to gently form 2-Tbsp meatballs until all meat has been used. To make things easier, use a 2-Tbsp cookie scoop for this step.
Add olive oil to your skillet and heat to medium.
Add meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until all sides are deeply golden brown. Remove from the pan.
Remove your pan from the heat for 1-2 minutes to let it cool and avoid burning the butter. Then, add your pan back to the heat and add butter. Let it melt and immediately add flour and whisk. Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking frequently, or until you have a lightly golden paste.
Add remaining gravy ingredients and whisk. Keeping the skillet uncovered, let it simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until gravy has thickened and slightly reduced.
Add your meatballs back to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer until your meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 165 F, about 10-minutes. For a thicker gravy, simmer uncovered until it’s reached your desired consistency.
Serve over mashed potatoes with fresh chives and steamed green beans.
What to serve with chicken Swedish meatballs
- Mashed potatoes (they’re amazing with my Boursin mashed potatoes)
- Mashed sweet potatoes
- Roasted potatoes
- Mashed cauliflower
- Egg noodles
- Lingonberry jam
- Steamed green beans
- Steamed broccoli and cauliflower
- Pickled red cabbage
- Chopped chives
- Fresh parsley
- Dinner rolls
- Biscuits
Storage and re-heating
Store your meatballs and gravy together to keep them juicy and delicious. Keep them stored in food containers with fitted lids.
Fridge: Store chicken Swedish meatballs for up to three days.
Freezer: Swedish meatballs will stay good in the freezer for up to three months. Defrost in the fridge overnight before re-heating. You can use freezer-safe food containers or Super cubes.
Re-heating: Re-heat meatballs in the microwave, covered, for 60-90 seconds or until heated through. Stir occasionally for even heating. Or, re-heat covered on the stove over medium heat.
Helpful tools
- Large skillet
- Large braiser
- 2 Tbsp cookie scoop (for forming meatballs)
- Food-safe gloves
- Large mixing bowls
Top tips
- Don’t worry about cooking your meatballs all the way through when you’re browning them. If you cook them too long at this step, they might be tough or dry. Don’t forget — they’ll simmer in the gravy later and finish cooking.
- This recipe is designed to have lots of gravy, because I love how it covers the whole plate of meatballs, mashed potatoes, and veggies. Don’t be alarmed if it looks like a lot!
- Let your gravy simmer for an extra 5-10 minutes uncovered if you want it thicker.
- This recipe is extra delicious with fresh chives and/or parsley for garnish.
More healthy and cozy dinners
Italian penicillin soup
Creamy red chicken chili
Honey buffalo wings
Healthy philly cheesesteak pasta
Balsamic chicken pasta
Taco baked potato
Ground turkey vegetable soup
High protein healthy beef chili
Common questions
Nope! Feel free to substitute unseasoned breadcrumbs for oats.
One serving of chicken Swedish meatballs is about 1/4 of the recipe. My recipe should yield about 20 small meatballs, so a serving is approximately 5 meatballs per person. Please adjust the serving size to fit your hunger level and nutritional needs, as always!
Did you try this recipe?
Leave your rating and review below! And don’t forget to post a picture to Instagram, and tag me @real.life.nutritionist.
Chicken Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb lean ground chicken
- 1 large egg
- ½ yellow onion, grated or minced
- ⅓ cup quick cooking oats
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp all spice
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, for cooking
Gravy
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup half-and-half cream
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp all spice
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice
To Serve
- mashed potatoes
- steamed green beans
- diced chives
Equipment
Instructions
- To a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for meatballs. Using a gloved hand, mix until well combined.
- Use your hands to gently form 2-Tbsp meatballs until all meat has been used. To make things easier, use a 2-Tbsp cookie scoop for this step.
- Add olive oil to your skillet and heat to medium.
- Add meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until all sides are deeply golden brown. Remove from the pan.
- Remove your pan from the heat for 1-2 minutes to let it cool and avoid burning the butter. Then, add your pan back to the heat and add butter. Let it melt and immediately add flour and whisk. Cook for 1-2 minutes, whisking frequently, or until you have a lightly golden paste.
- Add remaining gravy ingredients and whisk. Keeping the skillet uncovered, let it simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until gravy has thickened and slightly reduced.
- Add your meatballs back to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cover. Simmer until your meatballs have reached an internal temperature of 165 F, about 10-minutes. For a thicker gravy, simmer uncovered until it's reached your desired consistency.
- Serve over mashed potatoes with fresh chives and steamed green beans.
