Here’s what you need to know about this soup—Stevie said it’s the best soup he’s ever had. And the man has had a plethora of soups in his day. He’s married to the woman who will make a soup out of ANYTHING. Also of note? His family is a mixture of German and Scandinavian and his mother is a great cook so he’s had the best swedish meatballs in the free world. I only say that to say that he’s kinda hard to impress. He looked at me with love in eyes when I made this soup so I’m telling you, you gotta try it. This could well be my magnum opus. This is makeup food right here so if you’re in the need of a quick way to say I’m sorry, this is your culinary fix. I only beg you not to buy premade meatballs (for the love of IKEA) because then you’re probably gonna tell me that is in fact not my magnum opus and I need to keep trying. #myworkhereisdone
What You’ll Need:
For the meatballs:
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 grated onion
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg (I use fresh grated nutmeg and it’s probably more than 1/2 tsp)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp of ground black pepper
- salt to taste (about a teaspoon for us)
- 3/4 cups of heavy cream (don’t analyze, just do it!)
Combine the above ingredients and form into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. In a heavy dutch oven (same pot you will cook soup in) add some olive oil and then brown the meatballs on medium/high, turning them once. (Takes just a couple of minutes if the pan is nice and hot). Remove the meatballs for later and start the soup. (Do NOT wash the soup pan. Leave the beef drippings there for flavor!)
For the soup:
- 3 T butter
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 T flour
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 6 cups of chicken stock
- meatballs that have been browned
- 1 cup half and half
- 1-2 cups of milk, depending on how thick you like it
- 3 cups of pasta (I usually use egg noodles)
- salt and pepper to taste
In the pan with the beef drippings, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the onion for a 3-4 minutes until it’s translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients and turn the stove on low. Cover the pot and cook until the pasta is tender. This usually takes about 20-30 minutes. Don’t let it boil because the noodles will get too sticky. Just be patient. They’ll be soft before you know it.
I serve it with Rhodes rolls which I buy as frozen dough balls and then let them rise in a muffin pan which I’ve sprayed with cooking spray. (I put 2 dough balls per muffin tin). It takes 3-4 hours for them to rise and then you bake them at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
Swedish Meatball Soup
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 grated onion
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg I use fresh grated nutmeg and it's probably more than 1/2 tsp
- 1 egg
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp of ground black pepper
- salt to taste about a teaspoon for us
- 3/4 cups of heavy cream don't analyze, just do it!
For the soup:
- 3 T butter
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 T flour
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 6 cups of chicken stock
- meatballs that have been browned
- 1 cup half and half
- 1-2 cups of milk depending on how thick you like it
- 3 cups of pasta I usually use egg noodles
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- Combine the above ingredients and form into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
- In a heavy dutch oven (same pot you will cook soup in) add some olive oil and then brown the meatballs on medium/high, turning them once. (Takes just a couple of minutes if the pan is nice and hot).
- Remove the meatballs for later and start the soup. (Do NOT wash the soup pan. Leave the beef drippings there for flavor!)
For the Soup:
- In the pan with the beef drippings, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
- Cook the onion for a 3-4 minutes until it's translucent.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and turn the stove on low.
- Cover the pot and cook until the pasta is tender. This usually takes about 20-30 minutes. Don't let it boil because the noodles will get too sticky. Just be patient. They'll be soft before you know it.
This soup looks yummy !! I never comment but~~ I made your Best Ever Beef Stew last night for dinner. It was the bomb!! 3 guys in the house and it was gone. No leftovers~ and 2 of them don’t eat veggies. I know !!!!!! Thank you.
I am going to try this tonight with some ground turkey I need to use today. I also wanted to comment and ask if you have any other options you have discovered for recipe collection and an accompanying grocery list population tool since Ziplist is going away. I discovered Ziplist from your post about planning ahead for family meals, and I have been using it together with my Google calendar to meal plan. It worked so well I taught my daughter to use it too. I am so disappointed that Ziplist is going away since I have only recent discovered this handy tool. Appreciate the help, if you have any ideas.
Thanks lady, you are such a blessing to us!!!! Want to try this soup soon , it is cold here in NC
Yum!! Yes, doing this soon. Looks like a cool alternative to stroganoff. Thanks Edie!
Edie, I love, love, love, love, love, love you. I can’t wait to try making this this weekend. Thanks for your happiness (and other emotions) which get delivered to my in-box and make my day. You rock.
Looks yummy! And just in time for our cold, snowy weekend! Thank you!
It’s in the 20’s here in middle Tennessee (crazy!) so I printed the recipe and will be making this yummy looking soup this weekend! Thanks for the recipe!!
Yum Yum! That will be perfect up north where it is currently zero degrees.
I know what we’re having for dinner on Sunday!!
Wow, you really are back! Can’t wait to try this one. My niece was here yesterday and showed me how to make crumpets and also spetzle. I am going to use the spetzle for the pasta in this soup. I can never thank you enough for inspiring me to make soups. The holidays have begun, in my heart.
Oh this sounds so nice! I will definitely try this very soon. Have you ever tried making it with half pork mince, half beef mince (which is the traditional way of making Swedish meatballs)?
I wish I was your neighbor.
Me too!!
Eddie – HELP! I have this on the stove now and the meatballs just aren’t cooking at the low temperature. I have turned it up, knowing the noodles are going to mush, but wondered if you have any thoughts on what I might have flubbed. Smells simply amazing and I can’t wait to eat it!
I bought heavy cream this week with no idea what to use it for and then I stumbled to your blog and this was the post….it’s meant to be. On the stovetop right now.
This looks and sounds delish! I’m so glad you share all the soups and you’re not the Soup Nazi! 🙂 Can’t wait to try it!
xo
Pat
I made this soup last night for dinner. We LOVED it! Thanks! I always know I can count on your recipes to turn out for me.
I just made this tonight and my husband and kids loved it. I told my husband he can thank Edie for this delicious soup recipe!! We tried to think of ways to make it healthier…maybe add carrots or broccoli? It was very good and we will be adding it to our meal rotation. Thanks Edie!
Dinner tonight! Oh my word, this looks so yummy. Can. Not. Wait! Love your soup recipes. Everyone I have tried has been delicious. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes.
I just made this for dinner and it is delicious! I changed to half ground turkey/half ground beef. I did not use any cream but rather used lite sour cream and skim milk – and it was still so yummy! we are norwegian and make swedish meatballs for christmas and this was a delicious way to get that yumo flavor in a soup!
thanks, thanks, thanks!
xo ellie
Excellent recipe!
I switched to yogurt and cream cheese, didn’t have cream nor half-and-half, and it came out great.
Thanks!
I can’t wait to make this recipe! But I will be making my Swedish meatballs the traditional way ~ half ground beef/ half ground pork. SO good! You must try it that way. YUM!
Can’t wait to make this ! My Mom made a similar meatball soup and I lost her recipe. We’re Danish, so make the meatballs often (half beef/half pork). I’m sure this soup will be excellent !
I gonna make it 😉