I adore meatballs, especially Swedish meatballs, but I find lately I’m having less and less patience with anything that has to be individually prepared, filled, or stuffed! However, I came up with a solution! Skip the dividing and the rolling, and just make a Swedish meatball loaf instead.
This recipe is adapted slightly from one in my 60-Minute Gourmet cookbook. I cut it in half (because an entire meatloaf was more than I wanted all at once). And, I fiddled with the ingredients a bit. It called for allspice (I have none) and aquavit (ditto – and not buying an entire bottle of something for one recipe).
Make the mixture, heat, and eat. No fussing. No bother. And no need to roll endless mini-meatballs either.
This works beautifully with just some rice (white or brown). Top both with the sauce.
The recipe is enough for one generous serving or two smaller ones. If you have extra, eat it cold for lunch (or as a sandwich) the next day. My mom would eat it for breakfast (her favorite), but you can do lunch if you want to be more conventional.
Swedish Meatball Meatloaf
A different take on classic Swedish meatballs. No need to roll or carefully turn individual meatballs. Instead, it's all in a single Swedish meatball loaf.
Notes
*You can substitute ground veal for some of either the beef or pork. Some stores sell a "meatloaf" mix that's perfect for this.
**Crack the egg, beat it lightly, and then pour off half. Or use a medium egg.
Ingredients
Meatloaf
- 1/4 lb. ground beef*
- 1/4 lb. ground pork*
- 1/2 tsp butter
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 egg**
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch nutmeg
Sauce
- 1 T butter
- 2 1/4 tsp flour
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees
- Mix the ground meats together in a mixing bowl.
- Heat 1/2 tsp butter in a small pan. Once it melts, add the onion and cook on a low flame until it wilts (about 5 minutes).
- In a separate bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and milk.
- Spoon the cooked onion into the meat, and then the milk/bread mixture.
- Now add the egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Stir it all together to combine.
- Once it's thoroughly mixed, spoon it into a mini loaf pan.
- Place in the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
- While the meatloaf is cooking, heat the remaining butter in the same skillet you used for the onions. Add the flour and stir. Then add the chicken broth, and keep stirring, for about a minute. Add the cream, and stir while you cook for another two minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the meatloaf and serve.
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Once you’ve got those meatballs, you can make soup in mere minutes. Just a few basic ingredients, dump, heat, and eat.
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