Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake
This Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake is deliciously cozy comfort food. A family dinner that's always a winner!
Prep Time45 minutes mins
Cook Time1 hour hr
Chilling30 minutes mins
Total Time2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Swedish
Keyword: Comfort Food, pasta bake, Swedish meatballs
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 1025kcal
Author: MaryAnn Dwyer
- 2 cups small shell pasta, uncooked
Meatballs
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 2/3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cups plain panko bread crumbs
- 1 lb. ground beef, I use 80/20
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil
Gravy
- 6 Tbsp. butter
- 7 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 4 1/2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Half Serving of Meatballs
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/3 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. plain panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 lb. ground beef, I use 80/20
- 1/2 lb. ground pork
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
Meatballs
Heat butter in saute pan over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-low and add the milk. Bring to a simmer.
Place the bread crumbs in a large bowl. Take the onion mixture off the heat and pour over the breadcrumbs. Stir until combined. Mixture will resemble a thick paste. Let mixture cool.
Place beef, pork and eggs in a large bowl. Add the bread crumb mixture and mix until evenly combined. Do not overmix or your meatballs will be tough. Form into 1-inch balls. I made about 30 meatballs. The half serving of meatballs will give you 15 meatballs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Heat 3 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Gently add the meatballs in batches (I added 10 meatballs at a time to skillet) and brown on all sides. Transfer meatballs to the 9x13 baking dish with the pasta. Drain extra grease from skillet.
- I used mini shells for my pasta, but you could use elbows, or any small pasta shape.
- After browning the meatballs, drain excess grease from the skillet, but don't scrape out the bits at the bottom of the pan. They will give the gravy a nice, rich flavor.
- This dish feeds 6-8 people.
Calories: 1025kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 71g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 29g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 262mg | Sodium: 1692mg | Potassium: 1042mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1405IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 146mg | Iron: 5mg