I’m seriously loving this whole new world of having a slow cooker AND an instant pot. During my meal prep I was able to make spaghetti sauce in the instant pot while getting these Swedish meatballs in the slow cooker. By the time they were cooking, the meat sauce was done. I’m not sure if it’s all in my head, but it definitely makes me feel more productive. I’m probably making it up but I felt like that meal prep didn’t consume my day and I had hours more time in my day.
I know I’m suppose to use the first paragraph in a blog post to talk about the actual recipe, according to the Google SEO optimization rules but it’s my blog and I’ll do as I please 😉 If you came here for the recipe for these slow cooker Swedish meatballs and not my rambling, you’re in luck. Because that’s next.
As a person of 1, this one recipe could feed me all week for dinner. But food boredom is real, so I froze half instead and will pull them out down in the line in my Whole30. The best way to freeze these is in individual portions. You could just freeze half and have them for a few nights though. However, freezing them in single servings (usually 4 meatballs) means that I can eat them for dinner one night in two weeks and another night in three weeks, adding more variation to my weekly meals.
The process is super simple, as always with my meals. You’ll start off like you’re making any ol’ meatball recipe. Combine everything into a bowl and roll into your desired size meatball. My biggest tip/suggestion for adding awesome flavor is to grate the onion directly into the bowl so you get all of the juice from the onion. If you’re in a hurry or just don’t want to, you could dice it and throw it into the Swedish meatball mixture as well.
If you find that your mixture is too wet to form into balls, add a tablespoon or two more of almond meal. As you’re making your meatballs, place them into the slow cooker, lining the bottom first and stacking them in the spaces between the first layer. It’s okay that they’re on top of each other.
If you don’t futz with the slow cooker much and stir them before they’re cooked, they’ll still come out as meatballs.
Next, you’re going to add the Original flavor nutpods or coconut milk to a sauce pan along with the ghee, arrowroot flour and broth. You’ll do this by adding all of the ingredients first and then slowly whisking the arrowroot flour in one tablespoon at a time. This is to avoid clumping and ensure that the sauce thickens well.
Once the flour is all mixed in, continue whisking for a few minutes and you’ll see the sauce thicken and start to bubble a bit. At that point, simply pour into the slow cooker over the meatballs. Put the lid on and let cook for 2 hours on high or 3-4 hours on low.
As I said, don’t futz too much with them while they’re cooking to avoid breaking the meatballs. You may need to gently separate a few of the Swedish meatballs once they’re done but they’ll be thoroughly cooked and won’t break apart.
The gravy is delicious with some mashed cauliflower or roasted veggies so serve ’em up as a side with the Swedish meatballs and you’re set to go!
Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs: Paleo and Whole30
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef (I used Pederson’s Farms!)
- 1 medium white onion, grated directly into mixing bowl
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons almond meal
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
For the Sauce:
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup Original nutpods or coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 3 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- A dash of salt, pepper and dried parsley
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for the meatballs into a large mixing bowl, grating the onion directly into bowl
- Mix with hands until combined
- Form into 2″-3″ meatballs
- Place directly into slow cooker
- Add all sauce ingredients, excluding arrowroot flour, into a sauté pan over medium heat
- Whisk arrowroot flour into sauce 1 tablespoon at a time
- Continue whisking about 3-4 minutes until sauce thickens and begins to bubble
- At that time, pour sauce mixture into the slow cooker over meatballs
- Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 3-4
Nutrition Facts:
- Serving Size: Serves 4-6
If you’re a meatball fanatic like me, here’s some other great Paleo and Whole30 meatball recipes:
Spicy Pork Meatballs and Sesame Noodles
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KelseyPasqual says
This recipe was very good, but upon reading the comments beforehand, I made some tweaks to the process. I put the meatballs in the slow cooker, only with broth, but after an hour of cooking, the meatballs started to appear to fall apart, so I then turned my instant pot into manual high pressure instead of slow cook and cooked them for 7 minutes and let the steam release naturally about 5-10 minutes. After I removed the lid, the meatballs looked as if they had all mushed together! But after I gently pulled some out with tongs, they did indeed keep their separate shape. Then I made the gravy in the instant pot on saute. Unfortunately, arrowroot is so fickle to use and when I used it, it made the gravy much too “slimy” so I added more nut pods creamer and through it into the blender, then it was perfect. Even my husband ate it and loved it and he is hard to please! And my two kids ate it as well. As a meal it paired really well with soft cauliflower rice. 🙂 Thank you so much for the recipe! I only give 4 stars as I feel it should be updated in the future, but overall it was great to work with and manageable.
paleobailey says
Thank you SO much for sharing your modifications!! Truly appreciate the feedback!
Mindy says
Although I really love the idea of this recipe. It did not turn out as expected. After 4 hours on low in the crock pot, the gravy separated and the oils/grease from the meats had floated to the top. To remedy this I took out the meatballs and got rid of all of the liquid and just remade the original gravy and put it over them. This turned out delicious. Overall I think this is a good recipe if modified. The taste was fantastic and the meatballs held together really well.!
paleobailey says
Thanks for your feedback! This recipe is actually on my list of ones to remake after the new year 🙂 I’m thinking it needs to be a lean to extra lean ground meat and/or to cook the meatballs in the slow cooker on their own first and add the gravy the last 30 minutes to allow to warm and thicken. I appreciate you letting me know!
Mary says
I tried to make this recipe but in the oven, as I don’t have a slow cooker right now. Doesn’t seem like it translates! The oil from the meatballs leaked out and sat on top of the gravy. It also seemed like the gravy separated a little- I ended up draining the meatballs and tossing the sauce.
I may have to stick to recipes designed for the oven from now on!
paleobailey says
Oh, no! Yeah, if you make this in the oven, you wouldn’t want to add the gravy/sauce until after the meatballs were done baking. Bake the meatballs alone, create the sauce on the stovetop and pour over the meatballs when they’re done!
Mary says
D’oh! Thanks for the tip! Love your blog 🙂
paleobailey says
Thank you, Mary!! 🙂