Gluten-Free Swedish Meatballs (Paleo, Whole30)

Paleo Swedish Meatballs and a wooden spatula in a large skillet with a towel wrapped around the handle and a bunch of parsley next to it.

5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Swedish Meatballs (Paleo, Whole30)

These Gluten-Free Swedish Meatballs are a hearty, healthy dinner! Light, juicy meatballs are coated in a thick, creamy sauce. Serve with mashed potatoes, veggie rice or noodles. And they're dairy-free, keto, Paleo and Whole30 friendly!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Swedish, Turkish

Servings: servings

Calories: 684kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 tablespoon avocado oil, plus 1/4 cup, divided
½ cup peeled, diced shallots from about 2 large or 3 medium shallots
2 peeled, minced garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus 1 teaspoon, divided
1 pound lean ground beef 90-93%
½ pound ground pork
⅓ cup nutritional yeast
1 large egg
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the sauce:

2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¾ cup coconut cream see notes
1 tablespoon arrowroot flour/starch + 1 tablespoon cold water
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley optional

Instructions

For the meatballs:

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and ¼ teaspoon salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add the beef, pork, nutritional yeast, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano, black pepper, nutmeg and allspice. Add the shallot/garlic mixture and set the pan aside (no need to wash it; it will be used later). Using a spatula or your hands, stir everything together.
Using a 2-tablespoon ice cream/cookie scoop, a tablespoon or your hands, form the meat mixture into 2-tablespoon-sized balls (rolling each one between your palms) and place on a plate.
Wipe the skillet with a paper towel to get rid of any little bits of shallots or garlic. Heat the ¼ cup oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and brown them on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side (most of them will need to be cooked on 3-4 "sides"), using cooking tongs to turn them. Remove the cooked meatballs to a new, clean dinner plate.

For the sauce

While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the sauce: in a large measuring glass, whisk the broth, coconut aminos, vinegar, mustard, dried parsley and ¼ teaspoon salt.
Once you've removed the meatballs from the pan, add the sauce to the skillet. Use a whisk or spatula to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan (adding flavor to the sauce and making the pan easier to clean later).
Add the coconut cream and whisk or stir until it has blended in.
Bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened.
In a small bowl, whisk the arrowroot with 1 tablespoon cold water until it blends together to create a slurry. Whisk the sauce while you slowly pour in the slurry, then keep whisking to make sure it's evenly blended into the sauce.
Stir in most of the flat-leaf parsley, if using.
Add the meatballs back to the pan and turn them over to coat them in the sauce. Let them get warm while the sauce continues to simmer and thicken. Once the meatballs are warmed through, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve.
The sauce might form a skin on the surface as it sits - just whisk it back into the sauce.

Notes

Nutritional note: The recipe looks to be very high in fat but it's unlikely you'll use all the sauce, which makes up a good portion of the fat content in the recipe.

For the coconut cream: Chill a can of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Open the top, scoop out the thick coconut cream at the top and use the coconut water for something else (like a smoothie).

For serving: You can serve these with a lot of different sides: long, thick noodles; zucchini noodles, mashed potatoes; mashed cauliflower; rice, or try cauliflower or other veggie rice.

Substitutions

You can use a mixture of 3/4 pound lean ground beef and 3/4 pound ground pork.

You can use ground turkey in place of the beef or pork.

You can use yellow or white onion in place of the shallots.

Don't have fresh garlic? Add 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder to the meatball mixture instead.

You can use chicken broth in place of the beef broth (or a combination of both).

You can use grainy mustard in place of Dijon.

You can use lemon juice in place of the apple cider vinegar.

You can remove the apple cider vinegar and coconut cream and instead use dairy-free sour cream. I like Kite Hill (for dairy-free) or Forager (for dairy-free/Paleo/Whole30).

Make ahead

The meatballs and sauce can be stored together in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat.

Freezer instructions

The meatballs and sauce can be frozen together for up to 3 months.

Or you can freeze them separately. Place the meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until frozen through, about 1-2 hours. Then transfer to an airtight container or baggie.

The sauce can be frozen in an airtight container or baggie.

Reheat the meatballs and sauce together in a skillet over low heat.

Nutrition