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Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake Recipe

Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake

This comforting Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake combines flavorful meatballs, creamy sauce, and al dente pasta in a delicious bake.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Chilling Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Swedish
Calories: 680

Ingredients
  

Meatballs
  • 1 1/4 cups plain panko bread crumbs
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2/3 cup yellow onion finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 pound ground beef 85/15
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 3 tablespoons oil
Pasta
  • 2 cups shell pasta
Sauce
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups beef broth low sodium
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Equipment

  • Large Bowl
  • Skillet
  • Oven Safe Baking Dish

Method
 

  1. Add the panko bread crumbs to a large bowl and set aside.
  2. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
  3. Add the finely chopped onion, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir often.
  4. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
  5. Turn the heat down to low/medium, and add the milk. Stir everything together and bring it to a simmer.
  6. Once the onion mixture has come to a simmer, pour it from the pan into the bowl of panko bread crumbs and stir everything together. The mixture will be very thick. Set this bowl aside to cool.
  7. In a separate extra large bowl, add the eggs and beat them.
  8. Then add the ground beef, ground pork, and cooled onion mixture. Mix everything together.
  9. Form about 30 balls and then chill them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
  10. Once the meatballs are done chilling, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat up the oil.
  11. Add the meatballs to the skillet in batches and cook them until they are browned on all sides, about 15 minutes.
  12. Transfer the meatballs to a dish and set them aside.
  13. Cook the pasta al dente according to the directions on the box, drain it and add it to a 9 x 13 oven safe baking dish.
  14. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  15. Place the meatballs into the baking dish, nestling them into the pasta.
  16. In a large skillet on medium heat, melt the butter.
  17. Add the flour, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.
  18. Stir in the beef broth, water, Worcestershire, salt and pepper and bring it to a simmer. Stir often.
  19. Reduce the heat to low/medium, and add the parsley and heavy cream. Stir everything together constantly and cook it until it thickens, about 10 minutes.
  20. Carefully pour the sauce over the meatballs and pasta.
  21. Bake the Swedish meatballs, pasta, and sauce in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Notes

For best results, use a mixture of beef and pork for the meatballs. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. You can substitute ground turkey for a lighter version.