Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs

By Kay Chun

Updated January 29, 2020

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(1,917)
Comments
Read comments

Cremini mushrooms, chickpeas and bulgur wheat mimic the texture of ground meat in this vegetarian version of the classic Swedish meatball dish. Seasoned generously with allspice and nutmeg and blanketed in a velvety mushroom gravy, they are excellent served over egg noodles or mashed potatoes — or spooned onto a toasted hero (add sliced tangy pickles to balance out the richness). Leftover cooked meatballs can be frozen and reheated in a 425-degree oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

    or to print this recipe.

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:2 dozen meatballs

FOR THE MEATBALLS

  • 2 tablespoons bulgur wheat

  • 4 cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed (about 1 ½ cups)

  • ⅓ cup plain bread crumbs

  • ¼ cup sour cream

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

  • ¾ teaspoon ground allspice

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper

  • ½ teaspoon onion powder

  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

  • Canola oil, for greasing

FOR THE GRAVY

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 ½ cups mushroom stock (or vegetable stock)

  • 1 tablespoon sour cream

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

11 grams carbs; 12 milligrams cholesterol; 87 calories; 1 gram monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 3 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 90 milligrams sodium; 4 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the meatballs: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring ¼ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the bulgur, remove from heat, cover and let sit until tender, 15 minutes. Drain, pressing to remove excess water. Cool.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse mushrooms until finely chopped with some pea-size pieces remaining (do not purée); transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the chickpeas: Pulse, then add them to the large bowl. Add the bread crumbs, sour cream, egg, salt, allspice, pepper, onion powder, nutmeg and the cooled bulgur and mix until well blended. Form into 1 ¼-inch meatballs (about 2 teaspoons each; you should have about 24). Arrange on a greased baking sheet and bake, turning halfway, until golden, 18 to 20 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Make the gravy: While the meatballs bake, in a large nonstick saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth and lightly golden, 2 minutes. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cook, whisking, until thickened, 2 minutes. Whisk in sour cream, parsley and mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper (you should have about 1 cup gravy). Add meatballs and simmer, spooning sauce over meatballs, until nicely coated, about 2 minutes more. Serve warm.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,917 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

robert

I was able to make this in the space of a relatively small boat galley. It was a dish that impressed vegetarians and meat eaters. Very filling and flavorful. It doesn’t make 24, realistically. I doubled the recipe, which made 23 meatballs. That fed 6 people, with seconds. Don’t go crazy with the sour cream in the gravy. You can always add. Same with the mustard. But you can’t add too much parsley. I had to add more flour than prescribed. Brown it more in the 1st step. That’s your gravy’s color.

Bill

I like a lot of sauce on my pasta dishes. I found that the meatballs pretty much absorbed all of the gravy. Next time I will make a separate batch of gravy to drizzle on the noodles that are not covered by the meatballs.

PatR

How many ounces of cremini mushrooms? Come in a wide range of sizes where I shop.

Natty T.

Did anyone else have chickpea balls that fell apart? Any suggestions so it doesn't happen to me again?

Kate S.

I made this for my vegetarian husband for his birthday and he declared it his new favorite dish. I didn’t have allspice (but it sounds like that wasn’t the worst omission according to commenters), but I do wish I had some in the end to add to the gravy, which I found a bit bland. I used veg stock but will try mushroom stock next time. I doubled the gravy and served over mashed potatoes. Delish.

Bakewell

Made exactly as written. Tasty, but could do with about half the salt. (I used Morton, which maybe was the problem?) If I cook this again, will take the advice of the commenter who suggested processing the chickpeas a bit more. I think the pea-size bits caused the meatballs to fall apart. The gravy was a bit too bland, so I added a sprinkle of beef broth crystals. Not vegetarian, I know, but neither are we.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.