Easy Turkey Swedish Meatballs (Lightened Up)

Easy Turkey Swedish Meatballs are a lightened-up version of traditional Swedish Meatballs. Served in a delicious, creamy sauce. Serve them over mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles. 

Since we’ve been holed up in the house, I’ve been totally overdoing it on the pasta, cocktails and cookies. And while I’ve also been spending a bit more time on the treadmill, I’m thinking it’s time to start eating a bit lighter. I mean, summer is coming… Not sure that I’ll be wearing a swimsuit on any warm beaches this year, but just in case… 

Let’s indulge in a different way today – with this lightened up version of Swedish Meatballs. Made with ground turkey instead of the traditional combination of ground beef and ground pork. And doused in a better-for-you sauce made with reduced-fat sour cream, instead of the traditional heavy cream and butter. 

You’ll absolutely love diving into a big plate of these Turkey Swedish Meatballs! 

How to Make Swedish Meatballs

  • Combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, allspice, nutmeg,  salt and pepper. 
  • Shape mixture into 2-inch balls and place in a casserole dish. 
  • Add 1 cup chicken broth around meatballs. 
  • Bake at 450-degrees for 15-20 minutes. 

The most time consuming part of making Turkey Swedish Meatballs is forming them. I’ve found that using a cookie scoop makes the process much easier. If you don’t have a scoop, you can also form them by hand. Wetting your hands before forming the meatballs makes them less sticky to work with. 

Formed turkey meatballs in baking dish before cooking.

Tips for Making the Best Turkey Meatballs

  • Don’t over handle the ground turkey, otherwise your meatballs can become too dense, and not as tender. 
  • Be sure your meatballs are roughly the same size before baking. This ensures they’ll cook evenly. 
  • Use a cookie scoop to make the process easier and ensure your meatballs are all the same size. 
  • If using your hands, wet them to make the process less sticky. 
  • Pour a bit of chicken stock around the meatballs while they cook. This keeps them moist and keeps them from sticking to the pan. 
  • Meatballs are done when they reach a temperature of 160-degrees. I love using this meat thermometer to test for doneness. 
  • You can use beef or pork (or a combination) to make these Swedish Meatballs more authentic. The process and cook time will remain the same. You may want to swap beef broth for the chicken stock. 
Turkey swedish meatballs in pan with gravy.

Can You Make Swedish Meatballs Ahead of Time? 

  • Yes! The good part is, you can form the turkey meatballs ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook them. 

Can Swedish Meatballs be Frozen? 

Yes. To freeze Turkey Swedish Meatballs: 

  1. Bake.
  2. Let cool.
  3. Freeze on a baking sheet, with meatballs spaced apart so they don’t stick to each other. 
  4. Once frozen, store in freezer safe bags. 
  5. To serve, bake meatballs at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until heated through. 

Note: I don’t recommend freezing the swedish meatball sauce. I would make that last minute and add the meatballs to it before serving.

On to that delicious Turkey Swedish Meatball sauce! The best part if you ask me! It’s tangy, creamy and delicious and I like to drown my meatballs in it! 

Side view of bowl of turkey swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes.

Turkey Swedish Meatballs Sauce Ingredients

  • Chicken broth
  • Sour Cream (reduced fat)
  • Worcestershire sauce 
  • Dijon mustard
  • Nutmeg
  • Cornstarch
  • Salt and pepper

This Swedish Meatball sauce comes together super quick, in about 5 minutes. Just bring the chicken broth and cornstarch to a boil, whisking constantly so it doesn’t clump up, and let it cook for a couple minutes until it thickens up. Then stir in the remaining ingredients, spoon the sauce over your meatballs and serve. 

What are Swedish Meatballs Served With? 

What is Lingonberry Jam? 

  • Lingonberry Jam is a sweet/tart jam, similar to cranberry sauce. Making this experience similar to a Thanksgiving dinner. If you can’t find lingonberry, you can also serve these Turkey Swedish Meatballs with red currant jam or cranberry sauce. 
Overhead shot of bowl of turkey swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes.

Wine Pairings for Swedish Meatballs:

If you loved this Turkey Swedish Meatballs recipe I would appreciate it so much if you would give it a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.

For more great Platings and Pairings recipes, be sure to follow me on PinterestFacebookYouTube and Twitter.

More Ground Turkey Recipes:

Overhead shot of bowl of turkey swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes.

Turkey Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Easy Turkey Swedish Meatballs are a lightened-up version of traditional Swedish Meatballs. Served in a delicious, creamy sauce. Serve them over mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles. 
4.21 from 67 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 1/3 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 egg (lightly beaten)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced or grated)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup chicken broth

Swedish Meatball Sauce

  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • Salt and pepper (to taste)

For Serving:

  • Chopped parsley (to garnish)
  • Mashed Potatoes (Rice, or Egg Noodles)
  • Lingonberry jam

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
  • Shape mixture into 2-inch balls and place in a casserole dish. Pour 1 cup chicken broth around meatballs.
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through. (Temperature should register 160-degrees)
  • Meanwhile, make the gravy.
  • In a large skillet, whisk together cornstarch and broth until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low and stir in sour cream, worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Remove meatballs from oven and add them to the gravy using a slotted spoon (discard the cooking broth); continue to cook 1-2 minutes, spooning gravy over the meatballs. Garnish with parsley.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!

Nutrition

Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1174mg | Potassium: 624mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 2mg

Watch the web story here.

26 thoughts on “Easy Turkey Swedish Meatballs (Lightened Up)”

    • Hi Cindy – I used 85/15, but I think you could even go leaner with this recipe, since the meatballs are bound with breadcrumbs and egg. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  1. 5 stars
    This is such a rich and comforting recipe! We almost exclusively cook with ground turkey vs ground beef in our house, so this recipe is perfect for us. I’m now curious about that Lingonberry jam – sounds delicious! – and am going to check it out!

    Reply
  2. 5 stars
    great idea to use turkey in this dish, a nice opportunity to use a healthier ingredient that won’t really change the flavor with the sauce that you’re using, thank you! Also lingonberry jam, yum

    Reply
  3. 4 stars
    The meatballs are tasty, the sauce was easy to make but was rather bland. Wondering what I should do to bump up the flavor.

    Reply
  4. 4 stars
    I just made this dish. It’s a different take on Swedish Meatballs than anything I’ve tried before. I wasn’t sure about the dijon mustard, and now I think next time I’ll omit it…seems like an odd addition? IDK… But it’s very tasty! I did bump up the Worchestershire a bit and subbed plain lowfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Next time I’ll get some fat-free sour cream and give that a go. I served mine over garlic mashed cauliflower and fixed egg noodles for my son.
    Is that sodium count accurate? Seems crazy high.

    Reply
  5. Made this tonight and it wasn’t Swedish meatballs I’ve ever had. Tasted more like a lightened Dijon cream sauce that you would put on pan seared chicken. The Dijon overpowers the allspice and nutmeg — even when adding double the spice. The addition of worcestshire was weird to me, too. Making the sauce felt like throwing together whatever I could find in my fridge/pantry. The meatballs on their own were good, though. Sometimes some traditional recipes just can’t be made low-fat and that’s okay.

    Reply
  6. 5 stars
    I added a little skim milk to the gravy and dry dill approx a teaspoon
    I also sautéed a lb of sliced mushrooms in a tablespoon of butter and seasoned with black pepper. Cooked the meatballs 45 min got a little firmer and browned. Combine all – DELICIOUS

    Reply
  7. 4 stars
    So I made this dish. And while I found it tasty, I realized there was no serving size listed? What is the serving size for the nutritional info? Thanks ^_^

    Reply
  8. 5 stars
    Hey this turned out pretty good! I pretty much followed the recipe as is. Mostly beef broth though as I ran out of chicken! And plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. I made it pretty quickly so a good weeknight meal. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  9. 5 stars
    I never comment on recipes but this was to good not to! Wow! Thank you for making my weeknight meals amazing. So much favor and good consistency all around. Will be a repeat.

    Reply
  10. 5 stars
    I’ve never posted a comment on a recipe before. I’ve never felt so compelled to declare how delicious I found the meal to be. I served these meatballs over egg noodles, and it was absolutely fabulous. I am genuinely looking forward to the next time I eat these meatballs. I didn’t have sour cream, so I just used the crème fraiche I had on hand. So good!

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.