Healthy Swedish Meatballs

Do you ever set yourself a task that seems  easy as pie, only to find that you absolutely cannot nail it?

Creating a healthy take on the iconic Swedish Meatball was such a task for me.I tried for weeks to perfect a recipe brimming with as much flavour as the real deal…

without caving and reaching for the double cream.

Guess what?

My attempts were utterly fruitless. Sour. Thick. Clumpy?

Fail.

Balls.

But but but, just last week… success! Always when you least expect it, hey?

I had the busiest day in the kitchen planned, tonnes of recipes to whip up and photograph, and a couple to test. I figured one recipe failure out of 6 ain’t bad, so gave the stubborn balls another crack.

I nibbled and tweaked and tasted, cautiously added a little more of this and a touch  of that…”NOBODY MOVE. GET MY NOTEBOOK!”

I scribbled the quantities down as quick as my oddly tiny hands could manage, and now they are preserved forever and you can have the very best meatballs you’ve ever tasted.

I’m not kidding.

If you try just one  of my recipes, let it be this one.

The meatballs are seasoned to perfection, melt-in-the-mouth delicious, swimming in a lovely gravy bath so gloriously rich that you’d bet your hat it’s 90% cream.

Not so, friend.

Plate up your new favourite show-stopper / personal treat for one / signature dish for <300 calories.

You know it’s good when your chap lodges a formal request for a dish to be added to the regular dinner rotation.

Print

Healthy Swedish Meatballs

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 295 kcal

Author Lottie Lifts

Ingredients

• 500 g pork mince (8% fat)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 medium egg
• 2 Tbsp flaxmeal (sub. for oat flour / ground oats or breadcrumbs)
• 50 ml white wine
• 400 ml chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp agave nectar (sub. for honey)
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 Tbsp cornflour, mixed with water
• 50 g extra light cream cheese
• fresh / dried parsley, garnish

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 100C.

2. Finely chop your onion and garlic, by hand or in a food processor.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine your mince, onion, garlic, egg, allspice, flaxmeal, salt and pepper by hand.

4. Roll into small balls, you should get 30-35 out of this mixture.

5. Set a large pan over a medium-high heat and add low-calorie cooking spray.

6. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook until browned all over, around 5 minutes. Turn them over using tongs, and be gentle - you’ve made very tender, melt-in-the-mouth meatballs, so don’t break them! You may need to brown them in 2 batches if your pan isn’t large enough.

7. Pour into an ovenproof dish and pop into the oven to keep warm,

8. In the same pan, pour in the white wine, scraping all of the crispy bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.

9. Add the stock, Worcester sauce, agave, mustard and cream cheese, whisking until smooth.

10. Add the cornflour to thicken, if desired.

11. Return the meatballs to the pan and cover with the gravy.

12. Top with parsley, fresh or dried, to serve.

Recipe Notes

Nutritional Information per serving: Calories: 295 / Protein: 30g / Carbohydrate: 9g / Fat: 14g / Fibre: 2g

If you would like this recipe or any of our other recipes incorporated into your diet then make sure you check out our personalised meal plans.

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