Swedish Meatball Noodle Bake is a creamy, savory casserole for a weeknight dinner: small homemade beef meatballs seasoned with nutmeg and garlic, tucked into tender egg noodles, covered in a velvety beef broth and heavy cream sauce and baked under a layer of melted Swiss cheese. It serves 6.
How to make it: Roll and brown the meatballs, then simmer broth, cream and Worcestershire sauce in the same skillet. Layer the noodles, meatballs, sauce and Swiss cheese in a 9×13-inch dish and bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes, until bubbly and cooked through.
Why You’ll Love It
- Real meatballs, simple mix: ground beef, breadcrumbs, an egg, grated onion and a few pantry spices, rolled by hand.
- One skillet does double duty: the sauce simmers in the pan the meatballs browned in, so the browned bits end up in the sauce.
- Creamy under a cheesy top: a smooth beef broth and cream sauce with bubbly Swiss cheese over it.
- It all bakes in one dish: noodles, meatballs and sauce go into a single 9×13-inch pan and come out ready to serve.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef: One pound makes the meatballs. It gets mixed with half a cup of breadcrumbs and one large beaten egg.
Onion: Half an onion, grated rather than chopped, goes straight into the meat mixture.
Seasoning: A quarter teaspoon of ground nutmeg, half a teaspoon of garlic powder, a teaspoon of kosher salt and half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper season the meat. Keep a little more salt and pepper for the sauce.
Heavy cream and beef broth: A pint of heavy cream and a cup of beef broth, with a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, make the sauce. There is no flour in it; it simply simmers until it is slightly thicker.
Egg noodles: Two and a half cups, measured before cooking.
Swiss cheese: One and a half cups, grated, for a bubbly layer on top.
Olive oil: Two tablespoons, for browning the meatballs in a large skillet.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 onion, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 1/2 cups egg noodles, uncooked
- 1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, grated
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving
How to Make Swedish Meatball Noodle Bake
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. Mix and roll the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, nutmeg, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Scoop the mixture out 1 1/2 tablespoons at a time and roll into balls.
3. Brown the meatballs. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meatballs and brown them on all sides, then move them to a plate and repeat with the rest. They will not be cooked through yet; they finish in the oven.
4. Cook the noodles. While the meatballs brown, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain.
5. Make the sauce. Add the beef broth, heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce to the same skillet, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Simmer until slightly thicker, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and take it off the heat.
6. Assemble. Spread the noodles in the baking dish and nestle the meatballs into them. Pour the sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with the Swiss cheese.
7. Bake. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly, the center of a meatball reads 160°F and the center of the casserole reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
8. Rest and serve. Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
How to Know the Meatballs Are Cooked Through
The meatballs go into the oven only partly cooked. Browning in step 3 gives them a deep brown outside, but the centers are still underdone. They finish cooking in the oven, surrounded by noodles and hot cream sauce.
That is why size matters here. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture for each one and roll them all the same size, so no oversized meatball hides in the middle of the dish.
Bubbly cheese is a good sign, but it is not proof. USDA FSIS says to check with a food thermometer: ground beef is safe at 160°F, and a casserole should reach 165°F in the center.
Push the thermometer into a meatball near the middle of the dish first, then into the noodles and sauce in the center. If either one reads low after about 20 minutes, give the dish a few more minutes in the oven and check again.
Once the thermometer agrees, the meatballs are tender and juicy and the sauce around them is creamy and bubbling at the edges.
Tips for Success
Should I chill the meatballs before browning?
You can. Set the rolled meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate them for 30 minutes, then brown them as usual.
Variations
- Beef and pork: Swap part of the ground beef for ground pork, or use any mix of beef, pork and venison.
- Warmer spice: Add 1/4 teaspoon of allspice to the meatball mixture along with the nutmeg.
- Thicker sour cream gravy: In place of the cream sauce, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet and whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in 2 cups of beef broth and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce with salt and pepper until heated through.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days. You can freeze them for 3 to 4 months, but FSIS lists cream sauce among foods that do not freeze well, so the sauce may separate and look curdled after thawing. Thaw frozen portions in the refrigerator. Reheat covered, in the oven or microwave, adding a little liquid if it looks dry, until it reaches 165°F. Do not reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Chopped chives work in place of the parsley on top. If meatballs are on your weeknight list, try the dump and bake meatball casserole, slow cooker Salisbury steak meatballs or sweet and sour meatballs. For more creamy beef and noodles, there’s ground beef stroganoff, homemade beef stroganoff and slow cooker Amish beef and noodles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of noodles are in Swedish meatballs?
This bake uses egg noodles. Shell pasta or rotini work too; cook either one al dente before it goes into the dish.
What is Swedish meatball sauce made of?
Here it is beef broth, heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce, simmered in the meatball skillet and seasoned with salt and pepper. For a gravy thickened with butter and flour, use the sour cream gravy in Variations. A teaspoon of Dijon mustard can go in with the Worcestershire.
What cheese goes on top?
Grated Swiss cheese. Gruyère works in its place and bakes up bubbling and lightly golden in about the same 20 minutes.
Final Notes
If you have a question or make this, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Easy Swedish Meatball Noodle Bake
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Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 onion grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 1/2 cups egg noodles uncooked
- 1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese grated
- fresh parsley chopped, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, nutmeg, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Scoop the mixture out 1 1/2 tablespoons at a time and roll into balls.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meatballs and brown them on all sides, then move them to a plate and repeat with the rest. They will not be cooked through yet; they finish in the oven.
- While the meatballs brown, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain.
- Add the beef broth, heavy cream and Worcestershire sauce to the same skillet, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom. Simmer until slightly thicker, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and take it off the heat.
- Spread the noodles in the baking dish and nestle the meatballs into them. Pour the sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with the Swiss cheese.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly, the center of a meatball reads 160°F and the center of the casserole reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
- Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
