These Paleo Swedish meatballs in a creamy gravy, with dairy-free, Whole30 friendly mashed potatoes are pure comfort food for cold nights. Made with real-food ingredients, gluten-free, dairy-free, family approved!
Sometimes I feel like I could just live on meatballs – seriously one of my favorite things to make and eat!
As much as I love them though, I seem to “forget” to create new meatball recipes – even though I cook them for my family all the time.
Maybe it’s because making meatballs at 9am (when I usually work on blog recipes) seems less than ideal.
Well, I’m getting over it now, because 1.) We’re close to January which means Whole30 for many of us (including me!) and 2.) What’s a Whole30 without a few seriously tasty meatball recipes?!
An incomplete one, if you ask me!
In doing some Whole30 brainstorming, there were two recipes I absolutely wanted to share. Swedish meatballs (long overdue!) and Whole30 friendly mashed potatoes.
Of course, combining them just seemed to be the right thing to do, since the creamy gravy goes so well with potatoes, and honestly, mashed potatoes were exactly what I was craving with these meatballs!
The Easiest Healthy Swedish Meatballs
The meatballs themselves are super easy to throw together, and the gravy is even easier.
I usually get the potatoes started before the meatballs, to avoid “timing mishaps” which usually lead to me burning something. I’m not the best cooking-multitasker, I must admit!
The potatoes also take longer than the meatballs to cook, so getting a head start on them helps get everything on the table faster!
Ingredient Subs for Swedish Meatballs
If you haven’t made any of my meatball recipes yet, you’ll see that I use blanched almond flour as a binder.
If you have a nut allergy in your family, don’t try to replace the almond with coconut flour 1:1, or you’ll wind up with very dry meatballs!
If you can’t have almond flour, rather than sub in a different flour I would recommend omitting it entirely. You can also use GF breadcrumbs if you aren’t strictly paleo.
As for the mashed potatoes, you absolutely won’t be able to tell these are dairy free! They’re creamy, fluffy, and full of classic buttery flavor.
And no, you really can’t taste the coconut in them either – trust me.
I often receive questions from coconut haters about this, and I always respond that if my kids eat it without a word, you definitely can’t taste the coconut!
What To Serve with Paleo Swedish Meatballs
See how creamy?! These are the real deal! Oh, and while we’re on the subject of coconut, you also can’t taste the coconut milk in the gravy or meatballs either.
This is one of those “I’ll believe it when I taste it” situations, but, really, all the other flavors here mask any flavor from the coconut milk! So, all you get is the creaminess it provides.
Also, if potatoes are too high in carbs for you, these meatballs would pair really well with a cauliflower puree or even roasted spaghetti squash.
You can also spiralize pretty much any veggie for “noodles” to go along with these meatballs for a complete meal.
Or just serve with any of your favorite veggies or potatoes!
I hope you’re ready to cook (and EAT!) these delicious paleo Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes – let’s go!
Paleo Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes {Whole30}
Paleo Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes {Whole30}
These Paleo Swedish meatballs in a creamy gravy, with dairy-free, Whole30 friendly mashed potatoes is pure comfort food for cold nights. Made with real-food ingredients, gluten-free, dairy-free, family approved!
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 lb grass fed ground beef 80-85% lean
- 1 small onion minced
- 1 tbsp ghee, to cook onion
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp coconut milk
- 2 tsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley minced
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
Gravy:
- 3 Tbsp ghee
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp arrowroot starch or tapioca flour
- 1 3/4 cup beef or chicken bone broth
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk blended prior to adding
- 1 tsp spicy brown mustard *optional, adds flavor
- 1 Tbsp coconut aminos *optional, adds flavor
- salt and pepper to taste
Mashed Potatoes:
- 2 lbs russet potatoes peeled and cut into 2” pieces
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup ghee
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast optional (for flavor)
Instructions
For Mashed Potatoes:
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Heat a 3 quart pot with water, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil. Add 2” potato pieces to the boiling water, and cook until very soft
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Drain the potatoes and return to the pot. Set heat to low and add the ghee and coconut milk. Mash with a potato masher over very low heat, once smooth, turn heat off and add salt and pepper, to taste, and nutritional yeast, if using. If you want your potatoes really creamy, you can use an immersion blender at this point (I just put mine right in the pot.)
For Meatballs and Gravy:
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In a large, heavy, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp ghee and cook onions over medium heat until soft - you should have about 1/4 cup cooked minced onions. Remove skillet from heat (you will use this skillet to brown meatballs)
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Add cooked onions to a large bowl, then add all meatballs ingredients and mix well with your hands, until fully combined (try not to overwork the meat, if possible)
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Form meat mixture into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a parchment lined platter or baking sheet.
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Heat your skillet over medium heat and brown meatballs (using a bit more ghee if necessary) turning just 2 to 3 times carefully so they don’t break.
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Once browned, remove meatballs to a plate and set aside.
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For gravy, turn heat to medium and add 3 tbsp ghee to skillet and whisk in the tapioca or arrowroot until bubbly.
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Add remaining gravy ingredients and stir to combine, raise the heat to bring to a strong simmer.
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Return meatballs to skillet, lower heat a bit and allow them to simmer in gravy until fully cooked through and gravy has thickened - 3-5 minutes. Serve hot with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Paleo Swedish Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes:
Want More Paleo and Whole30 Dinner Recipes? Try One of These!
Creamy Chicken with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon {Low Carb}
Salisbury Steak Meatballs {Low Carb}
Slow Cooker Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili with Sweet Potatoes
Creamy Tomato Basil Chicken with Roasted Butternut
Pumpkin Turkey Meatballs with Harvest Tomato Sauce
One Pan Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs
Creamy Chicken Mushroom Soup with Kale and Leeks
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I made this last night and it was really good. The only thing was I couldn’t figure out at what point I accidentally made the gravy too salty, but it was incredibly salty. Luckily the potatoes took away a little bit of the saltiness but it was still a struggle to finish my dinner. I tried to thin out the gravy with a cup of hot water and another teaspoon of arrowroot, but it was still really strong. I’m definitely going to make this again, but do better with tasting throughout!
I sometimes over salt things, it’s good to salt at each step but then you also risk overdoing it. Also, overcooking sauces can sometimes make them too salty. In any case, if you make again you’ll know what to avoid this time!
These were fabulous!! I made cauliflower mashed potatoes for extra veggies, it was perfect!
That sounds great!
Made the meatballs and gravy today, and they were delicious! Definitely will be a repeat in our house. I subbed dried parsley (1tsp per Tbsp of fresh) and omitted nutmeg because we didn’t have any. They’re still great! I doubled the amount of meatballs so we could have leftovers, and my non-paleo husband is excited for lunch tomorrow! You can’t tasfe the coconut in the gravy at all. My kids didn’t like them, but they also don’t like any meatballs, and i don’t know why. So I’ll still make this again and encourage them to have a bite and just have a back up protein if needed. I’m not missing out on this deliciousness just because they’re picky! I skipped the mashed potatoes due to lack of time but can’t wait to make them next time. It would have been a perfect pairing.
My gravy was still very watery and never got thick. Is that just how it is using arrowroot, or is there a way to add more arrowroot after a bit if it’s not thick? I also have tapioca on hand, so should I have used that instead?
I just found your blog from the Whole30 takeover and have a long list of recipes to try. Everything looks amazing.
Hey Michelle,
Do you keep the coconut canned milk in the refrigerator before using so it’s solid form or do you just put it in room temp?
Thanks! Going to make these tonight 🙂
Made these according to the original recipe (coconut milk and chicken broth); meatballs and mashed potatoes were good but the gravy had very strong coconut flavor that we didn’t like. I would change next time to homemade cashew milk and beef broth to have a more savory flavor and less coconut. The gravy would also benefit from some sautéed mushrooms!
This was AMAZING! Couldn’t taste any coconut flavors at all for anyone concerned. Can’t believe how delicious this was. My husband and 3 kids all LOVED it! I tripled the batch thankfully 🙂 Thank you!
That’s awesome to hear!
I’ve made this twice now and each time it turned out delicious, however the gravy was slightly different the second time and I’m trying to figure out what was different. Do you make the gravy in the same skillet that you browned the meatballs in? Wondering if you leave the fat in the pan when mixing the gravy. I think I might’ve used a different brand of coconut milk too and perhaps that changed the gravy a bit. Do you notice a big difference between coconut milk brands? Thanks for the recipe – it’s so tasty!
Yes, I typically make it in the same skillet and don’t drain the fat…that said coconut milk brands vary a lot in consistency, some thicker some thinner and more likely to separate, so that might be the issue 🙂
Yum! These are definitely going on my must try list! They look perfect!!
My family is on our 4th month of eating whole 30. We loved the Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes. Thank you for the receipe
Happy you liked it!
This was fantastic! I made these for myself and my husband, who is a very picky eater. He has also professed his love for cheese many, many times. I did not tell him that there was zero dairy in this recipe, and he had NO idea. Raved about it! You also really can’t taste the coconut at all. We will be making this again!
That makes me so happy to hear! Thrilled you loved it!