These Easy Crockpot Swedish Meatballs are a creamy dinner made with frozen or homemade meatballs, beef broth, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, and a touch of Worcestershire sauce, slow-cooked until the sauce is thick and velvety.
The crockpot does all the work. You get a proper Swedish-style meatball dinner with almost no effort.
It’s a solid weeknight dinner and one of those meals that actually gets better the longer it sits (ideal for meal prep).
I’ll often serve it over egg noodles or mashed potatoes with other easy crockpot dinners on rotation alongside Easy Ground Chicken Meatballs when I want to mix things up.
If you’re into easy crockpot dinners and family-friendly mains, these are worth bookmarking too:
- 12 Kid Approved Crockpot Dinners
- Easy Ground Chicken Meatball
- 23 Easy Crockpot Party Food Ideas
- 15 Easy Kid Friendly Dinners For Picky Eaters
Ingredients You’ll Need
Frozen meatballs keep this genuinely simple — use whatever brand you like, beef or a beef mix both work well. The sauce comes together from pantry staples; no roux, no whisking, nothing fussy.
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Ingredients
2 lbs frozen meatballs (beef or beef blend)
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped (for serving)
Egg noodles or mashed potatoes (for serving)
Directions
- Place the frozen meatballs in the bottom of the crockpot in a single layer if possible.
If they do not fit in one layer, that’s fine — just add them all, and they will settle as they cook. - In a bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder until smooth.
Season with a little black pepper — hold off on salt until the end since the soup and broth both carry salt already.
Pour the mixture over the meatballs, making sure they are mostly covered. - Cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
Low and slow gives you a richer, more developed sauce. HIGH works fine if you are short on time, but the sauce won’t be quite as deep.
The meatballs are done when they are heated through and the sauce has thickened slightly. - About 20 minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream.
Add it slowly and stir gently to prevent it from curdling — room-temperature sour cream blends in more smoothly than cold.
Taste the sauce and adjust salt and pepper as needed. - Cook your egg noodles or mashed potatoes separately according to package directions while the sauce finishes.
Serve the meatballs and sauce spooned generously over the top.
Finish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Important Recipe Notes
- Add sour cream at the end. Putting it in at the start causes it to break and curdle. Stir it in during the last 20 minutes only.
- Room-temperature sour cream blends better. Pull it from the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before adding to avoid a lumpy sauce.
- Frozen meatballs work great here. No need to thaw — they cook through fully in the crockpot. Homemade meatballs work too if you want to go that route.
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of broth to loosen the sauce.
- Sauce too thin? Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water and stir it into the crockpot 20 minutes before serving with the lid off.
How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe
Serving Spoon the meatballs and sauce over egg noodles or mashed potatoes while everything is hot. A sprinkle of fresh parsley adds color without much effort. Rice also works if that’s what you have on hand.
Storing Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The sauce thickens overnight — reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of beef broth, stirring until it loosens. This also freezes well for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Customizing Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the sauce for a little sharpness. A handful of sliced mushrooms thrown in at the start adds texture. For a lighter version, swap sour cream for plain Greek yogurt added the same way at the end.
Easy Crockpot Swedish Meatballs
Course: Recipes6
servings10
minutes6
hours420
kcalIngredients
2 lbs frozen meatballs (beef or beef-pork blend)
1 can (10.5 oz) cream of mushroom soup
2 cups beef broth
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped (for serving)
Egg noodles or mashed potatoes (for serving)
Directions
- Place frozen meatballs in the crockpot.
- Whisk soup, broth, Worcestershire, garlic powder, and onion powder. Pour over meatballs.
- Cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours until meatballs are heated through and sauce thickens.
- Stir in sour cream 20 minutes before serving. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook egg noodles or mashed potatoes, spoon meatballs and sauce over top, garnish with parsley.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- Use fully cooked frozen meatballs for the easiest version. No need to thaw before adding them to the crockpot.
- For a creamier sauce, stir in the sour cream at the end after the meatballs are cooked. This helps prevent the sauce from curdling.
- If the sauce gets too thick, add a splash of beef broth or milk until it reaches your preferred consistency.
