Swedish Meatballs Made in a Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• ¼ cup rolled oats
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Sauce:
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon beef base (such as Better Than Bouillon®)
• ½ teaspoon steak sauce
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

Step 1

In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, oats, egg, garlic, allspice, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Use your hands to mix everything together until it’s well combined, about a minute. Scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Keep going until you have around 17 meatballs.

Step 2

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and melt a couple tablespoons of butter. Add the meatballs and brown them on all sides, which should take about 4 to 6 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for another 3 minutes to make sure they’re cooked through. Once done, transfer the meatballs to your slow cooker, but keep the skillet handy.

Step 3

Put the skillet back on the stove over medium-high heat and melt another tablespoon of butter. Stir in the flour and cook it for about 30 seconds while whisking. Slowly whisk in the water, beef base, and steak sauce, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. Let the sauce come to a boil and thicken, which should take about a minute. Pour this sauce over the meatballs in the slow cooker.

Step 4

Cover and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 to 5 hours. When it’s done, scoop out about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid into a small bowl. Stir in the yogurt little by little so it doesn’t curdle, then mix this back into the slow cooker. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.