This easy gluten free and dairy free Swedish Meatballs recipe is at least as tasty as the original! Smooth buttery gravy with flavorful little meatballs packed with extra veggies make for a healthier recipe. They will remind you of days shopping at Ikea and are the ultimate winter comfort food.
We make them as an easy weeknight dinner and on weekends, and of course, in the camper van!
Does winter have you craving all the comfort foods? I can't think of anything better than a cozy dish of meatballs smothered in gravy and Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes right now.
This Dairy Free Swedish Meatballs recipe came around in quite an interesting way -- but it started with fuzzy Ikea slippers and nostalgia for the old "I can eat anything days" of meatballs and gravy while shopping at Ikea with my mom.
And seriously -- have you seen a traditional Swedish Meatballs Recipe?? There are about a million ingredients and TWO kinds of ground meat. We cannot have any of that for us lazy foodies here 😉
So don't worry, I substituted the ground pork for finely chopped mushrooms (yum!). And that pesky bread crumb problem for us gluten-free eaters? We'll substitute instant mashed potato flakes instead, which is even better!
I included only the ingredients that make the tastiest of meatballs and included substitutions as needed.
So let's get to the really good stuff!
Why you’ll love this Dairy Free Swedish Meatballs Recipe:
- it's healthier than any other Swedish Meatballs recipe I've seen!
- The dairy free gravy is beyond incredible
- it's super easy to make vegetarian with a product like Beyond Meat
- You can easily serve 6 people a holiday-worthy meal in 35 minutes
- Add a coffee and reminisce about the old days of Ikea shopping and a stop at the eatery <3
How could you resist these little beauties?
What to know before you start:
You can easily cook the meatballs in a skillet, rather than the oven.
Simply fry them in the skillet until browned on the outside and firm when pressed. For van life friends looking for a holiday meal, THIS recipe is my go-to!
It's easy to make the 'meatballs' vegetarian.
Replace the ground beef with a substitution like Beyond Meat's mock version. All other ingredients are plant-based, with the exception of eggs.
There are only 11 different ingredients.
For ease of prep, I recorded a few ingredients twice -- under 'Meatballs' and under 'Gravy'.
Don't be fooled by the longer looking list! Other than salt and pepper, there are only 11 total ingredients.
Dairy Free Swedish Meatballs Recipe:
PrintDairy Free Swedish Meatballs
This easy gluten free and dairy free Swedish Meatballs recipe is at least as tasty as the original! Smooth buttery gravy with flavorful little meatballs packed with extra veggies make for a healthier recipe. They will remind you of days shopping at Ikea and are the ultimate winter comfort food. We make them as an easy weeknight dinner and on weekends.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Swedish
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 heaping cup finely chopped mushrooms
- ¼ medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup cashew milk
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Gravy
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup cashew milk
Garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- chopped flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Mix all meatball ingredients together. Roll into little balls (about the size of a ping-pong ball) and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until firm when pressed. *Note: you can also pan fry the meatballs.
- Melt coconut butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Add spices and tapioca starch, mixing well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add broth in ~¼ cup increments and stir or whisk well with each addition to make smooth. Add cashew milk in the same fashion. Add extra broth as needed to get your desired gravy consistency.
- Place meatballs in gravy. Push them around gently to get nice and saucy.
Notes
You can easily cook the meatballs in a skillet, rather than the oven. Simply fry them in the skillet until browned on the outside and firm when pressed on. For van life friends looking for a holiday meal, THIS recipe is my go-to!
It's easy to make the 'meatballs' vegetarian. Replace the ground beef with a substitution like Beyond Meat's mock version. All the other ingredients are plant-based, with the exception of eggs.
There are only 11 different ingredients. For ease of prep, I recorded a few ingredients twice -- under 'Meatballs' and under 'Gravy'. Don't be fooled by the longer looking list! Other than salt and pepper, there are only 11 total ingredients listed.
Keywords: dairy free swedish meatballs, dairy free meatballs, gluten free swedish meatballs, healthy swedish meatballs
Hungry for more?
Try these other tasty comfort foods:
- Northwest Beef Stew in the Instant Pot
- Easy Paella Recipe
- Easy Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Savory Pumpkin Stew
Check out our tasty gluten-free Recipe Index <3
With love and gratitude,
❤︎ Jamie
Laura
I am extremely allergic to mushrooms. What could I use as a substitute for them?
Jamie
Hi Laura! The mushrooms can be replaced with ground beef or ground pork, or cooked quinoa! I haven't tried any other substitutions.
Tracy G
I want to try these...would almond milk and regular butter make much of a taste difference, or should I get me some cashew milk and coconut butter? Thanks!
Jamie
Hi Tracey! I think the regular butter would work just fine. And probably the almond milk (unsweetened) would be fine too. I chose cashew because it's the most neutral nut milk. You may have a slight almond milk taste but I think it would still taste great! Let me know how it goes!
Katerina | Once a Foodie
My daughter's favourite food is the IKEA meatballs with mashed potato and gravy. Being in lockdown, it's hard to cater to that addiction so I am going to make these, Jamie, they look absolutely incredible!!
★★★★★
Karyl
Tried this recipe last week. Going to the store to pick up the ingredients so I can bring them to a pot luck this weekend! My husband asked me to make sure there were some for leftovers!
★★★★★
Julie
I loved these! Used gluten free breadcrumbs in place of Instant mashed potatoes and it worked great.
★★★★★
Jamie
I'm so glad you enjoyed them Julie!
Brenda W.
These are so good! Love the sauce and it definitely feels like you're treating yourself to something special.
★★★★★
Jamie
I couldn't agree more Brenda! Thank you so much for leaving a review 🙂
Rob W.
Planning on making these for the Super Bowl for my GF partner!
★★★★★