Favorite Appetizer - Cooking Frozen Swedish Meatballs in a Slow Cooker

Swedish meatballs have long been a favorite appetizer served at parties, family reunions and holiday gatherings. This savory dish is simple to prepare and has an interesting history. Swedish meatballs are first mentioned in print in 1754 in a cookbook by Cajsa Warg. Meatballs were served to the wealthy, since beef was a luxury in Sweden and preparing the finely chopped meat was labor intensive until the meat grinder became available.

The traditional dish used meatballs made of pork or beef, cooked in a brown gravy, and served with lingonberry preserves. One look at the recipes online will tell you that there are many versions of this recipe, using anything from sour cream and cream soup to chili sauce and grape jelly. Nevertheless, historically, this dish was made to serve over buttered noodles. As time went on, it became a dish often served at smorgasbords and buffets. The recipe was brought to America by Swedish immigrants, who settled primarily in the Midwest.

Swedish meatballs became very popular in America at the beginning of the 20th century. It then declined a bit until it was once again revived in the 1950s through the early 1970s. Surely, many of us remember family gatherings with a big slow cooker full of meatballs and a pile of toothpicks nearby. Instead of being served over noodles, the meatballs became the quintessential appetizer to serve to a crowd.

Recipe for Swedish Meatballs

Serve this dish at your next potluck. It can be a main dish served over rice or noodles or a fantastic appetizer served with fancy toothpicks. This recipe is perfect to start before you go to work; it will be ready when you get home!

What You Will Need

1 pound frozen cooked meatballs 1 chopped onion 2 minced garlic cloves 2 cans of golden mushroom soup 1/2 cup water 1 cup sour cream 2 Tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon pepper

How to Make It

Place everything except your flour, sour cream, and pepper in a 3 or 4 quart slow cooker. Put on the lid and plug it in. Cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours.

Combine your pepper, flour, and sour cream in a small bowl. Mix until it is well blended. Add a spoonful of the hot liquid from the slow cooker. Use a whisk to blend it completely. This tempers the sour cream, raising its temperature slightly so it will not curdle when you add it to the slow cooker. Add the sour cream mixture to your slow cooker, stirring well the entire time until it is well mixed. Let the slow cooker continue to cook on low for another 30 to 40 minutes until the gravy is nice and thick.

Serve the meatballs over noodles, rice or mashed potatoes for a main meal. For an appetizer, serve right from the slow cooker or set them in a bowl. Guests can spear their own meatball with a toothpick. This is a great way to get your guests to interact with the food instead of just picking something off a tray. Leftover gravy can be sopped up with crusty bread.