Spiced Apple Swedish Meatballs Recipe

When was the last time you made a good Swedish Meatball Recipe? These Spiced Apple Swedish Meatballs are a hit with the young and old, and perfect for all your fall festivities!

Really… What ever happened to Swedish Meatballs?

I remember loving them as a child. I also remember looking through old yellowing holiday photos of my mom with her glamorous beehive wig and my dad with an afro and tight polyester pants, and I’m positive there were cocktail meatballs on the table in every picture.

Meatballs were all-the-rage just a couple generations ago. Then it seems like every Swedish Meatballs Recipe dropped off the face of the planet, never to be seen again.

Well, I find that completely unacceptable. We need to bring them back, and fast!

I recently ate some barbeque sauce made with Musselman’s Apple Butter and fell in love.

It got me thinking about all the savory dishes that could benefit from a healthy dose of apple butter. After some experimentation, I’m starting to believe that anytime you add “spiced apple” flavor to a dish, you’ve improved the original.

Like this Swedish Meatballs Recipe, for instance.

These Spiced Apple Cocktail Meatballs have become a new family favorite. They are ultra tender and savory-sweet, with an unexpected pop of spiced apple flavor from the apple butter.

My kids devoured them one night at dinner, then asked for the leftovers at breakfast.

I wouldn’t allow them to eat cocktail meatballs for breakfast, so they asked to take them to school in their lunch boxes. They finally finished off all the meatballs, as an after-school snack that same day.

I’ve never seen anyone so ravenous for a Swedish Meatballs Recipe. It had to be the apple butter.

Musselman’s apple butter is slow cooked in order to caramelize the natural fruit sugars and develop an intense apple flavor. It’s considered America’s favorite apple butter brand because it’s exceedingly rich and smooth. To top it all, it’s dairy free, gluten free, fat free, sodium free, cholesterol free, and preservative free.

We’ve polished off several jars of Musselman’s Apple Butter in the last few weeks making spiced apple cocktail meatballs, apple butter stuffed mushrooms, apple butter BBQ sauce, and of course, eating it on toast. It really does give savory dishes that little “spiced apple” extra something.

Apple butter just might be my new go-to secret ingredient.

Thank goodness we’ve brought Cocktail Meatballs back with this Spiced Apple Swedish Meatballs Recipe.

…Now if only I could get my hands on that beehive wig!

Other Spiced Apple Favorites:

Apple Celery Root Gratin

Apple Cheddar Palmiers

Apple Yeast Bread

Spicy Apple Butter BBQ Sauce ~ Musselman’s

Savory Apple Pizza ~ TheKitchn

Roasted Squash Soup with Apple Butter and Bacon ~ A Baking Life

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Spiced Apple Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

These Spiced Apple Swedish Meatballs are a hit with the young and old, and perfect for all your fall festivities!

Servings: 40 meatballs

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 1/2 cup grated red onion
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 pound pork sausage
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 cup Musselman's Apple Butter divided
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons honey
• Cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degree F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place a skillet over medium heat and melt the butter in it. When the butter has melted, add the grated onions and saute for 3-4 minutes, until soft.
• In a large bowl, mix the sausage, ground beef, panko, 1/2 cup apple butter, sour cream, eggs, salt, pepper, and allspice. Add the onion, once it cools. Get your hands in it and mix well, until evenly combined.
• Measure out the meatballs into one ounce portions. Roll tight balls and place them on the baking sheet, close together, but not touching. You should have 40-45 meatballs.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of apple butter, with beef broth, honey, and 1-2 dashes of cayenne pepper. Whisk well.
• After 15 minutes, remove the meatballs from the oven. Pour the sauce over the top, making sure to cover each meatball, and place back in the oven for 5-7 minutes.
• Once cooked through, shake the baking sheet a little to loosen the meatballs and serve warm.

Nutrition

Serving: 1meatball, Calories: 100kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 26mg, Sodium: 237mg, Potassium: 81mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 40IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 0.6mg

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Swedish

Author: Sommer Collier

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Musselman’s Apple Butter. All apple-licious opinions are my own.

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