Swedish Meatball Pasta Bake
This dish, which we have here today, is similar to Swedish meatballs combined with a casserole. Very cool, huh? Casseroles are usually my preference in the winter. Perhaps it’s because they’re perfect for chilly nights and tend to be thicker. Therefore, if you’re watching your weight, put this recipe on hold for a day when calories aren’t an issue (like the weekend or a vacation).
INGREDIENTS
Items needed to make the meatballs:
- 1/4 cup of standard panko bread crumbs
- four tsp of butter
- 1/3 cup of coarsely chopped yellow onion
- two tsp salt
- half a teaspoon of pepper
- One-half teaspoon of ground allspice
- One-fourth teaspoon of nutmeg
- three minced garlic cloves
- two and a third cups milk
- two eggs
- 1 pound of ground beef, 85/15 in my case.
- three tsp oil
Items needed to make the pasta
- Two cups pasta shells
Components of the Sauce:
- six tsp butter
- Three tablespoons plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Four cups of beef broth (a 32-ounce carton of low-sodium broth, I used).
- half a cup of water
- One tablespoon * of Worcestershire sauce (see to the note below.)
- Three tsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley
- Half a cup of heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon salt (see to the note below.)
- half a teaspoon of pepper, black
Instructions
How to Make the Meatballs:
- To a sizable bowl, add the panko bread crumbs and put aside.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over a medium heat.
- Cook for approximately five minutes after adding the finely diced onion, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg. Stir frequently.
- After two minutes, add the minced garlic and continue cooking
- Reduce the heat to medium or low and stir in the milk. After mixing everything thoroughly, bring it to a simmer.
- After simmering for a while, transfer the onion mixture from the pan to the pan with the panko bread crumbs and mix thoroughly. It will be an extremely thick mixture. This bowl should be left to cool.
- Transfer the eggs to a different, very big basin and beat them.
- Add the cooled onion mixture, ground beef, then ground pork after that. Combine all of the ingredients. (Using your hands is the quickest and easiest way to do this; it’s gross.)
- After forming around thirty balls, refrigerate for thirty minutes.
- After the meatballs are finished
- In batches, add the meatballs to the skillet and cook for about 15 minutes, or until browned all over. Because the pan wasn’t overcrowded thanks to batches, it was simpler to turn them and determine when they were done.
- Move the meatballs to a separate plate and keep them there.
How to Prepare the Pasta:
- Following the instructions on the box, cook the pasta until it’s al dente, then drain and transfer it to a 9 x 13 oven-safe baking dish.
Instructions for Assembly and Sauce:
- Start the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. (This isn’t related to the sauce procedures, but by the time you finish these, you should have the oven prepared.)
- The meatballs should be tucked into the pasta in the baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- After about two minutes, add the flour and whisk continuously.
- Simmer after adding the beef broth, water, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Stir frequently.
- After lowering the heat to medium-low, stir in the heavy cream and parsley. Cook, stirring all the time, until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and meatballs with caution.
- Bake the spaghetti, Swedish meatballs, and sauce for 30 minutes in a preheated oven.