Swedish Meatball Pasta

This recipe came out delicious! Normally I do meatballs with sauce and cheese, but this Swedish Meatball Pasta has gravy instead of marinara and uses french fried onions as a topping which gives it a ton of extra texture and flavor! This is a must try dish!

Ingredients: 

16 oz medium shell pasta

5 tablespoons butter, divided

1/3 cup finely diced, white onion

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon nutmeg

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 cup milk

1.25 plain panko breadcrumbs

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1 egg

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons flour

4 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup whole milk

Salt and pepper

4 oz french fried onions (see here)

Instructions: 

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Lower to a summer and add milk.

In a large bowl, add breadcrumbs and mix onion mixture in, combine. Add beef, pork and egg. Mix well with hands. Form meatballs to your preferred size. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add olive oil to large skillet and heat to medium heat. Add meatballs in batches and brown on all sides. Move to greased baking dish when done.

While meatballs are cooking, boil pasta to al dente according to package directions in salted water. Add butter to large saucepan and melt. Whisk in the flour to make a roux. Slowly add in beef broth and Worcestershire. Bring to a simmer and thicken. Add milk and mix well. Continue to simmer until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Drain pasta and add into baking dish. Pour gravy over the meatballs and pasta and mix. Top with french fried onions and bake for 30 minutes till bubbly.

The crispy onions adds a nice crunch that goes perfectly with the meatballs and gravy.