Mississippi Meatballs

You may be thinking- what in the heck are Mississippi Meatballs? Well, this dish happens to be a cross between two of my favorite comfort foods- Mississippi Pot Roast (an ever-popular recipe that’s been floating around Pinterest and food blogs for years) and regular old Swedish Meatballs.

I’ll be honest- I’ve been dreaming this recipe up for awhile, and with the very first bite, I knew this recipe would become a dinnertime staple in our house! If you’re craving something comforting, this sure hits the spot.

Looking for other comfort food recipes? Check out my creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup or my easy One Pot Rigatoni! Need some comfort food- fast? This Quick & Easy Spaghetti Carbonara is creamy, salty, and all kinds of delicious!

Mississippi Meatballs start with savory, baked meatballs that use ground beef, breadcrumbs, egg, and some basic seasonings like Worcestershire sauce. The real star here is the luscious, flavorful gravy. That’s where that Mississippi pot roast flavor comes into play!

The original roast recipe calls for searing a chuck roast, popping it into a slow cooker and topping it with a packet of brown gravy mix, a packet of ranch dressing mix, a few pats of butter, and some pepperoncinis.

Sounds simple enough, but the resulting pot roast gravy is absolutely to-die-for! So when it came time to make this Swedish meatball type gravy, I took my cues from the pot roast and used brown gravy mix, ranch mix, and a few slices of pepperoncinis. I also added a bit of sour cream to add some creaminess to the gravy and a little tang. I was so excited to work on this recipe for you guys. And it turned out incredibly tasty and full of that same Mississippi pot roast flavor! The brown gravy and ranch mix with a hint of zest from the pepperoncinis is just plain magical. You’ve just gotta try it.

What You’ll Need for the Meatballs

• Ground Beef- Use as lean as you can find for these. We are baking them and using something like a 90/10 ground beef will help to keep the meatballs from being too greasy.

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs- I have tried this recipe using both panko and regular, and both turned out scrumptious. So use what you’ve got! These meatballs aren’t too picky.

• 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp paprika, and 2 tsp garlic powder.

• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce. Try spelling that one without spell check 😉

What you’ll Need for the Mississippi Meatball Gravy

• 2 tbsp butter

• 1/2 a white onion, diced. If you have a yellow, I’m sure it would work out just fine too!

• One envelope of brown gravy mix + 1/2 an enevelope of ranch dressing mix

• 2 1/4 cups of hot water

• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce + Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

• 1 tbsp pepperoncini slices or juice. I used a combo of both. You just want to incorporate a little zest into the gravy. It sounds weird, but I’ve made that Mississippi roast without them, and its never the same! Don’t skip this part.

• 1/4 cup sour cream, light sour cream, or greek yogurt

Tips for making Mississippi Meatballs

• Preheat your oven ahead of time, and fill a large pot with water to bring to a boil for the egg noodles. Doing these steps first will ensure everything is finished around the same time.

• Before you mix up the meatball ingredients, line a large baking sheet like this one here with foil. This way, once you mix them, you can immediately roll into balls and place on the baking sheet.

• Use lean ground beef, and mix up all the meatball ingredients by hand. Its a dirty job, but using your hands will help everything come together with ease.

• Once you pop your meatballs in the oven, add your egg noodles to the pot of boiling water and get your butter + onion sauteing in a large dutch oven or pot.

• After the onion starts to brown just a bit, add the gravy mix + ranch mix + hot water. Whisk until smooth and cook over medium-high heat until gravy starts to thicken and is bubbly.

• Turn heat to low, and add pepperoncinis, Worcestershire, black pepper and sour cream. Mix until smooth, and stir in the cooked meatballs. Serve over egg noodles and garnish with some parsley.

And there you have it – perfect little savory meatballs swimming in a silky and flavorful pot of gravy, and spooned over a bed of rich egg noodles. It’s a true comfort food dish that I know you’ll love.