I am looking for a substitute for ground pork in Swedish meatballs. For religious reasons, I don't eat any kind of pork (I adhere to the Bible clean and unclean meat, fish, and fowl).

Would ground turkey or ground veal be the best substitute for the pork? Thank you for your answer.


Hello Cheryl and welcome to Seasoned Advice! Ground veal would be an excellent choice to substitute for ground pork. I think you will find that the flavor will be closer than turkey or chicken.


Ground lamb may also be a good substitute. It has a bit more fat than veal does, which would come closer to pork (though it may change the flavor a bit, adjust seasoning as needed).

Alternatively, a fattier type of ground beef should work good (like ground beef chuck which is around 80% lean habitually). This will have less impact on the flavor than ground lamb would.

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