Ikea Swedish Meatballs

Try these OH-SO EASY Swedish Meatballs covered in a heavenly creamy sauce that is sure to please any food critic. This Swedish classic is super tasty, easy to prepare, and ready to serve in just under 1 hour.

⭐ Swedish Meatball Recipe

These Swedish meatballs are actually pretty easy to make, and they are incredible! I love to serve them (as pictured) with french fries - it's like being at IKEA, but better.

These are great for dinner, or you can also serve them as appetizers at a party. Just be prepared because any meatball lover is going to devour them en masse, I guarantee it.

What makes this dish so incredible, you ask?...

For starters, you only need one pan! Forget pots and pans and cooking utensils to make a family meal. With this recipe, you just need one pan to cook the meatballs and the sauce. It's as simple as that!

The traditional recipe usually has mashed potatoes, but I prefer crispy fries to accompany the succulent Swedish meatball sauce.

You could easily combine my easy Swedish meatballs with rice, egg noodles, steamed veggies, or eat them all on their own with a creamy gravy.

🍽 What you need

This easy Swedish recipe has been chopped and changed with different ingredients from various countries. Still, one thing that makes the original recipe stand out is the silky cream sauce. With a bit of know-how and simple instructions to follow, anyone can make Swedish meatballs without breaking a sweat.

All you need is some essential kitchen ingredients, a pan, a few utensils, and away you go.

🍳Equipment

Apart from the skillet to cook the meatballs and sauce, you will need:

• A chopping board for chopping the onion and parsley
• A large and a small mixing bowl to combine all the ingredients together for making the meatballs
• A whisk for mixing the sauce
• An oven tray to keep the meatballs warm
• A strainer or sieve

🍲 Ingredients

For the meatball ingredients:

• white bread - 2 slices, crusts removed
• milk - ¼ cup, whole
• ground beef - 1 pound (500 g)
• ground pork - 1 pound (500 g)
• red onion - 1 small finely diced
• egg - 1 large, beaten
• allspice - ⅛ tsp, ground
• cardamom - ¼ tsp, ground
• ginger - ⅛ tsp, ground
• onion powder - ¼ tsp
• garlic powder - ¼ tsp
• parsley - ½ tbsp, dried
• salt - ¼ tsp
• pepper - ¼ tsp
• butter - 2 tbsp

For the gravy:

• beef broth - 2 cups
• flour - 2 tbsp
• cold water - ¼ cup
• heavy cream - ¼ cup
• salt - ¼ tsp
• pepper - ¼ tsp

Substitutions

If you don't have beef broth, you can substitute it with chicken broth. If you are careful of the salt intake, you can forget the salt and pepper in the creamy gravy as the broth and meatballs will have enough.

If you like spices, you can add extra ginger and garlic powder to the Swedish meatballs and even a touch of Worcester sauce.

🔪 How to make

Learn how to make easy Ikea Swedish Meatballs with step-by-step instructions, detailed recipe photos, and recipe video. Making Swedish meatballs is easy. Anyone can make them without any fuss and, more importantly, without making a mess in the kitchen.

You can also prepare the meatballs and sauce in advance if you are stuck on time as the sauce will last for a few days, and the meatballs can be frozen until you need to cook them.

How to make Ikea Meatballs:

Step 1

In a small bowl, tear the bread into bread crumbs and soak it in milk until the bread has absorbed the milk.

Step 2

In the large bowl, combine all of the meat mixture ingredients (except the butter), mixing well with your hands so that it becomes evenly mixed.

Step 3

Then add the soaked bread and mix again until well combined (the mixture should not be too sticky).

Step 4

Using your hands, grab a small amount of the mixture and roll into small golf-sized balls (you should have enough to make 24).

Step 5

Now the balls are prepared, it's time to cook them. Add the butter to the skillet on medium heat so it doesn't burn the meatballs.

Step 6

Add the meatballs to the hot skillet and toss them around rather than stirring them, as this will break them. Cook in smaller batches so that the meatballs will be browned evenly and cooked thoroughly.

Step 7

Once all meatballs are cooked, put them in an oven dish and place them on low to medium heat in the oven to keep warm.

How to make the Swedish Meatball Gravy:

Step 1

Pour 1 cup of beef stock into the hot skillet you used to brown the meatballs, let it simmer for about 5 minutes while scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to release any stuck bits from the meatballs.

Step 2

Strain that 'gravy' into a small saucepan, then stir in the remaining cup of stock.

Step 3

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour into the cold water until smooth, then whisk this mixture into the warm gravy.

Step 4

Let this simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until it thickens, then add the cream and salt and pepper.

Step 5

Transfer to gravy bowl and serve.

💭 Tips for success

• The best way of making the Swedish meatballs is by forming them smaller with a tiny bit of olive oil on your hands so that they don't fall apart. Making them smaller helps reduce the cooking time.
• Using a mixture of ground pork and ground beef for the Swedish meatballs will give them a better taste than just beef.
• If you don't have heavy cream for the creamy gravy, you can substitute it with sour cream..

🥗 What to serve with Meatballs

• You can put pretty much use anything to accompany the delicious meatballs, but I love some crispy fries that I can dip into the creamy gravy and soak it up with some fresh You can put pretty much use anything to accompany the delicious meatballs. Still, I love some crispy fries to dip into the creamy gravy and soak it up with some fresh bread.
• Another variant is having the Swedish meatballs served over egg noodles. This is a popular option for Asian food lovers.
• If you wanna go completely classic, bash up some mashed potatoes and serve the Swedish meatballs on top with a dollop of Lingonberry jam.

🧊 Storing and ♨️ Reheating

It is possible to store any Swedish meatball leftovers (IF THERE ARE ANY) in the fridge for up to 3 days. To re-heat the Swedish meatballs and creamy gravy, simply add them to a casserole sheet pan and cover them with tin foil. Bake them for 15 minutes on medium heat until they are hot and ready to serve.

Note: It is advised not to freeze the Swedish meatballs in creamy sauce after being cooked as the sauce will separate when re-heating due to water from the ice.

🙋 Can you make meatballs ahead?

Yes, you can! I regularly make large batches of Swedish meatballs. On a few occasions, I've made 6 dozen meatballs. Store 12 or 1 dozen meatballs in the fridge for up to 3 days and freeze the remaining meatballs in freezer bags.

👪 Serving size

This recipe makes 4 servings, or about 24 meatballs (size depending). You can easily scale this recipe for a large family or event with minimal effort. Plus these delicious meatballs are easy to freeze and enjoy any night of the week.

I hope after reading this, you will be inspired to create this wonderfully tasty easy meatball recipe.

📋 Recipe

Ikea Swedish Meatballs

These Swedish meatballs are actually pretty easy to make, and they are incredible!  I love to serve them (as pictured) with french fries - it's like being at IKEA, but better.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: Dinner, Main Dish

Cuisine: Swedish

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Calories: 738kcal

Author: Ben Rayl

Equipment

• Spatula
• Small Mixing Bowl
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Large Skillet
• Whisk
• Gravy Bowl

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

For the Meatballs

• 2 slices white bread - crusts removed, torn into tiny pieces
• ¼ cup whole milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 small red onion - grated or finely diced
• 1 large egg - beaten
• ⅛ teaspoon allspice - ground
• ¼ teaspoon cardamom - ground
• ⅛ teaspoon ginger - ground
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ tablespoon parsley - dried
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter

For the Gravy

• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ¼ cup cold water
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Steps to make Swedish Meatballs

• In a small mixing bowl. soak the bread in the milk until very soft.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients (except the butter), then add the soaked bread, and mix together well with your hands.
• Shape the mixture into golf ball sized balls, you should end up with about 2 dozen.
• Heat the butter in a large skillet (I use cast iron) and add the meatballs.
• Cook a batch at a time, until very browned on the outside, but cooked through, about 10 minutes per batch. shake the skillet from time to time so the meatballs roll around, and brown evenly.
• Place the cooked meatballs in the oven to keep warm.

Steps to make Swedish Meatball Gravy:

• Pour 1 cup of stock into the hot skillet you used to brown the meatballs, let it simmer for about 5 minutes while scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to release any stuck bits from the meatballs.
• Strain that 'gravy' into a small saucepan, then stir in the remaining cup of stock.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour into the cold water until smooth, then whisk this mixture into the warm gravy.
• Let this simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until it thickens, then add the cream and salt and pepper.
• Transfer to gravy bowl and serve.

Video

Notes

• The best way of making the Swedish meatballs is by forming them smaller with a tiny bit of olive oil on your hands so that they don't fall apart. Making them smaller helps reduce the cooking time.
• Using a mixture of ground pork and ground beef for the Swedish meatballs will give them a better taste than just beef.
• If you don't have heavy cream for the creamy gravy, you can substitute it with sour cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 738kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 231mg | Sodium: 977mg | Potassium: 825mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 375IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 4mg