This easy IKEA Swedish Meatballs recipe comes together with handmade meatballs simmered in a flavorful cream sauce. Serve the savory meatballs with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and tangy pressgurka.
Why is it Called Swedish Meatballs?
Meatballs are pan-European dish, but here’s a twist for you. It’s said that Swedish meatballs or køttbullar, originated in Turkey. The story goes like this- King Charles XII enjoyed them so much on one of his travels that he brought them back to Sweden. At some point, the meal became a staple for home cooks and a regular part of holiday meals.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Beef: I use ground beef to make the meatballs since that’s what I usually have in my kitchen. IKEA uses a combination of ground pork and beef in theirs. Adding pork is a solid choice because the extra fat results in juicer meatballs. You can also use ground turkey or chicken as a lower-calorie option. Traditional Køttbullar use a combination of ground beef, veal, and pork.
- Panko: Prevent meatballs from becoming dry by using panko.
- Onion: Finely dice the onions before adding them to the meatballs to ensure they don’t fall apart.
- Spices: Spice up the meatballs with traditional allspice and nutmeg. Go the extra mile and add garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Egg: Bind the ingredients with one egg.
- Oil: Used for frying, plus more oil to coat your hands while forming the meatballs.
- Béchamel Sauce: Béchamel Sauce is one of the five mother sauces made with butter, flour, and milk. I use heavy cream in place of the milk to build a rich and creamy sauce.
- Beef Broth: Add color and flavor to sauce using beef broth.
- Herbs: Season the sauce with freshly chopped parsley and a healthy pinch of dill.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Balance the creaminess of the sauce with the sour and sweet flavor of Worcestershire.
How to Make IKEA Swedish Meatballs
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Combine ground beef, panko, onion, allspice, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and egg in a mixing bowl; knead for 3 minutes.
Step 2: Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and set them aside.
Step 3: Warm oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Then, add the first layer of meatballs. Cook the meatballs for 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Discard the excess oil from the pan and add butter. Stir in the flour and heavy cream to create the béchamel sauce.
Step 5: Add the beef broth, parsley, dill, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
Step 6: Lower the heat and add the reserved meatballs to the pan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes.
Expert Tips
- You may want to cook them all at once, but don’t overcrowd the pan. Beef naturally releases water as it cooks, and too many meatballs in one pan will cause them to boil instead of fry.
- Don’t roll the meatballs too big. Since they are pan-fried and simmer in the sauce to finish, making them too large could result in undercooked meatballs, and no one wants that.
If you enjoy this IKEA Swedish meatball recipe, try more cozy dinner recipes!
What Goes With Swedish Meatballs?
Make the famous IKEA meal in the comfort of your home! The savory Swedish meatballs are ideal for a quick dinner with your family, or double the batch and bring it as party appetizer or snack.
If you need help decided what to serve with Swedish meatballs, you can always complete the meal with creamy mashed potatoes and green beans like they do at IKEA, or try mashed cauliflower for a low-carb alternative. Here are a few more serving suggestions:
- Roasted Potatoes, Boiled Potatoes, Jalapeno Mashed Potatoes
- Lingonberry Jam, Fig Jam
- White Rice, Brown Rice
- Egg Noodles
- Red Cabbage Salad, Pressgurka, Cucumber Beet Salad
- Dinner Rolls, Pao de Sal
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store leftover IKEA Swedish meatballs in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is different about Swedish meatballs?
Swedish meatballs are smaller in size and flavored with unique, traditional spices like allspice and nutmeg.
Compared to the most common meatball (at lease here in the United States), Swedish meatballs are smaller and flavored with traditional spices like allspice and nutmeg.
What is Swedish meatball sauce made of?
There is a lot of discussion about what goes into a sauce. IKEA released their recipe on Twitter in 2020, so we no longer had to guess what went into their meatball sauce; you can find their recipe here. They include butter, flour, vegetable stock, beef stock, heavy cream, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard. Other recipes often include sour cream as well.
More Meatball Recipes:
IKEA Swedish Meatballs Recipe
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ small white onion, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 pinch dried dill
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- kosher salt, as needed
- black pepper, as needed
- Combine ground beef, panko, onion, allspice, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and egg in a mixing bowl; knead for 3 minutes.
- Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and set them aside.
- Warm oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Then, add the first layer of meatballs; be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook the meatballs for 2-3 minutes, rotating the meatballs to get a nice sear on all sides. Set the partially cooked meatballs aside and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Discard the excess oil from the pan and add butter. Stir in the flour and heavy cream to create the béchamel sauce.
- Add the beef broth, parsley, dill, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- You may want to cook them all at once, but don’t overcrowd the pan. Beef naturally releases water as it cooks, and too many meatballs in one pan will cause them to boil instead of fry.
- Don’t roll the meatballs too big. Since they are pan-fried and simmer in the sauce to finish, making them too large could result in undercooked meatballs, and no one wants that.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.
Vince
Friday 16th of September 2022
This meal was incredible! Not only perfect when it was hot and fresh, but it was also delicious as left overs. Would recommend it to anyone.
Tressa Jamil
Friday 16th of September 2022
Don't you love a good leftover recipe? Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Brea Pinto
Friday 16th of September 2022
I am not much of a recipe girl because I don’t like to have to gather all of the ingredients and be so specific on measurements. But this one mainly stuff you have in the house and doesn’t require a ton of prep or work gathering and measuring.
I followed this to a T except I was short on butter and it didn’t affect the flavor or recipe at all! This was packed with flavor and was the perfect switch up my family was needing from our usual meals. The kids loved it too! This is FOR SURE a new staple meal in our house!
Tressa Jamil
Friday 16th of September 2022
I am so happy it was a recipe you and the whole family enjoyed.