My take on the IKEA Swedish Meatballs Recipe comes together with hand-mixed meatballs and a béchamel sauce flavored with beef broth, fresh parsley, dried dill, and Worcestershire. Complete the meal with mashed potatoes and green beans like they do at IKEA, or try our mashed cauliflower for a low-carb alternative.
Why is it Called a Swedish Meatball?
Meatballs are pan-European dish, but here’s a twist for you. It’s said that Swedish meatballs 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.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
For the Meatballs:
- 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.
For the Sauce:
- 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.
Step 7: Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with mashed potatoes, green beans, or mashed cauliflower.
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.
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If you love this recipe, try one of these dinner favorites!
What Goes With Swedish Meatballs?
If you’re deciding what to serve with Swedish meatballs, check out a few of our suggestions.
- Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Potatoes, Boiled Potatoes
- Lingonberry Jam, Fig Jam
- Green Beans, Steamed Vegetables, Mashed Cauliflower
- White Rice, Brown Rice
- Egg Noodles
- House Salad, Red Cabbage Salad, Pressgurka
- Dinner Rolls, Pao de Sal
What to Do With the Leftovers
- Refrigerate – Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
- Freeze – Because of the dairy in the sauce, I don’t recommend freezing the meatballs.
- Reheat – Microwave the leftovers or warm them in the oven for 20 minutes at 375°F (190°C).
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.
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
- 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 egg
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, for searing
- 5 tablespoons 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
- 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.
- Lower the heat and add the reserved meatballs to the pan. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20-30 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with mashed potatoes, green beans, or mashed cauliflower.
- 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.