These heavenly Swedish Meatballs are a homemade version of the iconic Ikea meatballs. They’re a whole lot easier than assembling flat-pack furniture, that’s for sure! Extra-soft and juicy, with a dash of classic spices like allspice, they’re smothered with the bread-mop-worthy sauce.
Swedish Meatballs
I’m that person who goes into Ikea just to pick up tea lights, only to emerge 2 hours later with all sorts of useful organisation solutions, looking for a problem to solve.
I’m also that person who confidently puts together Ikea furniture (I’m a chartered accountant! I can do this!), only to worryingly end up with one leftover screw or bracket. Thankfully, none of my Ikea furniture has come tumbling down (yet), so now I have a theory that Ikea throws an extra piece into every flatpack just to mess with us.😂
As for their meatballs? Flatpack shopping is hard work. I can’t blame anyone who needs a pick-me-up after making it out the other end of the Ikea maze.
But once you’ve tried homemade Swedish Meatballs, you’ll never order these at the Ikea cafe ever again!
What’s so special about Swedish Meatballs?
If you’re wondering what’s so special about Swedish Meatballs, or what they taste like, close your eyes and imagine this: incredibly soft meatballs, made extra juicy by using a combination of both pork and beef and soaked bread instead of breadcrumbs, lightly spiced with just a touch of nutmeg and all spice that gives it the signature Swedish flavour, smothered in a creamy gravy that is absolutely to-die-for.
These are meatballs unlike any other – and regular readers know I have a very big soft spot for my favourite Italian Meatballs.
But I’d go as far to say that if you aren’t a regular maker of meatballs for whatever reason (pain to roll them, don’t like mixing meat with your hands etc etc), but you have the inclination to make ONE meatball recipe, make it these Swedish Meatballs.
You won’t regret it. I promise.
What goes in Swedish Meatballs
Here’s what you need to make the Swedish Meatballs.
Beef AND pork – the beef gives it flavour, the pork gives it juiciness and tenderness;
Bread – the secret to extra soft meatballs! Far more effective than breadcrumbs;
Nutmeg and All Spice – the signature spicing, just a small, subtle amount. All Spice is a particular type of spice made from a plant called Pimenta dioica. It smells like cloves. It’s a common spice found in normal supermarkets, and costs no more than usual spices. Best substitute is Mixed Spice.
Beef stock/broth and cream – for the creamy gravy;
Flour – to thicken the gravy;
Egg – for binding the meatballs together.
How to make Swedish Meatballs
Here’s how to make them:
FIRST, chop up sandwich bread, the soak in grated onion. This is a secret tip for ultra soft, extra tasty meatballs. Grating onion = no need to pan fry chopped onion AND extracts onion juices which soaks the bread, which later puffs up inside the meatballs as they cook, creating ultra soft meatballs!
How I roll meatballs
And here’s how I roll meatballs. It’s the fastest method I’ve been able to come up with!
Use an ice cream scooper with a lever to scoop up the mixture. Standard size is 3 tablespoons – I use slightly less than the scoop (3 tablespoons is quite large);
Scoop and dollop all the mixture;
THEN roll them all;
Voila! Even size meatballs, rolled relatively quickly!
Sauce for Swedish Meatballs
The sauce for Swedish Meatballs is a creamy gravy that is made with butter, beef broth/stock, thickened with flour and made creamy with cream.
But the most important flavour for the a really good creamy gravy is the pan drippings after searing the meatballs. All the brown stuff left in the pan after browning the meatballs adds incredible flavour into the gravy, which is why baking these meatballs is not an option!!!
What to serve with Swedish Meatballs
The Swedish Meatball eating experience is incomplete without creamy Mashed Potato. You need the mash so you can savour every last drop of that wickedly delicious creamy gravy.
Having said that though, rice, noodles or pasta are adequate fall backs, or some bread for mopping up the sauce (try this easy Artisan bread, or emergency No Yeast Sandwich Bread). And if you’re really trying to cut down on carbs, Creamy Mashed Cauliflower is your answer!
If you start now, you’ll have these on the table in less than hour. Are you ready for the most sinfully delectable meatballs you’ve ever had in your life?? – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Swedish Meatballs (homemade Ikea Meatballs)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 slices white sandwich bread , crusts removed, chopped into small cubes (Note 1)
- 1 onion , small (brown, white or yellow)
- 300g / 10 oz ground beef (mince)
- 300g / 10 oz ground pork (mince) , or sub with more beef (Note 2)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg , preferably freshly grated
- 1/4 tsp All Spice powder (Note 3)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
Gravy
- 40g / 3 tbsp butter , unsalted
- 3 tbsp flour
- 2 cups beef broth/stock (salt reduced), or sub with chicken
- 1/2 cup heavy / thickened cream (Note 4)
Instructions
- Grate onion using a standard box grater (see video).
- Scrape onion and juices into bowl. Add bread and mix well – onion juice should make bread soggy (if not, add a tiny splash of milk). Set aside to soak for 1 minute.
- Add remaining Meatball ingredients EXCEPT oil. Mix well.
- Using a tablespoon measure and measure out a heaped tablespoon (or use ice cream scooper which is what I do), dollop on work surface. Repeat with remaining mixture: 25 – 30 meatballs. Then roll into shape.
Cooking
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add half the meatballs and brown all over (but raw inside still) – about 3 minutes. Remove onto plate, then brown the remaining batch.
- If there is lots of oil, pour off excess and discard. Lower heat to medium.
Gravy
- Add butter into skillet and melt. Add flour and stir in. Cook for 1 minute.
- While mixing, add about 1/4 of the beef broth – it will thicken quickly. Then gradually add remaining beef broth, stirring as you go. Switch to whisk if required to make it lump free.
- When the liquid is simmering, add meatball and juices pooled on plate.
- Turn up heat slightly to keep it at a rapid simmer. Cook for 8 – 10 minutes or until the liquid thickens into a thin gravy, stirring occasionally.
- Add cream, simmer for a further 2 minutes then remove from stove.
- Serve over mashed potato (or Cauliflower Mash for low carb). For a truly authentic experience, add a dollop of ligonberry jam on the side!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published January 2017. Post updated 13 May 2020 with improved videos, plus ingredients and step photos added. No change to recipe, it’s perfect as is!!!
Life of Dozer
Dozer – I love you, but if you bump that tripod while I’m filming, you will be in a LOT of trouble!!
And from the original publication date:
Trying to negotiate with Dozer using a Swedish Meatball…..
These were so good, Nagi!!! Best meatballs ever!!!
I love hearing that Jessica! So pleased you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to let me know – N x
Delicious!! I just made these and wanted to leave a review while they are cooling! I used chicken stock bc I didn’t have beef and was worried it wouldn’t turn out well but it turned out wonderful. Thank you for the recipe!
I just love your recipes. Today I was trying to figure out what to make for our Sunday family dinner. I had ground turkey defrosting and my daughter loves alfredo so I decided to try your recipe for swedish meatballs using my defrosting turkey and chicken broth to serve over fettuccini noodles. My meatballs were a little soft – I think because of the turkey so I rolled them in a little flour before frying them up. I used heavy cream btw as opposed to sour cream. Read your notes about that and chose the cream. This was such a good and simple recipe. So good in fact I think I’m going to make a double or tripe batch for my Christmas Eve party – but next time I’ll use the pork / beef combo and beef broth. Do you think I could freeze the cooked meatballs in their sauce in order to make ahead?
Hi Marianne! Yes this actually freezes very well! Defrost then reheat 🙂 N x
This is a winner love them so so much my husband said keep the receipe.
I like the bread soaking in onion
That’s terrific Rachel! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
I am not much of a cook. Usually my family gets a meal out of a box. I volunteered to make a Swedish meatball dish for my church’s Sunday night gathering. This recipe was appealing to the eye. I really appreciated your detail in your notes. However i was concerned about the meatballs being done so after pan frying them I baked at 350 for 1/2 hour. I then used the juices created from the baking to flavor the gravy. They turned out delightful. So yummy. Thank you
P.S. Also your tip on soaking the onion juices with bread was something I had never heard of. This was simply a treasure to store in my memory for other recipes.
I’m pleased you enjoyed it Brigette, thanks for letting me know! N x
Great recipe and notes! The meatballs were succulent and flavorful and the gravy was very savory. I followed the recipe as written except for the following alterations:
– I puréed the onion in a blender as grating by hand was difficult for me (this saved me a lot of time)
– I left the crust on the bread
– I substituted half-and-half for the heavy cream (still used 1/2 cup)
That’s so wonderful to hear!! Thanks for letting me know Amy – N x ❤️
Yummmmm! This was so good! We had ours with mash and peas. Even though we have not tried these recipes before, they have always worked out. Thx for the attention to detail Nagi.
I’m so pleased to hear that John! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
My 6 yr old son has autism and introducing new foods can be challenge. He ate 7 (!!!!!) of these meatballs! When I asked if he liked it, he carefully put his fork down and gave 2 thumbs up! You have no idea what a huge deal this is for us! We all ate the same meal. I am literally in tears. Thank you.
Yesssss!!! I’m so glad to hear that Melanie, thank you very much for sharing that beautiful story. N x ❤️
I tried halving the recipe last night, (couldn’t halve the egg so used a whole one) and used all pork because I don’t eat beef. I must’ve added too much milk to the bread and/or my onion was too big, that and one whole egg was too much, but the meatballs were too soft and didn’t keep their shape. They also tasted a bit too onion-y.
I will be trying this again cos every recipe on your site I’ve made has been great and I’m sure this failure was just me trying to make too many tweaks.
Oh dear, I’m sorry to hear that Mavis! How big was your onion – was it the size of a baseball or tennis ball?? N x
Hmmm.. it was more the size of a baseball (I think, not actually seen a baseball before 😂). Realised I misread the instructions (lazy millenial) and didn’t cook the meatballs in the gravy for long enough. Cooked them for the right amount of time with the leftover frozen meatballs and they turned out a lot better, less onion-y and firmer.
They still weren’t meaty enough for my taste (maybe due to using only pork), so I’ll try using a thinner/smaller slice of bread and no milk next time.
Baseballs? How long would cook those? To get them cooked through I wonder.But no one starts at the top do they?
I made this recipe for dinner today. My husband went back for thirds! I couldn’t believe how quickly it came together . Your meatball rolling tip is definitely a time saver. Thanks for a great recipe!!
I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this Melissa! Thank you for letting me know – N x
I loved this recipe, and will always make meatballs that eay with the soaked bread! who knew?! I added some baby portabella mushrooms to mine, because I love them, and it was delicious. Thanks so much for sharing!
That’s so great to hear Jessy! Thanks for letting me know – N xx
Greetings from Canada! I Just found your site about 4 days ago. I have been scouring your recipes non stop and can’t believe how truly awesome EVERYTHING looks. It’s like you read my mind and posted all my favourite food!
I made these Swedish meatballs tonight and my family loved them. These came together very quickly, especially with your meatball trick for measuring them out first… brilliant!
I can’t wait to try another awesome recipe from your blog… now I just have to decide which one to try next! Decisions, decisions…
Thanks Nagi 🙂
I just got BACK from Canada!!!! So pleased you like the look of my recipes and that you enjoyed these Swedish meatballs! One of my all time favourite meatballs! N xx
Had to try this as the gravy looks just like the packet gravy from Ikea that is so good I could drink it. It can be a real pain to drive 20 miles into the city to buy half a dozen packets to find they are sold out!!!! So, I was delighted to find it tastes very very similar too. Followed instructions exactly other than used UK double cream, which my investigations said has a slightly richer fat content than Aussie thickened, but was the closest I could find as a UK alternative. Don’t think it made much difference as it was aaaaamazing.
Thank you so so much for this. I’ve been living off your recipes this past week and haven’t yet cooked a dud, even with my limited skills. Are you by any chance looking to adopt a grown man?
I’m so happy to hear that Neil! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know! Let me know if you move into my area – always looking for taste testers! 😉 – N xx
Holy Snakes! Just made these for lunch and they are SENSATIONAL. They are very simple to make and INCREDIBLY economical.
So fantastic to hear that Jaci, thanks for letting me know! N xx
These Swedish meatballs are fabulous!! So flavoursome with so few ingredients! I will definitely use this recipe for many years to come. Thank you so much for sharing Nagi. A big hit with our family.
That’s wonderful to hear Rachel! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
Hi – is that 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cream? Wasn’t sure from the recipe – Nicky
Hi Nicky! Yes, I leave it up to the reader to decide because people have different tastes. 🙂 With 1/4 cup the gravy is darker and with 1/2 cup it is more light brown and slightly rocker. Both delish!
Just made these today…, absolutely spectacular!!! Followed the recipe as presented.., which can be a challenge for me, (I usually tweak a recipe here and there). Wonderful flavor with just the right amount of spice. Make sure you invest in a quality pasta…, it’s worth it! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
AWESOME!!! I’m so glad to hear that Tina, thanks for letting me know! N xx
Well, well, well. I have tried most all of my Swedish relatives’ meatball recipes; my Gram’s, Mom’s, Aunt Lucinda’s, Aunt Cecilia’s, Cousin Cindy’s, and more. My grandparents and Mother were born in Sweden, so they should know a thing or two about Swedish meatballs. However, (I can’t believe I’m about to say this) your recipe is the BEST I have ever tried! If you are considering using this recipe, please, please, please follow directions and ingredients EXACTLY. You will not be disappointed. I tried them for my Super Bowl LI get-together and they were a tremendous hit. When I told my guests the recipe was written by a Japanese-born Austrailian, they could scarcely believe it. The biggest difference in this recipe is that you soak the bread crumbs in the grated onions and juice. It make a huge improvement to the meatballs. Nagi, thank-you so much for my new go-to recipe for Swedish meatballs!
Ba ha ha! I am LAUGHING and also so flattered to hear this!!! Can I quote you? Sometimes for my most popular recipes I like to take a few reader quotes and put them at the top and THIS is the most epic quote yet!!! I especially love this line: “When I told my guests the recipe was written by a Japanese-born Austrailian, they could scarcely believe it.” BA HA HA!
Nagi, you have my permission to quote any or all of my Swedish meatball review. I know my departed relatives would not hold a grudge! Honestly, if I never try even one more of your recipes (yeah, right…) you have a fan for life! Keep up the great work. And, by the way, why don’t you have your own show on one of the cooking channels? Just curious. Swedish meatball fans across the globe are rooting for you!
YOU r the best, love you. my 3 youngster first time liked the meat ball I have ever made. Thank you. got the beef mince and pork mix in Cole in 1/2kg pack, then add a little beef mince. Perfect. they ask again for the next night. I was over like over the moon. If they eat. Thank you
Oh WOW Ai Tang! I’m so glad to hear that, thank yu for letting me know! PS that mince mix from Coles is perfect for this! 🙂
Made these tonight and they were great. I really like the way the onion and bread was done. I used sour cream as that is what I had and it was really nice. Will definitely make again.
Whoot whoot! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it Robyn! N xx