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…..
So very delicious, thank you for the recipe. I have 4 hungry teenage boys and they all loved it – no leftovers! The gravy was divine.
The sauce was divine and I could have happily eaten alone and never misused the meatballs. I served it with buttered noodles and the kiddos were fighting over seconds. No leftovers! Thanks!
Crap.. I forgot to add the stars!
It was excellent!!! Made it today after having had the Swedish meatballs at Ikea last week! Kids loved it and agree that it tastes just the same as the Ikea meatballs! Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe! Just one question..what is the herb in the photo you have used for garnish?
Parsley
Delicious, I don’t think I have made a recipe on here that wasn’t good. This was quick and easy. I made it to go with egg noodles because I just had mash potatoes two days in a row after I made the chicken cordon bleu on this site of course. Leftovers we will use mash potatoes of course!
Hi Nagi,
I’ve done this recipe so many times and adore it, but unfortunately have been put on a low FODMAP diet (yes, it’s torture). I’m fine leaving the onion out of the meatballs, but unsure if the gravy will work with gluten free flour? Not much point in trying to do these if i can’t even make the gravy work :\
You may not know as I’m guessing you have never needed to try….but from a food science perspective thought you may know?
Thanks
You can also use instant mashed potatoes as a thickener.
This is a fabulous recipe . I have made it as recipe calls and adapterpd for my low FODMAP eating son.
I simply used green onion tops and also added a few drops of garlic infused oil to meat.
They were delicious as well.
I forgot I use bobs Red Mill all purpose GF flour and GF broth. Perfect sauce
Skip using a GF flour blend (they’re very variable) and just use cornflour instead. It’s brilliant for thickening sauces and totally GF!
Hi Kieran, I’m FODMAP too, it’s not all that bad. You can use the white end of green onions, and GF flour should work a treat. I’m making this today. I’ll let you know how I go.
Not sure what is allowed on your diet, but cornstarch or arrowroot will thicken gravy as well. With arrowroot, don’t allow it to cook too long or it will start thining out.
Delicious! Everybody like it, even my hard to please granddaughters cleaned the plate. I will be doing this recipe again.
Scrumptious! I will be making these again and again. Thank you for your recipes. Each one I’ve tried is delicious.
I made this last week. My children, who like the Ikea meatballs, like this! I made for dinner and extra to bring for their lunches the next day. My son asked me to save this recipe. 🙂
Hi Nagi, can this recipe be frozen? Thank you for all your sensational recipes.
Delicious!!! The only thing I didn’t like was grating the onion. That was pure torture, but totally worth it.
PHENOMENAL!!!!!!
This recipe is hands down the best Swedish Meatballs I have ever had in my 45 years of life!! My mom always made them, and yes they were good but they don’t compare to this recipe at all (don’t tell my mom)!!
Love how this looks, but unfortunately I’m allergic to dairy. Do you think the butter could be substituted with oil or (dairy free) margarine e.g. nuttelex?
And I was planning on just leaving out the cream in the sauce. What do you think?
Your recipes are amazing. I frequently crave meatballs but was never game to try making them because I couldn’t figure how they could be super soft.
Your onion soaked recipe has converted me – super easy and I even have leftovers for italian meatballs with pasta.
I phased out of eating white bread years ago but needed something to do with the leftovers so made your bread and butter pudding which was a hit as well.
Delicious and just like the IKEA version (but homemade, so better!). Next time I will try using bread crumbs instead of cubed bread as I found the chunks of bread in the cooked meatballs a little odd. Maybe I didn’t cut the cubes small enough? We served this with cranberry sauce, as it is easily accessible, and it was perfect! Will definitely make it again and try doubling/freezing. Thanks Nagi, we love your recipes in our house!
Erin, just grate the bread on the large holes on the box grater before you grate the onion. That’s what I do .Also a little sprinkle of salt on the onion, let it sit 5 minutes and it will draw the moisture out of the grated onion.
These were absolutely delicious!! Thank you for another fantastic recipe! 💕
Hi Nagi,
Do you think the meatballs would be fine served over thick pasta?
This was absolutely delicious. Brought all the kids flocking home for Sunday dinner. Thank you!
For some reason, I always thought that the Ikea recipe used some grape jelly in the sauce.
It’s on the side, I think it’s called lingenberry or something like that lol
You got me with Dozer; my Golden’s name is Rocco.
Really good! Taste better than ikea actually.