Swedish Meatballs (homemade Ikea Meatballs)

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.

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What goes in 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.

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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!

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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!!!

Swedish Meatballs (homemade Ikea Meatballs) 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What goes in 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!!!