I was born and raised in Sweden, and over the years I have modified our family recipe into this easy and delicious Swedish meatballs recipe. They are simple to make and definitely a crowdpleaser!
Sides and essentials for Swedish meatballs:
I normally serve my meatballs with mashed potato or boiled potatoes and with a side of either green beans or green/baby peas. The key side you need to make it authentic Swedish meatballs is to serve them with lingonberry jam. Lingonberry is a Scandinavian berry that grows on shrubs in the autumn/fall and you can usually buy it at IKEA or in specialised international food shops.
Swedish meatball recipe:
Ingredients (makes approx 50-60 small meatballs)
Meatballs:
- 500g beef mince
- 500g pork mince
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs (no seasoning)
- 1 small brown/white onion
- 1 large egg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Butter to fry meatballs in
Sauce/roux:
- 1 tbsp plain flour (plain GF flour works as well)
- 50 g butter
- 1/2 – 1 cup of milk (I often use skim milk and add little by little)
- 1/2 cup of heavy/thickened cream (I have substituted for cooking cream in the past, works just fine)
- A splash of soy sauce (gives the sauce a bit of colour)
- Salt and pepper to taste (be mindful the soy sauce is also salty)
Cooking instructions:
- Start to preheat oven to 180C and take out a baking sheet/casserole dish. This will be used later to finish cooking the meatballs in the oven, so set this to the side for now.
- Cut your brown/white onion in very small pieces. Fry onion in a bit of butter on low/medium heat until onion is soft and translucent. Allow to cool slightly.
- Soak your 1/2 cup breadcrumbs in 1-2 tbsp water for a few minutes to allow them to absorb some moisture. (This step is optional, you can use dry breadcrumbs if you prefer).
- Mix all meatball ingredients in a large bowl (easiest is to just do this with your hands, just wear gloves if you don’t like touching raw mince).
- Roll into small meatballs (smaller meatballs will cook faster and more evenly).
- Using the same frypan you used for the onion, set heat to medium/high and melt a small amount of butter (approx 1 tsp). Sear your meatballs until they are no longer pink on the outside, but not burnt. Note: Don’t crowd the frypan, I normally cook about 12-15 meatballs at a time (depending which pan I use). You want enough room for the meatballs to be able to roll around.
- Once first batch of meatballs are seared, add them to baking sheet/casserole dish and pop in your preheated oven. Repeat step 6 until all meatballs are cooked and in the oven. Don’t worry if you crowd your dish, the meatballs don’t have to be single layer once in the oven.
- Whilst the meatballs are finishing cooking in the oven, start on your sauce/roux. Use the same frypan you used for the meatballs (lots of good flavour in there!). Note: If you’ve never made a roux before, check out this easy step by step roux recipe for more detailed instructions on this part.
- Set the heat to low/medium. Melt about 40-50g of butter in your frypan. Once melted, sprinkle over 1 tbsp of flour (start with 1 tbsp and add more flour only if you need more) and whisk to combine butter and flour. Have your milk on hand and start gradually whisking in your milk to blend any lumps. You need to watch the roux closely and be quick with this step. Once the sauce is smooth (non-lumpy) add your cream, a small splash of soy sauce and some black pepper.
- Let the sauce simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes to thicken slightly. Make sure to watch it and stir occasionally as needed. Taste for salt and pepper.
- Your meatballs should be ready at this point (approx 5-10 mins after adding the last batch of meatballs to your casserole dish/baking sheet). Feel free to test cut one of the larger meatballs to ensure there is no pink in the middle.
- Serve up and enjoy!
Check out my recent video here where I show you how to make Swedish meatballs: