Traditional Swedish Meatballs (Classic Recipe) + Video (2024)

FAQs

What are traditional Swedish meatballs made of? ›

Mix ground beef, ground pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger with onion in the mixing bowl. Lightly mix in bread crumbs and cream. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pinch off about 1 1/2 tablespoon meat mixture per meatball; form into balls.

While both varieties include ingredients such as grated onion and panade (milk-soaked bread) or bread crumbs, plus the usual salt and pepper, Swedish meatballs traditionally use spices like allspice, nutmeg, white pepper, and sometimes ground ginger as flavoring.

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 ...

American meatballs are the biggest in size, with Italian and Swedish meatballs following on the depth chart. Italian meatballs call for seasonings like grated parmesan and oregano, while Swedish ones use seasonings like nutmeg and allspice. While it doesn't sound like a huge distinction, you'll notice it in the taste!

Whisk together stock, cream, flour, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon rosemary in a large saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in thawed meatballs, and continue cooking until meatballs are heated through, about 5 more minutes.

"Finnish meatballs are meatier and bigger than Swedish meatballs. They are also served with lingonberry jam and boiled/mashed potatoes, and a gravy, but they are juicier and yummier.

While they are all balls of meat, the ingredients, the meat mix, the spices (perhaps the biggest difference) and the way they are served and the sauces used for service are very different.

Roll your meatballs in flour

Roll the finished meatballs in plain flour before frying. This is, hands down, one of the easiest ways I've discovered to prevent meatballs from falling apart when cooking.

ANSWER: Usually when meatballs fall apart, it's the binder that is the problem. Most meatball recipes call for using bread crumbs and eggs. But too much bread crumbs make them too loose, and not enough bread crumbs won't help them hold together either.

In their most traditional form Swedish meatballs ('köttbullar') are made of ground pork and beef, cream, egg and onion, and are served with creamy mashed potatoes, a thick, brown gravy, lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber. The latter adds bitter sweetness as a perfect complement to the savoury meatball.

What do you eat with Swedish meatballs? ›

Swedish meatballs are quite small, at most about an inch in diameter. As mentioned above, They are usually served in a creamy gravy with lingonberry jam or Lingonberry Sauce and Fresh Pickled Cucumbers. Swedish meatballs are usually served on top of mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles. Both are delicious!

Italian Meatballs vs Swedish Meatballs: Swedish Meatballs are typically smaller in size than Italian meatballs and they are usually made with a 50-50 ratio of ground pork and ground beef.

Not at all. Meatballs are made from minced meat (beef, pork or a mix of both). Beef Stroganoff is made from strips or cubes of beef cooked in a sour cream sauce.

Although they can be a crowd favorite, the Swedish variety may not immediately come to mind when you think of meatballs. But this savory and somewhat rich dish is served with a creamy, gravy-like sauce, seasoned with a unique spice, and is typically enjoyed as a meal rather than an appetizer or on a sandwich.

The standard meatballs that you might put in a spaghetti sauce or a meatball sub are usually made with ground beef. But, Swedish meatballs from IKEA are made from both pork and beef! And, of course, there is a creamy gravy rather than a red sauce when you serve it.

Ingredients: 600 g of mixed minced meat. I like 50% beef and 50% fatty pork, but really - you can use anything. 3 g of this mixture: equal parts of black pepper, nutmeg (or mace), dried ginger and allspice.

Eggs: Eggs keep the meatballs from drying out and they act as a binding agent, which means they help hold the ingredients together. Cheese: You'll need a cup of freshly grated Romano cheese.