Köttbullar – Classic Swedish Meatballs

Köttbullar slathered in gravy and plated with mashed or boiled potatoes and lingonberry sauce are indisputably the national dish in Sweden. They are eaten everywhere: at home and parties, in canteens and fine dining restaurants, hospitals and prisons. Anyone who really thinks that authentic Swedish köttbullar should taste like they do at IKEA has never eaten any truly good one.
Everyone has their own favourite recipe, and most people will, of course, say that their mother's recipe is the best! Impress your friends with homemade Swedish meatballs using this simple recipe!
One of the secrets of this Swedish classic is the deliciously sweet caramelised onions and a dash of cream in the meat mixture. It's not just the meatballs that make this dish such a classic comfort meal, the creamy sauce is just as good. And don’t forget the lingonberry! If you cannot find lingonberry in your local supermarket, try IKEA or online shops or use cranberry sauce instead.

Meatball	Sauce
50 g Breadcrumbs 100 g Heavy cream 1 Onion, peeled and finely diced 2 tbsp Butter ½ tbsp Sugar 500 g Ground beef 1 Egg ¼ tsp Allspice ¼ tsp Nutmeg Salt and pepper Lingonberry jam ©angiesrecipes, to serve Mashed potato (I made mine mixed with a handful of greens), to serve	2 tbsp Butter 1 tbsp Plain flour 300 ml Beef stock 150 ml Heavy cream 1 tsp Dark soya sauce 1 pinch Allspice Sea salt and black pepper 1 tbsp Chopped parsley, to garnish

Mix the breadcrumbs with cream and leave to swell while you prepare the carmalized onion.
Dice the onion and fry in a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle in sugar and cook until golden brown, then leave it to cool.
Add ground meat to the cream mixture with carameized onion. Add in egg and spices. Season. Mix until evenly combined. Shape the mixture into 20-22 meatballs.
Cook the meatballs with remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet until browned. Remove them to a plate.
Stir in the flour to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until it begins to brown. Pour in beef stock, cream, soya sauce and allspice. Cook over the low heat until it simmers.
Return the meatballs to the sauce. Cook over the low heat for 10-15 minutes until cooked through. Serve with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam.

13 comments:

Lola Martínez 6/10/25 13:20: Me encantan las albóndigas, mañana publicaré unas también, pero no se parecen a las tuyas. No les pongo crema espesa, que imagino será nata, tampoco cebolla caramelizada, ni las frio en mantequilla. Me gustaría probar estas, pues aún siendo diferentes me parecen muy ricas.
DEZMOND 6/10/25 13:22: They look pretty, Swedes do love their meatballs. In the last novel I translated from Swerige, they ate a lot of rosehip soup LOL
Tom 6/10/25 13:48: ...Angie, they look wonderful.
Ananka 6/10/25 14:22: They look perfect :-D
eileeninmd 6/10/25 14:54: Hello Angie,
The meatballs looks delicious. Another great recipe!
Take care, have a great day and a happy week ahead.
Linda's Relaxing Lair 6/10/25 15:02: Looks scrumptious.
Asep Haryono 6/10/25 15:11: While Köttbullar is really quite very close to meatballs (bakso) are very popular and distinctive in Indonesia. I have written also in my blog post. The idea of forming minced meat into balls and cooking them in soup or sauce is truly international. Almost every culture has its own version of meatballs, though the ingredients, seasonings, and cooking styles differ, To be honest, meatballs in one of my fave dish
Christine 6/10/25 15:54: Yummy
Pantherka 6/10/25 17:24: This recipe looks great.
I will have to try it.
Thanks.
Breathtaking 6/10/25 17:41: Hello Angie :)
They look SO good, with all that sauce. Fantastic recipe Angie! :)
sotis 6/10/25 18:49: elles sont très appétissantes tes boulettes!!! bisous
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 6/10/25 19:08: I haven't had Swedish meatballs in a long time. Need to make some...or visit local IKEA, haha
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 6/10/25 19:08: I haven't had Swedish meatballs in a long time. Need to make some...or visit local IKEA, haha