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Here’s the real IKEA Swedish Meatballs recipe – straight from IKEA stores.
Like a lot of companies these days, IKEA just shared their iconic Swedish Meatballs recipe with the world – so we had to give it a try!
Sure – we already have our own Swedish Meatballs recipe here (and it’s delicious) – but I have to admit that I really enjoy the version sold at IKEA restaurants inside their stores.
What makes IKEA Swedish Meatballs so special?
IKEA Swedish Meatballs are tender and delicious with a wonderful, savory cream sauce on top.
They serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes and green beans, plus a spoonful of IKEA’s sweet lingonberry jam on the side. The sweet-tart jam is a wonderful complement to the savory meatballs, and it also helps cut through the richness of the sauce.
Finally, after a day of wandering the stores aisles – all of the meals at IKEA are surprisingly affordable and delicious, and a great way to feed a hungry family.
What did we think of the recipe?
Jack and I both thought that the taste of this homemade version of IKEA’s Swedish Meatballs was pretty spot on – and we’d totally make this recipe again! Like most great meatball recipes, it’s a mix of both beef and pork which gives them a wonderful flavor and soft texture.
Note that the recipe, as written, makes a lot of sauce (you could probably cut the sauce recipe in half and still have enough) and this homemade recipe seemed thicker, creamier and lighter in color than the sauce served over the meatballs at the stores.
But the flavor is very much the same (delicious!) and the meatballs are soft and tender – just like you’d order at IKEA restaurants.
You can see the actual IKEA recipe here. We adapted our recipe slightly to reflect US Customary Measurements – only because that’s how we (and most of our US-based readers) cook.
Give this IKEA Swedish Meatballs recipe a try – then let us know what you think!
You may enjoy these other meatball recipes:
- Swedish Meatballs (our own recipe) over Noodles
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Italian-Style Meatballs
- Easy Freezer Meatballs
- Keto Chicken Meatballs
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
The Real IKEA Swedish Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef 85/15
3/4 pound finely ground pork
1 cup onion, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely minced
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 whole eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Sauce
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoon olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (10 tablespoons or 2.9 ounces as weighed on a kitchen scale)
For Serving
Instructions
In a large bowl, mix ground beef, ground pork, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, eggs, milk, salt, pepper and one tablespoon of oil. Mix just enough to combine and try not to overmix.
Use a one-once scoop and scoop out 55 one-ounce meatballs. Line them up on your cutting board and run a knife through each one which will yield 110 half-ounce pieces.
Roll each into a ball and line up on a sheet tray covered in parchment. Keep your hands wet while rolling.
Refrigerate on the sheet tray for one hour to set.
After one hour, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a second sheet tray with parchment paper.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat with one tablespoon of olive oil and once hot, gently place one third of the meatballs in the pan and cook on all sides for about 4-5 minutes. Use a small spatula or tongs to continually turn the meatballs to brown evenly. Remove these browned meatballs to the prepared sheet pan.
Repeat for the next two batches of oil and meatballs.
Once all the meatballs have browned and are now lined up on the sheet tray, place the sheet tray in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
While the meatballs are cooking, heat the vegetable stock, beef stock, heavy cream, soy sauce and mustard in a small sauce pan. Mixture needs to be hot to prevent lumping in the sauce but does not need to boil. Set aside.
In a 4-5-quart pot, over medium heat melt butter in oil and add flour to make a roux. Cook and stir continually for 3-4 minutes until the raw flour smell is gone.
Gradually add the liquid to the roux while whisking. Heat this mixture to hot and bubbly. If the mixture gets too thick, thin down a little with milk or cream.
When the meatballs come out of the oven, add to the sauce and serve with mashed potatoes, green beans, and lingonberry jam.
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Kem says
We had frozen IKEA meatballs so I only used the gravy recipe and it was spot on! So good – tastes just like IKEA’s!
Martha says
Thanks Kem!
Evelyn M Quinton says
I’ve tried 4 “copycat Ikea meatball” recipes. This one truly tastes the closest, so I’m inclined to think Ikea was mostly honest when they published it. After reading all the comments, I decided to use the specified amounts and cook the roux longer (about 10 mins of constant stirring). Also used the pan drippings along with the butter and olive oil. Yes, it does seem a bit thick, but I thinned it with some plain milk (about 2/3 cup added in several splashes and stirred) until it looked like what coats the meatballs in the store restaurant. I used dijon mustard as specified, but the finished sauce did seem blander than Ikea’s, so I added about a tablespoon of whole-grain dijon (like one commenter suggested) and that was the magic transforming ingredient. If you really want as close to the restaurant as possible, do give this recipe a try. Suggestion: find a way to sit and roll the teeny meatballs. It takes a while (over 100). I used the smallest Pampered Chef scooper with the release spring, and it still took a long time. A small melon baller is about the right size too. I will keep this on the rotation, and experiment with freezing methods for the meatballs. Thank you for finding and posting this gem.
Martha says
Thank you for posting such a detailed review Evelyn!
Randy says
Prepared the recipe as directed. Came out perfect. Will make again.
Martha says
Thanks Randy!
Tony says
Outstanding!!
Martha says
Thanks Tony!
Judi Pittaway says
Can I refrigerate the left-over sauce?
Martha says
Yes Judi – It should be good for several days in the refrigerator.
Fred Johnson says
The title of this article is misleading.You said so yourself in the article that you modified the recipe.
Martha says
The recipe is the same – we just converted the measurements to US standard measurements as that is what most of our readers (US-based) use when cooking. When calculating grams, etc to teaspoons, etc we may have rounded up or down to reach a whole number of teaspoons.
Steve says
Flour is wayyyyyy off. Made concrete
Jack says
Steve
I’m going to adjust the recipe to add flour weight as well as cups. If you press a measuring cup into flour you will get a larger amount than if you spoon the flour into a cup. That said, I just made a small batch of the sauce to test and it is too thick. I need to make a full batch and test the flour amount. I will adjust the recipe as soon as I get the right amount.
Thank you for pointing this out,
Jack
Jack says
Steve
I just made the full amount of sauce and I think I see the problem. When I converted the original IKEA recipe from metric to US, I doubled the recipe and the flour went from 40 grams to 80 grams. I incorrectly calculated that 80 grams to 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons). It should be 10 tablespoons which is 2/3 cup and when measured properly, should be 2.9 ounces as weighed on a kitchen scale. I will update the recipe.
Jack
Beth S. says
Oh my word!! This sauce is amazing. Hubs was requesting a swedish meatball recipe. I made my way to http://www.afamilyfeast.com FIRST bc every recipe I’ve tried here has been phenomenal. Now, I did a short cut and used the Walmart brand homestyle meatball. I’m not proud about this, but I will say the family and I thought they were delicious in a pinch. Now, this sauce. It was really very easy.
I can’t describe how wonderful it tasted and looked. I took to heart some of the feedback from other reviews, especially JeffJs. To be specific, I upped the beef stock (low sodium broth was all I could find) and veggie stock to 1.5 L each (up by 1/4 cup each). And most importantly, I cooked the roux to at least 15 min. I was literally stirring it constantly. It took on a browned butter smell like buttered popcorn after 8 min or so, then the richness and nuttiness continued to develop as we continued. . It did become more liquified as this process continued. I kept the flour at 3/4 cup.Upon enjoying the meal, we realized we would have preferred to increase the dijon mustard to 1 tablespoon (maybe even a little more?), and I would’ve added likely a teaspoon of salt). This will become a staple, and I look forward to trying your meatball recipe in this dish as well. THANK YOU!!
Martha says
You’re very welcome Beth!
B says
I just saw and prepared Jack’s revised recipe. Yum! I increased the Dijon mustard to 3 tsp. Because my vegetable stock and beef stock were unsalted, I added 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. And I browned the roux for 10 min to bring out the rich and nutty flavor. Perfect, creamy texture. So delicious!!! Thanks for the updates. (P.S. Served it with no-yolk egg noodles and loved it).
sue says
Your flour measurement is wrong as per the IKEA recipe that you said you got it from Their gravy recipe calls for 40 grams of flour, which is a 1/3 of a cup of flour, not 3/4 cup as per your recipe.
Martha says
Thanks Sue!
diane says
This is NOT the Ikea recipe, which used to be posted on their website. This isn’t even close, for the meatballs or the sauce.
Martha says
Sorry you were disappointed Diane – We link to the IKEA recipe we followed in the post, which was posted by IKEA on Twitter.