IKEA's Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off).....Delicious!! (2024)

I haven’t quite caught the IKEA bug, yet. I know, I’m crazy…from what I hear. However, I’ve only been there one time, for about 15 minutes, and I was with the husband. Shopping with the man is one of my least favorite things to do. I don’t know why. Dan is totally sweet, but I clam up when I shop with him (or anyone, really.) It offends him, but I just can’t do it. I like to shop alone, that’s when magic happens, I find awesome things, and I can move super fast. I have this nerdy method, where I walk past everything really quickly, and I won’t stop until something grabs my attention. I figure, if I have to carefully browse to find something I might like, I don’t like it enough. I’m one of those ladies at the store who speed walks, freaking people out, because I’m zooming all around them. It’s my shopping-mode, can’t help it. Watch out for the crazy-lady.

IKEA's Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off).....Delicious!! (1)

So, I should probably give IKEA another chance (alone, next time.) If not for the ultra-cheap/cool knick-knacks, but for the food court. I keep hearing about these amazing Swedish Meatballs, so when I saw a “perfect knock-off” recipe in the latest Food Network Magazine, I had to try them. Although, I can’t attest to their authenticity (since I’ve never eaten at IKEA), I can tell you that my family loved them. Dan asked me to save this recipe in the keep-pile, because he wanted more…we all did. Luckily, I doubled my batch of meatballs, to freeze half of them. So, next time around, all I have to do is make the sauce!

‘Get on with it’, I hear ya. So, to make the meatballs, you will need: breadcrumbs, butter, minced onion (fresh or dry), minced garlic, ground allspice, salt, white pepper, milk, Worcestershire sauce, lean ground beef, lean ground pork, and an egg.

* Again, I doubled the meatball recipe, to have an extra batch of meatballs to freeze. Also, I tripled the sauce recipe…not to freeze, but because I wanted plenty of sauce to serve over noodles. I’m not sure, but I don’t think IKEA serves their meatballs with noodles, just plain. Don’t quote me.

Heat the butter, in a skillet, over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, and white pepper, for about 5 minutes, or until garlic and onions are soft. I just used dry minced onion, so I just cooked it for about a minute. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce to the mixture, and bring to a simmer.

Dump the breadcrumbs in a bowl. Pour the hot skillet mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir together.

Add the beef, pork, 1 egg and 1 egg white to the bowl, and mix until combined. It’s easiest to use your hands and squish everything together for about 5 minutes. I’m scared of raw meat, so this is where I pull out my plastic doctor gloves.

Spray a sheet pan to grease, and roll the meat into 1 inch balls, and place on a baking sheet. One recipe makes about 35-40 meatballs. Make sure you don’t roll them much bigger than 1 inch, or they take a lot longer to cook through…unless, you’re cool with that. Cover your sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the meatballs for about an hour. I didn’t have an hour, so I stuck them in the freezer for about 25 minutes. Worked for me. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Next up, the gravy. For the gravy, you will need: butter, flour, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and parsley (optional, for garnish).

If you are going to serve this with noodles, this is about the time you get the water boiling.

To make the gravy, melt the butter in a skillet and add the flour. Cook for a few minutes while whisking. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a simmer. Finally, add the heavy cream and the cooked meatballs. Let simmer, until the gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve plain, or over a bed of noodles, rice, or potatoes. (Remember, make extra sauce if you’re going to be serving on top of something…again, I tripled the sauce recipe.)

IKEA’s Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off)
Food Network Magazine

IKEA’s Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off)…..Delicious!!

Ingredients

  • Meatballs
  • Makes about 35-40 1" meatballs. Make double to freeze a batch for later!
  • 1cupbreadcrumbs
  • 2TBSbutter
  • 1/3cupwhite onionmince (or a couple TBS. of dry minced onion)
  • 2clovesgarlicminced (or 2 tsp. pre-minced garlic)
  • 1/4tsp.ground allspice
  • 1tsp.salt
  • 1/4tsp.white pepper
  • 1/2cupmilk
  • 1tsp.Worcestershire sauce
  • 3/4lb.lean ground beef
  • 1/2lb.lean ground pork
  • 1large eggplus 1 egg white, beaten
  • Gravy
  • Makes just enough to cover the meatballs, if you want extra to serve over noodles, double/triple gravy recipe.
  • 2TBSbutter
  • 2TBSflour
  • 1 1/2cupsbeef broth
  • 1tsp.Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4cupheavy cream
  • Salt & Pepperto taste
  • Parsleyoptional - garnish

Instructions

  1. To make the meatballs, heat the butter, in a skillet, over medium heat.

  2. Saute the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, and white pepper, for about 5 minutes, or until garlic and onions are soft. (I just used dry minced onion, so I just cooked it for about a minute.)

  3. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce to the mixture, and bring to a simmer.

  4. Dump the breadcrumbs in a bowl.

  5. Pour the hot skillet mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir together.

  6. Add the beef, pork, 1 egg and 1 egg white to the bowl, and mix until combined. (It's easiest to use your hands and squish everything together for about 5 minutes.)

  7. Spray a sheet pan to grease, and roll the meat into 1 inch balls, and place on a baking sheet. One recipe makes about 35-40 meatballs.

  8. Cover your sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the meatballs for about an hour. (I stuck them in the freezer for about 25 minutes.) Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

  9. To make the gravy, melt the butter in a skillet and add the flour.

  10. Cook for a few minutes while whisking.

  11. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, bring to

  12. a simmer.

  13. Finally, add the he

  14. avy cream and the cooked meatballs. Let simmer, until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

  15. Serve as is, or on top of a bed of rice, noodles, or potatoes.

  16. Garnish with parsley.

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IKEA’s Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off)…..Delicious!!

Ingredients

  • Meatballs
  • (Makes about 35-40 1″ meatballs. Make double to freeze a batch for later!)
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 TBS butter
  • 1/3 cup white onion, mince (or a couple TBS. of dry minced onion)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp. pre-minced garlic)
  • 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 3/4 lb. lean ground beef
  • 1/2 lb. lean ground pork
  • 1 large egg, plus 1 egg white, beaten
  • Gravy
  • (Makes just enough to cover the meatballs, if you want extra to serve over noodles, double/triple gravy recipe.)
  • 2 TBS butter
  • 2 TBS flour
  • 1 1/2 cups beef broth
  • 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Salt & Pepper (to taste)
  • Parsley (optional – garnish)

Instructions

  1. To make the meatballs, heat the butter, in a skillet, over medium heat.
  2. Saute the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, and white pepper, for about 5 minutes, or until garlic and onions are soft. (I just used dry minced onion, so I just cooked it for about a minute.)
  3. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce to the mixture, and bring to a simmer.
  4. Dump the breadcrumbs in a bowl.
  5. Pour the hot skillet mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir together.
  6. Add the beef, pork, 1 egg and 1 egg white to the bowl, and mix until combined. (It’s easiest to use your hands and squish everything together for about 5 minutes.)
  7. Spray a sheet pan to grease, and roll the meat into 1 inch balls, and place on a baking sheet. One recipe makes about 35-40 meatballs.
  8. Cover your sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the meatballs for about an hour. (I stuck them in the freezer for about 25 minutes.) Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
  9. To make the gravy, melt the butter in a skillet and add the flour.
  10. Cook for a few minutes while whisking.
  11. Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, bring to
  12. a simmer.
  13. Finally, add the he
  14. avy cream and the cooked meatballs. Let simmer, until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  15. Serve as is, or on top of a bed of rice, noodles, or potatoes.
  16. Garnish with parsley.

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IKEA's Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off).....Delicious!! (2024)

FAQs

What is the Swedish meatball scandal? ›

Czech authorities alerted the discount furniture maker that they had found horsemeat in a sample of meatballs, and Ikea subsequently pulled the product from stores in 14 countries.

What is the sauce for Swedish meatballs made from? ›

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.

What is Ikea meatball sauce made of? ›

Iconic Swedish cream sauce: Melt 40g of butter in a pan. Whisk in 40g of plain flour and stir for 2 mins. Add 300ml of bouillon (or consommé) and continue to stir. Add 150ml double cream, 2 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of (Dijon) mustard.

Why do Ikea meatballs taste so good? ›

They're loaded with salt (and salt is delicious)

According to Ikea's website, the 12-meatball version of their KÖTTBULLAR plate packs a pretty serious amount of salt into your bloodstream, to the tune of 1,520 milligrams.

Do Ikea meatballs contain horse meat? ›

The Czech State Veterinary Administration said it tested two batches of Ikea meatballs and only one of them contained horsemeat. It did not say how much. An advertising billboard for IKEA meatballs at a parking lot of an IKEA store in Stockholm.

Do Swedish meatballs have horse meat? ›

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has withdrawn some of its meatballs in 14 European countries after horse meat was discovered in the Swedish-made product in the Czech Republic.

Why do Swedish meatballs taste different? ›

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.

What supermarket sells Swedish meatballs? ›

Smörgåsbord The Original Swedish Meatballs 400g | Sainsbury's.

Why are my Swedish meatballs falling apart? ›

But too much bread crumbs make them too loose, and not enough bread crumbs won't help them hold together either. Similar issues can be caused by eggs: Too many eggs, and the meatballs will be too soggy.

What is the jam they put on Ikea meatballs? ›

There is probably no other dish that is so connected to Swedish cuisine, as meatballs with cream sauce and lingonberry jam.

Why are Ikea meatballs so cheap? ›

The meatballs - along with all the dishes in IKEA restaurants - are priced so competitively to attract people to the store. The hope is, that once there, customers will also spend money on household items. The restaurants also reinforce the IKEA brand image of being 'low price' and 'good value'.

What jam is in Ikea meatballs? ›

For a proper Swedish meal, lingonberry jam, mashed potatoes, and cream sauce are the perfect partners for Swedish meatballs. Explore literal tastemakers here.

Which Ikea meatballs are best? ›

Top Choice: Chicken Balls

In terms of the robust savoriness, juiciness, and addictive texture, these meatballs are simply the best. Interestingly enough, they are gluten-free and made with chicken, potato, onion, and seasoning — that's it! The Ikea rep even admitted they were her top choice too (over the original!).

Has Ikea stopped selling meatballs? ›

Frozen meatballs are available for you to take home! We know that there is great demand for our meatballs - what's a visit to IKEA without them? Although our collection point may not have a hot meatball offer available, we have made sure that there are frozen meatballs available for you to take home and cook yourself.

Is it legal to eat horse meat in the US? ›

Is Horse Meat Illegal in the United States? While it is not illegal for someone in most states to eat meat from horses, there are very strict rules surrounding its purchase. It is illegal for someone in the United States to sell meat from a horse for commercial human consumption.

What is the significance of Swedish meatballs? ›

Swedish Meatballs as a Symbol of Swedish Cuisine

This iconic dish has piqued the interest of food enthusiasts and travelers, placing Swedish cuisine on the global food map. As a result, Swedish meatballs have played a significant role in promoting the country's culinary prowess and boosting tourism.

What happened to Ikea Swedish meatballs? ›

STOCKHOLM - Swedish furniture giant Ikea became entangled in Europe's widening meat scandal Monday, forced to withdraw meatballs from stores across Europe amid suspicions that they contained horse meat. Stores in the U.S. and Canada were not affected, Ikea said.

Is meatballs the movie inappropriate? ›

This movie gets a heavy PG. It has innuendos and language.

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