Easy Swedish Meatballs

My Swedish meatball recipe is simple to whip up and tastes delicious – we love them for dinner with mashed potatoes, but they’re just as good with egg noodles if you prefer.

My Swedish meatball recipe

I have to make a confession: It’s been a long time since I ate meatballs at IKEA. Unpopular opinion, but I’m not their biggest fan.

Juicy homemade meatballs in a delicious brown gravy, though? These happen all the time around here, and I could eat the whole pan by myself if it wasn’t for my kids and husband, ha!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient notes

• meat: I use lean beef, but you can also use a fattier ground beef if that’s what you have – I recommend draining some of the fat after browning the meatballs. You can also use a mix of ground beef and pork if you prefer.
• broth: Beef broth is best here, but you can also use chicken broth with a dash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce added.
• mustard/jelly: these are optional and can be left out if you think they’re too weird in a gravy – but I will say these are the ingredients to help get that “IKEA taste”

Step by step photos

Cooking Tips

• if you’re in a hurry: use regular store-bought meatballs – you’ll need about 1.5 pounds
• if you don’t knead/shape the meatball mix well, the meatballs will fall apart as you’re cooking them in the pan. if you’re unsure, bake the meatballs instead of pan-frying them to help them retain some shape (they could still fall apart in the sauce, so please do really make sure to roll them into firm balls).
• likewise, brown the meatballs very well, until browned and crisp, or they’ll fall apart as you’re turning them.
• if the jelly and mustard in the sauce sound weird to you (apparently those kind of people exist 😉), feel free to leave them out – but you’ll lack some of that beloved IKEA flavor
• to keep the meatballs round during cooking: freeze them for 5-10 minutes on a baking sheet after shaping them. sounds weird, but it helps them retain their shape!

Tips for lump free gravy

Swedish meatball sauce starts with a roux. That’s just the fancy French word for gently heating some butter and flour before adding the liquids.

The first step to perfect gravy is to make sure you don’t burn the flour and butter for the sauce! It should turn a medium brown, but no more. (I’ve had to re-start the sauce before because I burnt the flour, it can’t be saved.)

For lump-free gravy, you’ll need to whisk very well and fast once you start adding the liquids. As soon as you start pouring the beef broth into the cooked flour and butter mix, it will begin to seize up and thicken.

Do not be alarmed by this, it’s important that you keep going and add all the liquid while whisking! Whisk all the while you’re pouring the liquid into the pan, and then keep whisking until it’s smooth. 

Side dishes

We love eating these either with the best mashed potatoes in the world (really, so easy and so good!) or with simple egg noodles. PS If you have an Instant Pot? Make Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes!

As a veggie side, we often enjoy my easy sautéed green beans or roasted asparagus. Or frozen peas, if I’m in a hurry. A Creamy Cucumber Salad is another favorite, especially when it gets warmer outside!

No matter how you serve them (oh hey, I just wrote a post on all the possible side dishes for any kind of meatballs!), I can guarantee you one thing: They definitely taste better than IKEA’s – well, at least in my opinion they do.

More classic comfort food

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!