About this Dish
Sweden's most internationally famous dish — small pork and beef meatballs served in a rich cream sauce with lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber. Made famous globally by IKEA but the homemade version is incomparably better. The lingonberry jam is not optional — its tartness cuts through the rich cream sauce and transforms the dish.
IngredientsServes 4
🥩Ground beef, 300g
🐷Ground pork, 200g
🧅Yellow onion, 1 small, finely grated
🍞Breadcrumbs, 3 tbsp soaked in 3 tbsp milk
🥚Egg, 1 large
🧈Butter, 3 tbsp
🥛Heavy cream, 250ml
🍖Beef stock, 200ml
🫐Lingonberry jam, to serve (4 tbsp)
🥒Pickled cucumber slices, to serve
Method
1
Combine the ground beef, ground pork, grated onion, soaked breadcrumbs, egg, a generous pinch of allspice, salt, and white pepper in a bowl. Mix well with your hands until smooth, then refrigerate for 15 minutes — this helps the meatballs hold their shape.2
With wet hands, roll the mixture into small balls about the size of a large marble, roughly 3cm across. Aim for consistency in size so they cook evenly — you should get around 25-30 meatballs.3
Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs in batches, turning them frequently so they brown all over, about 6-8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.4
Pour off most of the fat from the pan, leaving behind the browned bits. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of butter and whisk in 1 tbsp of plain flour, cooking for 1 minute to form a paste.5
Gradually pour in the beef stock while whisking, then add the heavy cream. Simmer the sauce for 3-4 minutes until thickened, season with salt, white pepper, and a splash of soy sauce for depth.6
Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer gently in the cream sauce for another 5 minutes until cooked through and glossy. Serve immediately over buttered egg noodles or mashed potato, with lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber on the side — don't skip either.7
Serve immediately with creamy mashed potato or boiled potatoes, a generous spoonful of lingonberry jam on the side, and pickled cucumber slices. The jam is not a garnish — stir it through bites with the cream sauce for the full Swedish experience.User Reviews
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