Swedish Meatballs with Dill Sauce

IKEA-inspired Swedish meatballs are as delicious as they are easy to make from scratch at home. Together with a classic dill gravy that goes oh so well with them!

Whenever I’ve served this dish to my friends and family, they’ve always mentioned it reminds them of the famous IKEA food hall meatballs and sauce. It was a bit surprising to me as I’ve always thought this recipe to be traditionally Polish.

My Mum used to make it for our family and we even had it served at our school diner for lunch sometimes. Having tried the IKEA version, I must admit it does come close! Perhaps given the fact Sweden is one of Poland’s neighbours and the Baltic states cuisines tend to mingle a bit.

It is certainly a part of my fabric, that’s why I’ve included the Swedish meatballs recipe it in my cookbook. It’s one of the most popular and most cooked recipes by the readers!

RELATED: 22+ Quick Meals with Mince

Whilst I like to use beef or veal for the meatballs, you can use a mixture or pork and veal. Alternatively, try them with a vegan plant-based mince, there are many options popping up on the market.

Serve the IKEA-inspired meatballs with a leafy salad or steamed veggies for an easy mid-week dinner. If you have children, they might be happy to help with shaping the mince mixture into meatballs. It can be a great little pre-dinner family bonding exercise.

They are a little tender to handle when frying. This is because they don’t contain egg or bread soaked in water to bind them, so be gentle when turning them. Alternatively, you could add 1 egg and 2 slices of bread soaked in 1/2 cup of water to the mixture.

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3.06 from 36 votes

Swedish Meatballs with Dill Sauce

These IKEA-inspired meatballs can be made using beef, pork or veal mince, and for a vegetarian version you could try making it with a range of plant-based "mince" substitutes available nowadays. They are a little tender to handle when frying because they don't contain egg or bread soaked in water to bind them, so be gentle when turning them. Alternatively, you could add 1 egg and 2 slices of bread soaked in 1/2 cup of water to the mixture.For a more robust Scandinavian flavour, add 1 tablespoon horseradish.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

Beef Meatballs:

• 500 g beef or veal mince (see note above)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 1/2 small onion diced finely
• 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive, coconut or macadamia oil

Creamy Dill Gravy:

• 100 g button mushrooms sliced finely
• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1/2 cup cream or lactose-free cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 3 tablespoons chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons filtered water
• 1.5 tablespoons arrowroot tapioca flour

Buckwheat:

• 1 cup raw buckwheat or activated buckwheat (buckinis)
• 1.5 cups water

Instructions

• Place beef, salt, onion, parsley and pepper in a large bowl. Using your hands, knead the mixture until well combined. Divide into 20 bite-sized meatballs.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan set over medium–high heat. Add meatballs and fry for 2 minutes on one side before reducing the heat to medium and turning meatballs to brown on the other side.
• Add mushrooms and cook for a further minute, before adding stock, cream, pepper and salt.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Mix water with arrowroot and stir through the sauce to thicken. Turn off heat and stir through dill.
• Meanwhile, place buckwheat in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10–15 minutes, or until buckwheat is soft but not mushy. Turn off heat and drain any excess water.
• To serve, divide buckwheat between serving bowls and top with meatballs and sauce.

Notes

Serve with a side of lettuce greens drizzled with a simple olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing, steamed veggies or pickles.

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