🍖 Swedish Meatballs
Swedish meatballs, köttbullar, are small, tender balls of minced beef and pork, pan-fried until browned and served in a smooth cream sauce. The classic plate comes with boiled or mashed potatoes and a spoonful of tart lingonberry jam, whose sweetness and acidity cut through the rich gravy. They are a staple of Swedish home cooking and holiday tables.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g minced beef
- 250 g minced pork
- 1 egg
- 30 g breadcrumbs
- 1 small onion, grated
- 1 tbsp oil
- 200 ml cream
- 200 ml beef stock
- 600 g potatoes
- 4 tbsp lingonberry jam
Method
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender.
- Mix beef, pork, egg, breadcrumbs, grated onion, salt and pepper; roll into small balls.
- Fry the meatballs in oil over medium heat until browned and cooked through, then set aside.
- Pour stock and cream into the pan, simmer until slightly thickened and return the meatballs.
- Serve with potatoes and lingonberry jam.
How to make it lighter
- Use lean minced beef or replace the pork with more lean beef to cut fat.
- Swap part of the cream for stock to make a lighter sauce.
- Fill half the plate with steamed vegetables or salad and keep the potatoes to a few pieces.
History
Meatballs became common in Swedish kitchens in the 18th and 19th centuries, as meat grinders made minced meat easier to prepare at home. A popular story credits King Charles XII with bringing the idea back from the Ottoman Empire, though historians treat this as a legend. Today köttbullar are eaten year-round and appear on the Christmas smörgåsbord.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →