Barb Hodgens
Barb Hodgens

Barb Hodgens loves to cook with alternative, healthy whole food ingredients, with a focus on gut health. Barb has overcome her own gut health issues through healthy eating. Share your ideas, comments and photos at the end of this post :)

Swedish meatballs

Iconic meatballs made from scratch.

These meatballs are a homemade version of the iconic furniture shopping meatball favourite. It's not strictly traditional in Sweden to serve a creamy sauce with meatballs, however given the rest of the world loves them this way, we’ve recreated them. If you like Swedish meatballs, IKEA style, be prepared to LUV this made-from scratch version.  

Nothing beats mincing your own meat for freshness, flavour and texture. We use a combination of beef and pork in this recipe. The beef gives lots of flavour and pork add a bit of fat which makes them extra tender.

Swedish meatballs

The secret to ultra-soft Swedish meatballs is using fresh bread rather than dry breadcrumbs. We soak the bread in a creamy soup of grated onion, subtle spices, cream and milk before kneading into the ground meat. Once cooked, the onion and bread puffs up creating the softest meatballs you’ll ever know. We sampled a batch made with gluten free bread and they tasted equally divine.

The sauce for Swedish meatballs is a creamy gravy that is made with butter, beef broth and cream, however we think the most important flavouring comes from the pan drippings left over from browning the meatballs. Be sure to leave this in!

Serve Swedish meatballs on their own as an appetiser, as dinner over creamy mashed potatoes, rice or noodles or portion them up in vacuum seal glass containers and have meals covered for days.

Swedish meatballs

Meal prep & freezing Swedish meatballs

Why not double the recipe, Swedish meatballs are an ideal freezer meal for the weeks ahead. After rolling the meatballs transfer to a plate or tray lined with baking paper but make sure they are not touching, or they will freeze together. Freeze for about 2 hours, then transfer to an airtight container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the meatballs to thaw overnight in the fridge, then cook as per recipe instructions.

Swedish meatballs

Swedish meatballs

Swedish meatballs

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Swedish meatballs

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Swedish meatballs