Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
This is köttbullar the way Sweden makes it. Sweden's own tourism board calls it about as close to a national dish as the country has, and the word shows up in a Swedish cookbook as far back as 1755.
They're small, about the size of a walnut, and soft. The sauce is made in the same pan, from everything the meatballs leave behind, and the jam goes right on the plate. Rich, sweet, sour and salty, all on one fork.
🇸🇪 The original
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
🇺🇸 The American version
The American party version is usually bigger, baked, and drowned in a gravy made from canned cream of mushroom soup, often over egg noodles.
Why it works
The soak
Breadcrumbs swell in the cream and sit between the meat fibres, so the meatballs can't squeeze tight.
The pan
Everything stuck to the bottom of the pan is the flavor of the sauce. Jam in the sauce is not a mistake.
Watch it made
Step by step
- Step 1
Stir the breadcrumbs, cream, stock and egg together in a bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Soften the onion in a little butter until it's clear, not brown, then add it to the bowl.
- Step 3
Add the meat, salt and pepper and mix gently, just until it comes together. Overmix it and the meatballs turn dense.
- Step 4
Fry one tiny test piece and taste it. It's the only way to check the salt before you roll about forty.
- Step 5
With wet hands, roll balls about 1 tablespoon each, around the size of a walnut.
- Step 6
Brown them in butter over medium heat, shaking the pan so they roll and color on every side, until cooked through. Lift them out and don't wash the pan.
- Step 7
Whisk the cream with the cornstarch, pour it into the pan, then add the stock and soy sauce. Scrape up the brown bits and simmer a few minutes until it coats a spoon. Season with salt, pepper and the lingonberry jam.
- Step 8
Put the meatballs back in to warm through. Serve with mashed potatoes, more jam and a little parsley.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Serves 4 · about 40 meatballs · 45 min total
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground meat, half pork and half beef
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 3 1/2 tbsp light cream
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp concentrated beef stock
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped very fine
- 2 tbsp butter, plus more for frying
- About 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp lingonberry jam
- Salt and pepper
To serve
- Mashed potatoes
- More lingonberry jam
- Chopped parsley
- Pressgurka (quick pickled cucumber), optional
Method
- Stir the breadcrumbs, cream, stock and egg together in a bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Soften the onion in a little butter until it's clear, not brown, then add it to the bowl.
- Add the meat, salt and pepper and mix gently, just until it comes together. Overmix it and the meatballs turn dense.
- Fry one tiny test piece and taste it. It's the only way to check the salt before you roll about forty.
- With wet hands, roll balls about 1 tablespoon each, around the size of a walnut.
- Brown them in butter over medium heat, shaking the pan so they roll and color on every side, until cooked through. Lift them out and don't wash the pan.
- Whisk the cream with the cornstarch, pour it into the pan, then add the stock and soy sauce. Scrape up the brown bits and simmer a few minutes until it coats a spoon. Season with salt, pepper and the lingonberry jam.
- Put the meatballs back in to warm through. Serve with mashed potatoes, more jam and a little parsley.
Adapted from Visit Sweden's traditional recipe. Visit Sweden. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Pressgurka: salt thin cucumber slices, then soak 20 minutes in 1 part vinegar, 2 parts sugar, 3 parts water.
- No lingonberry jam? Cranberry sauce is the closest swap.
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