Köttbullar

Name: Köttbullar
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 4 plates
Cuisine: Swedish
Ingredients: 300 g Beef, minced, not too lean; 200 g Pork, minced; 50 g Breadcrumbs, fine, dried; 100 ml Milk; 1 medium Onion, grated or very finely chopped, softened in a little butter; 1 piece Egg; 0.5 tsp Allspice, ground; 0.5 tsp Black pepper, ground; white pepper is more usual in Sweden; 1.5 tsp Salt; 40 g Butter, for frying; 25 g Butter; 2 tbsp Wheat flour; 300 ml Beef stock; 150 ml Cream; 1 tsp Soy sauce, for colour; Swedes use a dash of kinesisk soja; 800 g Potato, peeled, for mash or boiled whole; 100 ml Milk, warm, for the mash; 30 g Butter, for the mash; 100 g Lingonberry jam

Swedish meatballs: beef and pork, soaked crumb, allspice, a cream gravy and a spoon of lingonberry.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 35 min
Rest: None
Total: 1 hr 5 min
Difficulty: Easy
Spice: No chilli
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Köttbullar are small, soft meatballs of mixed beef and pork, bound with breadcrumbs soaked in milk and seasoned with allspice and white or black pepper. They are browned in butter, then a gravy is built in the same pan from the fond, flour, stock and cream. The plate is finished with mashed or boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam and often pressed cucumber. This version makes about 30 small meatballs. Keep them walnut-sized and do not overwork the mix, or they turn dense. The gravy should be pale brown, glossy and just thick enough to coat a spoon.

What you'll need

19 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 19 ready

4 servings

Meatballs
Gravy
To serve

Ingredients

Servings

Meatballs

Beef, minced, not too lean300 g
Pork, minced200 g
Breadcrumbs, fine, dried50 g
Milk100 ml
Onion, grated or very finely chopped, softened in a little butter1 medium
Egg1
Allspice, ground2½ ml
Black pepper, ground; white pepper is more usual in Sweden2½ ml
Salt7.4 ml
Butter, for frying40 g

Gravy

Butter25 g
Wheat flour30 ml
Beef stock300 ml
Cream150 ml
Soy sauce, for colour; Swedes use a dash of kinesisk soja4.9 ml

To serve

Potato, peeled, for mash or boiled whole800 g
Milk, warm, for the mash100 ml
Butter, for the mash30 g
Lingonberry jam100 g

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 10 minutes until they are a loose paste. Put the potatoes on to boil in salted water.
10 min
Step 2
Mix both meats with the soaked crumb, softened onion, egg, allspice, pepper and salt. Mix only until it comes together. Fry a teaspoon of the mix and taste for salt.
8 min
Tip: Wet hands keep the mix from sticking.
Step 3
Roll into about 30 balls, each a little smaller than a walnut. Chill 10 minutes if the kitchen is warm.
10 min
Step 4
Melt the frying butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Brown the meatballs in two batches, shaking the pan so they roll and colour on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes a batch. Set aside.
16 min
Watch: Crowding the pan steams them grey. Two batches.
Step 5
Lower the heat. Add the gravy butter to the pan, stir in the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the stock a little at a time, scraping up the fond, then the cream and soy sauce. Simmer until it coats a spoon, 5 minutes.
7 min
Step 6
Return the meatballs to the gravy and warm through 3 minutes. Mash the drained potatoes with warm milk, butter and salt.
5 min
Step 7
Serve meatballs and gravy over the mash with a generous spoon of lingonberry jam on the side.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 951 kcal
Protein: 44.2 g
Carbs: 68.4 g
Fat: 54.8 g
Saturated fat: 29.2 g
Fibre: 5.9 g
Sugar: 19.6 g
Sodium: 1201 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Milk
Eggs
Wheat
Soy

Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Lingonberry jam → Cranberry sauce with a squeeze of lemon
Sweeter and softer, but it does the same job of cutting the cream.
Cream → Sour cream stirred in at the end
Sharper gravy, closer to what many Swedish homes do.

Tips

Grating the onion rather than chopping it keeps the meatballs smooth and lets it cook through.
Pressgurka, thin cucumber slices pressed with vinegar, sugar and salt for 30 minutes, is the usual third thing on the plate.
The mix freezes raw. Roll, freeze on a tray, bag them, and fry from frozen with 4 extra minutes.

History & culture

Weekday dinner across Sweden and the dish most Swedes abroad are asked to cook. School canteens serve them with macaroni; grandmothers serve them with potatoes and brown sauce. A furniture chain made them global, but the home version is smaller, softer and better.

Meatballs appear in Swedish cookbooks from the 18th century, when minced meat was a way to stretch a little beef a long way. A much-repeated claim that Charles XII brought the recipe home from Turkey in 1715 rests on thin evidence and was quietly walked back by the Swedish government after it went viral in 2018. Allspice, the cream gravy and the lingonberry are the Swedish signature, whatever the origin.

Traditional

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Köttbullar take?

1 hr 5 min all in — 30 min prep, 35 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Easy.

How spicy is it?

No chilli.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Milk, Eggs, Wheat, Soy. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.

8 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Frying pan, Mixing bowl, Saucepan.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.

How much soy sauce?

1 tsp (for colour; Swedes use a dash of kinesisk soja) of Soy sauce.

What can I use instead?

Lingonberry jam → Cranberry sauce with a squeeze of lemon. Sweeter and softer, but it does the same job of cutting the cream. Cream → Sour cream stirred in at the end. Sharper gravy, closer to what many Swedish homes do.

What should I watch for?

Crowding the pan steams them grey. Two batches.

Any tips from this recipe?

Grating the onion rather than chopping it keeps the meatballs smooth and lets it cook through. Pressgurka, thin cucumber slices pressed with vinegar, sugar and salt for 30 minutes, is the usual third thing on the plate. The mix freezes raw. Roll, freeze on a tray, bag them, and fry from frozen with 4 extra minutes.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.