Name: Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 3 slices fresh white bread (crusts removed and roughly torn); ½ cup beef or chicken broth; ½ cup milk or heavy cream; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 onion (finely diced); 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (plus more for garnish if desired); 2 cloves garlic (minced); 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons kosher salt ((Diamond Crystal brand, for Morton’s use 1 teaspoon)); ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; ¼ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon dry mustard powder; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 pound ground beef; 1 pound ground pork; 2 large eggs; ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; 2 cups beef broth; ¼ cup heavy cream; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; Lingonberry preserves (for serving); Chopped parsley (for serving)

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Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs) may have have gained universal popularity from IKEA, but they're even more delicious homemade! Tender, melt-in-your-mouth meatballs are draped in a simple gravy and served with classically Swedish lingonberry preserves for a truly comforting meal.

Swedish meatballs in creamy gravy topped with chopped parsley in a stainless steel skillet.

(This post was originally published in February 2014, but was updated with a new recipe, new photos, and additional content in 2023).

Swedish meatballs are typically made with a combination of ground beef and pork bound together with torn white bread or fresh breadcrumbs. They're best known served in creamy gravy, however in Sweden the gravy is sometimes offered on the side or not at all.

Köttbullar are best complemented with a starchy side, such as mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, or egg noodles as well as lingonberries (a bit of tart/sweet to cut the richness). They're also often paired with thinly sliced pickled cucumbers and/or red cabbage.

Five Swedish meatballs in gravy served with mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserves on a white plate.

Although Swedish meatballs are typically fried in butter in a skillet, with that same skillet later used for the unctuous gravy, I prefer to bake them. Baking köttbullar may not be the most traditional method, but it's easier, less messy, cooks evenly, and requires less hands-on time.

The results are still absolutely mouthwatering. And guess what? Even though the gravy is made in a clean skillet (as opposed to one used to cook the meatballs) it's flavorful and absolutely delicious! You won't know the difference.

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for Swedish meatballs on a light grey background.

Ground Meat: Use a combination of ground beef and ground pork to make these Swedish meatballs. I use equal parts of each, but you could use more beef than pork if you prefer. Although it's not as traditional, if you don't eat pork, you could use all ground beef. You can also substitute the ground pork with ground veal if you'd like.
Bread: You can use white sandwich bread or white bakery-style bread for this recipe. Remove the crusts and roughly tear the bread into small pieces. Ensure the bread is fresh and soft rather than dry and stale. A stale bread will not break up into the mixture as easily as the fresh bread.
Heavy Cream: You'll need some heavy cream for the gravy. In the meatballs themselves, you can use either milk or heavy cream. I use heavy cream since I already need it for the gravy and it yields a richer taste.
Broth: You can use store-bought or homemade beef broth for the gravy. I aim for low-sodium whenever possible. You can use some of this beef broth in the Swedish meatballs themselves, or even substitute chicken broth if you don't have enough beef broth for both.
Spices: Köttbullar feature warm spices that may not be as typical in some other types of meatballs. Ground allspice and ground nutmeg are two of the most common spices in Swedish meatballs. I also include some ground mustard in this recipe, while some other recipes include ground ginger.
Lingonberry Preserves: Lingonberry preserves are a specialty of Sweden and may not be available in many supermarkets in the United States (I got mine at Shaw’s). Lingonberries have a unique combination of sweet and tart flavors, similar to cranberries. Serving lingonberries with Swedish meatballs reminds me a lot of the concept of serving cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving turkey (and don’t forget that gravy!). If you can't find lingonberries, try red currant or raspberry jam as an alternative accompaniment for your köttbullar.

Closeup of Swedish meatballs in gravy topped with chopped parsley.

How to make it

Place torn white bread, broth, and milk in a large mixing bowl together and let soak for 5 minutes.

Torn white break soaking in a mixture of cream and broth.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Next, add chopped parsley, garlic, flour, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and mustard powder and stir to incorporate.

A mixture of sautéed onions, parsley, and spices in a metal skillet.

Pour the contents of the pan into the bowl with the soaking bread mixture and stir until well mixed. Set aside to cool completely.

A light tan lumpy mixture in a metal mixing bowl.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Drizzle olive oil into a large aluminum foil-lined baking dish or pan and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. I used a 9×13-inch rectangular pan and a small 5-inch square pan for a few extra meatballs that didn't fit. Set aside.

Combine the cooled onion and bread mixture with ground beef, ground pork, salt, pepper, and eggs.

Ground pork, ground beef, and raw eggs in a metal mixing bowl.

Mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated. The mixture will be wet.

A light pink ground meat mixture in a metal mixing bowl.

Roll the mixture into round, golf ball-size meatballs (about 1 ½ inches in diameter), making sure to pack the meat firmly. You may use a medium cookie scoop to portion them. Wet your hands with water as needed so the meat doesn’t stick.

Scooping a ground meat mixture with a cookie scoop to make meatballs.

Place the meatballs in the prepared pan. They should be touching each other in snug, even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. I arranged them in rows of 5 by 7 in my rectangular pan and put 4 extra meatballs in a small square pan.

Uncooked meatballs tightly arranged into a grid pattern in a rectangular baking pan.

Four uncooked meatballs in a small square foil-lined pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. An instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 165°F.

Meatballs baked in a foil-lined rectangular pan.

Meatballs arranged in a single layer on a black plastic cafeteria tray.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter for the gravy (PHOTO 1). Whisk in flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes (PHOTO 2).

Making a roux with melted butter and flour in a metal skillet.

Then gradually whisk in beef broth until smooth, followed by heavy cream.

Creamy gravy bubbling away in a stainless steel skillet.

Season with salt and pepper and continue to simmer for a couple more minutes until thickened.

Creamy gravy in a stainless steel skillet.

Remove the cooked meatballs from the pan and toss to coat with the gravy. Serve the Swedish meatballs (Köttbullar) with egg noodles or mashed potatoes, topped with chopped parsley and with lingonberry preserves on the side, if desired.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

Five Swedish meatballs in gravy on a white plate with mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserves.

Expert tips

Reheat leftover Swedish meatballs (in their gravy) in a covered skillet over medium to medium-low heat, stirring regularly so they heat evenly and don’t stick. Thin out the gravy with a splash or two of beef broth if needed.

The measurements in this recipe are very easy to halve if you want to make only 4 servings. You can also make the full meatball recipe and freeze half the meatballs and only make half the gravy to serve 4 and then thaw the remaining meatballs and make more gravy another day for another meal. Freeze meatballs (without the gravy) in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.

You can certainly bake these köttbullar on a foil-lined baking sheet if you prefer. This technique of baking them in snug rows instead of spread out is inspired by The Meatball Shop in NYC. Baking them this way helps keep the Swedish meatballs moist and less likely to dry out. I think the results are great (though they may not brown as much), but you can bake them however you like.

Sometimes when cooking meatballs (or other meats), a thick whitish substance coagulates around the meat. This is albumin, which is a harmless protein in meat which solidifies as it cooks. It happens more with meat that has previously been frozen, but it could happen with fresh meat too. If this happens to you, just wipe it off your meatballs with paper towels before adding them to the gravy.

Swedish meatballs with creamy gravy and topped with chopped parsley in a wide metal skillet.

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Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs)

Ingredient notes

How to make it

Expert tips

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