There’s something magical about those tender, flavorful meatballs served at IKEA restaurants that keeps us coming back for more. These Swedish-inspired meatballs have become as iconic as the furniture itself, and now you can recreate that same delicious experience in your own kitchen. This easy copycat recipe delivers the perfect blend of beef and pork with a rich, creamy gravy that tastes just like the original.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The secret to authentic IKEA-style meatballs lies in the combination of ground beef and pork, which creates the perfect texture and flavor balance. Adding mashed potatoes to the meat mixture keeps the meatballs incredibly tender and moist, while the cream-based gravy provides that signature rich finish that makes these meatballs so addictive.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- Russet potatoes – Provide moisture and tenderness to the meatball mixture
- Ground beef – Forms the protein base with rich, savory flavor
- Ground pork – Adds fat content and creates the perfect texture
- Egg – Acts as a binder to hold the meatballs together
- Heavy cream – Contributes to the tender, moist texture
- White onion – Provides sweet, aromatic flavor throughout
- Salt – Enhances all the natural flavors in the mixture
- Ground white pepper – Adds subtle heat without overpowering
- Allspice – OAn ptional spice that adds traditional Swedish warmth
- All-purpose flour – Creates a light coating for browning
- Butter – Used for cooking and adds rich flavor
For the Gravy:
- All-purpose flour – Thickens the gravy to a perfect consistency
- Butter – Creates the roux base for the sauce
- Soy sauce – Adds umami depth and color
- Worcestershire sauce – Provides complex, savory notes
- Water – Thins the gravy to the proper consistency
- Heavy cream – Creates the signature creamy texture
How to Make Ikea Swedish Meatballs
- Place the potatoes in a large pot with enough water to cover them. Cook the potatoes over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain and set aside.
- In a small skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of butter and chopped onion. Cook until tender, but do not let the onion brown.
- Combine ground beef, pork, 1 egg, heavy cream, cooked onion, salt, and white pepper in a large bowl.
- Add 3/4 cup cooked potato to the bowl. Use a mixer to combine the potato with the mixture. Beat until smooth.
- Form small balls out of the meat mixture. Drop the meatballs into flour and roll gently in the flour.
- Cook the meatballs in a large skillet with a tablespoon of butter. Turn the meatballs every few minutes while cooking so they cook evenly.
- Cook the meatballs for 15 minutes or until done. The meatballs will be browned on all sides when they are finished.
- To make the gravy, you may need to add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the skillet.
- Cook the roux for about two minutes, then add the water and the heavy cream, stirring continually over medium heat. The sauce will thicken. Add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Cook and heat through.
- You can make mashed potatoes out of the remaining potatoes not used in the meatballs.
- Place warm cooked potatoes in a bowl. Add butter and cream. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Storage & reheating instructions
- Refrigerator Storage: Store in airtight containers for up to 3 days. The flavors improve overnight.
- Reheating Method: To restore moisture, gently heat in a skillet over low heat with a splash of cream or broth. Alternatively, microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between.
- Freezing: Meatballs freeze well for up to 3 months. For best results, freeze without gravy. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Love meatballs? Try these recipes
More Ground Beef Recipes
- Hamburger Hash
- Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole
- Chili Relleno Casserole with Ground Beef
- Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff
- Easy Southern Meatloaf Recipe
- Sloppy Joe Recipe
Be sure to check out my easy beef recipes and popular restaurant copycat recipes.
IKEA Swedish Meatballs – Easy Copycat Recipe
Recreate IKEA's famous Swedish meatballs at home! Tender beef and pork meatballs with creamy gravy, just like the restaurant serves.
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Servings: 8
Calories: 650kcal
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chopped white onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice optional
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 ounces butter divided use
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Mashed potatoes
- remaining potatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Place potatoes into a large pot, add enough water to cover the potatoes. cook potatoes over medium-high heat. Cook potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are tender. Drain, and set aside.
- In a small skillet heat together 2 teaspoons of butter and chopped white onion. Cook until tender, but do not let the onion brown. In a large bowl combine ground beef, ground pork, 1 egg, heavy cream, cooked onion, salt, and white pepper. Add 3/4 cup cooked potato to the bowl. Use a mixer to combine the mixture. Blend until the meatball mixture is smooth.
- Form small balls out of the meat mixture. Drop the meatballs into flour and roll gently in the flour. Cook the meatballs in a large skillet with a tablespoon of butter. Turn the meatballs every few minutes while cooking so they cook evenly. Cook the meatballs for 15 minutes or until done. The meatballs will be browned on all sides when they are finished.
- To make the gravy, you may need to add another tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the skillet. Cook the roux for about two minutes. Add the water and the heavy cream to the roux stir continually over medium heat. The sauce will thicken. Add soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce to the gravy. Cook and heat through.
Remaining potatoes
- For the remaining potatoes not used in the meatballs, you can make mashed potatoes out of them. Place warm cooked potatoes into a bowl, and add in butter and cream, and mix with a blender until smooth. You will want to adjust for seasoning.
Nutrition
Calories: 650kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 170mg | Sodium: 598mg | Potassium: 948mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 800IU | Vitamin C: 9.2mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 3.3mg
hi, thank you for the recipe
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
really like that , then why ikea shows different proportions ?
here on their site they show
https://www.ikea.com/pl/pl/local-apps/food/#/salesareas/restaurant/8e2cdfec-faa8-46d2-b1f6-cd8b8651a016
beef 51%,
pork 25%
They may have modified their version since I wrote the recipe. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Holy dang. These were delicious! I was probably a little heavy-handed with the seasonings (just over what was called for), but I followed the recipe other than using chicken broth in place of water. This turned out so well! I paired it with air fryer Brussels sprouts, garlic-salted the mashed potatoes, and made a berry sauce from cranberry jelly and three-berry jam. Now I don’t have to be sad about skipping the café at IKEA today! Thank you so much.
Can you Crock Pot this recipe?
You could keep the meatballs warm in the crockpot with the gravy.
I love me some meatballs! Now I don’t have to fight that gigantic parking lot full of people.
I brought these to my family reunion, they were tasty.
I made these, and I thought they were better than they were at Ikea.
The food looks really good, I like this dish, Thanks for the blog you shared the way, I can make it myself. Thank you.
Do you have a video on this?
I have not made a video on this yet.
My family gobbled these right up. So good.
We had these for dinner last night, they were great, none were left over.
These sound perfect! And now I don’t have to go through the maze at IKEA to get my meatbsll fix!!!
Recipes Ikea homemade meatballs that you give are great. I will try to cook for my family.
I never knew how to make good meatballs until I found this recipe. I normally make mine with just ground beef and they still taste great. I’ve used the combination of pork, beef and veal and they are equally good.
What do I do with the rest of the potatoes?
You can make mashed potatoes out of them.
I have never seen a meatball recipe that I thought would be great. I make my own Swedish, Italian, etc. a certain way, and that’s how we like them. I have always been disappointed in restaurant meatballs. But this….this one is an exception. Absolutely delicious. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Stephanie.
Love the recipe, I changed a couple items though. I did use allspice, ( wouldn’t be a Swedish meatball if I didn’t use it). omitted the flour and used coconut flour for rolling them in and to replace the potato as coconut flour does swell up when added to a liquid. for the cream gravy, I used Thick-It-Up. delicious as an Atkins meal…
I am glad to hear you got an Atkins meal out of this recipe!
You are adorable. How do you do this????? Well, now I’m inspired to invite friends and dine in on this wonderful repast!!!!!
I hope you and your friends have a lovely evening.