Köttbullar are Sweden's national dish: small beef-and-pork meatballs in cream sauce with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber. Stockholm cooks them everywhere, from IKEA to Frantzén.

The Swedish meatball traces to King Charles XII's exile in the Ottoman Empire (1709-1714), where he ate Turkish köfte and brought the spiced-minced-meat tradition back to Sweden in 1715. The dish was codified in Cajsa Warg's 1755 Stockholm cookbook and standardised in mid-20th-century home economics. Today every Stockholm husmanskost room keeps its own version: Pelikan's beef cream sauce, Meatballs for the People's rotating proteins, Tennstopet's classic 1907 recipe. The IKEA meatball at 85 kronor at Kungens Kurva is the country's cheapest sit-down meal.

Where to eat Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) in Stockholm

5 editor picks for Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) in Stockholm, ranked by editorial score. All Stockholm signature dishes · Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) across every city.

Make it at home

Serves 41 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 500g beef and pork mince (50/50 mix)
  • 1 small onion, finely grated
  • 100ml whole milk
  • 50g panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • Butter and oil for frying
  • For the cream sauce: 25g butter
  • 25g flour
  • 300ml beef stock
  • 100ml double cream
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • To serve: 800g floury potatoes for mash, lingonberry jam, pickled cucumber

Method

  1. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 minutes. Mix the mince with the soaked crumbs, grated onion, egg, salt, white pepper and allspice. Knead 2 minutes until tacky. Rest 10 minutes.
  2. Wet your hands and roll walnut-sized balls, about 25g each. You should get 30-35 meatballs.
  3. Heat butter and oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry the meatballs in batches, turning often, for 6-8 minutes until brown all over and cooked through. Move to a plate.
  4. For the sauce, melt the butter in the same pan, whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. Add the stock gradually, whisking. Stir in the cream and soy sauce. Simmer 3 minutes until thickened.
  5. Return the meatballs to the sauce to coat. Serve with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber slices.

Editor tip. The grated raw onion is the key for moisture; do not sauté first. The lingonberry jam is bought, not made.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg.