Meat · Recipe · Sweden · Reference page
Köttbullar
köttbullar
Small Swedish meatballs of mixed beef and pork with grated onion, breadcrumbs soaked in milk and a hint of clove and allspice, served with creamy mashed potato, lingonberries stirred with sugar and pressed cucumber. The recipe is from Arla.
- Servings
- 4
- Preparation
- 25 min
- Cooking
- 20 min
- Resting
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 h 15
- Difficulty
- Easy
Equipment
- Coarse grater
- Baking tray; large frying pan
- Potato ricer or masher
- Small plate and a weight (such as a mortar) for the cucumber
- Meat thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
Köttbullar
Potatismos
Rårörda lingon
Pressgurka
Method
Start with the sides. Stir the lingonberries with the sugar until it dissolves. Peel the cucumber roughly, slice thinly, mix with the salt, put on a small plate with something heavy on top and leave for 30 minutes.
Timer · 30 min30:00Pour off the liquid from the cucumber. Mix the vinegar, sugar and water, pour over the cucumber, add parsley or dill and leave for about 30 minutes or until serving.
Heat the oven. Mix the breadcrumbs and milk and leave to swell for 10 minutes.
Timer · 10 min10:00Add the grated onion, mince, egg, clove, allspice, salt and pepper and stir to an even mixture. With wet hands roll about 36 small round meatballs of 16 g each.
Why Grated onion melts into the mix; wet hands stop the mixture sticking and give smooth balls.
Put them on a tray and cook in the oven for 10–15 minutes.
Timer · 12 min12:00Heat the butter and a little rapeseed oil in a frying pan and fry the meatballs until golden all round. They are done at 72–75 °C in the centre.
For the mash, peel and cut the potatoes and boil in lightly salted water until soft, 10–15 minutes. Drain, press or mash, stir in the warmed milk and cream, season with salt and beat until fluffy.
Timer · 13 min13:00Serve the meatballs with the mash, lingonberries and pressed cucumber.
To drink & serve with
Arla serves them with cream sauce (gräddsås), mashed potato, lingonberries and pressed cucumber, or with beetroot salad.
Substitutions
- Breadcrumbs → Oats, crushed cornflakes, mashed boiled potato or nut flour (Arla); oats or potato for gluten-free.
- Lingonberries → Cranberry sauce, the nearest common relative.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the soaking: the meatballs turn out dry and dense.
- Making the balls uneven in size: they cook at different speeds.
- Undercooking: minced meat must reach 72–75 °C in the centre.
Storage & reheating
Cooked meatballs keep 3–4 days in a closed container in the refrigerator and 3–4 months frozen (Arla). The UK FSA advises eating leftovers within 2 days; reheat once, until steaming hot.
Safety
Contains gluten (breadcrumbs), milk (milk, butter, cream) and egg. Minced meat must be cooked through: Arla gives 72–75 °C in the centre.
Allergens
Gluten · Milk · Egg
Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.
Sweden's everyday meatball
Swedish meatballs are small: Arla's basic recipe makes about 36 balls of 16 g from 500 g of mince, and counts 8 to 12 per adult. The mince is blandfärs, mixed beef and pork, bound with breadcrumbs soaked in milk, an egg and coarsely grated onion, and seasoned with a pinch each of clove and allspice.
The plate around them matters as much as the meatballs: creamy potatismos, rårörda lingon (lingonberries stirred raw with sugar) and pressgurka, cucumber salted under a weight and dressed with sweetened spirit vinegar.
Oven first, then the pan
Arla's method cooks the meatballs gently in a low oven for 10 to 15 minutes, so they set and hold their shape, and then browns them in butter and oil. It gives a target that removes the guesswork: 72 to 75 °C in the centre.
