Almost mum’s Swedish meatballs

Allow me to explain the name of this recipe. I call them my ‘Almost mum’s Swedish meatballs’, because no matter how much I try, they never taste as good as my mum’s. Is the secret ingredient love? Perhaps.

Four baked meatballs piled up on a blue plate with a pot of lingonberry jam next to it.
Plated Swedish meatballs

When I visit my parents, I will always ask her to make them. There’s nothing like my mum’s meatballs to make me feel at home.

Of course no matter how hard I try, mine will never be as good as hers. So, rather than keep banging my head against the frying pan, I have taken my mum’s recipe and made it my own.

Ingredients for traditional Swedish meatballs lined up; mincemeat on a black plate, an egg cracked in a bowl, breadcrumbs, two cloves of garlic, onions cut into smaller pieces, a cup of milk
Ingredients to make traditional Swedish meatballs

In my version, I have added garlic and I am working on several further variations of this recipe too. So stay tuned and you might find something that inspires you. For big batch cooking for the freezer, I have opted to cook my Swedish meatballs in the oven rather than in a frying pan. This will allow me to cook more meatballs at the same time in the same batch. Once frozen I take out as many as I need, give them a quick turn in the frying pan to give them a golden brown coating. Cooking the meatballs in the oven, will help them keeping a rounder shape, without having to use too many additives.

Sixteen uncooked meatballs lined up on a cooking sheet on a red silicone baking sheet. Some are plain and some are with added olives, feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes.
Uncooked meatballs ready for oven

Freezable

I freeze the meatballs flat, straight on a cookie sheet, and once frozen I put them in bags or an airtight container. This will stop them from freezing together in one big lump. That way I can defrost, just as many as I need.

You could also freeze the meatballs raw, using the same procedure as above. However, it will take longer to cook them from frozen, rather than giving them a quick stir in a frying pan.

Variation

If you want to try another variation, there is always my Fragrant Moroccan meatballs I use to make my Spicy Moroccan Shakshuka. Or why not try my Mediterranean meatballs, with black olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese.

Almost mum’s Swedish meatballs

Almost but never quite the same, mum's Swedish meatballs
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Swedish
Keyword: minced meat
Servings: 4 portions

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 200 ml milk
  • 40 g bread crumbs
  • 500 g mince meat
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp white pepper

Instructions

  • Take mince meat out of the fridge and let come close to room temperature.
  • Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
  • Mix onion, garlic, milk and breadcrumbs in a bowl and let sit for at least 5 minutes.
  • Once the mixture has come together in to a sludge add the mince, egg, salt and pepper.
  • Stir it all together. I will do it using my hands but feel free to use a spoon, just make sure that everything comes together in a smooth batter.
  • Wet your hands with cold water and roll the mince batter into round meatballs. Place on a cooking tray, space apart.
  • Oven cook for 10 mins in the middle of the oven 180 degrees C fan (360F).
  • If using a frying pan, add some butter in the bottom of the pan and fry the meatballs on all sides until golden in colour.

Notes

At home we would use a mixture of beef and pork, but I have tried this recipe with everything from beef to pork to turkey and chicken.
If you plan to big batch meatballs, the oven is your friend.
They are freezer friendly and fry up on the day you need them.
When freezing, if you have the space in your freezer, freeze them flat before putting them into bags or other containers, this will make it easier to take out just a few for a quick lunch or dinner.