Being quarantined doesn’t have to mean giving up your favorite foods.
Ikea shared a recipe for Swedish meatballs and cream sauce so we can all make the popular dish from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The retailer published the recipe on its U.K. Twitter account Monday, sharing the ingredients and steps in an Ikea diagram reminiscent of its furniture assembly instructions.
“Missing your IKEA meatball fix? We’ve created a recipe for you to re-create this delicious dish in the comfort of your own home,” the company wrote along with the diagram.
Although this recipe isn’t the exact version of the one used in Ikea stores around the world, it’s still the perfect alternative for those missing the food from the furniture store.
“Our ‘real’ meatballs and Swedish cream sauce recipe remains a closely guarded secret, known only to a select few. However, in good conscience we couldn’t deprive the nation from missing out on their meatball fix, so we’ve made an almost-as-delicious alternative that can be easily made at home! We hope that it fills a gap until we can meet again. Until then, stay home and stay safe,” Lorena Lourido, country food manager at Ikea U.K. and Ireland, said in a statement to TODAY Food.
Ikea meatballs have been around since 1985 and were developed with the help of the store’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, who was “highly involved in creating the taste and the texture of this classic dish,” an Ikea spokesperson told TODAY Food.
“The IKEA meatballs, served in over 430 Ikea stores globally, are a true Ikea icon, just as known as the BILLY bookshelf or the KLIPPAN sofa and every year more than one billion meatballs are served at IKEA,” the spokesperson said.
The meatballs are usually served hot in the store’s café or available to purchase frozen in the Swedish Food Market.
While the traditional meatball recipe looks tasty, some fans were quick to ask for the vegetarian version of the dish, which Ikea announced last year.
In May 2019, the furniture company said it was working on "the development of a new meatball that looks and tastes like meat but is made from plant based alternative proteins."
This new dish will reportedly begin showing up on Ikea store menus in Europe this August.
“It is a really exciting industry! Looking at the quality of the products that we have been tasting I am looking forward to serving a delicious plant-based meatball made from alternative protein at IKEA. I hope that the many meatball lovers out there will like it as well,” Michael La Cour, managing director at IKEA Food Services AB, said in a press release.
Ikea isn’t the first company to share a popular recipe with people during the current global health crisis.
Disney has been releasing recipes for some of its most popular park treats on the Disney Parks Blog, including a grilled three-cheese sandwich, churro bites, cookie fries and a Dole Whip-inspired frozen pineapple treat.
Here's Ikea's recipe for meatballs:
Ingredients for meatballs
- 500 grams beef mince (about 1 pound ground beef)
- 250 grams pork mince (1/2 pound ground pork)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)
- 100 grams breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 5 tablespoons whole milk
- Generous salt and pepper
Ingredients for cream sauce
- Dash of oil
- 40 grams butter (2 ½ tablespoons butter)
- 40 grams plain flour (1/3 cup flour)
- 150 milliliters vegetable stock (2/3 cup vegetable stock)
- 150 milliliters beef stock (2/3 cup beef stock)
- 150 milliliters thick double cream (2/3 cup double cream or whipping cream)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Preparation
- Meatballs: Combine beef and pork mince and mix with your fingers to break up any lumps. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mix. Add milk and season well with salt and pepper.
- Shape mixture into small, round balls. Place on a clean plate, cover and store in the fridge for two hours (this will help them hold their shape while cooking).
- In a frying pan, heat oil on medium heat. When hot, gently add meatballs and brown on all sides.
- When browned, add to an ovenproof dish and cover. Place in a hot oven (180 degrees Celsius conventional — about 356 degrees Fahrenheit — or 160 degrees Celsius fan, or 320 degrees Fahrenheit) and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Iconic Swedish cream sauce: Melt 40 grams of butter in a pan. Whisk in 40 grams of plain flour and stir for two minutes. Add 150 milliliters of vegetable stock and 150 milliliters of beef stock and continue to stir. Add 150 milliliters double cream, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Bring it to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken.
- When ready to eat, serve with your favorite potatoes — either creamy mash or mini new boiled potatoes. Enjoy!
FAQs
What's the recipe to make IKEA Meatballs at home?
- 500g beef mince.
- 250g pork mince.
- 1 onion finely chopped.
- 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)
- 100g breadcrumbs.
- 1 egg.
- 5 tablespoons of milk.
- salt and pepper to taste.
Czech authorities alerted the discount furniture maker that they had found horsemeat in a sample of meatballs, and Ikea subsequently pulled the product from stores in 14 countries.
What is the sauce for Swedish meatballs made from? ›
The sauce for Swedish Meatballs is a creamy gravy that is made with butter, beef broth/stock, thickened with flour and made creamy with cream. But the most important flavour for the a really good creamy gravy is the pan drippings after searing the meatballs.
What are some facts about IKEA meatballs? ›
Our meatballs were launched in 1985 and are loved by people everywhere. With mashed potatoes, cream sauce and lingonberry jam, they're as Swedish as it gets. Easy to cook and serve – a tasty IKEA icon.
What is the jam they put on IKEA meatballs? ›
It's lingonberry season and the small sour berries that thrive best in cold climates are ready to be picked. Swedes love eating the jam made from lingonberries with meatballs, mashed potatoes and cream sauce.
Does IKEA use horse meat in their meatballs? ›
Swedish furniture giant Ikea has withdrawn some of its meatballs in 14 European countries after horse meat was discovered in the Swedish-made product in the Czech Republic.
What ethnicity is Swedish meatballs? ›
ikea restaurants made them famous all over the world: Köttbullar, or Swedish meatballs. Sweden has now revealed that the recipe for its iconic dish actually came from Turkey. It was brought to the Scandinavian country by King Charles XII, who lived in exile in the Ottoman Empire in the early 18th-century.
What is unique about Swedish meatballs? ›
While both varieties include ingredients such as grated onion and panade (milk-soaked bread) or bread crumbs, plus the usual salt and pepper, Swedish meatballs traditionally use spices like allspice, nutmeg, white pepper, and sometimes ground ginger as flavoring.
What is IKEA meatball gravy made of? ›
Iconic Swedish cream sauce: Melt 40g of butter in a pan. Whisk in 40g of plain flour and stir for 2 mins. Add 300ml of bouillon (or consommé) and continue to stir. Add 150ml double cream, 2 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of (Dijon) mustard.
Why do Swedish meatballs taste different? ›
Swedish Meatballs are a bit different than traditional meatballs if you're used to making them the Italian way or like Kefta which is the Middle Eastern way! Swedish meatballs use a lot more warm spices like allspice. The meatballs are also dressed in a cream-based sauce instead of a tomato-based one.
ANSWER: Usually when meatballs fall apart, it's the binder that is the problem. Most meatball recipes call for using bread crumbs and eggs. But too much bread crumbs make them too loose, and not enough bread crumbs won't help them hold together either.
Why did IKEA stop selling meatballs? ›
Ikea said the meatballs were made by a single Swedish supplier, which it was not naming at present. Ikea said it took the Czech results "showing indications of traces of horse meat" seriously and "immediately issued a sales stop" of the batch in which indications of horsemeat were identified in Czech Republic.
Is IKEA discontinuing meatballs? ›
Ikea stores in U.S., Canada not affected. STOCKHOLM - Swedish furniture giant Ikea became entangled in Europe's widening meat scandal Monday, forced to withdraw meatballs from stores across Europe amid suspicions that they contained horse meat. Stores in the U.S. and Canada were not affected, Ikea said.
Why do IKEA meatballs taste so good? ›
They're loaded with salt (and salt is delicious)
According to Ikea's website, the 12-meatball version of their KÖTTBULLAR plate packs a pretty serious amount of salt into your bloodstream, to the tune of 1,520 milligrams.
Do IKEA Swedish meatballs have horse meat? ›
"Our own checks have shown no traces of horse meat. Now we must of course look into this further," Ikea said in a statement posted on its website. All the meatballs come from the same supplier, Magnusson told The Associated Press, but she says shipments to the U.S. and other countries weren't affected.
Are IKEA Swedish meatballs authentic? ›
They're famous – and one of the brand's most prized assets. But some of the romantic Swedishness of the meatballs, which are served with mash, light gravy and lingonberry jam, has been forever lost. Ikea's iconic meatballs originated in what is now modern day Turkey.
Are IKEA Swedish meatballs healthy? ›
Are Ikea meatballs healthy? The meatballs are low in carbs but high in fat content, so while they're not healthy food, Ikea Swedish meatballs can be part of a healthy eating plan when enjoyed in moderation and as an occasional treat.
Are IKEA meatballs Swedish meatballs? ›
We've been serving food at IKEA stores since the 1960s, but in 1985 Swedish chef Severin Sjöstedt created a meatball that was delicious, affordable and easy to serve, based on the traditional Swedish meatball. After 10 months of tireless testing and tasting, the IKEA meatball was born.
