Homemade Swedish Meatballs swimming in sour cream gravy, made with Dijon mustard and dried cranberries, all served with mashed potato and tenderstem broccoli! An easy filling and hearty dinner that is simply perfect for a cold night in!
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So, apparently, IKEA Swedish Meatballs are famous! How have I lived over thirty years of my life not realising that – I am not sure? We have only been to Ikea a handful of times, but every time we went, Seb was desperate to have some of their meatballs. Me, on the other hand, I always go for their Almond Cake.
Whilst I did like the Ikea meatballs when I got a little taste from Seb’s plate, I have to admit that I do our own recipe a lot more. Creamy, with a hint of Dijon mustard and sweetness of the cranberries, this dish has everything I like in my comfort food. Unlike traditional meatballs, ours are served without lingonberry sauce, but we make up for it by introducing some cranberries into our easy Swedish meatball sauce.

What Makes a Great Meatball?
We like our meatballs easy and unpretentious. Whilst most recipes call for a couple of different meat mince, we decided to stick to pork mince only. It will come as no surprise that for the best, most flavoursome meatballs you should avoid lean mince. Pork is perfect, as it has a higher fat content (use mince with at least 15% fat).
The right kind of breadcrumbs should also be used to avoid stodgy tough meatballs. We prefer using freshly made sourdough breadcrumbs. Simply cut off the crust of your stale sourdough and pop it into a blender. But if you’re using shop-bought dried breadcrumbs, don’t be heavy-handed. Only add enough to help you bind the meat.
And don’t forget to add flavour to your meatballs (and seasoning!). We flavoured ours with dill and allspice.
How We Make our Version of Easy Swedish Meatballs in Sour Cream and Cranberry Sauce?
In a large bowl, mix the pork mince, breadcrumbs, allspice and a teaspoon of dill. Season with salt and pepper and mix well (ideally, using your hands). Shape 18 small meatballs. We like to make small meatballs so that there’s more total surface area to be covered with the sour cream sauce.
Add a tablespoon of oil to a large non-stick frying pan. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook, shuffling them around the pan so they brown evenly on all sides, for about 5 minutes. They will finish cooking in the sauce later. Take the meatballs out of the pan into a bowl and cover to keep warm.

To the emptied frying pan, add a tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add a tablespoon of plain flour and stir to combine into a paste (roux).
Pour in the stock and stir well until no lumps are present. Simmer on low heat for 3 minutes until thickened.
Add the cranberries and dijon mustard and stir again. Finally add the meatballs, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes on low heat, until cooked through.
Once the meatballs are cooked, stir in the sour cream and a teaspoon of dill.
And here you have it – Easy one-pan Swedish Meatballs with sour cream sauce. What are you going to serve them with?
What to Serve with Swedish Meatballs?
If you are wondering what goes well with our Easy Meatballs, we have some suggestions for you. We personally like to keep it Ikea-style, with a generous portion of creamy potato mash! Meatballs and gravy with mashed potato are a match made in heaven – the potatoes soak up some of the flavoursome cream sauce and add a lovely soft texture to the dish!
As for nutritious vegetables, we love some simple steamed (or boiled) tenderstem broccoli or sauteed spinach with it!

Other Easy Comfort Food Recipes
For other comfort food perfect for a cold evening at home, have a look at our recipes below:
- Vegetable Lasagne with Courgettes & Aubergine
- Double Cooked Pork Dumplings with Cheese & Creme Fraiche Blanket
- Poutine with Chicken and Garlicky Greens

Easy Swedish Meatballs with Sour Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 350 g pork mince
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 40 g breadcrumbs ideally, freshly made
- 1 tablespoon dill fresh or dried
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon plain flour
- 250 ml stock hot
- 40 g dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 heaped tbsp sour cream
- 150 g tenderstem broccoli
- 800 g potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
- 150 ml milk
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a pot of salted boiling water and cook for 15-20 min until tender.
- In a large bowl, mix the pork mince, breadcrumbs, allspice and half of dill. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Shape 15 small meatballs.
- Add a tablespoon of oil to a non-stick frying pan. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook, shuffling them around the pan so they brown evenly on all sides, about 5 minutes. They will finish cooking in the sauce later. Take the meatballs out of the pan and keep warm.
- To the emptied meatball pan, add a tablespoon of butter. Once melted, add a tablespoon of plain flour and stir to combine into a paste (roux).
- Pour in the stock and stir well until no lumps are present. Simmer on low heat for 3 minutes until thickened.
- Add the cranberries and dijon mustard and stir again. Finally add the meatballs, cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes on low heat, until cooked through.
- In the meantime, place your tenderstem broccoli in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and keep warm.
- Drain the potatoes, add a tablespoon of butter and milk and mash to a smooth puree.
- Once the meatballs are cooked, stir in the sour cream and the remaining dill.
- Serve the meatballs with the mash and tenderstem broccoli.
Nutrition

Liz
These meatballs turned out so flavorful and moist. The cream sauce was so rich and delicious! Even my picky toddlers asked for more! We are definitely making this again soon!
Ieva
Liz, that’s so good to hear! Love it that your picky toddlers liked these meatballs! 🙂
Claudia Lamascolo
These were delicious and great leftover reheated a childhood favorite and will make this again
Ieva
Thanks, Claudia! Glad you you liked them 🙂
Clare
I loved these They were so tasty and made a great change from tomato sauce /beef we normally do . Loved tge addition of cranberries. Will definately cook this dish again. Thanks for another great recipe Ieva!
Ieva
💗
peter
You’re right, they do taste better than Ikea meatballs! The sour cream in the sauce made it really creamy. Am definitely adding this to our dinner rotation!
Ieva
Thanks, Peter, for the lovely feedback 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them!
Mairead
I love the sour cream sauce for this dish, and these meatballs are perfect served with mashed potatoes.
Ieva
Thanks! Mashed potatoes are definitely our favourite sidekick to meatballs! 🙂
Dijana
Amazing meatballs! So delicious and rich in taste!
Ieva
Thanks, Dijana! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
This meatball recipe is so delicious. Easy to make and the creamy sauce is perfect. Pure comfort food!
Ieva
Thanks, Amanda! 💗
Jovita
It is my favorite Swedish meatball recipe. This came out so good! My family has been begging for me to make swedish meatballs again, they love this recipe!
Ieva
It’s the best complement when readers want to come back to the same recipe again! Thanks so much for giving it a go! 💗
Jacqueline
Ikea eat your heart out! These look so good!
kushigalu
fantastic combo here. those meatballs look amazing, and I am drooling over the sauce. So delicious.