I don't shop at IKEA often, but we occasionally pop in for candles or kitchenware or their Swedish meatballs. Since 2021, I haven't found the sauce for the meatballs. You can purchase the frozen meatballs (and now plant-based ones), but IKEA staff tells me that the sauce is out and won't be in for a few months - and the few months explanation has been given to me several times since the COVID pandemic.
So I searched the internet (I haven't located the Fannie Farmer cookbook that was my Mom's and am hoping I didn't get rid of it one day in the 1980s after she died.) We had Swedish meatballs regularly and I loved them. Fannie's recipe (that I found in thevoluptuoustable.blogspot.com). apparently needed only broth and cream in the simmer stage. The spice was in the meatball, which is probably true of the IKEA meatballs. However, what's in their sauce? The Real IKEA Swedish Meatballs recipe from AFamilyFeast.com has worked for us with an adjustment or two. I make a half recipe for the two of us with half a bag of IKEA meatballs - with leftovers.
- 1 c beef broth (or 1 T of Better Than Bouillon or an envelope of concentrate equal to 1 cup broth, adding hot water)
- 1 c vegetable broth (or 1 T of Better Than Bouillon or an envelope of concentrate equal to 1 cup broth, adding hot water)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp soy sauce or Aminos
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 T. butter
- 4 T. Wondra or regular flour
Whisk together the broths, cream, soy sauce and mustard. Add pepper, but make sure you whisk immediately before adding to the roux.
Melt the butter in olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add in the broth mixture and cook until thickened. Cover defrosted meatballs with sauce and heat. Alternatively, bake the defrosted meatballs for 10 minutes in a hot oven to crisp.
