"IKEA" Swedish Meatballs Meal Prep

Assembly tools not included

First post kinda nervy!! If you know me, you know that I’ve kinda been obsessed with meal-prepping for a while now. I’ve decided that it’s finally time to share what I’ve been cooking up - new posts will be coming bi-weekly?, but don’t get mad at me if not (I have commitment issues oop…)

I just moved to a new apartment in Austin last week, which means a trip to IKEA was basically mandatory. If there’s one thing I always look forward to - it’s the IKEA Swedish Meatballs, a classic, affordable meal that somehow makes you want to buy more furniture. 

I added the signature IKEA Ligonberry sauce and mashed potatoes to my haul and cooked up a copycat meal-prep to pair with my half-assembled NORDEN dining table. Fun fact - I learned this week that Ligonberries are actually a real thing

“IKEA” Swedish Meatballs Meal Prep

This recipe is adapted from the IKEA Swedish Meatballs recipe. This recipe yielded around 44 meatballs or 8 servings for me, but may vary depending on the size you make!

I used these meal prep containers from ello and the Cosori Air Fryer Pro 5qt for these

Meatballs ingredients

• 1 lb Ground beef

• 1 lb Ground pork

• 1 Sweet Onion (finely chopped)

• 3 Cloves garlic (minced)

• 1/2 Cup plain breadcrumbs

• 1 Egg

• 1/4 Cup whole milk

• 1 tsp Garlic powder

• 1 tsp Nutmeg

• 1/2 tsp Allspice

• Salt & pepper to taste

• Parsley for garnish

Side ingredients

*Use amounts depending how how many servings you want. I made 8 servings and used ~4.5 cups peas, 1.5 bags of IKEA mashed potato and 2/3 cup of whole milk, and 8 Tbsp of Lingon spread

• Frozen peas

• IKEA ALLEMANSRÄTTEN Mashed potatoes (or any instant mashed potato mix)

• IKEA SYLT LINGON spread (or any cranberry/lingonbery jam)

• Whole milk (optional, for mashed potato)

Gravy

* I opted to make less than what the IKEA recipe recommended to make this more calorie-conscious, if you want more gravy double the recipe

• 1.5 Tbsp unsalted butter

• 1.5 Tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1 Cup chicken broth (or any broth)

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce

• 1/4 cup Heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Meatballs

1. Mix the ground beef and pork together with your hands

2. Add the onion, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, allspice, nutmeg, garlic powder, salt and pepper and combine together until uniform

3. Add the egg and mix in until smooth

4. Add the whole milk and mix mix mix!

5. Form the mixture into small, golf ball sized meatballs

6. Pre-heat the air fryer to 380°F *

7. Arrange the meatballs in the air fryer, making sure that they don’t overlap. Air fry for 14 minutes (shaking/flipping halfway), or until the balls are crisp and the internal temperature reaches 165°F *

8. Remove the finished meatballs, and continue until all the meatballs are done!
   

   *Note: If you don’t have an air fryer, baking these in the oven will work too! Bake for 30 min at 350°F or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F

Sides

1. Prepare the peas according to package directions and set aside

2. Prepare the mashed potatoes according to package directions and set aside. I personally added about 2/3 cup whole milk to the IKEA frozen potatoes to make them nice and creamy

Gravy

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan

2. Whisk in the flour until it is all incorporated, and let the mixture thicken a bit (1-2 min)

3. Add the broth and soy sauce and let simmer for about 5 minutes or until it thickens

4. Slowly whisk in the heavy whipping cream and let it simmer for about 2-3 more minutes

Assembly

1. Grab your meal prep containers and line them up

2. Evenly distribute the peas on one end of the container, so that they are taking up 1/4 of the total container space

3. Evenly distribute the mashed potatoes right next to the peas, so that they are taking up 1/4 of the container. I like to use a silicone spatula to smooth out the top and make the edges nice and neat.

4. Evenly distribute the meatballs in the remaining 1/2 of the container. Leave a small little space for the lingonberry sauce

5. Pour the gravy over the mashed potato and meatballs to taste

6. Add 1 tbsp of Ligonberry spread in the little pocket next to the meatballs (adjust amount to taste)

7. Garnish with minced parsley and black pepper

8. Enjoy immediately, or let the containers cool and store them in the fridge!

Until next time!

-Casey