What to Eat With Swedish Meatballs

The furniture store IKEA serves Swedish meatballs in their cafeteria-style dining hall.

Furniture shopping and Swedish meatballs is an experience not to miss at your local neighborhood IKEA. Even though the chain store is responsible for popularizing the dish, it is essentially a fast-food version. The dish can be infinitely improved upon when eaten at an authentic restaurant or made at home.

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish meatballs are a delicate mix of ground beef and pork. The secret to the dense, creamy and rich texture of the meatball is bread, soaked in milk and egg and mixed in with ground meats. A touch of sweet spices like nutmeg or allspice -- some recipes even call for brown sugar and savory flavors like cardamom, pepper and onion -- account for the complex but delicate flavor of Swedish meatballs.

Sauces

Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with a creamy gravy sauce. The fat released while the meatballs are frying is used as a base for the gravy. What makes the gravy unique is the addition of cream. Lingonberry jam is another condiment, similar to cranberry sauce, that is served with Swedish meatballs. The sweet and tangy jam combines well with the salty gravy. You can also eat Swedish meatball with other condiments like sour cream, cranberry sauce, blueberry jam, dill sauce and ranch dressing. A sprinkling of parsley on the pile of meatballs finishes the dish.

Starches

Potatoes prepared in any way are always a good complementary dish to eat with meat including Swedish meatballs. Mashed potatoes would be a classic choice but you can also go creative with French fries or potato latkes. You can serve the meatballs over buttered egg noodles to make a variation of beef stroganoff. The meatballs go well served on top of rice and for an interesting combination of two cuisines use cous cous or rice pilaf.

Vegetables

The Swedish serve the traditional dish with pickles as the vegetable side dish but a more substantial green vegetable is also well suited to round out a complete meal with Swedish meatballs. Green vegetables like spinach, green beans, peas, zucchini and broccoli add visual color and variation to the plate and are also very healthy. Grilled corn, a side mixed salad, coleslaw or steamed baby carrots would also make a good side dish for Swedish meatballs.

References

• Cook Like James: Traditional Swedish Meatballs
• Food Network: Swedish Meatballs