Chances are if you have ever been to Ikea, then you have tried their Swedish Meatballs and Gravy with lingonberry sauce.
Well now you can make them at home and much lower in syns, plus this version tastes amazing. I might be a little biased, but seriously, these Swedish Meatballs and Gravy taste amazing, especially with a small dollop of said lingonberry sauce and my creamy Syn Free Mashed Potatoes - heaven!!
If you can't get lingonberry sauce then cranberry sauce will work just fine or if you are going near an ikea store, pick up a jar of their lingonberry sauce, it is only 1.5 syns for a tablespoon.
The gravy kind of follows on the same ingredients as my ever so popular syn free gravy with a couple of additions to turn it into that delicious creamy gravy that is traditionally served with the swedish meatballs.
I blend the onions for the gravy using my awesome new Ninja Duo Blender with Auto IQ technology that you can see below. It is a super clever blender that features intelligent programs that combine pulsing and blending patterns, meaning no having to guess how long to pulse or blend etc. It's amazing.
Click here to view the Ninja Duo Blender with Auto IQ technology on Amazon
For the meatballs it's very limited ingredients, all you need is the ground beef and some seasoning and you are good to go, no complicated fancy ingredients.
If you like you could even serve these Swedish Meatballs and Gravy with these Perfect Syn Free Chips
This recipe is gluten free, it isn't however dairy free, although you an option to make this dairy free, is to use a little bit of coconut milk and add a little starch to thicken (corn, arrowroot or tapioca).
For your speed foods for this Swedish Meatballs and Gravy recipe, serve with a veg of your choice, sauteed brussels or greens would go really well with this or you could even serve with this Cauliflower Mash which would also make this dish original and SP friendly
Extra Easy - 1 syn per serving
Original/SP - 1 syn per serving
WW Smart Points - 3
- 600g/21oz of extra lean ground beef
- ½ tsp of onion powder
- ½ tsp of salt
- 1 large onion (approx 2 cups when chopped)
- 1 tbs of balsamic vinegar
- 3 cups/720ml beef stock
- 4 tbs of low fat cream cheese - 4 syns
- ½ tsp of dried rosemary
- salt and black pepper
- fresh chopped Italian parsley
- spray oil
- Preheat oven to 200c/400f (gas mark 6)
- Spray a deep frying pan over a medium high heat with some spray oil
- Add the onion and fry until softened.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to fry for approx 5 mins till the onions are a nice caramelized colour.
- Add the rosemary and stock and bring to a boil
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 mins
- While the gravy is simmering - add the ground beef to a bowl along with the salt and onion powder.
- Mix together
- Form into meatballs
- Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper
- Spray over the top with spray oil
- Place in oven and bake for 10 mins
- Remove and set aside.
- Once gravy has simmered, add to a blender and blend till smooth.
- Add back to pan over medium heat
- Add in the cream cheese and stir till melted.
- Add in the meatballs and simmer for 10 mins till meatballs are cooked through and sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped Italian parsley and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Serve with Syn Free Mashed Potatoes, Syn Free Sweet Potato Mash or Syn Free Cauliflower Mash, plus your choice of veg and lingonberry (or cranberry sauce)
Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only
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This recipe was absolutely delicious! I always feel like I'm missing out when visiting IKEA and on returning home when my other half has bought the meatballs and sauce but this recipe certainly satisfies that craving! Truly yummy!
Another massive hit by Slimming eats! This one is a must make! Comfort food at its best and id say tastes better than the real thing! Fabulous!!
I made this last night and it was gorgeous, will definitely become a regular meal in our house. Thanks for the fab recipes x
So happy you enjoyed it and you are welcome 🙂
The meatballs n gravy recipe sounds amazing n I'm gonna try it but can you please tell me what sort of low fat crime to buy to make the gravy with. Hope you can get back to me. Be most appreciated, as is this terrific site. Thank you, kind regards Sandra
Hi Sandra, it is low fat cream cheese (like Philadelphia) any brand of low fat cream cheese will be fine. 🙂
Hey looks lovely. Was womderimg could I make up the sauce to blend it now and then an hour later put in the pan and add meatballs and cream cheese?
Would quark work in place of the cream cheese
it may work if you add it right at the end so it doesn't split, it won't give quite the same creaminess.
Hi I've made this a few times and its absolutely beautiful! Is it suitable for freezing? X
Hi Shannon, yes they should freeze fine. I am so glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
One of my all time favourites! The gravy is absolutely delicious, a real comfort food treat especially when served with creamy mash. Thanks very much for the recipe
I’m going to freeze these meatballs - would you recommend doing it before or after they are cooked?
You can do either. I personally would freeze with the gravy.
Love this recipe ! So easy and tasty ! The whole family love this !
Fab with creamy mash !
Another hit in our household! I had 5% pork mince to use up so I used 1/2 5% beef mince & 1/2 5% pork mince, I actually prepped this during my lunch hour from work. All that was to be done when I came home was to put the meatballs in the sauce for 10 minutes and cook the pasta I served it with, thank you again, another amazing recipe x
Thank you doo much......
This was an instant hit with my family. My son loves meatballs and he said that it was the best meatball gravy in the universe!! Will definitely be making again and for only 1 syn.I
Looking forward to checking out your other recipes.
Hi there. I am wanting to make this tonight for tea and was wondering can i use fromage frais instead of the cream cheese?? Thanks so much.
hey there, it really needs the cream cheese, fromage frais will split and you won't get that same creamy taste.
Oh my goodness! This was amazing! I followed the exact recipe and it was so simple to make! Thank you for this recipe, the first of many I’m going to try ☺️
So glad you enjoyed it Samantha, thank you for commenting.
I have just made this recipe today. Delicious to eat and so simple to make. Will certainly become a firm favourite. Going to repeat again tomorrow for my freezer. Thank you. X
Fabulous recipe, really enjoyed it.
Oh my goodness, I'm eating them right now and they are delicious. I absolutely love all of your recipes, thank you they are so helpful xx
Loved this. So easy to make and freeze! Great recipe!
I love this recipe but always have to add cornflour to thinker the gravy. What am I doing wrong?
Sounds like you are not using enough onion for the gravy, you want a large onion that equates to around two cups when chopped, so use two or even three onions if you onions are not big enough, also ensure the gravy part simmers for 20 minutes before being blended . Don't forget you need to blend the gravy once cooked before then adding in the cream cheese. Once you add the cream cheese in to the blended gravy ensure you heat is not too low, it needs to bubble to melt the cream cheese when will then thicken the sauce.
This really is amazing. It tastes just like Ikea gravy. It's brilliant cos all the other recipes I found use cream. This has become a staple in our house. Love it. If in the UK, pair with Iceland's Swedish meatballs, it's exactly like dinner at Ikea.