Swedish Meatball Sauce

One day we will share a recipe for making your own vegan meatballs from scratch. In the meantime, there are of course a lot of different recipes out there you can try, and some shops do stock ready made vegan meatballs (or “vegetable balls”, or “veggie balls”, or “Schweddy Balls^TM”, whatever you like to call them!). But I could not let Swedish Month pass by without sharing this very simple recipe for the iconic rich sauce that is the integral part of Swedish Meatballs.

And speaking of Sweden, there just might be a Swedish shop near you selling their own-brand 100% plant ‘meatballs’ … with stores in 38 countries, of course I’m talking about IKEA! Not long ago they introduced their own plant-based Vegetable Balls under the title Allemansrätten as a vegan option. We tried them not long after they launched, and weren’t all that impressed. But we now understand they are just one element, and they are ten times better when you follow this method!

IKEA Veggie Balls

You’re doing it wrong

If you’re anything like we were, when you cook IKEA’s Vegan Meatballs, you probably assume they should be served up like your typical faux meat. Generally there’s a little microwaving and shallow frying involved, or maybe you just bake them in the oven. I mean it’s not rocket science, we’re talking frozen ready meal food here, once it’s warm in the middle we’re all good right? WRONG! Apparently… We soon discovered that Swedish meatballs are traditionally served up in what we, and probably many Irish people, would consider a rather bizarre (if not off-putting) ensemble.  But that ensemble, which is very easy to pull together, makes a world of difference. These oft bland, dry little balls come into their own when simmered in a creamy vegan sauce and served alongside mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and pickled cucumbers.  I know, bizarre.  But all that creamy, saucy, sour and sweet, it kind of works.  So here is our ironically untraditional, traditional Vegan Swedish Meatball Sauce.