What to Eat with Swedish Meatballs

How it works

What to eat with Swedish meatballs is settled in Sweden: gravy, potatoes, lingonberry jam and sometimes pickled cucumber. All four are on this list of 35 sides, with noodles, breads, vegetables, salads and drinks for a change.

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The plate in Sweden

In Sweden the meatballs are called köttbullar. The potatoes on the traditional plate are boiled or mashed. The lingonberry jam is tart and is eaten with the meat, a spoonful at the side of the plate.

Something sharp, something green

Meat, cream gravy and potatoes make a soft, rich plate. What it lacks is a sharp taste and a fresh one. The jam and the pickles bring the first; peas, green beans or a salad bring the second.

Keep the gravy and the jam apart on the plate, so a forkful can have one or both.
Choose potatoes or noodles, not both. Two starches leave no room for anything green.

Questions and answers

What can I use instead of lingonberry jam?

Cranberry sauce is the nearest thing: a similar sauce made from a closely related berry. Red currant jelly and pickled beets also bring a sweet and sour taste to the plate.

Do you serve Swedish meatballs with noodles or potatoes?

Potatoes are the Swedish choice. Buttered egg noodles are on this list too, because they hold the gravy well.

What vegetable goes with Swedish meatballs?

Buttered green peas are the quickest. Steamed green beans, broccoli, glazed carrots, sautéed mushrooms and braised leeks all sit well beside gravy, and mashed root vegetables can take the place of plain mash.

What bread goes with Swedish meatballs?

Crispbread with butter, soft dinner rolls for the gravy, or dark rye. The day after, cold sliced meatballs on buttered bread make an open sandwich.

What do you drink with Swedish meatballs?

Without alcohol: a lingonberry drink, cold milk, or elderflower syrup topped up with sparkling water. Coffee comes afterwards, with something sweet.

All 35 sides

Sauce and preserves 6

Applesauce Milder than berry jam and easy to like.
Cranberry sauce The stand-in when a shop has no lingonberry jam.
Cream gravy The brown, creamy sauce the meatballs sit in. Make plenty.
Lingonberry jam A spoonful on the side of the plate, tart against the gravy.
Red currant jelly Sweet and sharp, and it melts a little on a hot meatball.
Whole-grain mustard A dab for anyone who wants bite and not sweetness.

Potatoes, noodles and bread 10

An open sandwich Cold sliced meatballs on buttered bread, for the day after.
Boiled new potatoes with dill Small ones in their skins, tossed with butter and fresh dill.
Buttered egg noodles Wide noodles that carry the gravy with them.
Crispbread Thin and dry, with butter. It snaps where soft bread would soak.
Dark rye bread A buttered slice on the side, dense enough for a pool of gravy.
Hasselback potatoes Sliced thin most of the way through, so they fan out and crisp.
Mashed potatoes Smooth and buttery, with a dip in the top for the gravy.
Potato gratin Thin slices baked in cream. Go easy on the gravy beside it.
Roasted potatoes Crisp outside, soft inside, and good for mopping up gravy.
Soft dinner rolls For wiping the plate when the gravy is too good to leave.

Pickles and salads 7

Apple and celery salad Crisp, cold and a little sweet.
Beet and apple salad Diced small and bound with a little sour cream: pink, sweet and sharp.
Grated carrot salad Raw carrot with lemon juice, for crunch.
Green salad with mustard dressing Crisp leaves and a sharp dressing next to a soft, creamy plate.
Pickled beets Their sweet, earthy vinegar does the same job as the jam.
Pickled cucumber slices Thin, sweet and sour. Lay a few on the edge of the plate.
Quick-pickled red onion Sliced thin and left in vinegar and sugar while the meatballs fry.

Vegetables 8

Braised leeks Cooked slowly in butter until they are soft and sweet.
Buttered green peas The quickest green on the list: from the freezer to the plate in minutes.
Creamed spinach Soft and rich. Leave it off if the plate already swims in gravy.
Glazed carrots Cooked in butter with a little honey until they shine.
Mashed root vegetables Carrot, potato and rutabaga mashed together, in place of plain mash.
Sautéed mushrooms Brown them well and let them sit in the gravy.
Steamed broccoli The florets hold gravy as well as any potato.
Steamed green beans Keep them a little crisp and finish them with butter.

Drinks 4

Coffee, afterwards With something sweet, once the plates are cleared.
Cold milk A plain glass beside a creamy, peppery plate.
Elderflower syrup with sparkling water Sweet and floral, mixed weak and served cold.
Lingonberry drink The same berry as the jam, sweetened and poured cold.