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Baked Meatballs {Swedish or Chinese Style}

Choose from IKEA Style Swedish Meatballs or Northwestern Chinese Style

by Shirley
Published: Last Updated on
baked meatballs recipe Swedish Style

Baked Meatballs are so naturally yummy, healthy, and easy to make. Choose from iconic Swedish or Northwestern Chinese {Xi Bei 西北} Style. For Swedish style, you can pair them with homemade gravy & creamy mashed potatoes for a full IKEA experience.

Baked Meatballs Swedish Style Recipe

How to make Baked Meatballs Swedish Style?

Tip No.1 is to use a combination of ground beef and pork for the ultimate yumminess

Homeground pork is especially delicious. Perfect for making meatballs and pork fillings. It is simpler than you might expect to grind your own pork at home.

Use a meat grinder or Stand Mixer with a meat grinder attachment. Do not use a food processor, as it breaks down the meat too much, thus totally destroying the flavor and taste.

Home Ground Pork for juicy delicious dumpling fillings, meatballs and more
Home Ground Pork for juicy delicious dumpling fillings, meatballs, and more

Tip No.2 is to marinate the meat properly for ultra tasty baked meatballs

These baked meatballs are so juicy and packed with flavors for good reasons. Other than the usual marinating ingredients such as a splash of Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, eggs, salt, black pepper, fennel seeds, and minced garlic, there are a few unique essential ones I’d like to highlight here:

The first is chopped & overnight sweet brown rice

Sweet brown rice is a wonderful substitute for bread crumbs. Chop them into small bits using a spice grinder first and then soak overnight. They have a soft, chewy, and pleasant nutty flavor. You can also use sweet brown rice flour or arrowroot flour as a substitute.

brown sweet rice

The second is the sauteed red onion

Red onion complements beef really well. Chop the red onion either using a knife or a food processor and then lightly saute until they are soft, translucent, and fragrant, and then blend with the meat.

chopped red onions

The third is the chopped parsley or cilantro

Parsley or cilantro is another herb that completes beef very well. Use parsley or Swedish Style and cilantro for the Chinese Style. Use a knife or food processor to chop the parsley/cilantro leaves and tender stems into small pieces and then add them to the meat and blend well.

During the summer, when I have harvested loads of parsley or cilantro from our backyard vegetable garden, I make a simple herb pesto and store it in small packs in the freezer to use for occasions like this.

chopped parsley in the food processor
Use a food processor to finely chop parsley

Last but not least marinating ingredient is Dijon Mustard for Swedish Style Meatballs

For Swedish Style meatballs, the iconic Dijon mustard gives these meatballs a complex unique flavor.

Dijon Mustard

Tip No.3 is to roll the meatballs and bake them on unbleached parchment paper

Use an ice cream scoop if you can which helps a consistent portion of marinated meat in a better ball form. Use both hands to roll into a ball and place them on a baking pan lined with unbleached parchment paper.

ready for baking meatballs on the unbleached parchment paper on the baking pan

This heavy-duty nontoxic unbleached parchment paper not only helps preserve the juice coming out of the meatballs during the baking but also makes the cleaning easier.

freshly baked meatballs
baked meatballs recipe Swedish Style

Baked Meatballs Recipe {Swedish or Chinese Style}

Yield: 4-8 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Baked Meatballs are so naturally yummy, healthy, and easy to make. Two flavors to choose from, either Swedish style or Northwest Chinese style. Pair the Swedish-style meatballs with homemade gravy and creamy mashed potatoes for a full IKEA experience.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb ground beef

For Swedish-Style Meatballs

  • Use half-pound ground pork to replace ground beef if you'd like to, optional, home ground pork preferred
  • 1/2 cup sweet brown rice, chopped into small pieces first using a spice grinder and then soaked over-night, or use 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) sweet brown rice flour or arrowroot flour as a substitute
  • 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 eggs, cage-free or organic
  • 3/4 tsp salt, such as Himalayan pink salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, freshly ground
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 bunch of parsley, chopped, optional
  • Half of a small red onion, about 3oz, chopped and sauteed
  • 1/4 tsp cooking oil such as avocado oil, for sauteing the red onion.

For Northwest Chinese Style:

  • 1/2 cup sweet brown rice, chopped into small pieces first and then soaked over-night, or use 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) sweet brown rice flour or arrowroot flour as a substitute
  • 2 large eggs, cage-free or organic
  • 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, same for all below-mentioned spices
  • 1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds powder
  • 1 1/2 ts coriander seeds powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried orange peel, freshly ground
  • 3/4 tsp salt, such as Himalayan pink salt
  • 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped, optional
  • Half of a small red onion, about 3oz, chopped and sauteed
  • 1/4 tsp cooking oil such as avocado oil, for sauteing the red onion

Instructions

Prepare Marinating Ingredients:

  1. Use a spice grinder to chop the brown sweet rice into small pieces and then soak it in plenty of water overnight. Rinse, drain and set aside.
    soaking chopped sweet brown rice in plenty of water in a bowl
  2. Wash and rinse parsley or cilantro respectively depending on whether you are making Swedish or Chinese-style meatballs. Only keep the tender stems and leaves and cut them into bite-size lengths. Same a few leaves for garnishing, and use a compact food processor to chop them into super small pieces.
    chopped parsley in the food processor
    If you previously saved some home-garden-grown parsley or cilantro in the form of frozen pesto form, you can use a small pack of the previously frozen pesto previously preserved.
    preserved parsley pesto
  3. Swedish-style only step - Peel garlic, add them to a compact food processor and turn it into finely minced garlic.
    Minced Garlic Using a Compact Food Processor
  4. Peel off the outer layer of red onion, and chop it into small pieces. If you prefer to have the red onion blend better and become less visible, then use the compact food processor and chop it into smaller pieces.
    chopped red onion in compact food processor
  5. Turn the heat to medium-high, and heat a wok or frying pan for 1 minute. Add about 1/4 tsp avocado oil along with the chopped red onion. Sautee for 1 minute or till they are fragrant and become soft and translucent. Turn off the heat and let it cool down.
    sauteed red onions

Marinating the Meat:

  1. Rinse ground beef (and ground pork if you decide to use a half pound for Swedish style) under cold water, drain the water, and add to a large mixing bowl.
    ground beef and ground pokr in the mixing bowl
  2. Depending on whether you are making Swedish or Chinese style, add everything under "For Swedish-Style Meatballs" or "For Northwest Chinese Style" to the large mixing bowl.
    Marinating ground beef and pork for Swedish Meatballs
  3. Use a bamboo spatula to press and break down the meat and fold them into the seasoning. Continue to fold until everything is fully blended, and then add the sauteed red onion.
    add sauteed red onion to the marinated ground beef and ground pork
  4. While planting the bamboo spatula inside the meat mixture, swiftly turn the bamboo spatula in one direction, either clockwise or counter-clockwise to bond the meat together.
    marinated ground beef and pork for Swedish meatballs

Roll and Bake the Meatballs

  1. Line the baking pan with unbleached parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Use an ice cream scoop to get a full scoop of the marinated meat, or just use a regular spoon and use both hands to roll it into a ball.
    Use a ice cream scoop to scoop out marinated meat for making meatballs
  3. Pack firmly using fingers and then release the meat and use both hands to toss and roll it into a ball and place it on the baking pan.
    form a meatball using both hands
  4. Repeat until you've done with all the meatballs.
    ready for baking meatballs on the unbleached parchment paper on the baking pan
  5. Once the oven reaches the desired temperature of 350 F, bake for 30 minutes and then remove it from the oven and cool it on a wired rack.
    freshly baked meatballs
  6. Garnish with parsley or cilantro. Enjoy these yummy and healthy baked meatballs Perfect to eat alone or pair with other dishes.
    baked meatballs Swedish Style

Notes

  • Unbleached parchment paper is nontoxic material which is also great to save any juice coming out of the meatballs.

Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 605Total Fat 30gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 208mgSodium 838mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 3gSugar 2gProtein 39g

Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.

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