Swedish Gravy (just like IKEA’s Meatball Cream Sauce)

grey tabletop, with black bowl of mashed potato, vegetarian meatballs and Swedish cream sauce gravy, a few pieces of asparagus at back of plate. Small pouring jug bottom left with cream sauce in. Knife and fork and blue serviette front middle and right.

This Swedish gravy recipe for the Thermomix is rich, creamy and luxurious! It’s just like the IKEA meatball cream sauce. A savoury, cream sauce, perfect for accompanying your meat-free (or meat!) balls, nut (or meat) loaves, steaks, veggies, and more.

Last year when much of the world started spending periods of time confined to their homes, IKEA shared their recipe for their famous meatballs and gravy. This recipe is inspired by the sauce component of that recipe. You can find their full recipe here.

The reason for this Swedish gravy

The reason I am sharing this tweaked, Thermomixed version of this iconic Swedish gravy… While my latest book was coming together, we created the fabulous ‘Neatballs in Napoletana Sauce’ which is a rollable meat-free nut-based meatball. The Neatballs are baked in a lovely rich tomato sauce that is made quickly in the Thermomix.

One of our amazing recipe development team members, Leanne, trialled baking the Neatballs on a tray without the sauce. It worked so well! She then made my Easy Peasy Gravy (recipe in Super Sides Made Easy) and turned them in to Neatball subs, which she then raved about so much that I had to do the same shortly after and goodness me they were GOOD! Seriously, that gravy is amazing stuff!!

Leanne then decided a vego take on Swedish meatballs and gravy was needed and I agreed. So I made a couple of small changes to the Neatballs and wrote a recipe for the cream gravy. We both tried it and whilst delicious, I wasn’t happy that the gravy was ‘Swedish gravy’ enough.

So Leanne tried again, this time using her trusty Bellini to make a gravy using the IKEA recipe linked above and she and her family loved it. At the time I was super busy getting ready to launch the book so it went on the back burner, until now…

I really wanted to share this here with you, because Neatballs and gravy are totally divine together, but I know that not everyone has Super Sides Made Easy yet, so wanted to share an easily accessible gravy recipe for the Neatballs. You’re welcome xx

If you’re keen to make vego Swedish meatballs to have this Swedish gravy with, you’ll find my Neatball recipe in Family Favourites Made Easy. Simply follow the directions in the tip underneath that recipe to bake them without the sauce. Then for the Neatball mixture, reduce fresh parsley to 10g and replace dried herbs with 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg and 0.25 tsp ground allspice.

And really, who wouldn’t want to eat this!

The how-to

(Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the full recipe).

It’s really very simple. Stock + cream + butter + flour + flavour!

See the Swedish Gravy FAQs below the photo too for swaps for some ingredients, making this vegan and gluten free.

I’ve replaced some of the cream in the original recipe with a little more liquid stock, but it is still lovely and creamy. To tweak the flavours I’ve added a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of nutmeg. All together, the ingredients you see below really do make such a delicious creamy gravy sauce.

Swedish Gravy FAQs

Can I make this vegan?

You sure can! Ensure your Worcestershire sauce is anchovy-free. Replace the butter with a plant-based spread and the double cream with a plant-based milk. My vegan daughter has made this with Nuttalex buttery and oat milk with great success. This version isn’t as creamy, but it is still an incredibly tasty gravy! If you don’t mind a bit of a coconut flavour, I think coconut cream will probably work very well too.

Can I make it gluten free?

Yes, you can use a gluten free plain flour.

Can I use something other than double cream?

Double cream is what IKEA’s recipe uses and it does give the creamiest, best results. That said, Leanne did try thickened cream with good results and I believe full-cream milk will also work well, given the oat milk worked well in the vegan version!

Worcestershire sauce isn’t vegetarian, I thought Thermobexta was a vego blog?

There are several brands of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce. I use Melrose Organic, which I buy through a co-op, I’ve also seen it in health food shops. Coles and Woolworths home brand Worcestershire sauce, as well as Spring Gully are also vegetarian. Please check the labels before purchasing, in case the ingredients change in the future.

I’m not vegetarian, does the liquid stock have to be plant-based?

Absolutely not! If you’re a meat eater, it’s totally fine to use a liquid beef stock.

Can this recipe be doubled?

I haven’t tested doubling, however I think it should be fine to double all ingredients. The general rule of thumb when doubling a recipe in the Thermomix is to increase cooking time by 20%, so I’d recommend increasing Step 1 to 3.5 minutes and Step 2 to 7-8 minutes.

Can this recipe be halved?

Again, halving hasn’t been tested but I do think it will be fine to do so. The general rule of thumb when halving a recipe in the Thermomix is to decrease cooking time by 20%. This would mean decreasing cooking time to 2.5 minutes at Step 1 and 5 minutes at Step 2.

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swedish meatball gravy pin, image of mashed potato topped with vego meatballs covered in gravy cream sauce, small jug to the left with more sauce
grey tabletop, with black bowl of mashed potato, vegetarian meatballs and Swedish cream sauce gravy, a few pieces of asparagus at back of plate. Small pouring jug bottom left with cream sauce in. Knife and fork and blue serviette front middle and right.
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4.64 from 11 votes

Swedish Gravy (just like IKEA’s meatball cream sauce)

This creamy gravy is a divine sauce for all sorts! Try it with my Neatballs, Neat Loaf, meatballs, meat loaf, roast, mashed potato, veggies…
Prep Time1 minute
Cook Time9 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Swedish
Keyword: Swedish cream sauce, Swedish gravy, Swedish gravy Thermomix, Swedish meatball sauce
Servings: 8 +
Calories: 101kcal

Ingredients

  • 40 g butter diced 1.5cm *Note 1
  • 40 g plain flour *Note 2
  • 350 g liquid beef-style stock plant-based (such as Massel) *Note 3
  • 100 g double cream *Note 1
  • 10 g tamari
  • 10 g Dijon mustard
  • Splash Worcestershire sauce ensure you use a vegetarian one if vego
  • Pinch ground nutmeg

Instructions

  • Place butter and flour in mixer bowl. Melt 3 minutes/100/speed 1/MC off.
  • Add all remaining ingredients. Cook 6 minutes/90/speed 3/MC on.

Notes

Note 1: For dairy free / vegan, replace butter and cream with dairy-free spread and plant-based milk.
Note 2: For gluten free, use a gluten free plain flour.
Note 3: If you’re not needing to keep it vegan, you can use a ‘real’ beef stock liquid, however Massel liquid stocks are very yummy ones!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serve | Calories: 101kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 300mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 403IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

Please note, nutrition information is calculated via an online recipe nutrition calculator and is a guide only. It is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed 100% accurate. I am not a nutritionist or trained health professional.

Tried this recipe?Please rate it and leave feedback in the comments section below, or mention @Thermobexta or tag #Thermobexta on Instagram.

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Jaz Verrboski
Jaz Verrboski
4 months ago

1 star
I live in California. So listing the ingredients ONLY in metric was a big turn off.
I won’t try this recipe.

Bek
Bek
2 years ago

This recipe was so good I wiped the bowl with my finger. My partner asked for “meatballs” tonight just so we can have this gravy.

Andrea Maree Quinn
Andrea Maree Quinn
2 years ago

5 stars
This was amazing – easy to make and yummy

Rachel
Rachel
2 years ago

5 stars
This recipe is amazing! My family couldn’t get enough! YUM!

Nichola
Nichola
2 years ago

5 stars
This gravy is absolutely delicious !!! had it with mash potatoes and the NEAT loaf from her new cookbook

bec bio shot website

Hi, I'm Bec

I specialise in great tasting vegetarian Thermomix recipes and cater for a wide range of dietary needs. I love sharing here and in my cookbooks my healthy, delicious recipes (of course the odd treat too!) Whether you’re looking to ignite your thermo mojo, or just after some new, really tasty family friendly recipes, there really is something here for everyone

 

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