Old-fashioned Recipe for Frikadeller
This recipe for Danish meatballs also known as Frikadeller is properly one of the most, if not the most, popular national dish in Denmark. For most of the Danes this is a dish they have on a regular basis and a dish that they have had their entire life.
See also: Recipe for Danish Remoulade (perfect dipping for Frikadeller)
Frikadeller is super easy to make and they have a great taste. You simply just mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and fry the meatballs on a frying pan with oil - it is that simple.
The Secret Ingredient in Frikadeller
There are many different variants of Frikadeller, however the basic ingredients are always ground pork, onions, milk, eggs, flour and salt and pepper. I have always learned that the onions are the 'secret ingredient' in Frikadeller and that it is the onions that gives the characteristic taste to the meat. There are different opinions whether the onions should be chopped coarsely or finely, cut in large pieces or just blended.
Read also: How to make a Danish Hotdog
Personally I prefer the onions finely chopped or blended - this way I believe you get the most taste out of the onions. Another personal variation of Frikadeller is whether you want the meatballs large or small in size.
Time-wise it is faster to make few but large meatballs, however, we always makes many small meatballs this way we get more of the delicious crisp crust when frying them. The second very important ingredient in the meatballs is the salt. The salt is important because it enhances the taste which makes the Frikadeller even better.
What to serve with Frikadeller
This recipe for Frikadeller is the one my parents used when I was a kid and it is the one I uses the day today. We can recommend serving these meatballs with some homemade freshly bread with sunflower seeds or some boiled potatoes. The meatballs are also perfect as topping on a slice of some healthy homemade bread or simply just as a snack in the afternoon.
Ingredients
- 1 kg ground pork
- 1 dl milk
- 1 dl oats
- 1 dl all-purpose flour (or breadcrumbs)
- 2 eggs
- 2 large onions (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp salt
- Pepper according to taste
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl using a spoon or hand mixer.
- Heat up a frying pan with butter or oil.
- Use a spoon to form the meatballs. If you dip the spoon in a glass of water before you form a meatball it will be easier and the meat will not stick to the spoon. Fry the meatballs for about 5-10 minutes depending on the amount of heat you give them. It is best to flip over the meatball often - this will give then an even crust.
Notes
Lennart Holbrok
Hello
Jeg har lige fundet din side. Jeg har boet i Australien i over 53 år. I de første 25 år kunne jeg ikke forstå, hvorfor mine Frikadeller ikke havde den rigtige smag. En dag stod jeg hos slagteren og en kunde bad om et havl kilo Snine fars, også blev lunten tændt. Jeg havde brugt Okse fars, Derfor !!!
Jeg har ikke prøvet din opskrift endnu, men den lyder godt.
Tusind tak for alle opskrifterne.
KH
Len Holbrok
Kim Nielsen
Hej Len
Tak for din kommentar. Ja så kan jeg sagtens forstå at du ikke har kunne finde den rigtige smag i dine frikadeller. Det bedste far at bruge er en blanding af kalve kød og svinekød - dog er rent svinekød også acceptabelt. vh Kim
Shawn
If you like meatballs you should try making traditional albondigas soup w/with Spanish rice corn tortillas and lime
Angie
WOW, how rude of you "Shawn". This is a Nordic recipe and you are hijacking comments? Your comment is best in the Spanish Meatball section.
Jenny
I have found that American pork is ground much more coarse than Danish. I’m wondering if anyone has tips on how to get the ground pork to the right consistency. Frikadeller is one of my favorite things but i just can’t seem to make it to my satisfaction in the US.
Kim Nielsen
I have been living in the states for some time and I was able to find some good ground pork at my local butcher. He was able to make it exactly like I needed it to be. He was also able to make the pork roast with the skin still on so that I could make Flæsestge (Danish Pork roast with cracklings). Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Adrienne
I am new to Danish cooking
but eager to learn. Cook Italian most of time
Anita Jensen
I use pork tenderloin, cut, it into chunks then put it into a food processor. You can do this with regular ground pork, just process it some more. Then I add the other ingredients and mix it all in the food processor. The cold milk, with the cold pork, will help cause excess fat to solidify on the outside of the bowl.
Once it is at that texture that reminds me of being gelatinous, Then I cook them in butter. and use all the salt I want. Yumm
let me know what you think. If I find my cookbooks AI will come back with a proper recipe.
Jane
I like to put my ground pork in a food processor for a couple minutes to make it ground finer. I put milk in the food processor with the pork instead of with the oatmeal etc. this is a nice recipe but I usually add a little allspice or cloves.
Lisa Sorensen
Any good butcher shop will double grind or fine grind the meat for you. Even some higher end supermarkets that have a butcher will accommodate you. I find the same issue. I prefer the finer ground meat & also mix 1/2 beef & 1/2 pork.
Robyn Petersen Wollman
I am of Danish and Icelandic decent. This picture looks just like what I had growing up. This family recipe has been passed down for many generations.. I am going to make it for dinner tomorrow with my niece's. 4 generations!!it's that good.
Kim Nielsen
Hi Robyn. Thanks for your comment. That sounds great - I hope that you still like they :-)
Donna Spowart
I am British but lived in Denmark in the mid 1990s and miss alot of things about it. I tried your frikadeller recipe tonight for dinner with some neighbours who are wheat and dairy intolerant so I left out the milk and used cornflour instead of breadcrumbs/plain flour and as I dont/wont own a frying pan, I baked them in the oven at 200C for 30 mins, turning halfway. Your recipe didnt specify which pepper to use so I used white rather than black and I also sneaked a clove of garlic in. They were super tasty and I will have no hesitation to recommend your website ::) Really well done, I am a fan :)
Kim Nielsen
Hi Donna. Thanks a lot for your comment. It's comments like yours that wanna make me continue sharing recipes on my blog.
Baking these meatballs in the oven is actually a good idea - this way you also reduce the amount of oil/fat which comes from the frying pan. I'll try this the next time :-)
Diane
I am trying to find a recipe for Frikadeller. My mom’s had a gravy on it, have you ever had it with a sauce or gravy on it? By oats, do you mean oatmeal? Thanks, Diane
Jette
Rolled oats or quick oats. When my frikadeller is cooked i take them of and put creme on the pan and colour (kuloer or parisian essens) it makes a very nice gravy
Peter Hansen
Sounds like delicious meatballs, but with so many alterations it's no longer Frikadeller.
Janice
Hej. I used this recipe last night. They tasted amazing, and I don't usually like meatballs. I'm going to Denmark next December, and I'm excited to see if I came close to making the real thing. :) Tak!
Kim Nielsen
Hi Janice. I'm happy to hear that you like these meatballs. If you are coming to Denmark you should definitely try these meatballs at a restaurant and then compare to your own :-)
Craig
Born in Canada from Danish parents. Making these a second time because they taste exactly like Mom used to make. Simple and authentic, love them.
Kim Nielsen
Hi. I'm happy that you like this recipe :-) regards Kim
Sabrina
So my husband and I just made these meatballs and they are as good as it can get to the real ones. It was so delicious thank you for a great recipe. He is Danish and he loved it. I didn't put the oats and i used breadcrumbs in the mixture, this will be my weekly recipe from now on.
Kim Nielsen
Hi Sabrina. You are very welcome :-) I'm happy that you like the recipe.
Kim
Hi,
I just found your site and want to thank you so very much! So many of the recipes my Danish grandma made were never written down and while most I can make some I just can't get quite right so you are a Godsend! This is one that I have made many, many times for my children. They now refer to it as that 'friggie stuff' and quite often beg for it lol
Thank you,
Kim
Kim Nielsen
Hi Kim. You are very welcome. I really happy to receive a message like this. I hope that you will follow my blog. Regards Kim
Gillian Mitchell
After visiting friends in DK and eating frikadeller, I made them using your recipe. Delicious! Super easy to follow with fabulous results. Thanks
Kim Nielsen
HI. I'm happy that you like the recipe :-)
Carole
Lovely recipe, but different from the meatballs my Danish in-laws made each Christmas. Theirs combined beef and pork, added allspice, and used only a small amount of grated onion. Probably closer to the Swedish kottbullar. Aunt Anna said that her mother sometimes put a peppercorn or an allspice kernel inside of the meatball. I make a version of hers, and have found that baking them for a short time in a very hot oven gets good results in less time..
Nicholas
This is the most amazing food blog! I thank you for producing all of these fabulous recipes. I came here to look for a "good" recipe for Frikadeller (we are having them for Christmas) and you produced the goods. And then I looked at all of your other recipes; so much to cook and eat and so little time left to do so. What a brilliant web site. On behalf of my partner (who is going to get VERY fat) and I, a very happy Christmas to you and tak for mad!
Kim Nielsen
Hi Nicholas. Thanks a lot for your nice comment. I'm really happy that you like my work. Merry Christmas to you too. :-)
Elisabeth
Thank you for the great recipe. My father made this all the time as he was Danish, and we lived there as well. I never wrote down the recipe. But I remember we used pork and beef mixed together along with the rest. my question is what’s the best kind of onion to use. The pepper can make it too spicy. Going to try the allspice sometime. I can’t find any ableskiver pans here. Gotta try that for desert soon.
Kim Nielsen
Hi. The best onions that you can use are the regular white onions. If have also sometimes used red onions. However, the best is the normal white onions. Regards Kim
Kaja Christiansen
hi you can find all kinds if ableskiver pan from cast irin to teflon coated electric which i have and love ! at Solvang restaurant in solvang ca
tgey have the mix and tge raspberry jam too !
Gus Johnson
Hej Kim -
I am an American of Danish + Swedish descent. My mother (93 yrs and still going) is Helen Johnson nee Larsen. Her mother was Astrid Jensen whose family was from Aarhus and her father was Hans Gustav Larsen who was from Møn.
I mention these antecedents only so you may see that I have some Danish Cred!
This is our family recipe for Frikadeller which I presume came from my mother's grandmother Jensen who lived with her family when my mother was young.
INGREDIENTS: 1 # ground beef, 1/2 # ground pork, ¼ cup flour, 1 Tsp salt, 1 Tsp Pepper, 1 onion – Grated, 2 eggs,
½ - 1 cup Milk, ¼ Tsp nutmeg, ¼ Tsp Cloves, ½ Tsp Ginger.
PREPARATION: Mix, form Patties, fry in 4 Tbsp butter, remove from pan and make a pan sauce with flour and beef stock. Return meatballs to pan and reheat with the sauce. Serve with boiled potatoes and beets.
Enjoy!
Tak
Gus Johnson
Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA
Kim Nielsen
Hi Gus. Thanks for your recipe. It looks great. I see a few ingredients (nutmeg, cloves, ginger) that I have not tried before in Frikadeller. The next time I make some I will try your family recipe :-) It sounds delicious.
Gus Johnson
I think you will enjoy the recipe!
BTW, I also have made these into small 1.5 inch meatballs and served them as an appetizer at a party! There are never any left over!
Tak for your website!
Sheryl Hoy
My husband was from Denmark and one visit, I followed my sister in law to her kitchen to watch her make her frikadeller. I was surprised that the first thing she did was take out her food processor.. She pulverized the onion and then added pretty much your recipe, except all flour, no oats.. the flavor of the onion is there, of course, but the chunks aren’t plus you don’t shed tears chopping them.
Kim Nielsen
I normally also use my blender/ food processor to chop the onions. It's way faster than manual work. And as you say, you still get the flavor. That's a cleaver trick.
Ramsey Johansson
My husband is Danish and grew up on frikadellar that his farmor always had in the refrigerator or freezer. Farmor and my mother in law didn't really get along, so my mother in law had to learn to make frikadellar for her husband on her own. When I married my husband, Farmor gave me her recipe book and I discovered why her frikadellar were so much better than my mother in law's. The secret ingredient in her recipe was to use club soda and a combination of veal and pork. Guess who is always asked to bring the frikadellar to Christmas Day smorgasbord? :)
I was just introduced to your blog by a cousin in Denmark. Very much looking forward to trying your recipes. Tak!
Robert
I made this two times. The first time I accidentally bought mild sausage and I added ground cloves and nutmeg and it came out GREAT. Except it was too salty. The next time I made it with ground pork and added ground cloves and nutmeg and it was not good whatsoever. Next time I will make it with sausage again but withhold the salt.
Mark
My name is mark I am from Denmark but I'm living in the Philippines in 3 years now I also love frikadeller and in my recipe I use pork meat my wife loves my frikadells and I like u site
Kim Nielsen
Hi Mark. I'm happy that you like my site and that you can use the recipes. Frikadeller is one of my favorite recipes :-)
Jennifer Green
My mother had a Danish friend in Kenya in the 1950's who gave my mum her family recipe for Frikadeller, and I grew up eating them.
Your recipe is a little different, but very yummy, so now I have two 'authentic' Danish Frikadeller recipes (I am told each Danish household has THE original authentic recipe :-) )
Thanks for this recipe.
Jennifer, New Zealand
Kim Nielsen
Hi Jennifer - thanks for your nice comment. I'm happy that you like the recipe. I guess you are right - each household has the most authentic recipe :-)
David
Can you make the frikadeller in advance and reheat? And if you can reheat, what is the best way to do so without drying out?
Kim Nielsen
Yes you can make the Frikadeller in advance. I normally just use the microwave oven to reheat them. However, you can also use the oven or frying pan.
Fiona
Dear Kim,
Thank you so much for this. I worked at a Danish restaurant here in the states back in 1980-1984. It was modeled after The Tivoli Garden and our chef was from Denmark. This experience introduced me to Scandinavian cuisine and I learned how to prepare many specialties that are well known in Denmark including gravlax, open sandwiches, Danish apple cake, strudels, both sweet and savory, and something called Copenhagen Fish Stew which was finished with pernod. I don't know how traditional the recipe was but it sure was delicious! Oh, and we also served akvavit in an ice encrusted bottle, along with some kind of Danish beer. I don't remember why I was thinking of frikadellen/frikadeller (is one plural and one singular?) but I was and that lead me to a search where I found you. Thanks so much!
Fiona
Kim Nielsen
Dear Fiona. Thanks for your comment. I love to hear from people from all around the world. I can tell that you know many Danish recipes. We call the meatballs - frikadeller (plural). I am happy that you like my site. I hope it can bring back some good memories from your time at the restaurant.
Brad
It wasn’t the Tivoli Deer in Kitridge CO by chance?
Anita Jensen
Hi Brad
Tivoli is an amazing experience that is in Copenhagen. The last time I was there, I rode a wooden rollercoaster that wasn't really fast, and there were no stomach dropping inclines. It did move around trees, so you could touch the leaves. It is nothing like an American Rollercoaster. It is a park, It has theatres, music, restaurants, everything.
https://www.tivoli.dk/en/
Didi Sinclair
Hi Kim! I was in Denmark in 1985, on a program called Scandinavian Seminar. I lived with a family for part of the time, and then at a Folkhoijskol in Odder. I LOVED the frickadeller, the liver pate, the rundstucker (breakfast rolls?). My danish mother made flisk.. pure pork fat deep fried.. so bad but so good! Please forgive my poor danish spelling.. it has been many years! I'll try your recipe, I'm sure it will bring back memories!
Kim Nielsen
Hi Didi. Thanks for your message. Your spelling of the recipes is almost correct. I understand all the words. If you are interested, then I have the recipes for both Danish liver pate, frikadeller, flaesk (fried pork) and rundstykker (breakfast buns) on my blog. I hope that the recipes are going to help you bring back some good memories :-)
Anne Josselyn
I went to Krabbesholm Hojskole in Skive with Scandinavian Seminar in 1972-73 og jeg kan stadig taler dansk. Great to see a fellow alum online! I kick myself for not getting the recipe for frikadeller from my farm family mother! or ANY recipes come to think of it, as I wasn't interested in cooking back then.
Anne Josselyn
In fact, you are too young to be him, but you share the same first and last name as the youngest son in my Scandinavian Seminar farm family!! Du bor ikke i naerheden af Bogense, vel? (desvaere har jeg ikke danske bogstaver paa min computer.)
Kim Nielsen
Hi Anne. I hope that you can find some of the recipes on my blog from your time in Denmark. My name "Kim Nielsen" is a common name in Denmark. I live in Copenhagen :-)
Lars Jespersen
Endelig en nem opskrift paa frikadeller. Bor i England og savner dem
Ingrid Hoets
Excellent! Thank you. (Remoulade to go with it equally good.)
Kim Nielsen
Yes you are right - remoulade is perfect together with Frikadeller
Steven Johnson
I grew up eating my granddad's frikadellers, he was Danish, this is very close to his recipe, he used celery salt for seasoning and he used 50/50 ground beef and pork sausage.
Walter Gruver
I agree with you
Rebecca Ackroyd
Our family held a Danish heritage night tonight and made your frikadeller recipe. They were so delicious and our kids really enjoyed them. My great, great grandma was from Denmark, so it was fun to eat a recipe she might have eaten. Thank you for taking the time to share this recipe!
Kim Nielsen
You are welcome. I'm glad that you can use the recipe for Frikadeller. Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Peter Kaufmann
Our family has been in Canada for 67 years. Frikadella is a mainstay of family gatherings. The butcher will grind the pork finer or put it through twice. My mother always put a little curry into the batter, and it becomes like a batter, with the eggs and the milk. My younger son likes the frikadella crispy. We serve with new potatoes, brun sauce and rodkal.
Sometimes white cabbage in a cream sauce, then no gravy.
Per Kaufmann, Winnipeg
Darrell Conrad
I'm an American with a Danish bloodline that goes back centuries. My mother followed a family recipe that is very similar to the one in this article; however she used a 50/50 mixture of ground pork and sirloin. She also added two tablespoons of sugar, a dash of milk/cream, and shredded her onions. Needless to say, we keep that family tradition alive when we indulge Frikadella. Mange Tak ~
Carol Ann
Hi Kim,
A dear Danish friend used to bring open-faced rye bread sandwiches of frikadella, mustard and sliced pickled beets for our lunch. So yummy! She said the trick to making them like the ones in Denmark, we are in Canada, is to double grind the meat. If you don’t have your own meat grinder, the butcher will do it for you. She would form hers into little loaf shapes that, when sliced, would fit the rye bread perfectly
Anthony in Queens, NYC
Thanks for the recipe!
I have a couple of things I do to match my MorMor's recipe:
1) in lieu of breadcrumbs, I soak a couple/3 slices of white bread in milk for like a half hour before combining.
2) I grate the onion into the mixture
3) I add about a tablespoon of allspice into the mix
Some people add seltzer (my mom says it's done that way. Unsure if meant to be in place of milk or just just addl liquid), but I haven't & its been pretty spot on to what I remember. (We all have our individual ways! 😊)
Jean
Glad that I found this recipe and can't wait to try it. I lived in DK as a youngster and recall having frikadeller with red cabbage and boiled potatoes topped with parsley sauce. They are so good for lunch too. My host mom's were the best and I've yet to match them, but hope your recipe helps!
Kim Nielsen
I hope that you will like the recipe. :-) Regards Kim (NordicFoodLiving.com)
Johan Duvenage
Very nice.
Lynette
My mom sometimes substituted ginger ale for milk and it turns out just as well. You don't taste the ginger, but the sugar allows for some really nice browning. Might be a good fix for those who are lactose intolerant.
Lisa Sorensen
I grew up with Danish Mom putting 1/2 prune inside for added sweetness to the savory meat. She always served with red cabbage 🇩🇰