These Gingerbread Spice Meatballs are a match made in heaven between deliciously tender meatballs and your favorite gingerbread spice - all topped off with the best Honey-Balsamic Glaze. Perfect as an appetizer for a Holiday dinner party or as part of your Christmas Smörgåsbord.
Looking for something sweet and Gingerbread Spiced instead? Check out these Gingerbread Cupcakes with Blue Cheese Frosting!
As you may or may not be aware of, meatballs are a very important part of a Swedish Christmas. Like top three things you need to have as part of your Smörgåsbord. You might have had the traditional Swedish Meatballs at IKEA, or somewhere else - Swedish Christmas meatballs are just the same, but traditionally the white pepper is accompanied by a seasonal dash of allspice. My Dad has always made the best meatballs for Christmas, and while I love tradition, and his meatballs, I also love to experiment.
So this year I decided to up the Christmas meatball game a bit. I started with my Dad's magic meatball recipe but then I added the most Christmas-y flavor of all: Gingerbread Spice. Lots of it. And thinking that a glaze never hurt anyone I added that as well. The end result? Deliciously spicy meatballs covered in a sweet & sour & salty glaze. Maybe not your standard weeknight meatballs, but perfect as an appetizer or as part of a Christmas Smörgåsbord (they'll for sure be part of mine!).
What's in a Gingerbread Spice Mix?
My gingerbread spice includes only three spices - this is the traditional recipe for Swedish gingerbread spice, but I know some recipes call for a few more. I use only ginger, cinnamon and cloves, while sometimes gingerbread spice recipes call for cardamom, allspice and nutmeg as well. I like to keep it simple, so I'll just run with my three - add cardamom, allspice or nutmeg (or all three!) if that's what gingerbread should taste like to you.
Another great option is substituting the ginger, cinnamon and cloves for a pre-made gingerbread spice mix. Best thing about making meatballs? It's so easy to fry a small one to taste test and adjust the seasoning!
So, over to you. Don't you just love gingerbread spice? If so - bring out your favorite gingerbread spices and make these meatballs for a delicious & festive appetizer.
Did you make these Honey Balsamic Glazed Gingerbread Spice Meatballs? If so - please leave a comment and/or a rating below, I love hearing from you! I also love seeing your creations - so please tag me on Instagram if you post it, and use the hashtag #alwaysusebutter!
Recipe
Honey Balsamic Glazed Gingerbread Spice Meatballs
Print Pin RateIngredients
Gingerbread Spice Meatballs
- 250 g ground beef
- 250 g ground pork
- 3 tablespoon butter divided
- 1 medium-sized onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon wine white or red
- 2 large cooked potatoes shredded
- 0.5 dl milk
- 0.25 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 0.5-1 teaspoon salt
- 0.25 teaspoon white pepper
Gingerbread Spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1.5 teaspoon ground ginger
Honey Balsamic Glaze
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 dl honey
- 2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Instructions
Gingerbread Spice Meatballs
- Heat 2 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat and add in the onion. Fry for 3 minutes, then add in the wine. Fry for another 3-5 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Mix the ground beef and pork in a large bowl and add in the fried onion, shredded cooked potato and milk. Mix well. Season with worcestershire sauce, salt, white pepper, and gingerbread spice.
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Make one small patty, fry it, and taste to check the seasoning. Adjust according to taste, then make all the meatballs and fry them for about 5 minutes, making sure to cook them on all sides.
Honey Balsamic Glazed Gingerbread Spice Meatballs
- Melt the butter over medium heat and add in the honey and white balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until sticky - when it starts bubbling a lot it's done.
- Take the Honey Balsamic Glaze off the heat and add in the sea salt flakes - crush them a bit in your hand if they are very big. Then mix in the meatballs, making sure to coat them on all sides. Place on a serving platter, maybe stick a toothpick in them, and serve.
Notes
- Use at least 50% pork for the ultimate tasty meatballs and don't go low-fat - more fat means both more flavor & a juicier texture. Â
- Use your favorite Gingerbread Spice or follow the recommendation in the recipe
- Cooking your meatballs over medium-high heat will give them a nice sear and keep the moisture inside - a too low temperature risks drying them out.
- White balsamic vinegar can be substituted for regular balsamic vinegar, or rice vinegar.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and automatically calculated, and should only be viewed as an indication.
Emily
These gingerbread meatballs sound amazing. I love all the Swedish Christmas celebrations. My husband and I used to go to this Swedish restaurant in NYC. The waitresses did this amazing Swedish procession each year. It was so cool.
Emmeline
Oh, cool! Love that Swedish food has started to spread to other places as well 🙂
Chris Collins
I'm always looking for new meatball recipes and this one looks absolutely delish!! Definitely must try 🙂
Emmeline
Thank you! It's so good! And a bit of a twist on the classic which is always fun 😉
Krissy Allori
I have never seen gingerbread flavored meatballs. So delicious! What are they sitting on to make them stand up so nicely?
Emmeline
Me neither so I thought well I have got to try that! To be honest they don't taste all that different from regular Christmas meatballs but still, a bit of a twist. Actually just a glass plate - sometimes it's good not to be good at making completely round meatballs 😉
Juli
What a great appetizer for the next holiday party! They look so good!
Emmeline
Thank you! Happy you liked it! 😀
Cindy Gordon
Just perfect for the holidays! My mother in law will love this! It looks so easy to make!
Emmeline
It sure is! Hoping my family will be all over it as well 🙂