Frikadellen with Mashed Potatoes
Juicy meatballs with a crispy exterior served on creamy mashed potatoes. This is home cooking exactly as it should be.
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cook/bake time
- 30 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 773 kcal
- Servings
- 4
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cooking & baking
- 30 min
The most honest cooking of all: well-seasoned ground meat mixed with a soaked bread roll, fried golden brown in clarified butter, served alongside mashed potatoes that taste purely of potato, butter, and nutmeg. No fuss, just a guaranteed hit every single time. A green salad or peas and carrots make it complete.
Why this works
The soaked bread roll is the reason why Frikadellen stay juicy. Its starch binds the meat juices that would otherwise escape during frying, keeping them locked inside the mixture. For the mashed potatoes, the opposite applies: potato starch is released when stirred, making the mixture gluey. This is why they are mashed or pressed, but never processed in a blender.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Boil the potatoes
Peel the potatoes, cut them into equally sized pieces, and boil them in salted water for about 20 minutes until tender.
- 2
Knead the meat mixture
Squeeze the soaked bread roll out well. Knead it vigorously with the ground meat, onion, egg, mustard, parsley, and spices until the mixture binds together properly. Shape it into 8 flat Frikadellen using damp hands.
- 3
Fry the Frikadellen
Heat the clarified butter and fry the Frikadellen over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Do not turn the heat up too high, or they will burn on the outside while remaining raw on the inside.
- 4
Mash the potatoes
Drain the potatoes, let them steam off briefly, and then mash them. Work in the warm milk and butter, and season to taste with salt and plenty of nutmeg. Just make sure not to use a blender for this, otherwise the mashed potatoes will become gluey.
- 5
Serve
Serve the Frikadellen on top of the creamy mashed potatoes. If you like, you can fry a few onion rings until crispy in the remaining fat and scatter them over the top.
Our best tips
- Handling the mixture with damp hands prevents it from sticking.
- Fry a test Frikadelle and taste it before shaping the rest.
- For the finest mashed potatoes, use a potato ricer instead of a masher, and never use an immersion blender.
Tasty variations
With onion sauce
After frying, roast onions in the frying fat, deglaze with broth, and reduce briefly for a quick sauce.
Cheese Frikadellen
Press a cube of Gouda into the center of each meatball for a melted core.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 773 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 37 g |
| Carbohydrates | 50 g |
| – of which sugar | 7 g |
| Fat | 44 g |
| Fiber | 7 g |
Where the 773 kcal come from
per serving
These lines have no quantity (“to taste”) or no table value, so they are missing from the total.
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my Frikadellen falling apart?
Usually, there is a lack of binding. The egg and a well-squeezed, soaked bread roll are important, and the mixture must be kneaded thoroughly so the protein binds.
Why are my mashed potatoes gluey?
Too much mechanical processing causes starch to escape. Use starchy potatoes, only mash or rice them, and never whip them in a blender.
Can I eat Frikadellen cold?
Absolutely, they are almost even better cold on bread or as a snack. They keep for 3 days when refrigerated.
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