IKEA Unveils a Vegan Version of Their Famous Swedish Meatballs Called 'Plant Balls'
IKEA has assembled a plant-based version of their famous Swedish meatballs.
The furniture giant unveiled plans on Thursday to bring a new plant ball to stores nationwide this fall, according to a press release. The balls made primarily with yellow pea protein, oats, potatoes, onion and apple are vegan and vegetarian-friendly when served on their own — and are meant to satisfy meat-lovers as well. To achieve the same "look, taste and juicy bite of the IKEA meatball," the company utilized umami-rich ingredients like mushroom, tomato and a powder from roasted vegetables.
“At IKEA, we sell more than one billion meatballs every year," Sharla Halvorson, Health & Sustainability Manager for the IKEA food business, said in the release. "Imagine if we could get some of our many meatball lovers to choose the plant ball instead. If we were to convert about 20% of our meatball sales to plant balls that would mean around 8% reduction of our climate footprint for the food business at IKEA.”
Ikea
Like the iconic meatballs, the plant balls will be served with mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and cream sauce as an adult meal for $5.99, as a kids plate for $2.99 or as a side for $1.25. They hit European stores in August, and in the U.S. on September 28.
Ikea
IKEA is also making the plant balls available frozen from the Swedish Food Market for $5.99 per bag so customers can make them at home.
All this meatball talk making you hungry? If IKEA stores haven't yet reopened in your area, the company revealed the recipe for their original meatballs earlier this year to satisfy fans who are socially distancing at home. In true IKEA fashion, it came in the form of an illustrated step-by-step diagram.
