Juicy Danish chicken meatballs (frikadeller) with a fresh, creamy sweetheart cabbage salad and bread – an easy dinner for the whole family.
Chicken meatballs with creamy sweetheart cabbage salad is a lovely, easy weeknight dish: juicy, golden chicken meatballs served with a fresh, crisp salad that suits them perfectly. A simple combination that is light, filling and full of flavour – and works just as well all year round.
The creamy cabbage salad is made with finely shredded sweetheart cabbage, crisp apple, sweetcorn, green peas and mild spring onions. It is all tossed in a light, fresh dressing of crème fraîche, a little mayonnaise, lemon, Dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground pepper. I like to use a low-fat crème fraîche, as it gives the dressing a light, almost silky consistency that coats the salad perfectly without feeling heavy. It is a little like the classic Danish mormordressing (a sweet-and-sour cream dressing) – just in a fresher, more modern version.
Together with the juicy chicken meatballs and a good piece of bread, this makes a really delicious dinner that is easy to cook on weekdays and at the weekend alike. The salad also goes with far more than meatballs and makes a lovely side for barbecued food, fish or other meat dishes.
I often make an extra-large batch of chicken meatballs while I am at it. They freeze beautifully, so there is always a quick, home-made meal ready for busy days.
Danish chicken meatballs (frikadeller) with creamy sweetheart cabbage salad
Ingredients
Chicken meatballs
- 600 g minced chicken
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 egg
- 50 ml milk or cream
- 2-3 tbsp porridge oats
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Butter, for frying
Sweetheart cabbage salad with creamy dressing
- 1/2 sweetheart cabbage, finely shredded
- 100 g sweetcorn, drained
- 150 g frozen peas, defrosted
- 1 apple, quartered and thinly sliced
- 3 spring onions, sliced
Dressing
- 100 ml crème fraîche, ideally low-fat (9%)
- 2-3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
To serve
- Bread
- A few chopped pistachios (optional)
Method
- Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl, season with salt and freshly ground pepper and mix the mince thoroughly. Leave the mixture to rest for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the dressing and season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper – and a little more lemon juice if needed.
- Put the cabbage, sweetcorn, peas, apple and spring onions in a bowl and toss well with the dressing. Chill the salad in the fridge.
- Melt a generous knob of butter in a frying pan and let it foam up. Shape the mixture into meatballs: dip a spoon in hot water, scoop up a portion of the mixture and shape it into a meatball using the spoon and the palm of your hand.
- Fry the meatballs until golden on both sides and cooked through in the middle – about 5 minutes on each side over a medium heat.
- Serve the juicy meatballs with bread and the cabbage salad – scatter a few chopped pistachios and some spring onion over the top, if you like.
Nutrition
Premium
The perfect salad. Enjoyed it with chicken & rice
Det smagte fantastisk tak for opskriften. Den er et hit her i huset.
Hej Hanne
Det er jeg simpelthen så glad for at høre – tusind tak for de søde ord 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Dagens menu her på matriklen- glæder mig
Hejsa
Ej hvor dejligt at høre:)
Så håber jeg den falder i god jord:)
Warm wishes, Dianna
Du har skrevet majs ind både som 100 g og 150 g – jeg gætter på den ene må være ærter, men hvilken?
Hej Charlotte
Det skulle ellers gerne være rettet – de 150gram er ærter 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Tror lige at du skal rette lidt i opskriften, der står majs 2 gange
Jeg skal ihvertfald prøve den af ❤️
Hej Lone
Du har da helt ret – tak fordi du skriver det:)
De 150 g er ærter 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna