Lesley Stockton is a writer focused on kitchen and entertaining. Her coverage includes grilling, kitchen knives, and cookware, just to name a few.
On a particularly bleak evening in late February, days after a historic blizzard had blanketed New York City in 16 inches of snow, I found myself in a familiar yet nonetheless agonizing conundrum: I needed to eat, and I had no food.
Procuring food isn’t exactly easy for me. I live in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, where the closest supermarket is a 15-minute walk away. But you know what is close to me? IKEA. And IKEA happens to have a food market replete with frozen foods, all kinds of sauces and spreads, and gummies.
After layering up and popping a lozenge — because, yes, I was also battling an unforgiving virus — I faced the cold white night to visit the Swedish Food Market. There, I indiscriminately grabbed anything that piqued my interest: sweet salad shrimp, cured salmon, and a pastel-pink princess cake.
While many people treat IKEA as an out-of-the-way destination for affordable (if assembly-heavy) furniture, the store has come to mean something altogether new to me: a convenient place to grab groceries in a pinch. Since I ventured there on that miserable February evening, I’ve returned more times than I can count, and I seem to discover something different with each visit.
To determine which IKEA foods are worth the trip (because you can’t buy them online), my kitchen-team colleagues and I tasted our way through a wide assortment of the store’s edible offerings — from iconic staples like its Swedish meatballs to lesser-known items like pickled herring. Along the way, we identified 18 surprisingly delicious things that we’d go out of our way for.
Our favorites
Cheese
A nutty, mild cheese
Top pick
Add this versatile, easy-to-eat cheese to a charcuterie board, or slice it for a sandwich.
We like the Arla Herrgård Firm Ripened Cheese for its firm texture, slightly nutty flavor, and a delicate laciness that’s reminiscent of Swiss. Made from cow’s milk, this cheese is on the milder side and perhaps a bit unchallenging in its flavor profile. But none of our tasters were bothered by its simplicity. If I were having guests over for dinner, I’d add it to a cheese board without hesitation.
You could also use this cheese as you would any other semi-hard, milder cheese, like Gouda: on cold-cut sandwiches or as a snack with seed crackers and pear slices.
Potential allergens: dairy
A sharper cheese that’s great for melting
Top pick
This unctuous cheese is the ideal texture for melting on burgers or whipping into a sauce.
Compared with the Arla Herrgård cheese, the Arla Präst Firm Ripened Cheese is more suitable for melting than for layering on a cheese board. Although it’s also a semi-hard cheese (and the two look almost identical in their packaging), the Arla Präst is sharper and more pliable, so it’s a solid choice for grilled-cheese sandwiches or a cheesy béchamel sauce. This cheese almost reminds me of fontina, due to its density and a texture that verges on gooeyness, though the Arla Präst is not nearly as pungent.
Potential allergens: dairy
Preserved fish
Salmon with an intense, BBQ-like smokiness
Top pick
This salmon is intensely smoky and salty, with a firm-but-not-tough texture.
Top pick
This salmon is intensely smoky and salty, with a firm-but-not-tough texture.
The Sjörapport Cold Smoked Atlantic Salmon Fillet is a crowd-pleasing flavor bomb. Of the three types of preserved salmon that IKEA stocks, this one is by far the most robust. I like to imagine that if a Texas pitmaster got their hands on a cold-smoking setup, the Sjörapport salmon would be the result.
Along with being wonderfully smoky, it also had the firmest texture of the various cold-prepared salmon versions we tested. And, unlike the flesh of a lot of subpar smoked versions, its flesh wasn’t spongy. “Smooth and buttery” was how one tester described it. This is the salmon I’d choose to serve for a party or a buffet. It’s also one of the items that first made me take IKEA’s Swedish Food Market seriously.
Potential allergens: none
100% cured salmon with no smoke
Top pick
We like this lox for its salmony flavor. And it’s a pretty great value, too.
Although IKEA doesn’t label it as gravlax, the Sjörapport Cured Atlantic Salmon Fillet is the closest you’ll get to it (from IKEA’s shelves, at least). Compared with the store’s smoked salmon, the cured version — which is seasoned with chopped dill — is paler, softer, and much less robust. And that lack of smoke leaves room for the fish’s natural integrity to shine, both in flavor and in texture.
One tester said this salmon tasted like the ocean (in a good way), while another panelist declared it their favorite salmon of the ones we tried. It failed to win over the palate of just one tester, who deemed it “overcured.” I like this salmon’s soft texture and salinity, even if it doesn’t quite compare to more expensive, high-end gravlax.
Potential allergens: none
Meat and fish
The classic Swedish meatball
Top pick
These meatballs are practically synonymous with IKEA. And with their crispy exteriors and succulent interiors, they live up to the hype.
IKEA’s iconic Huvudroll Meatballs — which are made with beef and pork and seasoned with a hint of allspice — didn’t disappoint a single panelist. With their crispy exteriors and succulent interiors, they live up to the hype.
“I could eat a pile of these,” one tester wrote.
There are so many possible uses for these frozen meatballs: Pierce them with toothpicks and serve them as hors d’oeuvres, toss them with pasta and marinara sauce, or slice them up for a pizza topping. After warming up the meatballs in the oven, we decided to taste them the way they come at IKEA’s in-store restaurant: with brown gravy, lingonberry preserves, and mashed potatoes, all purchased from the store. (These items are also all picks in their own right.)
By itself, the Allemansrätten Savory Sauce Mix is a solid and versatile instant brown gravy. Sold in powder form, it requires just a little water and heavy cream to whip up into a rich, silky sauce, and it drapes over foods with just enough cling to keep it from sliding completely onto the plate.
And while the Vaggsång Lingonberry Spread is very sweet on its own, it’s a nice foil to the meatiness of the sauce and meatballs. Because it’s a little cloying, it’s best served as a condiment for savory meals (à la cranberry sauce, since fresh lingonberries have a similar acerbic and slightly bitter flavor profile). You certainly could put this spread on buttered toast, however.
Potential allergens: wheat and eggs
Top pick
Make sure you have some heavy cream on hand to prepare this simple brown gravy.
Some tasters found this spread too sweet on its own, but they said it paired very well with savory meatballs.
Chicken meatballs that are actually good
Top pick
IKEA’s chicken Swedish meatballs are just as succulent as the originals, without the fatty beef and pork.
We were pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the Huvudroll Chicken Meatballs, which have a lot in common with the beef-and-pork version. Flavored with similar aromatics (including allspice), these meatballs emerged from the oven crispy on the outside, with tender, moist interiors.
There are some significant differences to note, however. Whereas the beef-and-pork meatballs contain just dehydrated onion, the chicken variety lists both onions and onion powder, and the use of both forms gives the chicken meatballs an extra layer of flavor that chicken typically lacks.
Also, the chicken meatballs don’t include breadcrumbs (as the beef-and-pork meatballs do) or any other wheat product; instead they rely on potato starch as a binder. IKEA doesn’t label the chicken meatballs as gluten-free, though, so exercise caution if you avoid the protein.
Potential allergens: none
Sweet and tiny frozen shrimp
Top pick
These delicious baby shrimp are the perfect size for soups, stews, and salads.
Being born and raised on the Gulf Coast, I have a deep and special love for tiny shrimp tails or, as I call them, salad shrimp. And in my two decades of living in New York City, I’ve never been able to find baby shrimp in any fish market or grocery store — until I spotted them in IKEA. The roughly 1-inch-long Sjörapport Peeled Cold-Water Shrimp are the fully cooked, peeled, and individually quick-frozen shrimp tails I’ve been missing for over 20 years.
Sweet and tender, they have a pleasing pop when you bite into them, just like the fresh Gulf shrimp I ate as a kid in Houston. And because they’re so small, they thaw in no time. I emptied an 8.8-ounce bag onto a rimmed baking sheet to speed up the thawing process, and they were ready to eat in 10 minutes.
For our taste test, I prepared them in a simple shrimp salad, using mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, salt, and pepper, and our panelists devoured the salad faster than most of the other foods. I also think the shrimp would be great in tacos, enchiladas, pasta, and shrimp rolls (like lobster rolls, except with, you know, shrimp).
Potential allergens: shellfish
Sides
A better instant mashed potato
Top pick
Sold frozen, these instant mashed potatoes are almost as good as homemade, and they’re not nearly as much of a hassle to prepare.
The frozen Allemansrätten Mashed Potatoes are nothing like boxed potato flakes. Frozen in rod-shaped pieces, the instant potatoes cook up into a purée that’s silky and smooth but never gluey. “These do not taste frozen at all,” said one taster, who also noted their butteriness and “perfect” amount of salt.
As far as convenience products go, this one is a revelation. Making mashed potatoes with this kind of light, lump-free texture from scratch requires skill and finesse; the process is usually messy, and it’s very easy to work the glutens into a sticky concoction akin to wallpaper paste. With these potatoes, the process is fast and pain-free, and they taste convincingly homemade.
I usually cook them on the stovetop, from frozen. The potatoes already contain milk, but I’ve found that when I add a little extra milk as the potatoes heat and thaw, they gradually get to my desired consistency. You could also use water, though the resulting mash won’t be quite as luscious.
Potential allergens: dairy
Frozen hash browns that actually taste like potatoes
Top pick
Studded with chopped onion, these potato cakes taste like grown-up hash browns.
If you’re looking for super crispy, oval-shaped hash brown patties that are similar ones you might find at McDonald’s, the Gånglåt Hashbrown Patties aren’t for you. But if you want shredded potato cakes that actually taste like potatoes, the Gånglåt patties — dotted with onions, with the texture of slightly chewy latkes — kept our tasters coming back for more.
For our taste test, I pan-fried them, from frozen, in a little oil, according to the instructions on the bag, and this yielded patties with an extra-crispy crust. You could surely bake them in an oven, though, or even heat them up in an air fryer.
When it came to serving them, we enjoyed the patties on their own as well as topped with smoked salmon. And the latter presentation inspired a meal idea for my next Sunday brunch: the IKEA hashbrowns, topped with créme fraiche, cured salmon, and a poached egg — like eggs Norwegian, sans hollandaise.
Potential allergens: none
A versatile, crunchy garnish
Top pick
These fried onions have a deep roasted flavor and a satisfying crunch.
You’re probably familiar with French’s Crispy Fried Onions, the Thanksgiving mainstay that tops dishes like green bean casserole. As much as our team has a nostalgic attachment to that specific product, we prefer IKEA’s version. Rostad Lök Fried Onions have a deeper caramelized-onion flavor, and they don’t coat your mouth with an unpleasant waxiness.
If you’re preparing a dish that could benefit from a crunchy element or just some extra savoriness, these onions can add complexity to everyday meals. I frequently use them on mashed potatoes, salads, omelets, sandwiches, and pasta dishes.
Potential allergens: gluten
Desserts and sweet treats
An airy, pastel-hued dessert fit for royalty
Top pick
Light, sweet, and cheery, this regal cake sates a sugar craving without feeling too heavy.
The Frödinge Princess Cake is mostly true to the classic Swedish treat — fluffy layers of almond-perfumed sponge cake, raspberry filling, and a generous dome of airy whipped cream — all covered with a thick blanket of marzipan. The main difference between a traditional princess cake and IKEA’s version is that the former uses green-dyed marzipan, while IKEA’s marzipan is bright pink (which we prefer aesthetically).
The multiple times we’ve had one of these cakes in our test kitchen, we’ve devoured it.
IKEA also makes mini princess cakes. Sold four to a package, the Kafferep Cream Cake with Almond Paste is very similar to the full-size version, but the Kafferep cake is denser, and it’s topped with a chocolate drizzle. Our kitchen team prefers the full-size cake, but the mini ones may make more sense if you’re drawn to single-serving desserts.
With both versions, preparation is a cinch: Remove the cake from the packaging, but keep the plastic dome on until it’s thawed (which takes about four hours). To make the dessert look a little less like, well, it came out of a box, top it with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.
Potential allergens: gluten, eggs, dairy, almond
A rich chocolate cake that begs to be dressed up
Top pick
This dense-and-sticky chocolate cake shines when it’s topped with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Out of the package, the Kafferep Gooey Chocolate Cake seems a bit unfinished: It’s a dense, thin brown disc, and its interior is reminiscent of brownie batter in both texture and taste. With a little doctoring, however, this cake really shines. To temper the cake’s richness and sweetness, we topped it with unsweetened whipped cream and lightly macerated berries — and everything came together as a cohesive dessert.
Multiple tasters even said they wouldn’t hesitate to serve a dressed-up version of this cake to guests. A future preparation that I’m already envisioning: the cake adorned with raspberry coulis, whipped crème fraiche, crumbled meringues, and crushed freeze-dried strawberries.
Just don’t make the mistake we made during testing — when we let the solid-frozen cake fully thaw before trying to remove it from its pleated paper pan. With its gooey nature, this chocolate cake cannot be transferred gracefully from its packaging to a plate at room temperature. Instead, remove the cake from the packaging while it’s still frozen, and then let it thaw on a serving platter.
Potential allergens: eggs, gluten
Gummies that actually taste like cola
Top pick
These moose-head-shaped gummies taste like a freshly cracked can of soda pop.
If you love Coca-Cola–flavored gummies, try the Fyrtakt Gummy With Cola Flavor. These gummies have a bright, citrusy finish that mimics the effervescence of a crispy can of Coke, and this is what sets them apart from lesser versions. In fact, these gummies had us questioning whether they were indeed fizzy. (They’re not, but you could definitely convince someone that they are.)
Potential allergens: wheat
A sweet-and-sour gummy mix we couldn’t stop eating
Top pick
This well-balanced gummy-candy blend won’t blow out your taste buds with over-the-top tartness.
When we first tasted the Fyrtakt Assortment of Sour and Sweet Gummies, every panelist shrugged and nodded with subdued approval. Maybe it was because the fruity gummy rounds had a softer texture than we’d expected or because the citric-acid dusting didn’t seize our palates like intensely sour candies do.
But as the bag remained open, tasters continued to reach inside — almost unconsciously — and grab handfuls of the pale-colored candies. The zestful mix is well balanced, and these fruit and cola gummies are all too easy to keep eating. By the time we wrapped our tasting, almost half of the 1-pound bag had been devoured.
Potential allergens: wheat
A chewy-yet-tender salty licorice
Top pick
If you love a salty-sweet combo — and, most importantly, black licorice — this one might be your next favorite treat.
Salty licorice isn’t for everyone, but the folks who like it tend to love it — and our kitchen team really loves it. This is a treat we typically enjoy only when someone visits the Swedish candy store, and it doesn’t last long when it’s around. Although the Fyrtakt Salty Licorice is not the strongest one we’ve ever tried, it still satisfies a very particular sensory itch, striking a harmonious balance of sweet and salty. That factor, along with the smooth and bouncy mouthfeel, makes this licorice a delectably enjoyable treat.
Potential allergens: wheat
A mellow-and-sweet licorice chew
Top pick
More of a beginner’s sweet licorice, this tender and enjoyable treat is worth the $2.
If you like black licorice but draw the line at salt, the Fyrtakt Sweet Licorice is a sweeter, more tender version that our tasters also enjoyed. With a less-challenging flavor profile, this is a good beginner’s licorice. I think it could win over someone who wants to develop a taste for the famously polarizing flavor.
Our team especially liked the candy’s texture, which isn’t the same as that of the salty version. The pieces are ridged with hollowed-out centers, so they’re easy on the jaw, and this licorice doesn’t have the grittiness or graininess of some black licorice. While it’s not the most memorable black licorice we’ve ever had, it is certainly worth the $2 if you’re ever at IKEA and get a craving.
Potential allergens: wheat
Why you should trust me
I’m a senior staff writer on Wirecutter’s kitchen team, and I’ve been covering everything from countertop appliances to pantry staples for over a decade. I also feel confident saying that I know IKEA better than the average person; I live only about a five-minute walk from the IKEA in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood.
For this guide:
- I visited IKEA six times to familiarize myself with the items in their Swedish Food Market.
- Alongside other members of the kitchen team, I sampled some of the most popular frozen goods, desserts, side dishes, and more.
- Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about Wirecutter’s editorial standards.
How we picked and tested
Over several days, Wirecutter’s kitchen-team members taste-tested 34 of IKEA’s packaged foods. With the frozen foods, like the shrimp and the mashed potatoes, I prepared them according to the package instructions. And with ready-to-eat foods, like the gummies and cheese, we basically tried these items straight out of the package. (We didn’t try any of the chocolates or syrups, but we’d be happy to test them in the future.)
We also experimented with pairings, trying the preserved salmon with the hashbrowns, for example, and the Swedish meatballs with the mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserves.
The competition
The Sjörapport Cured and Cold Smoked Atlantic Salmon straddles the middle ground between IKEA’s smoked and cured varieties. It’s a safe choice, but it’s just not exceptional in any way.
Sill Senap Marinated Herring in Mustard Sauce must be an acquired taste. We found the gelatinous texture of the herring and the overly sweet mustard sauce to be pretty unappetizing.
The Huvudroll Plant Balls have a gritty, dry mouthfeel. Some testers also detected a mushroom-like umami flavor, but I could only taste the pea protein.
Flavor-wise, the Huvudroll Vegetable Balls have way too much going on. As one tester put it, this offering “tastes like the Nineties in a bad way.”
I wanted the Grönsakskaka Vegetable Medallion to be great, but instead it was meh. Despite my best efforts to get these things crispy in the oven, they still came out with insipid, soft centers, dotted with mystery pockets of wetness.
The Läckergom Lemon Dill Sauce, which we tried with baked salmon, barely tasted of lemon.
The Sås Senap & Dill Sauce is basically an overly sweet honey mustard. A couple of testers said it worked with the smoked salmon, but none of us said we’d purchase this mustard.
Frozen cakes and pastries made up a large chunk of the IKEA items we tried. Sadly, we were not impressed by the Almondy Salted Caramel cake, the Frödinge Strawberry Cake, the Frödinge Blueberry Pie, the Daim Almond Cake, and the Almondy Almond Cake. All of the panelists said they found these items too cloying and rich for their liking, and some testers detected off flavors.
The Fyrtakt Gummies With Berry Flavors and the Fyrtakt Assortment of Sweet Gummies did not wow us. They’re both more sweet than flavorful.
The Kafferep Cookies With Almonds and the Kafferep Cookies With Raspberry Flavored Filling were not a hit with our team. The almond cookies were hard, like old ginger snaps, and the linzer-style raspberry cookies were simply unmemorable.
This article was edited by Amanda Arnold and Ben Frumin.
Meet your guide
Lesley Stockton
Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world — from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart. She is perfectly happy to leave all that behind to be a full-time kitchen-gear nerd.
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