What happens when a meatball gets squished into a ground beef patty? It turns into frikadellen, a savory, pan-fried dish that’s popular in Germany. Depending on the region, they may be referred to by different names, including buletten, fleischpflanzerl and klopse.

This tasty beef dish would be a perfect Oktoberfest recipe or just a regular weeknight dinner. Serve frikadellen alongside German potato salad or spaetzle for a delicious German-inspired feast. A large stein of beer is optional!

What are frikadellen?

Frikadellen are essentially German-style meatballs that are flattened into patties and pan-fried. While American hamburgers are typically made from ground beef and sometimes seasoned with spices, whereas frikadellen are a combination of ground beef and pork, sauteed onions and garlic, leftover bread soaked in milk, parsley and a variety of spices. The resulting patties are extra juicy and flavorful. Unlike hamburger patties, which are served like a sandwich on a bun, frikadellen are typically eaten on their own. These meatball-inspired patties are also common in other European countries. For example, the Danish version is called frikadeller.

Frikadellen Ingredients

• Ground meat: This recipe for frikadellen uses ground beef and ground pork. For the best flavor, use ground beef with a ratio of 80% lean to 20% fat.
• White bread: Use day-old bread in this recipe. You can use white bread, a split bun or roll, or even bread crumbs. If you don’t have stale bread on hand, you can lightly toast the bread in the toaster before crumbling and soaking the bread crumbs.
• Milk: The bread is soaked in milk, which adds moisture to the meat patties. You can use any type of milk—or water if necessary.
• Onion: Onions are an incredibly versatile pantry staple. Yellow onions are the best type of onion for this frikadellen recipe, but you could also use a white onion.
• Garlic: Minced garlic makes a lovely and classic teammate for chopped onion.
• Egg: An egg helps to bind the meat mixture together.
• Fresh parsley: Freshly chopped parsley adds a fresh flavor to the frikadellen patties.
• Mustard: Yellow mustard gives a tangy flavor to the patties. You could also use Dijon mustard.
• Seasonings: The patties are flavored with salt, pepper, dried marjoram, ground mace and paprika.
• Olive oil: Olive oil is used to saute the onions and pan-fry the patties. You can also use vegetable oil or a mix of oil and butter, since frikadellen are commonly fried in butter.

Taste of Home

Find more recipes like this on my companion blog, “Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let’s Eat!”