Königsberger Klopse Recipe

Name: The Classic German Meatballs You Need to Make
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 white onion; 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning cooking water; 1 bay leaf; 3 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs; 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 1 pound ground pork; 1 pound ground beef; 1 large egg; 3 anchovy fillets, minced; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons capers plus 1 tablespoon brine; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste; 1 tablepoon fresh parsley

A bowl of meatballs covered in a creamy sauce garnished with parsley — Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

For many people, Germany doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to great food. The German foods that do tend to stick in people’s minds are most often from the south of the country—things like schnitzel (which actually originates in Austria), soft pretzels, and spätzle.

When I first moved to Berlin in the northeast of Germany nearly a decade ago, I, too, didn’t have high hopes for the local and regional cuisines. Luckily, I was wrong. The food culture here is rooted in humble ingredients like pork, cabbage, and potatoes, but there is plenty more to explore and enjoy.

Over the years, many dishes have impressed me, but one of my favorites is northern Germany’s answer to the globally beloved Swedish meatball, Königsberger Klopse.

A plate of Konigsberger Klopse meatballs served with creamy sauce and a side of mashed potatoes — Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

What Are Königsberger Klopse?

Königsberger Klopse are boiled meatballs served in a rich, caper-studded cream sauce, usually served with potatoes and beets. The meatballs are named after Königsberg, an old port city along the Baltic Sea which was once the capital of East Prussia, a province of the German state known as the Kingdom of Prussia, both of which no longer exist.

It’s very common to find Königsberger Klopse on menus in northern German restaurants as a nostalgic comfort food. While they were traditionally made with veal, most restaurants nowadays use a mixture of beef and pork. Anchovies and capers are the most distinguishing ingredients, giving a salty, briny flavor that pairs well with both the meat and the rich, creamy sauce.

Tips for Making Königsberger Klopse

While this recipe is relatively simple, it has a few quirks that are good to know about ahead of time. It’s very common in Germany to find ground beef and pork sold mixed together at the grocery store or in butcher shops. This mixture is great for both flavor and texture in just about any meatball, but if you prefer to use just one or the other, feel free. If you use ground beef only, be sure to choose one that’s not too lean—80/20 should be fine.

The recipe calls for you to halve an onion, keeping one half whole and grating the other half with a box grater. This is because the whole half onion will give flavor to the broth you boil the meatballs in, which is also used for the cream sauce, while the grated onion will provide texture and flavor in the meatball mixture directly.

If you don’t like anchovies, you can certainly leave them out here, but the flavor of the anchovy is not discernible in the finished meatballs. It merely amps up the salty, meaty flavor and is well worth the addition.

A bowl of Konigsberger Klopse served on mashed potatoes garnished with sauce and herbs — Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

How To Serve Königsberger Klopse

Königsberger Klopse are often served simply, as many traditional German dishes are, alongside potatoes. Most commonly they are mashed potatoes, potato purée, or boiled potatoes, which are my recommendations, too. If you start some cubed potatoes in a pot before you get to making the meatballs, the timing will work out wonderfully so everything will be ready to serve at the same time.

If potatoes aren’t your thing, these meatballs can also be served with rice or even egg noodles, but this is much less traditional. If you want to add a vegetable, a red beet salad is very common to serve alongside these meatballs, but a cucumber salad or simply prepared vegetables like green beans or carrots would also work well.

A bowl of Konigsberger Klopse with mashed potatoes garnished with chopped parsley — Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

More Classic German Dishes To Try

Königsberger Klopse (German Meatballs in Caper Cream Sauce)

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 55 mins

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Yield 24 meatballs

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

For the meatballs

1 medium white onion
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning cooking water
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 large egg
3 anchovy fillets, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the cream sauce

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons capers plus 1 tablespoon brine
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Chopped fresh parsley, optional

Prepare the onion and water bath:

Peel and halve the onion. Leave one half intact and grate the other half on a box grater.

Fill a large pot with water and season generously with salt. Add the whole onion half and the bay leaf to the water. Cover the pot and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat.
Form the meatballs:

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the grated onion, breadcrumbs, and cream and mix to combine. Add the ground pork and beef, egg, anchovies, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper and use your hands to mix well, just until the mixture is combined and able to hold its shape.

Use damp hands to form even meatballs about the size of a golf ball; you should get about 24 in total.
Cook the meatballs:

Lower the heat under the pot of water to medium-low. It should be at a gentle simmer, not a boil (a boil is too vigorous and will break up the meatballs). Working one at a time, carefully add the meatballs to the pot. Cook until the meatballs no longer have any pink in the middle, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, leaving the meatballs in the water.
Make the cream sauce:

Add the butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour. Use a ladle to add some of the broth from the meatballs (avoiding the bay leaf, onion, and meatballs) into the butter-flour mixture, whisking the whole time. Keep adding the broth and whisking until you have a smooth sauce, about 4 ladlefuls or 2 cups.

Add the cream, capers, caper brine, and salt to the sauce, then season to taste with additional salt as desired. Cook, whisking often, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Finish and serve:

Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the meatballs from the broth, transfer them to plates, and cover them in the cream sauce. Garnish with parsley, if using. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Leftover meatballs and cream sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat the meatballs gently in the cream sauce with a splash of water in a pot on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through.

Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
511	Calories
38g	Fat
8g	Carbs
34g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	511
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g	48%
Saturated Fat 18g	89%
Cholesterol 180mg	60%
Sodium 827mg	36%
Total Carbohydrate 8g	3%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 34g
Vitamin C 1mg	7%
Calcium 71mg	5%
Iron 3mg	17%
Potassium 515mg	11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.