IKEA is probably best known for two things: its cheap assemble-it-yourself furniture with pretty much impossible-to-pronounce names, and its restaurant that serves affordable meatballs.
Whilst there are halal dishes at the IKEA Tampines cafeteria, the bistro that serves $1 hotdogs do not. It has also temporarily stopped serving the equally cheap Ice Cream.
Then there is the Swedish Food Market section.
Say “Hej” to the Swedish Food Market
Each IKEA actually has its very own food market filled with an incredible assortment of Swedish treats, from smoked seafood to fancy jams, that you can take home and serve on your new table (if you ever figure out how to build it).
And this is where we made our surprising discovery: some of the items stocked on the shelves of this small market are halal-certified! There are not many, but enough for us to get excited the same way we get excited snagging a bargain at the as-is section.
The IKEA website does not indicate the full list of halal-certified items, and when we enquired to know more about them via e-mail, they could not provide a list.
So we took it upon ourselves to find out what items are halal, and here are what we found.
Halal foods in the Market section
1. Cream of Mushroom Medley
Move over Soup Spoon. Say hello to hearty, earthy deliciousness—flavourful bits of mushroom are visible in this see-through bag. We imagine it tastes satisfying on a cold day and would pair well with a freshly toasted baguette. If it’s good, we might do an Ikea run only for these? $5.50/500g
2. Country-style Pumpkin Soup
Another soup flavour in the frozen section is this cheery-looking pumpkin soup. Considering that making pumpkin soup from scratch takes effort, we are thrilled that this looks like something we can whip up in minutes.
The soup would make a great snack or side for a steak or even meatballs. Also perfect for brunch—imagine it as a dip with sourdough or as a companion to your other breakfast condiments. $5.50/500g
3. Smoked Salmon Chowder
Rounding up the soup selection is this interesting flavour we’ve never tasted before: smoked salmon chowder. Seafood is amazing in chowder so we definitely have high hopes for this one.
By the way, all IKEA salmon comes from Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certified farms. This means that the salmon feed is more sustainable, the fish are protected from disease with no or little need for chemicals and antibiotics, and the farms minimise their impact on the local environment. $5.90/500g
4. Salmon Lasagne
Speaking of salmon, here is another boxed dish worth adding to cart: Lax Lasagne. Lax or laks means “salmon” in the Scandinavian languages. This is a cheesy lasagne filled with pure salmon meat and spinach. Definitely a must-have in the freezer for lazy days. $7.90/box
5. Hotdog Buns
Okay, you may be wondering why we included this here. Besides the fact that it is halal-certified, it is the same bun used in the IKEA bistro for their $1 hotdogs so it should be good? The chicken sausages, however, are unfortunately not halal-certified.
With five buns in a pack, this is considerably cheaper than your supermarket brands so might as well grab this if you are already there. $1.90/pack of 5.
6. Pick & Mix Candies
The candy section in the Market is so huge, it is impossible to miss. Here is where you can choose and mix sweets from a wide selection including perennial favourites cola gummies and jelly beans. Halal logos are shown on the candies’ description tags in case you are was-was. $2/100g
More shots of the Market
For more information on IKEA store locations and operating hours, view here.
Halal status of food items are accurate at time of publishing. Please do your own due diligence before purchasing.
