Best Scandinavian Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular food in Scandinavia? ›

Gravlax. A delicacy widely available all over Scandinavia, gravlax is salmon that's been cured, but not smoked. The marinade is typically salt, sugar, dill, black pepper, and sometimes berries. Gravlax is typically served as a starter with dill and black pepper. Some like it covered in mustard, or hovmästarsås.

Swedish meatballs, or köttbullar, are perhaps one of the most internationally recognized dishes from Sweden. These small, flavorful meatballs are traditionally served with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and a creamy gravy, making for a comforting and satisfying meal.

Northern Norwegians eat a lot of smoked, dried lamb. Of course, we can't discuss meat without mentioning meatballs. There must be tens of thousands of different recipes – actually, that's probably a vast underestimation. In Sweden, a mixture of pork and beef is usually prepared, whereas Danes prefer pork and veal.

These days, the food is made up of many of the dishes Sweden is most famous for, including meatballs, Jansson's temptation (a potato gratin with cream and sprats) and gravadlax.

Lutefisk is a traditional Nordic dish that originated in Norway, where it has been consumed for centuries. It is made from dried whitefish, typically cod, that has been soaked in water and lye (a caustic solution made from wood ashes) for several days to rehydrate and soften it.

Nordic vegetables are cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, roots and peas. Fish varieties include salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring and dried salty cod. Fruits do not grow abundantly in the region; therefore, berries tend to be the primary source of fruit.

What is a typical Scandinavian breakfast? ›

A staple breakfast among Norwegians is quite simple, but nutritious. It may consist of a few slices of whole grain bread with a spread of some seafood (for example mackerel in tomato sauce, caviar, herring), or some meat (liver pâté, ham, salami), or some other kind of spread such as jam. Cheese is also popular.

One of the most popular fish, eaten across the region, is herring, which can be pickled, smoked or fried. Cured or smoked salmon, smoked mackerel and cod are also popular choices. In Sweden and Finland crayfish are also particularly prevalent and are celebrated during crayfish parties in late summer and early autumn.

The Swedish diet is very varied with a healthy mix of whole grains, lean protein (lots of fish but also game), a focus on vegetables, berries, fermented dairy – all things that have been hailed as part of the healthy Nordic Diet.

Fårikål – mutton stew: the national dish of Norway. Cabbage and mutton are layered in a pot along with black peppercorns and salt (and, in some recipes, wheat flour to thicken the sauce), covered with water and simmered until the meat is very tender. The dish is served with potatoes.

Notable are the Norwegian fjords, the Scandinavian Mountains covering much of Norway and parts of Sweden, the flat, low areas in Denmark and the archipelagos of Finland, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Sweden have many lakes and moraines, legacies of the ice age, which ended about ten millennia ago.

A traditional lunch can take hours, and aquavit is enjoyed at regular intervals, of course. Popular dishes for a smörgåsbord include bowls of pickled herring served with rye and crispbread, beetroot and apple salad, meatballs, pâtés, and different types of cured and smoked salmon.