25+ Scandinavian Recipes • Nordic Comfort Food! (2024)

FAQs

What are the 5 favorite Scandinavian foods? ›

Generally, though, this is a hearty cuisine based on fresh, local ingredients. While Scandinavian cuisine comes with plenty of traditional dishes that immediately spring to mind—gravlax, cinnamon buns, waffles, reindeer, and aquavit—there's a sophisticated food movement now in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

– The rich flavours, the freshness, and the simplicity of our dishes, made from the best organic ingredients. Nordic dishes are generally not too complicated and most people love them because the individual flavours and ingredients can be recognised and enjoyed for what they are.

Some iconic ingredients include olive oil, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, and pasta in forms like penne, rigatoni and lasagna. Scandinavian cuisine is based on foods that can survive in cold climates, including pork, fish, root vegetables, berries, dairy, and spices like juniper berries and cardamom.

The Nordic diet encourages you to eat a lot of whole foods, particularly sourced locally and in season, including: Whole grains, particularly rye, barley and oats. Fruits, especially berries. Vegetables, especially root vegetables like beets, turnips and carrots.

An open-faced sandwich is a very common Scandinavian breakfast. It can be as simple as a piece of rye bread with butter and a slice of cheese, or you can spruce it up a bit with toppings like cucumber, apples, sliced egg, or bell pepper. Chopped chives or dill are never a bad idea.

The Nordic diet is a mostly plant-based eating pattern, which encourages consuming a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. The diet also includes seafood, canola oil and low-fat or fat-free dairy products, such as skyr. Meanwhile, red meat and processed meats, butter and sweets should be limited.

The Difference Between Nordic and Scandinavian

In short, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark are all Nordic countries with Scandinavian roots, but typically, you will only find Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish people referring to themselves as Scandinavian.

Today, cardamom and saffron can be found in almost every kitchen in Sweden. Most commonly in baked goods, Christmas recipes, and drinks. The tradition of fika is where you'll most likely enjoy these delicious pastries.

Surströmming is a traditional dish from northern Sweden that arose during the 16th century when Sweden had a salt shortage. Today, the fish has become infamous due to its stinky smell, yet enthusiasts praise surströmming for its great taste.

What is Scandinavian seasoning? ›

Ingredients Include: Dill Weed, Tarragon, Black Pepper, Sea Salt, Lemon Peel, Onion, Caraway Seed, Garlic, Citric Acid.

Common varieties include salmon, herring, cod, mackerel, and shrimp. Root Vegetables: Root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, and beets are staples in Scandinavian cooking. They are often used in soups, stews, and side dishes.

In the forests and plains grow blueberries, wild strawberries, cloudberries, lingonberries, rowanberries, elderberries and many more. Some are eaten fresh with milk or cream, other turned into homemade marmalade, jam or fruit syrup to be savoured during the cold season.