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The “new Nordic cuisine” movement has put Scandinavian flavors on the menu internationally and sparked interest not just in innovative culinary creations but also their provenance.
Much like the classic smörgåsbord, Sweden’s gastronomy is wide-ranging, reflecting its large north-to-south expanse and four distinct seasons. While centered around local produce, many dishes have international influences thanks to the country’s long history as a trading nation.
Here we take a deep-dive into Swedish food culture, its most popular traditional dishes and regional specialties.
Meatballs
If Sweden had a national dish, it would be meatballs and mashed potatoes, the classic comfort food served in IKEA restaurants globally. The flat-pack furniture might not be to everyone’s taste, but you can’t go wrong with a plate of steaming-hot minced beef balls swimming in creamy gravy and paired with buttery mash, green peas and a dollop of sweet-and-sour lingonberry jam. Of course the best meatballs are homemade, using a recipe that’s been passed down through the generations. Though enjoyed all year round, meatballs are essential at Christmas and tend to be made a little spicier for a festive twist.
Pickled herring
Also central to the traditional smorgasbord served at holidays such as Christmas and Midsummer is an assortment of pickled herring. Onion and carrot, mustard and the creamy “archipelago” variety, seasoned with roe and chives, are some of the favorites. Whether homemade or store-bought, the fish is tangy and rich in flavor. It pairs well with buttered bread or potatoes. Fun fact: the leading brand of Swedish pickled herring is called Abba — like the pop group, though unrelated — and dates back to 1838.
Cured salmon
Another festive staple is gravlax, thinly sliced salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill. Served cold, it’s often enjoyed with a sweet dill-seasoned mustard sauce, along with bread or potatoes (boiled or au gratin). The name of the dish relates to its traditional curing method: grav means “grave” in Swedish. Centuries ago, the way to preserve the fish was to “bury” it in a moss-clad hole dug deep into the ground. These days you’ll find it prepackaged and moss free in high-quality grocery stores worldwide.
Goose dinner
St. Martin’s Eve (November 10) has been celebrated with a goose feast in various parts of Europe, including France, since at least the Middle Ages. In Sweden, the custom is typical of the southernmost province, Skåne, which is home to a large goose breed. The traditional goose dinner consists of “black soup” made using goose blood seasoned with cloves, cognac and fortified wine, the roast bird stuffed with apple and prunes and served with goose-liver sausage, potatoes and sprouts, followed by apple cake for dessert. Try it at Dalby Gästis, a Skåne inn dating back to 1666.
Caviar and egg sandwich
Sandwiches are a staple of the Scandinavian diet, and the most Swedish of them all has to be the egg and caviar combo. It may sound fancy, but the “caviar” is actually a creamy cod roe paste that comes in a blue-and-yellow squeeze tube and costs just a few dollars. Kalles kaviar (slogan: “A very Swedish flavor”) was launched in 1954 by the seafood brand Abba and became an instant hit. Various spin-off varieties have appeared through the years, but the original is still the bestseller. Intrigued? It’s available from The Nordic Expat Shop, which ships worldwide.
Fermented herring
If you haven’t yet come across video clips of the “stinky fish challenge,” in which unsuspecting Americans open a can of fermented Swedish herring, don’t watch this on your lunch break. Known as surströmming, the briny Baltic fish is one of the most pungent foods on the planet. Still, some consider it a delicacy and eat it rolled up in a flatbread or on crispbread, mixed with potato and a sprinkling of onion. It’s washed down with beer or a shot of Aquavit, a traditional local liquor. Should you be tempted to try it, fermented herring parties are traditionally held in late summer, just like crayfish parties (a much safer bet).
Crayfish
Come August, Swedes gear up for a string of crayfish parties held throughout the late summer season. Having donned colorful paper hats, you sit down to an al fresco feast of the cooked crustaceans, salads, cheese quiche and, of course, plenty of booze. Much like at Midsummer and surströmming parties, shots of Aquavit are knocked back throughout the meal, while singing traditional snaps songs, until everyone is rather tipsy.
Västerbotten cheese pie
The aforementioned quiche is made with “the king of cheeses,” named after the province in which it’s produced, Västerbotten in northern Sweden. It’s a hard, crumbly cow’s milk cheese with a strong, tangy flavor similar to Parmesan but with slightly bitter notes and hints of nuttiness. Grated and mixed with eggs and cream, it forms the filling of the pie. It’s often topped with a dollop of fish roe (the finest variety is Kalix vendace roe, a delicacy in its own right), finely diced red onion and crème fraiche or sour cream. Västerbotten cheese pie is enjoyed all year round, not least at all the major holiday celebrations.
Sandwich cake
Who says cakes have to be sweet? A smörgåstårta is essentially a large multilayered sandwich made to resemble a cake. You can fill it with anything you want, though seafood is a classic choice. Smoked salmon along with shrimp that’s been mixed with dill-seasoned mayonnaise are layered on white bread and topped with cream cheese garnished with lettuce, cucumber, fish roe and dill. It’s a showstopper of a dish, popular at parties and celebrations.
Toast Skagen
The nation’s favorite appetizer is shrimp toast garnished with fish roe, dill and lemon. The simple recipe was created by the late chef and restaurateur Tore Wretman, often credited with elevating the Swedish cuisine after World War II, at a time when foreign fast foods were beginning to gain traction. Using techniques he had learnt in France, Wretman sparked a renewed appreciation of Scandinavian flavors. Toast Skagen, named after the Danish port town, is a perfect example. Order it at Riche, a Stockholm brasserie dating back to 1893 that Wretman took over and made as popular as his toast creation.
Seafood platter
In the summer, nearly every restaurant on the west coast of Sweden has a classic seafood platter on the menu, the perfect lunch food to enjoy al fresco on a sunny day. Freshly caught crayfish, shrimp, mussels and scallops, served in a tray with aged cheese and crispbread, is a spin on the concept at Gothenburg’s iconic fish market, Feskekörka (“Fish Church”) dating back to 1874 and now repurposed to include restaurants. For maximum west coast vibes, head to Smögen, an old fishing village an hour and a half’s drive north of Gothenburg on the Bohuslän coast. Its 600-meter-long (1,968-foot) boardwalk is lined with open-fronted fishmongers’ shops, cafés and restaurants where you’ll find the freshest sea fare.
Falu sausage
Many of Sweden’s cultural and culinary traditions have their roots in the province of Dalarna, nestled in the middle of the country and famous for its folk music and Midsummer celebrations. It’s also where the large U-shaped Falu sausage originated, in the old mining town of Falun, as a byproduct of the ox leather ropes used in the mining process. Made with a mix of smoked pork and beef, it’s often oven-baked stuffed with slices of apple and cheese, or fried and served with mashed root vegetables. An elevated version of the latter is on the menu at Geschwornergården, a restaurant located on the site of the UNESCO-protected Falu copper mine.
Jansson’s temptation
This creamy potato, onion and sprats (a type of fish) gratin is an old-school dish, believed to have been named after Pelle Janzon, a food-loving Swedish opera singer of the early 1900s. The recipe was first published in 1940 and quickly became a must on the Christmas dinner table, and for some, also at Easter. However, Jansson’s temptation is one of the most misunderstood dishes outside Sweden because it includes ansjovis, often mistranslated into English as “anchovies.” But it’s actually pickled sprats as opposed to the saltier anchovies in oil. Tempted to try it? Visit Sweden has the recipe.
Moose
Sweden has more moose per square mile than any other country — around 400,000 animals nationwide in summer, so the annual hunt is necessary to keep numbers down. As a result, it’s not unusual to find moose on the menu throughout mainland Sweden, particularly in the densely forested central and northern provinces. Try it in various forms (sausage, stew or steak) at Niehku Mountain Villa, a luxury lodge about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, where the food is as spectacular as the surrounding landscape.
Suovas
Many Swedish delicacies are in fact traditional Sámi foods, not least reindeer meat. The indigenous people of Sápmi, which spans what is now northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia, are traditionally reindeer herders and fish, hunt and forage for food. Smoked reindeer meat, suovas, can be enjoyed either as a stew, in a soup, or on a flatbread called gáhkku. Pictured here is the Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt’s take on the dish, garnished with lingonberries and wild mushrooms. For added cultural context, try it at Ovttas, the tepee-shaped restaurant at Nutti Sámi Siida, an open-air museum and reindeer park with onsite lodging in the village of Jukkasjärvi in Swedish Lapland.
Dumplings
There are many regional varieties of palt, boiled potato dumplings. In the south of Sweden, they are filled with sautéed onion and bacon and referred to as kroppkakor, while in the north you’ll find that pitepalt, named after the city of Piteå, are essentially the same except that the dough is made with raw potato instead of cooked. The Sámi variety blodpalt is traditionally made with reindeer blood, but these days pig’s blood can be used, too. Another northern variety is gråpalt (“gray palt”), named after the color of the dough made with mixed grains. Dumplings are usually served doused in melted butter and with lingonberry jam to balance out the saltiness.
Pea soup and pancakes
Thursday lunch is traditionally “peas and pork”: a hearty split yellow pea soup with bits of ham stirred into it — always followed by pancakes for dessert. The custom goes back at least to medieval times, with Sweden’s King Erik XIV notoriously dying in 1577 after being poisoned with arsenic-laced pea soup. In spite of this notable blot in its history, the meal has maintained its status as a national staple several centuries later — the Swedish Armed Forces serve their troops pea soup and pancakes every Thursday. Try it at Kvarnen, a neighborhood bistro in Stockholm’s trendy Södermalm district that has served classic Swedish cuisine since 1908.
Wallenberger
A more luxurious take on meatballs, a Wallenbergare is a rich and juicy minced veal patty made with cream and egg yolks and coated in breadcrumbs, served with lingonberries, petit pois (peas) and potato purée. There are different theories as to which member of the famous Wallenberg business dynasty inspired the decadent dish. Most likely it was created in the 1930s at the behest of financier Marcus Wallenberg Jr., who is said to have returned from a trip to France craving a veal patty like the ones he had enjoyed there. The head chef at his favorite restaurant, Cecil, promptly created a “Wallenberger.” Since Cecil closed down years ago, try it at another elegant Stockholm eatery, Prinsen, which serves the original recipe, or Grodan where it’s made with game and paired with black currant preserve and chanterelle mushrooms.
Gotlandic lamb
The island of Gotland, east of the Swedish mainland in the Baltic Sea, is a real foodie destination and one of the must-try delicacies is lamb. Herds of the gray-coated native Gute sheep breed can be seen grazing the pastures all over the island, and its flavorsome, tender meat is used in a variety of dishes. Lindgården, a restaurant and inn located in the medieval walled town of Visby, always has locally reared lamb on the menu in some shape or form, for example as an entrecôte (a premium cut) served with dauphinoise potatoes, chanterelles, roast root vegetables, Jerusalem artichoke purée and caramelized onion.
Beef Rydberg
A classic Swedish restaurant dish, created to elevate the humble pyttipanna (eggs and hash), a traditional recipe that uses leftover meat, pan-fried with onions and potatoes. This fancier spin-off is made with diced and fried fillet of sirloin and potatoes, and served with beer-braised onion, a raw egg yolk, and Dijon cream. It is believed to have originated at the now closed Hôtel Rydberg in Stockholm in the late 19th century. Try it instead at Ulla Winbladh, a restaurant renowned for serving traditional fare, located just next to the capital’s open-air Skansen museum where you can learn more about Swedish food culture.
Gubbröra
This simple egg and sprats salad seasoned with onion, dill and chives, is typically eaten on crispbread or sweetened dark rye bread. Its creamy consistency is because the ingredients are mixed together with creme fraîche and soured cream. Gubbröra, which translates as “old man’s mix,” can be enjoyed either cold or pan fried, and makes a perfect midnight snack. Have it as an appetizer at the Södermalm eatery Pelikan, which prides itself on celebrating classic Swedish home cooking.
Kalops
Allspice berries and bay leaves give this slow-cooked beef stew its distinct autumnal flavor. Unlike its French counterparts, kalops is not based on wine or cream, but instead the juicy meat on the bone, carrot and spicy seasoning create an aromatic broth. Typically served with boiled potatoes and pickled beetroot, it’s a warming dish perfect for the chilly winter months. Food blogger Nina the Swede has an easy-to-follow recipe.
Råraka
The Swedish take on rösti is less substantial than the Swiss potato dish and often served as an appetizer. Grated raw potato is salted and pan fried in butter, resulting in thin, crispy pancakes that are either paired with bacon and lingonberries for a heartier meal, or topped with fish roe, chopped onion and crème fraiche for a more refined presentation. You’ll find the latter option at Tranan, a Stockholm restaurant that has been drawing a crowd since 1929 thanks to its classic cuisine and live music performances.
Smålandic Cheesecake
Swedish cheesecake is nothing like the crushed cookie crust and cream cheese American sweet treat. Rather, it’s an eggy, crustless cake served lukewarm with whipped cream and jam. There are a couple of regional varieties, but the most famous originated centuries ago on the dairy farms in the southern province of Småland. Also called curd cake, it is traditionally made with cheese rennet, but these days cottage cheese is usually used instead. If in Småland, try the original recipe at Åsens By cultural reserve, showcasing the horse-powered farming practices of the 1900s.
Waffles
Swedes love their sweet treats, and waffles are a classic example. Heart-shaped and thinner than the American or Belgian style, Scandinavian waffles date back at least to the 15th century. Today, no Swedish home is complete without a waffle maker. Preparing them couldn’t be easier: just let the batter bake for a few minutes until crispy and golden in color. Serve with whipped cream, berries or your favorite jam. March 25 is the official Waffle Day, but there is never a bad time to make a batch, whether for breakfast, dessert or as an afternoon snack.
Saffron pancake
The gooeyness of an oven-baked saffron pancake is because of its main ingredient, rice pudding, while the aromatic spice gives this Gotlandic specialty its signature character. Saffron may seem exotic in a traditional Swedish dish, but it’s all down to Gotland’s history as a hub in the Hanseatic League, the medieval European trade network. Eastern merchants introduced the Swedes to foods and spices from faraway lands, including saffron, which paired with other exclusive ingredients such as rice, sugar and almonds, became a luxury dessert enjoyed in wealthy households. Traditionally it’s served lukewarm with dewberry jam and whipped cream. Food blogger Swedish Spoon shares a simple recipe.
Cinnamon buns
In Sweden, fika (a coffee break) is an integral part of everyday life — two per day is standard practice in most workplaces — and cinnamon buns are an essential part of the sacred ritual. Making the doughy delight is the epitome of domesticity, and, as any Swede will tell you, the cardamom-scented aroma of newly baked cinnamon buns is the most delicious in the world. One of the best places to find authentic Swedish pastries, whether you’re in Stockholm, London or New York, is the Fabrique Bakery chain. But be warned: cinnamon buns are highly addictive.
Lucia buns
Another classic Swedish pastry is the S-shaped saffron bun synonymous with the Saint Lucia celebration on December 13. The 400-year-old custom revolves around a candle-carrying procession of singers that brings light and joy on one of the darkest days of the year. It’s an atmospheric precursor to Christmas, and it wouldn’t be complete without the bright yellow bun, typically served with mulled wine and gingerbread cookies. Tempted to make your own? The New York-based Swedish chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson has a useful recipe.
Princess cake
Often served at elegant celebrations, princess cake is essentially a sponge cake layered with jam, vanilla custard and whipped cream, covered in green marzipan and decorated with a pink marzipan rose. Originally called “green cake,” it was created in 1929 by the food writer and cookery school teacher Jenny Åkerström, who taught young ladies of the upper echelons of Stockholm society, including Princesses Margaretha, Märtha and Astrid who apparently gave the sweet treat the royal seal of approval. It was soon rebranded Prinsesstårta and became hugely popular — you’ll find it in any Swedish patisserie.
Spit cake
Spit cake comes in various sizes, from petite to towering — the largest Swedish one so far measured 12 feet (3.5 meters) and is listed in the 1986 Guinness World Records. Dating from to the 1600s, spit cake is traditionally baked on a rotating spit over an open fire, hence the name. Various European nations have their own varieties, and like the Slovak trdelník, the spettkaka made in the southernmost Swedish province of Skåne is protected under European Union law. A handful of bakeries in the region are keeping the tradition alive, including Fricks Spettkaksbageri in the village of Billinge. Made with eggs, sugar and flour and drizzled with icing, the cone-shaped creation has a light, crisp texture and has to be carefully cut apart with a hacksaw before the serving-sized pieces can be enjoyed with ice cream and berries.
Semla
By now, you know that Swedes are partial to cream-laden sweet treats, and the semla is just that. Simply put, it’s a sweet wheat bun cut in half and filled with almond paste and whipped cream, and dusted with powdered sugar. Traditionally the pastry was served just once a year on the day before Lent, aka Mardi Gras; however, these days bakeries sell them throughout the first three months of the year. The semla goes back to the Middle Ages but initially consisted only of the bun. The whipped cream and almond paste are later additions – after all, you can’t rush perfection.
Editor’s Note: Lisa Kjellsson has experienced many smörgåsbord and surströmming in her native Sweden. Follow her adventures around the world on Instagram: @thelkedit