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Our Norwegian recipes
Right off the bat, we have to say that we aren’t Norwegian. We’re Danish! And while there are certainly similarities between the two countries in terms of culture and food, we won’t claim that they’re the same. We’ve actually received emails in the past where people are angry that we’ve called ourselves “Skandibaking” because we apparently don’t have enough Norwegian food and recipes to claim that.
But the idea behind Skandibaking is to share recipes inspired by Scandinavia, some of them traditional and some not. We struggle with the idea of sharing traditional Norwegian recipes that we don’t know that much about, while the Danish recipes are those we’ve grown up with. So we’ll keep working on Norwegian recipes here and there when we feel qualified to do so, but hopefully you can understand where we’re coming from. And recommend Norwegian recipes for us to research and develop!
What is Norwegian food like?
Norwegian food is all about fresh ingredients and hearty, filling food. In that sense, it is very similar to Swedish and Danish cuisine, which makes sense, given the similarities in geography and a lot of historical crossover between these cultures. In Norway, there’s plenty of seafood, lamb, other game, and cheese, and people generally like to use locally-sourced ingredients, so you’ll also find dishes that use lots of potatoes and cured or pickled meats and vegetables.
What we know best about Norwegian food is a few niche ingredients: brunost, which is a caramelized goat’s cheese, which we ate in Denmark as kids. It has a really unique flavor, and Norwegians eat it as a topping on bread or lefse (potato flatbreads). Norwegians also eat a lot of sheep and lamb, which is notably different to what we traditionally eat in Denmark. They also eat and cook with cloudberries, which, in our experience, you can’t usually find in Denmark (at least where we’re from). Clearly, there are some notable differences between the cuisines and cultures, as well as plenty of similarities.
So, while we haven’t developed many traditional recipes for Norwegian food, especially savory, we have worked on recreating some of the best Norwegian baked goods, so you’ll find those recipes in the list below!
Norwegian Fastelavnsboller
These cardamom-spiced soft buns are sliced in half and filled with raspberry jam and whipped cream. They’re so deliciously well-balanced, with the tart and concentrated jam balancing out the whipped cream, and the fluffy bun just acting as the perfect base for the yummy fillings. Norwegians eat these during the Nordic holiday of fastelavn, and each country has their traditional version of fastelavnsboller, so this is the Norwegian version.
Norwegian Fastelavnsboller (Buns with Jam and Cream)
These fluffy and cardamom-flavored Norwegian fastelavnsboller are filled with a delicious tart raspberry jam and fresh whipped cream. The perfect combination!
Check out this recipeSkoleboller (Custard Buns)
If you’re into Nordic baked goods, you’ll have heard of Norwegian skoleboller or skolebrød. These are soft buns that are topped with a big scoop of vanilla custard, then rolled in some icing and coconut flakes. The end result is truly an addicting baked good, with so much flavor and such amazing textures in one bun.
Skoleboller (Norwegian Custard Buns)
The standard Scandinavian combination of ingredients – fluffy cardamom dough and smooth vanilla custard – gets an upgrade in these wonderful coconut-covered "school buns"!
Check out this recipeLefse (Potato Flatbread)
Have leftover mashed potatoes? This is a wonderful recipe to have up your sleeve. Simply add flour, knead together into a dough, and roll it out into flatbreads to cook in a pan until nice and brown on both sides. These lefse are very tender, and you can eat them with sweet or savory toppings – both are delicious! Obviously, you can also make mashed potatoes specifically to make this recipe. That’s what we do!
Lefse (Norwegian Potato Flatbread)
These lefse are made with potatoes, which gives them a delicious texture and flavor, and they are a perfect vessel for your favorite toppings!
Check out this recipeHjertevafler (Heart-shaped Waffles)
Sofie went to northern Norway for a summer to work on a farm, and a core memory from that trip was eating these heart waffles while watching the midnight sun come down and go straight back up. They’ve got crispy edges with a lovely fluffy interior, and they’re so nice and buttery. Top them with sour cream, jam, or brunost for a traditional flavor combo.
Hjertevafler (Norwegian Heart-Shaped Waffles)
These soft and sweet Norwegian waffles are so delicious topped with sour cream, whipped cream, jam, berries, chocolate, or if you’re looking for a truly authentic topping: myseost! (brown whey cheese)
Check out this recipeFyrstekake (Prince’s Cake)
This was possibly one of our first Norwegian recipes, but it absolutely blew our minds with how delicious it is. Granted, it is more of a tart than a cake, with a pastry base and topping that encases an almond and rum filling. The taste is just unbelievable, especially if you like almond cakes or frangipane or marzipan or anything like that. Definitely one to try, and possibly one you’ve never heard of before!
Fyrstekake (Norwegian Prince’s Cake)
This fyrstekake (prince’s cake) is absolutely delicious! The filling is moist, sweet, and flavored with almond and rum, and the pastry itself is buttery, flaky, and beautiful!
Check out this recipeAny suggestions for more Norwegian recipes?
And that brings us to the end of our list of Norwegian recipes that we love, all of which are already posted on the blog. Are there any of these that stand out to you and that you’d like to try? Let us know in the comments. If you’re Norwegian or your family is – what would you like to see us share in the future? We’d love to add some Norwegian recipes to our list, so please feel free to share if you have any suggestions.
Thanks for reading! Hope you give one of these recipes a try, and that you learned something new about Norwegian food in this blog post.
