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Swedish Recipes

18 recipes

Swedish cooking grew out of a long coastline, deep forests and a short growing season. For centuries people preserved what summer gave them, so pickled herring, cured salmon, crispbread, jams and dried peas are still part of everyday meals. Potatoes became a staple in the 1700s and now sit beside almost every plate. Flavors lean toward the gentle and the sweet-sour: dill, allspice, white pepper and cardamom, with lingonberry jam beside meat and pickled cucumber beside fish. Husmanskost, the plain home cooking of meatballs, pea soup and potato hash, is still the backbone of weekday dinners. Baking has its own rhythm, because fika, the daily coffee break, calls for a cinnamon bun, a sticky chocolate cake or a few ginger thins. The year is marked by food: semlor before Easter, new potatoes, herring and strawberries at Midsummer, crayfish in August, and a Christmas table of ham, meatballs, potato gratin and glögg.

Staple ingredients

Appetizers

Soups

Salads

Main Dishes

Breads

Desserts

Drinks

Common questions

What is Swedish food known for?

Meatballs with lingonberry jam, gravlax, pickled herring, crispbread and cinnamon buns. Home cooking relies on potatoes, dairy, fish and simple seasoning with dill and allspice, with a sweet-sour contrast from jam and pickles.

What is the national dish of Sweden?

There is no official one. Köttbullar (meatballs) with potatoes, cream gravy and lingonberry jam is the dish most people name first, with pea soup and pancakes on Thursday a close second.

What is fika?

Fika is the Swedish coffee break: a pause with coffee or tea and something sweet, such as a cinnamon bun or a slice of cake. It is a daily habit at home and at work, and a chance to sit and talk.