Scandinavian Potato Recipes

Why potatoes sit at the centre of the Scandinavian table

Potatoes arrived in the Nordic countries in the 1700s and gradually became a staple, having first been cultivated in the Andes (see popular Bolivian foods). They suit a cool climate, store well through winter, and work as both a plain side and the base of a main dish. Across Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland you will find them boiled, roasted, baked into gratins, mashed, and made into dumplings and flatbreads.

This guide walks through the best-known Scandinavian potato dishes, gives two recipes you can make at home, and answers some common questions. If you are planning a trip, you may also like our guide to foods to eat in Copenhagen, where potatoes turn up alongside roast pork.

What is a typical Swedish potato dish?

There is no single answer, but a few dishes come up again and again:

• Hasselbackspotatis (Hasselback potatoes): thinly sliced, butter-brushed potatoes baked until crisp at the edges.
• Janssons frestelse (Jansson’s temptation): a baked casserole of sliced potatoes, onions and preserved sprats in cream, common at Christmas.
• Kroppkakor: boiled potato dumplings usually filled with pork and onion, a regional dish often linked to southern and eastern Sweden.
• Raggmunk: crisp potato pancakes, often served with fried pork and lingonberries.
• Boiled new potatoes with dill: a simple summer side, especially around midsummer.

Hasselback potatoes

Hasselback potatoes are named after the Hasselbacken restaurant in Stockholm, though the exact story of their origin is hard to confirm. What is clear is that the technique works: close, thin cuts let the edges crisp while the middle stays soft.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 8 medium potatoes, scrubbed (about 1 kg)
• 50 g butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Salt and pepper
• Optional: fresh thyme or breadcrumbs

Method

1. Heat the oven to about 220 C (425 F).
2. Place each potato between the handles of two wooden spoons, or beside chopsticks, so the knife stops before the bottom.
3. Cut thin slices across the potato, about 2 to 3 mm apart, without cutting through.
4. Mix the butter and oil. Set the potatoes in a baking dish and brush with half of the mixture, working it between the slices as best you can. Season with salt.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes. Brush with the remaining butter and oil and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until golden and tender when pierced.

Smaller potatoes will cook faster, so check them earlier. Rinsing the cut potatoes briefly and drying them well can help them crisp.

Jansson’s temptation

This is a Swedish Christmas table staple. Traditional versions use sprats preserved in a spiced brine, sold in Sweden as ansjovis. These are different from the anchovies sold in the rest of Europe, so substitute anchovy fillets and taste before adding extra salt.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6)

• 800 g potatoes, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tin of Swedish-style sprat or anchovy fillets (about 100 g), with some brine
• 250 ml cream
• Butter for the dish, breadcrumbs for the top

Method

1. Heat the oven to about 200 C (400 F) and butter a baking dish.
2. Soften the onions gently in butter without browning.
3. Layer potatoes, onions and fish, finishing with potatoes.
4. Pour over the cream and a spoonful of the brine, scatter with breadcrumbs and dot with butter.
5. Bake for about 45 to 60 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and the top is golden.

Danish caramelized potatoes and boiled new potatoes

In Denmark, small boiled potatoes are a standard part of the traditional Christmas dinner. They are often caramelized: sugar is melted in a pan, butter is added, and the cooked potatoes are tossed until glossy. They are served with roast pork or duck. In summer, the first small new potatoes of the season are boiled with salt and eaten with butter, often considered a treat in themselves.

Danish pork dishes pair well with potatoes too; our Copenhagen food guide mentions flaeskesteg, the roast pork with crackling.

How to make Norwegian potatoes

Norwegian home cooking relies on simply boiled potatoes, called kokte poteter, served with fish, meat or stew. A typical way to cook them:

1. Peel or scrub the potatoes and cut them to a similar size.
2. Cover with cold water and add salt.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer until a knife slides in easily, usually about 15 to 25 minutes depending on size.
4. Drain and let them steam dry briefly before serving, with butter and parsley or dill.

Potatoes are also used in lefse, a soft Norwegian flatbread made with cooked potato, flour and sometimes cream. It is rolled thin and cooked on a griddle, then eaten with butter and sugar or alongside savoury dishes. Lefse takes practice and some specialist tools, so it is best attempted when you have time.

Finnish and other Nordic potato dishes

Finland has its own repertoire. Karelian pies (karjalanpiirakka) are rye crusts filled with rice porridge and are often topped with egg butter, while some regional versions use a mashed potato filling. Finnish cooks also make creamy potato soups and baked potato casseroles, and boiled potatoes appear beside fish at many family meals.

What is the traditional Slavic potato dish?

Slavic cuisines also use potatoes heavily, so there is no single answer. Well-known examples include potato pancakes in Poland, Czechia and Belarus, and dumplings such as pyzy and kopytka in Poland. For a Baltic example, Lithuania’s cepelinai and kugelis are covered in our Lithuanian food guide. These are different from Scandinavian dishes, though some overlap, like pancakes and dumplings, shows how widely potatoes spread across northern and central Europe.

Choosing potatoes

• Waxy potatoes hold their shape and suit boiling, gratins and caramelizing.
• Floury potatoes suit mashing and give a fluffy texture in baking.
• All-purpose potatoes work for Hasselback, as long as they are of fairly even size.

Variety names differ by country, so look for descriptions such as waxy or floury on the label.

What to serve with Scandinavian potatoes

Potatoes in this tradition tend to be paired with fish and pork. Good options include baked salmon, pickled herring, meatballs, roast pork, sausages and lingonberry sauce. A cucumber salad with dill is a common light side.

FAQ

What are three of the most famous potato dishes in Scandinavia? Hasselback potatoes, Jansson’s temptation and boiled new potatoes with dill are three widely recognised examples.

Can I make Jansson’s temptation without fish? You can, though it will no longer be the traditional dish. A version with mushrooms or smoked cheese is a common substitute.

Are Hasselback potatoes Swedish? They are named after a Stockholm restaurant and are generally described as Swedish, though the exact history is uncertain.

How do I stop Hasselback potatoes from falling apart? Use a wooden spoon or chopsticks as a guide so the knife stops before the base, and choose potatoes of even size.