How to make Norwegian Lefse - Recipe Diaries (2024)

FAQs

Is lefse Norwegian or Scandinavian? ›

Lefse is a Norwegian treat that is especially popular around the Christmas holidays. Many Scandinavian-Americans eat lefse primarily around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Lefse is a soft Norwegian flatbread, made using traditional recipes and baking methods. Lefse is usually made with potatoes, flour, butter, and milk, cream, or lard. Traditionally, lefse is cooked on a flat griddle, with particular wooden utensils used in the process. Lefse has its roots in Viking food traditions.

Serve lefse warm or at room temperature, spread with softened butter and rolled into a cylinder or folded into quarters. Add sugar or cinnamon sugar for a sweet treat.

Potetlefse – Lefse made with potatoes. Lomper – Another word for potetlefse, often associated with the small version served with hot dogs. Krinalefse – Originally from Helgeland in Northern Norway, this lefse has a nice pattern and is served with butter, sugar and cinnamon.

noun. a round Norwegian flatbread resembling a tortilla, made with mashed potatoes and flour.

It brought back good memories of the trip and filled our bellies with comfort. As I said, lefse is traditionally made with potatoes, and Hardanger Lefse is made with flour. I read somewhere that it dates back to the Vikings before potatoes were introduced to Norway.

ˈlefsə plural lefsen. -sən. or lefses. : a large thin potato pancake served buttered and folded.

Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar and roll lefse to eat. This is the traditional Norwegian way to serve and enjoy lefse. Raid your pantry and refrigerator. Fill small bowls or ramekins with whatever jams, jellies and spreads you already have.

What is this? In parts of western Norway and northern Norway, a lefse usually refers to a slightly thicker, sweet pastry-like item served with coffee. They are typically filled with a sweet, cinnamon butter. These tend to have different names in other parts of Norway. For example, here is Norway, it is klenning.

A versatile treat

Lefse is delicious when served hot. Some of the more popular ways to eat lefse include slathering the bread with butter, packing it with fillings, or coating the flatbread with syrup or sugar.

Do you put lefse in the fridge? ›

Lefse should be refrigerated or frozen. Our lefse is made with no preservatives, so it can take a week or so in the fridge. In the refrigerator, it needs to stay in its sealed package or it will dry out. If you don't plan on eating it right away, toss it in the freezer.

Her family is Swedish, and many Scandinavian foods are enjoyed by our family each year, including søtsuppe (Scandinavian sweet soup), lutfisk (a dried fish), köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) and of course lefse. Lefse is a flatbread made from flour and potatoes, and is a little thicker than a tortilla.

Lefse is a Norwegian original. Colorful stories carry it back to the time of the Vikings, but history shows potatoes first appearing in Norway some 250 years ago. On the traditional Norwegian homestead, enough lefse would be made at one time to last for up to a year.

Danish Pumpernickel is a thinly sliced coarse heavy bread made from dark rye flour. Swedish Limpa Bread is sweet rye dough flavored with anise oil. Very popular during the Christmas holiday Limpa Bread with its soft thin crust is often served with creamy butter and Lingonberry Jam.

How do Norwegians eat lefse? Parts of western, eastern and central Norway, lefser are used as an alternative to bread. They are eaten with savoury, salty foods or with sweet foods. ... Common sweet fillings are sugar and cinnamon.

Her family is Swedish, and many Scandinavian foods are enjoyed by our family each year, including søtsuppe (Scandinavian sweet soup), lutfisk (a dried fish), köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) and of course lefse. Lefse is a flatbread made from flour and potatoes, and is a little thicker than a tortilla.