Danish specialties: most representative dishes of traditional Danish cuisine

In the last decade, the hipe over the New Danish (or New Nordic) cuisine has increased exponentially. This excellent gastronomic evolution has done a lot for the marketing of the country, but perhaps has masked the traditional Danish cuisine that lies behind its new version.

Very much like the New Nordic cuisine, the traditional Danish cuisine focuses on local ingredients but it tends to be cooked at large and served in a family-style form and it can be defined more as comfort food. Like many countries in Northern and Central Europe it is largely based on meats (mostly pork), North Sea or Baltic Sea fish (herring, cod and plaice), potatoes and pickled greens (such as cucumber and beetroot).

In order to make your browse over menus easier, here is a list with the most representative dishes of traditional Danish cuisine:

Photo credit: Chris Tonnesen

Danish specialties

• Smørrebrød: the famous Danish open-faced sandwich. It has a rye bread base and it can be topped with literally anything, although the most common toppings are pickled herrings, salmon, eggs, shrimps, liver paté and roastbeef.

Smørrebrød, the open-faced sandwich, is probably the most versatile of Danish specialties. Photo credit: Rasmus Flindt Pedersen

• Frikadeller: flat pan-fried meatballs, different from the Swedesh ones.
• Fiskefrikadeller med remoulade: fish meatballs served with remoulade, a mayonaise based sauce with mustard, capers and curry.
• Stegt flæsk med persillesovs: national dish of Denmark. Fried pork belly served wth potatoes and white sauce with chopped parsley.
• Pølser: sausages. There are many kinds, although the most local ones are medisterpølse, a big pork and lard sausage, and rød polse, a boiled spiced sausage.
• Flæskesteg: roast pork with a crisp ring, often served with red cabbage and pickled cucumber. It is sometimes served as a sandwich.

One of the most traditional Danish roasts is flaeskesteg

• Leverpostej: Danish pork liver paté. Variations with other animals exist.
• Brunede kartofler: caramelized brown potatoes. Used as a side dish, particularly during the Christmas season.
• Sild: the Danish fish by default: herring. Many variations exist, like fried, breaded or smoked, but the most traditional preparation is marinated: pickled with onions, or curried. Often served on rye bread.
• Røget laks and gravadlaks: Smoked and cold-smoked and cured in salt, sugar and dill salmon.
• Risengrød: rice pudding, often served in Christmas dinners as a dessert with cream, almonds and jam.
• Æblekage: Danish apple cake with cinammon.
• Rødgrød med fløde: red summer berry puré served with cream. It is also the most famous Danish tongue twister for foreigners.

The beautiful take on rød grød med flode at Restaurant Palaegade

• Lagkage: Danish layer cake. Made of layers of genoise whipped cream and fresh fruits. Many variants exist.
• Wienerbrød: Danish variant of puff pastry, similar in texture to croissants. Often served with toppings such as chocolate, sugar pearls or glacé icing and stuffed with jams.
• Danish beer: beer is the most popular beverage in Denmark, with Carlsberg and Tuborg being the dominating brands (oddly owned by the Carlsberg company). In the last decades, a lot of microbreweries have appeared. The enthusiasm for beer has led to the creation of Christmas and Easter editions of popular breweries, which becomes almost a national holiday.

• Snaps: or akvavit are shots of a strong alcoholic drink, often homemade, that is usually drank during the course of a meal. Snaps are very popular during holidays such as midsummer, Christmas and Easter.

Closing statement

Although simple, Danish food is full of flavour and gives a homey feeling that can warm you up any rainy day (which are many in this Northern country). Make sure you save some time in your trip to taste some of these Danish specialties!

Check out our top picks for traditional Danish food in the capital Copenhagen:

→ Where to eat in Copenhagen: Traditional Danish food

Denmark has a lot to offer in the kitchen, but also much more! Have a look at our guide s of Denmark here at Feast of Travel:

→ Top 15 things to do in Copenhagen, Denmark

→ Day trips from Copenhagen: Top 9 excursions

→ North Jutland: a beginner’s guide to the North of Denmark

PIN ME: