Brown cheese (brunost)Shave it thin and lay the slices over butter.
Butter and brown sugarPress the sugar into the butter so none falls out of the roll.
Butter and corn syrupDrizzle lightly and roll, with a plate underneath.
Butter and sugarSpread the butter to the edge, sprinkle, and roll it up tight.
Butter, sugar and cinnamonMix the cinnamon into the sugar first so it spreads evenly.
Cloudberry jamTart and golden. Add a spoonful of whipped cream if you have it.
GommeSpread it thick, like jam, and fold the lefse over it.
Lingonberry jamA thin layer, then fold the round in four.
Peanut butter and sugarA thin layer of each, rolled up for a lunchbox.
Rhubarb jamSharp enough to stand up to a thick layer of butter.
Warm brown cheese sauce (møsbrøm)Spoon it on with butter while it is warm, then fold.
Rolled round something savory 13
Crispy fried onionsScatter them over a hot sausage before you fold the lefse round it.
Cured leg of lamb (fenalår)Shave it thin and roll it in buttered lefse.
Gravlax with mustard and dill sauceLay the slices flat, add the sauce and roll loosely.
Ham and eggsRoll them up while hot for a breakfast you can hold.
Liver pâtéSpread it on half the round, add a slice of pickle and fold.
LutefiskRoll a piece of fish in the lefse with butter, or eat them side by side.
Pickled herringDrain the pieces well and wrap them with a little onion.
Rakfisk with red onion and sour creamLay thin slices on the lefse, add the onion and cream, and fold.
Ribberull with mustardThin slices and a stripe of mustard, rolled like a wrap.
Sausage with ketchup and mustardWrap a small lefse round a hot sausage in place of a bun.
Scrambled eggs, sausage and cheeseFill, fold in the ends and roll, like a breakfast burrito.
Shrimp saladA cold spoonful along a sausage in its lefse, or rolled up alone.
Sliced roast beefCold slices rolled up with mustard or horseradish.
On the dinner table beside it 10
Boiled potatoesPlain and floury, next to lutefisk and the lefse.
Lamb ribs (pinnekjøtt)Pull the meat off the bone and roll it in lefse with mashed rutabaga.
Mashed green peas with baconSpoon a little into the lefse with lutefisk before rolling.
Mashed rutabagaA soft, sweet mash that suits salted or cured meat.
Meatballs with gravyUse a torn piece of lefse to mop up the gravy.
Melted butterKeep it warm in a small jug, for lutefisk and for brushing on the lefse.
Mutton and cabbage stew (fårikål)Serve the lefse on the side and dip it in the broth.
Roast turkey with gravyPass the lefse in a basket, as you would dinner rolls.
Sour cream porridge (rømmegrøt)Eat the lefse alongside, with cured meat on the same table.
White sauceLadle it over lutefisk, then wipe the plate with lefse.
Drinks 3
CoffeeHot and black, with a thick, sweet lefse in the afternoon.
Cold milkA glass with a butter and sugar roll.
Hot black currant drinkSweet and warm, for children at the coffee table.
How it works
What to eat with lefse? The soft Norwegian flatbread is spread, filled and rolled, sweet or savory, or passed round the dinner table like bread. These 37 ideas cover both kinds of filling, the dinner beside it and three drinks.
Read the full guide
What do you eat lefse with?
The most common way is butter and sugar, rolled up, which Norway calls lefse-klenning. Cinnamon, jelly, lingonberries and gomme, a sweet cheese spread, are used too. Scandinavian-American rolls hold peanut butter and sugar, butter and corn syrup, or ham and eggs. Lefse is a traditional partner of lutefisk, and the fish is often rolled inside. A smaller potato lefse called lompe wraps a sausage in place of a bun, with ketchup, mustard and onions.
Fill and roll
Spread to the edge, fill one half and roll from the filled side. Savory rolls hold best when the filling is dry, so drain fish and pat pickles first.
Warm a cold lefse briefly in a dry pan so it rolls without cracking.
Keep the stack under a cloth at the table. Lefse dries fast in the open air.
Questions and answers
What do you eat with lefse at a holiday dinner?
By tradition lutefisk comes with melted butter, mashed green peas, boiled potatoes and fried bacon, and lefse goes beside it. Norwegian Americans eat lefse mostly around Thanksgiving and Christmas and have it with dinner, so it also suits turkey or meatballs with gravy.
What do you put on lefse besides butter and sugar?
Brown cheese shaved thin, cloudberry or rhubarb jam, or liver pâté with a slice of pickle. For a bigger roll: gravlax with mustard and dill sauce, or scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese.
What cheese goes with lefse?
Brunost, the Norwegian brown cheese, sliced thin over butter. In Salten in northern Norway a lefse called møsbrømlefse comes with a sweetened brunost sauce.
What do you drink with lefse?
Without alcohol: coffee above all. A thick lefse called tjukklefse often goes with coffee, the way a cake would. Cold milk suits a butter and sugar roll.