10 Amazing Danish Christmas Foods You Have to Try (2024)
Lord knows I love food, and December is by no means an exception when it comes to yummy Danish Christmas Foods.
Every family has their own traditions for Christmas Eve, and while some eat pork roast or chicken, others prefer duck or goose.
Most food on this list is general for Danes, but there are a few family dishes as well.
Here goes:
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Traditional Danish Christmas food
1. Julefrokost (Christmas lunch)
If you’re in Denmark in December, you’re bound to hear the word julefrokost (Christmas lunch/party).
This Danish tradition typically involves plenty of food and alcohol, and it’s held on weekends. The party starts with herring, shrimp, smoked salmon, and a deep-fried plaice filet with remoulade on rugbrød (Danish whole grain bread).
Next is fried meatballs, followed by cold rice pudding. Every half an hour or so, someone calls out “SKÅL” to make a toast, and everyone stands up to drink. This is where snaps come in.
This awful drink is served ice-cold and has a 40-45 percent alcohol level. We have a tradition of singing dozens of drinking songs during the night – each requiring snaps, of course.
Read next: 20 amazing dishes you must try in Denmark
Most companies will arrange a Christmas party for their employees, families will have a Christmas lunch on the 25th or 26th, and friends will meet for yet another Christmas party.
It’s not unusual to attend Christmas parties every weekend of December with some even beginning in November and others stretching into January.
2. Risengrød (Rice pudding)
A less alcoholic dish during December is risengrød; or rice pudding. It’s served with butter, sugar, and cinnamon for dinner during December.
*Most Danish kids are taught to leave a small dish of risengrød in the attic or outside on the porch for the Christmas Elf or Santa.
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3. Christmas goodies
And now to the extra calorie-filled food – the goodies.
Danish Christmas cookies are made and eaten throughout December, including various types of gingerbread biscuits, vanilla cookies, brown cookies, marzipan, and oatmeal balls with pearl sugar.
In my family, we gather one whole day and make all these goodies while listening to Christmas music.
It’s one of my favorite days of the year.
We bake a lot of cookies and store them in boxes – no wonder everyone always gains a few pounds.
4. Fåsselår – my personal favourite
This dish is specific to my family. I have never heard of anyone making this other than my relatives from North Jutland.
Every year in November, Dad buys a lamb leg and puts it in a brine of salt and water for 30 days before hanging it up to dry. After three weeks, the result is as shown below.
The (extremely) salty meat is served with toasted white bread.
Read next: More traditional Danish Christmas food
5. Homemade rolled sausage
Another family tradition is the rolled sausage. This is actually eaten all year round, but we only make it ourselves at Christmas time.
When it’s homemade, we put lots of thyme, pepper, and onion in it, which only makes it that much tastier. Mhhmmm.
6. Gløgg & æbleskriver (mulled wine and apple slices)
From the very salty and spicy meat to a sweet dish called: æbleskiver (apple slices) and gløgg (mulled wine).
Despite their name, ‘apple slices’ have nothing to do with apples.
They are baked round cakes made of pancake dough, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with strawberry jam.
Æbleskriver is sometimes served with mulled wine; a traditional Nordic drink consisting of red wine, spices, and raisins. Not one of my favorites, but æbleskiver, however, is.
7. The healthy snacks
For some of us, all that Christmas food leaves us panicking about weight gain, so the healthier alternative is dried figs and dates, walnuts and hazels.. oh and clementines.
The oranges from Israel (Jaffa) are also especially good this time of year.
Figs, nuts, and oranges can be bought year-round, but they’re more popular during Christmas.
Read next: How we spend Christmas in Denmark
8. Klejner
Klejner is a Nordic type of fried pastry made of sugar, egg yolks, margarine, and flour.
They’re rolled out and cut into strips, deep fried in oil, and sometimes sprinkled with sugar. They’re a very common Christmas goodie.
In Denmark, you can buy klejner in almost any store, but homemade is simply the best.
9. Risalamande (cold rice pudding)
Ah, the risalamande.
This dish is by far one of the biggest highlights for me, and it would not be Christmas without it.
Risalamande is a rice pudding made from rice, sugar, vanilla, whipped cream, and chopped almonds, served with cherry or caramel sauce (it’s very similar to risengrød, but this is served cold on Christmas Eve).
The risalamande tradition
According to tradition, a whole almond is added to the dessert, and the person who finds it wins a present.
Now, the finder is supposed to conceal his discovery as long as possible, so the rest of the family is forced to eat the entire bowl of risalamande while trying to guess who found it. Danish culture at its best.
10. Christmas duck
Roast duck. The creme de la creme.
This is what I’m looking forward to all of December, and Mum’s cooking always ceases to amaze me!
Some Danes eat flæskesteg (pork roast) on Christmas Eve, but we always get duck with caramelized potatoes and gravy.
If there is such a thing as Christmas Food Heaven, this would be it.
FAQ – Danish Christmas Food
What is traditional Danish Christmas food?
Traditional Danish Christmas food includes roast pork with crackling, duck or goose, boiled potatoes, red cabbage, and gravy.
For dessert, risalamande, a rice pudding with cherry sauce, is popular. These dishes are eaten during Christmas Eve dinner.
What are Danish holiday treats?
Danish holiday treats include:
- Æbleskiver, spherical pancakes dusted with powdered sugar
- Klejner, fried dough twists
- Pebernødder, small spiced cookies.
- Gløgg, a warm spiced wine
What do Danes drink at Christmas?
Danes commonly drink gløgg at Christmas, a warm spiced wine often served with raisins and almonds. Beer and snaps, a type of strong spirit, are also traditional holiday beverages.
What kind of meat will you typically find on a Danish dinner table on Christmas Eve?
On a Danish Christmas Eve table, you’ll typically find roast pork with crackling, roast duck, or roast goose.
These meats are often served with boiled potatoes, red cabbage, and delicious gravy. We usually also serve Taffel chips.
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Looks yummy but I’ll gonna love that foods except for Christmas.
Yes, you can eat this food all year round!
itS a really good website ill tell people to use it
So glad to hear that. Thank you!
what i your favorite
Uuh, that’s a tough one. I’ll probably go with the Christmas duck 🙂
m m m duck!
It’s the best!
I am very interested in the recipes for these dishes. Where can I get them?
Hi Mark, if you let me know which ones you’re interested in, I’ll send them to you. I have them in my family recipe book.
Spent three months in Aarhus back in 1990. All these food descriptions reminded me of what my host family shared with me. Nice memories!
I’m so glad that it evoked those memories. All the best to you, Sara 🙂
This was a trip through my childhood and almost gave me a little hjemve ^_^
Originally, æbleskiver were called that because they had an apple slice in them. At some point they became purely the delicious doughy goodness we have today. My dad used to sometimes add something to the centre while cooking them.
Mission accomplished then 🙂
I didn’t know about the apple slice, but must admit that I’m glad they eventually took it out. It’s pretty perfect now.