Top 15 foods from Finland you can make at home
Many traditional dishes from Finland are very tasty and easy to make at home. I have gathered here my recipes to try at home, with American measurements and trying to find alternatives to ingredients that are not widely available outside of Finland or the Nordic countries.
Why these are the top 15?
Some traditional dishes of Finland are odd and you might find them difficult to try.
We can mention for example blood pancakes, black sausage, mämmi and so on..😱
But why to start with the difficult ones when there is so much yummy a food to start with? 😋
So this article is about the Finnish dishes I have had good experience with, when introducing them to foreigners.
Why to try Finnish food?
There are several reasons why someone might want to make Finnish food:
Cultural Exploration: 🇫🇮 Trying out recipes from Finnish culture allows you to explore and appreciate the culinary diversity of the world. Finnish cuisine, like any other, has its unique flavors and ingredients that can provide a new and interesting experience for your taste buds.
Connection to Heritage: 🌳 If you have Finnish heritage or a connection to Finland, preparing and enjoying Finnish food can be a way to connect with your roots. It can evoke a sense of nostalgia or help you feel closer and connected to your cultural background.
Learning Experience: 📝 Trying out recipes from different cuisines can be a great way to enhance your cooking skills. Finnish cuisine often includes traditional methods of preparation and unique ingredients, providing an opportunity to learn new cooking techniques and expand your culinary knowledge.
Sharing with Others: 🤝 Making Finnish food can be a way to share your interest in global cuisine with friends and family. Sharing a meal is a social and cultural experience, and introducing others to Finnish dishes can be a way to spread awareness and appreciation for this particular culinary tradition.
Taste Exploration:😋 Finnish cuisine offers a variety of flavors, ranging from hearty and comforting dishes to lighter options. Exploring Finnish recipes allows you to taste a different side of the culinary spectrum and discover new flavors that you may not have encountered before.
Seasonal and Local Ingredients:🍁 Finnish cuisine often emphasizes the use of seasonal and local ingredients. By making Finnish food, you can discover a focus on fresh and regionally sourced produce, which can inspire you to adopt similar practices in your own cooking.
Personal Interest: 👩🍳 Some people simply enjoy exploring different cuisines as a hobby. Trying out Finnish recipes can be a way to indulge your passion for cooking and experimenting with new and exciting flavors.
So, there are many reasons to try food from Finland in your own kitchen, so let's start!
The best Finnish food to make in your own kitchen
Here are my recommendations, what you should try from Finnish cuisine! The list is based on my experiences of Finnish food that is most enjoyable also for foreigners and what is also easy to prepare.
Check out the links for my YouTube channel and see the recipe videos with instructions!
1. Finnish thin pancakes - Letut
A Finnish dessert does not get tastier than this! 😋
Perfect also for breakfast, but not in Finland, there the breakfast is rarely this sweet (unless you are staying in a hotel).
Remember to save yourself some of the Finnish pancakes while frying, because your family will eat them all very quickly!
>> See the recipe (This is very easy recipe!)
2. Finnish Mac in a box - Makaronilaatikko
Macaroni box, macaroni casserole or Mac in a box (I invented this name!) is one of the most eaten dishes in Finland still today.
It¨s a yummy and easy-to-do combo of minced meat, macaroni and egg-milk mixture. Most often it's enjoyed with ketchup.
3. Traditional Oat Cookies - Kauralastut
Soo crunchy and chewy at the same time! That is a winning combination!
These wonderful and thin oat cookies are also very easy to make.
And very quick, just mix and bake!
4. Hot dog sauce with potatoes - Nakkikastike ja perunat
This sausage sauce is a classic dish that also the kids will enjoy!
Great with boiled or mashed potatoes.
What is nakki then? It's a hotdog, frankfurter or European wiener - any type of slim small sausage will do fine for this recipe.
5. Buttermilk cake - Piimäkakku
Finnish Buttermilk cake might be the easiest cake recipe ever. Just mix the ingredients and bake. Somehow all the men always seem to like this cake, I don't know why, this is regardless of age or generation. So I want to rename it to Boyfriend cake!
6. Salmon soup - Lohikeitto
Finnish salmon soup is a classic, hearty and easy to prepare soup of Finnish cuisine.
Nowadays salmon in Finnish rivers is rare but Norwegian salmon is very similar.
The salmon soup can be prepared also with cream instead of milk, especially for more festive occasions.
Don't forget the dill!
7. Filled cake - Täytekakku
Do you want to impress a Finn? Then go for this recipe! I guarantee your efforts will be appreciated!
This is the classic "Sugar cake" (sokerikakku) that we Finns usually make for every birthday at home.
Classic topping is fresh strawberries and whipped cream, inside you can add e.g. strawberry jam and banana, or any other filling that you would like.
>> See the recipe, it's easier than you think!
8. Finnish potato hash - Pyttipannu
Finnish potato hash is a perfect dish where you can use day-old boiled potatoes and leftover sausages, ham or whatever you have in your fridge.
This is also one of the most eaten Finnish snacks after a night out!
9. Blueberry pie - Mustikkapiirakka
Soo yummy, this blueberry pie! Technically, talking about Finnish berries, this is a bilberry pie in Finland because the small wild berries are bilberries and the big cultivated ones are called blueberries. The taste is quite similar so you can use either. There are many great recipes for blueberry pie, this is one of the easiest ones I know.
Btw, the Finnish word, "mustikka", refers to the word "musta", the color black, not blue like in Swedish "blåbär".
I recommend doing also the vanilla sauce to enjoy the blueberry pie with! It really gives something extra. Also vanilla ice cream is wonderful with this pie.
10. Spinach soup - Pinaattikeitto
Finnish spinach soup is a bright green soup, full of vitamins and flavor! Most often this soup is eaten with boiled eggs - really!
The eggs are tasty in it and make it also a perfect lunch option, that gives you energy for the whole day.
>> See the recipe for Spinach soup!
12. Cabbage casserole - Kaalilaatikko
Cabbage casserole is an economical and tasty dish from Finland. It's soo good with lingonberry jam!
My family recipe is very simple, only 4 ingredients (meat, cabbage, water and butter) and 2 spices. That's it!.
There are a lot of variations in Cabbage casseroles in Finland, some of them even have milk in them, to make the "box" shape (like with Mac in a box).
Many Finnish recipes add rice to cabbage casserole, but it does not add flavor, just makes the casserole bigger, so that there is enough for everybody.
This original recipe is from the time when rice was not yet so well-known ingredient in Finland, or easily available to normal households, and it dates back way over 100 years.
>> Check out my secret family recipe for Finnish cabbage casserole!
13. Macaroni soup - Makaronivelli
This is sooo traditional that I go to my childhood in seconds with this taste!
If you remember eating Macaroni soup (makaronivelli) many years ago, you will be surprised how the taste brings back memories!
II feel bad to show this to the Italians, in this dish pasta is really overcooked. But soo good..
14. Finnish Oven Pancake
Finnish Oven pancake is called pannukakku - what a lovely way to feed everybody at once! You can get 9 portions with this recipe.
Did you know pannukakku (nickname: pannari) also means something that was not successful, like the whole thing went pannukakku? I don't know why it's called like that, but pannukakku sure is no failure!
15. Finnish Sweet Cardamom Bun - Pulla
I saved the best one for last, because pulla is one of the most beloved pieces in Finnish cuisine. So many possibilities in braiding and using it in various desserts, like butter eye buns (see my video for more details), cinnamon buns, boston cake, shrovetide buns, christmas buns, apple or blueberry pie - there is so much you can do with Pulla!
>> Check here my recipe and how-to-videos how to bake Finnish pulla
...and if you have leftover pulla braid, you can fry the slices and make Rich Knights, which is a treat!
I hope you enjoyed these recipes!
Please leave a comment if you have tried some of these in your own kitchen - and what did your family or friends say?.
Kind regards,
Tuija
4 comments
Hi Padraig, oh you are looking for Mannerheim’s favorite food, vorschmack! That’s a specialty of meat and fish together.
Here a quick recipe:
1 lb ground beef or lamb
3-4 garlic cloves
1 onion
oil for frying
100-150 g (about 4 oz, 4-5 fillets) canned anchovy fillets, also the broth. This is salty so normally no extra salt is needed, but test before putting to oven.
70 g (2 1/2 oz) double concentrated tomato paste
4-5 oz smetana (East-European very thick and full sour cream) or some other sour cream
Pinch of white pepper
Fry the onion, garlic and beef, mix with other ingredients except sour cream and white pepper and let simmer for a while.
Mix with immersion blender, until smooth.
Add sour cream and white pepper, mix.
Add to oven dish or loaf tin and bake in low temperature (300 F) for 3 hours.
Serve with mashed potatoes, pickled beets, pickled cucumbers.
Trying to find a recipe for forsmak it’s a starter with beetroot and minced meat I think.
Could u email me the recipe if you know it.
Thanks
Padraig
Thank you Susan, great that you enjoyed it!
Looks wonderful my Son,Jonah is half Finnish.I will post for him.Thank you 😀.