Some food lovers collect spices, others collect vintage cake stands. I collect recipes for flatbreads. I love them. Can't get enough. Lefse, in particular, is a flatbread I've been eyeing for some time now. You might even say it's my birthright.
I grew up in Minnesota with my Christensen relatives and Lutsens, Knudsens, and Olsens for neighbors: all of us descended from Scandinavian settlers to the area. And though I heard plenty of stories about lefse, lutefisk, and all the other traditional foods of my forebears, by the time I came on the scene, we were more likely to have mac and cheese on our table.
But my interest in my culinary heritage has been growing over the past few years, helped along in no small part by a growing global interest in Nordic cuisine. Every church and community cookbook I've inherited has scores of these "Old World" recipes, and without fail, several of them are for lefse.
Lefse is a humble sort of flatbread, made as it is from leftover mashed potatoes. Work in a little flour, roll it out flat, and cook it on the stovetop for dinner! This makes a thin and soft flatbread that's more substantial than a crêpe but more delicate and chewy than a flour tortilla.
The most quintessential way to eat lefse is to spread it with sweet butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and then roll it up. This is makes an afternoon snack of surpassing quality. You can also spread them with jam and peanut butter, cream cheese, or nutella, or you can go the savory route and wrap up a few slices of deli meat with cheese.
Lefse? Check! Getting in touch with my roots couldn't be tastier.


Norwegian Potato Lefse
Makes 16 small flatbreads or 8 large flatbreadsYou can substitute two cups of leftover mashed potatoes for the mashed potatoes in this recipe.
1 pound starchy or all-purpose potatoes
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste
1 - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For serving: butter, cinnamon-sugar, jam, peanut butter, cream cheese, cold cuts, cheese slices, gravlax, or any other topping your inner Norwegian desires
Peel the potatoes and cut them into large, uniformly-shaped chunks. Place in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Over medium-high heat, bring the water and the potatoes to a gentle boil. Cook until the potatoes are very soft and easily pierced with a fork, 10-12 minutes from the start of the boil. Drain the potatoes and transfer to a mixing bowl.
Using a potato masher, potato ricer, or a dinner fork, mash the potatoes as thoroughly as possible; you don't want any lumps. Cut the butter into small chunks and mix it with the potatoes. Add the cream and salt. Keep mixing until the butter and cream are completely absorbed. Taste and add more salt if desired.
Transfer the potatoes to a storage container and refrigerate overnight or up to three days.
When ready to make the lefse, clear a large workspace for dividing and rolling out the flatbreads. Lefse are traditionally made with grooved wooden rolling pins, but a standard rolling pin will do the job just fine. A pastry scraper or sturdy spatula for lifting and transferring the rolled-out flatbreads is also handy.
Mix the mashed potatoes with 1 cup of the flour. At first this will be very crumbly and floury, but the mixture will gradually start coming together. Turn the dough out on the counter and knead once or twice to bring it together into a smooth ball. Roll it into a thick log and then divide it into 16 equal portions for small 6-8" lefse or 8 equal portions for large 10-12" lefse.
Roll each portion of dough between your palms to form a small ball. Cover all the balls with a clean dishtowel off to one side of your workspace.
Set a cast iron skillet or flat grill pan over medium-high heat. When a bead of water sizzles when flicked on the pan, it's ready.
Dust your workspace and rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll one of the rounds of dough in the flour and then press it into a thick disk with the heel of your hand. Working from the center out, roll the dough into as thin a circle as you can manage. Lift, move, and flip the dough frequently as you work to make sure it's not sticking. Use more flour as needed.
Roll the lefse gently onto the rolling pin, as if you were transferring pie dough, and lay it in the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until speckled with golden-brown spots. Transfer the cooked lefse to a plate and cover with another clean dish towel.
While one lefse is cooking, roll out the next one. Keep all the cooked lefse under the towel to keep them warm and prevent them from drying out. If the lefse start to stick to the pan, melt a small pat of butter in the pan and wipe it away with a paper towel to leave only a very thin coating of fat on the pan.
Spread the lefse with your topping of choice and roll it up to eat. Leftover lefse can stacked with wax paper between the layers to prevent sticking and kept refrigerated for up to a week or frozen for three months. They can be eaten cold from the fridge or warmed for a few seconds in the microwave.
Related: Family History: How to Document Recipes that Aren't Written Down
(Image: Emma Christensen)
Kart Serving Tray b...

Comments (43)
Lefse = YUMMMMM!!! Our relatives in Westby, Wisconsin send us some every year for Christmas lunch. I just like it warm with butter, rolled up.
Do you think these can be made gluten free by substituting rice flour or a flour blend with xanthan gum in it? I wonder how much the gluten is necessary to the structure and form, since there isn't much kneading? Thanks!
I have never made lefse myself, but my partner's family sends us some every holiday season. We usually eat it with butter or cream cheese and preserves.
Our family grew up making and eating lefse, usually around the holidays when we had the leftover mashed potatoes. Anytime I mention it to others, they've never heard of it. It was always such a wonderful treat. We would just put a little butter on it and roll it up, and it was perfect.
Zaydia - Yes, I feel like a basic gluten-free flour substitute would work well here since there's not much gluten formation in the dough. If you try it, please report back!
Holy crap do I miss lefse! But I don't consider it "flatbread" any more than I consider crepes or naan or tortillas "flatbread." I realize you put it in there to explain to the uninitiated, but let's just call it what it is - lefse!
I LOVE lefse! I'm not Norwegian, but my best friend from high school is and I have fond memories at her mom's house of helping trim the Christmas tree and eating lefse afterwards. I also love fatiman. I should have married a Scandinavian.
I LOVE Lefse. My dad is from the Skagen area of Denmark (which is the northern most point) & as such a lot of our families Danish recipes are for Norwegian food. We always eat these with cream poached salmon & dill. Yum.
It would be helpful to know the volume of the mashed potatoes in the recipe above so that if we do have leftover mashed potatoes, we can substitute them.
@Judiau - You can substitute two cups of leftover mashed potatoes in this recipe.
I LOVE these. When I was 10, I lived in Ballard, Seattle, Washington. Huge Norwegian area. We could get these fresh at 2 local bakeries. We'd eat them with cream gravy, any sometimes with beef stroganoff. So good .. like a tortilla times a million!!
Here is our family recipe.
It uses Idahoan Premium instant potatoes. For some reason only this brand works.
It is for a large batch but we still always run out too soon.
6 c. water
2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. veg oil
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. salt
4 c. instant Idahoan premium mashed potatoes (I can only recommend this brand. The only other way to go is to use real potatoes like you are supposed to.)
4 c. flour
Bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat and add sugar, salt and potatoes. Divide into four (yogurt) containers and chill in refrigerator overnight.
Preheat lefse griddle to 400 degrees.
Remove only one container of your potato mixture at a time from the refrigerator. Add enough flour to your potato mixture so it is no longer sticky (use 1 cup per container as a guide, you may need less-but probably will need more). Form into 1 1/2 oz. balls. You want to keep this mixture as cold as possible so it will require less flour, roll out easier, and not rip as easily.
Check again to make sure mixture isn't too sticky (if it is, add more flour) then roll into thin 12" rounds on a floured pastry cloth with a rolling pin and sleeve (also floured). Regularly re-flour the pastry cloth and the rolling pin so the lefse does not stick.
Loosen the sheet of lefse from the pastry cloth by sliding the lefse turning stick underneath the entire sheet. When loose, slide the lefse stick under the lefse again and use it to transfer to the hot griddle. Lay half the sheet on the griddle and use the stick to roll the other half onto the griddle. Cook until the lefse starts to bubble up and get light brown spots, then flip. When the second side is done, remove from the griddle and stack between two towels.
Bush the griddle quickly with a towel between every sheet, or the excess flour will begin to burn.
Allow to cool completely between the towels, then store however you like (we store in a 2 1/2 gallon ziplock-in the fridge if we do not expect to finish within a few days or it can be left out if you are going to finish sooner).
Yield is approx 40 12" sheets of lefse.
Seems like you could skip the rolling out, and use a tortilla press instead.
Thank you! I'm a transplant to Minnesota (hence the screen name) and have had several versions of lefse here, from those lucky enough to have their Norwegian ancestors hand the recipe down. But I've never had the recipe.
How does it freeze? I have found that leftover lefse just is not the same, even heated up, the day after. It's kinda dry and, well, fridge-y.
As a über Scandinavian (half Swedish and half Norwegian) I must mention that the lefse is the perfect hot dog bread. This is how you get your wiener served in Norway, just add mustard and ketchup (and maybe some dried onions). And also, as some of you mentioned: butter, sugar and cinnamon makes the perfect treat to a cup of coffee. Enjoy!
This Bayridge Brooklyn Norske (yes...until about the 1960s it was Norwegian central) grew up eating these everytime we visited Grandma in Bayside. I tried to make once, and didn't have much sucess. The slightly bitter taste of the browned areas combined with butter and sugar is such a strong cultural memory. I'm going to try again!
I too have many happy memories of eating Lefse in Ames Iowa with my grandmother and her sisters. Hot black coffee and lefse - spread with cold butter and sprinkled sugar... there is nothing like it.
The seasonless argument in my family: Should lefse be rolled or folded? There are stanch supporters on each side but I think the debate is more for fun than for keeping traditions alive. Anyone know if there is a "proper" way to serve lefse?
The potato lefse is usually rolled as they break too easily. Other forms of lefse is folded, like Vestlandslefsa, and then there is tykklefse, which is two rounds of lefse stacked with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and then sliced like any other cake.
But yes, I grew up in Oslo eating potato lefse as a wrap for my hot dogs... Mmmm... :)
We remember lutefisk and lefse dinners at the Norwegian Lutheran churches in Minnesota. I can live without the lutefisk, but lefse - yes.
My grandmother immigrated from Oslo.
My mom's side of the family in Iowa has lefse every Christmas. I always look forward to it. We usually eat it with a little butter, white fish, and boiled potatoes. Those that aren't so fond of the fish usually just eat butter & cinnamon sugar. It is truly a sentimental treat for our family.
As a norwegian living in Norway it is very cool to read about this:)
But when you make them this small most will call it a "lompe". I Love lefse/lompe and eat it everyday. Here you have many different sorts and sizes. Some are made with spelt also.
most use them with sausage and "brunost" brown goat cheese, but I love it with everything, pate and cucumber, mayo and shrimp and of course jam and cottage cheese (or creme fraiche)
This is called 'Tortillas de Harina' in Mexico, this is very popular in the north of Mexico.
They do freeze well; my mom volunteers at our local Norwegian museum and they begin making lefse in September for their Christmas sale. I like to be there when they are making it, though - the misshapen ones get to be eaten fresh! Absolutely the best.
I'm getting VERY hungry!
wow, you've made me very homesick (another Minnesotan transplant). My grandma used to make these for holidays and I'm so glad to see a recipe. thanks!
Yes! My sister and I now have a Christmas/holiday tradition of making lefse together. Interestingly, my Mor-mor (Swedish grandmother) was the one who made it for us when we were kids; my Norwegian relatives never made it.
And my standard poodle really, really, really loves it! - http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvlymikimoto/4208844313/
We make the big lefse with the 17" griddle so we cut them like a pie and then fill and roll up from the outer edge in, some with butter, some butter and sugar, some butter and jam.
My married daughter has taken over the lefse making, I do the prep and have everything ready, she now rolls and grills. We cool ours between about 5 layers of towels, 1 layer is terry cloth, the other glass towels (tea towels?) There is also a layer of foil in there too. They cool and steam at the same time and stay completely separate. Then I fold in quarters and put in ziplock bags. Freezer bags, if I plan on freezing.
yum
@Emma, thanks for sharing this ... yum! Two questions:
Are Yukon Gold potatoes suitable for this recipe?
Would buttermilk or Greek yogurt work as a substitute for the heavy cream?
Yum! Definitely time to reconnect to my North Dakota roots.
Looking forward to the feedback on the gluten-free and yogurt questions above . . . or would that be lefse sacrilege?
gluten free? substitute the cream? Heavens, my late grandmother would be rolling her eyes right now. Actually, I look forward to hearing if anyone tries the substitutes, but as a life long lefse fan, I am going to stick with the cream!
I'm definitely going to try this one.
You can buy glutenfree lomper in norway, and there is no problem to subsitue the flour with some glutenfree flour mix. (the dough can be a bit crumbly). I use "almond potato" to make lefser and lomper. And after you have eaten sausage with lomper you will never want the "dry" bread.
Lefse is a must have here in Minnesota, especially around the Christmas/winter season. I grew up serving a lutefisk dinner at our local Lutheran church and although I don't like lutefisk, the smell always brings back wonderful memories. My family started making lefse a couple of years ago. It's quite a lot of work but so worth it. We plan on taking classes this fall or winter at an adorable shop called Lefse Time which is just across the MN border in Fountain City, WI. They also sell all the accoutrements needed for making lefse. http://www.lefsetime.com/
Ooooh, I will definitely have to make this this holiday season. As a former Minnesotan living in Baltimore, MD, I miss having access to Swedish foods at the grocery store. I have a couple of rings of Potatis Korv in the freezer that I bring back from Dassel, MN. Just waiting for the weather to get cold here so I can chow down on them.
Yummmm lefse. My grandma (full-blooded Norwegian) and I still make this around the holidays. I'd recommend getting a lefse flipper if you want to make them. And rolling the dough out on a pastry board helps a ton too. This is a small company that I got mine from (I have no affiliation with them, but they sell quality lefse making tools) http://www.bethanyhousewares.com/
@Coffeesnob, I agree with you. But, I'm almost lactose-intolerant. I call it lactose-fickle (i.e., buttermilk, yogurt, cheese & real ice cream are fine ... yet, heavy, whipped & non-dairy creams hate me).
Oh my, lefse! I see many references to Minnesota, but my family is from South Dakota with much the same Norwegian heritage. We love lefse and make it a couple of times a year. Nana always used milk and 1 T sugar in hers using 2 quarts of mashed potatoes. I see no love for the lutefisk, but that is usually because it was overcooked. I've done that myself, even though I'm the designated lutefisk cooker since Nana left us in '83. Fresh lefse, a small bit of properly cooked lutefisk dipped in melted butter, a bit of butter mashed potatoes, and some creamed peas all rolled up into a "snot e butt" with the bottom folded up burrito style (to keep in the butter and peas) is the quintessential Norwegian Christmas meal.
Does anyone know if it's possible to form the dough completely, divide it into balls, and then let them rest in the fridge overnight before cooking them up? It would be great to have these as a prep-ahead for breakfast.
I'd appreciate any advice!
babygrace, you can try it, but I have found and learned from my great aunt that lefse, while simple, is wicked picky about humidity, so I doubt it would work.
I did find a cheat that works, and the lefse even meets my mother's approval... a tortilla press instead of rolling, cuts down on the mess, and makes it easier to limit flour, which if you have too much makes the lefse hard.
I made gluten-free lefse last night so I thought I would share! It was so wonderful to have fresh lefse here in Denver for the Holiday and to maintain the tradition of having lefse that grew up eating for my now gluten-sensitive daughter Annika.
I used the exact technique described at http://www.lefsetime.com/category/lefse-recipes/. Her video is very helpful, too. I purchased the corrugated rolling pin, the rolling pin cover and a lefse stick, but used a silicon baking mat with flour on it to roll the lefse out on. I used my electric griddle turned up as high as possible instead of a lefse grill. The gluten-free flour I used was Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour - kind of expensive but it worked great http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cup4cup-gluten-free-flour/?&.
The lefse turned out beautifully! The techniques I found that worked was to make the little balls of dough into hockey-puck shapes, and to make them a bit smaller than what I traditionally grew up eating because the gluten-free flour doesn't 'stretch' the way regular flour does so you can get cracks in the edges more easily. I used 1/4 cup scoops for each lefse. Also, pressing and rolling straight-down and not pushing the rolling pin, and having extra flour in the flour sifter to ensure a non-sticky rolling pin and working surface. They tasted really great and my family loved them!
Plus 1 on the Bethany Housewares site. You really do want wither the corrugated or square cut rolling pin, we use the square cut. And we also like the narrower turning stick.
There is always a contest among the Grandkids over who can roll out the roundest dough. This year our Grandson put a real press on the girls, but they still did just a little bit better. Our Daughter came over last Thursday and we made a double batch of lefse, our Son and his family came on Sunday and we made a double batch of flatbread. Christmas day was Lefse, butter mashed potatoes, creamed peas, and Swedish meatballs rolled in the lefse. No lutefisk this year, maybe next year.