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Lefse from Norway

Lefse

📍 Nationwide ★ 4.2
Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Reviewed by the WhatWhereVacay editorial team

Soft potato flatbread rolled with butter and sugar.

About Lefse

A dough of mashed potato and flour is rolled paper-thin and cooked on a griddle into a soft, pliable flatbread, then spread with butter and cinnamon-sugar and rolled up. It is a staple of Norwegian Christmas.

🏛️ History & Culture

Lefse is a traditional Norwegian flatbread with roots in the country’s rural farming culture, where potatoes became a staple crop after their introduction in the 18th century. Its exact origins are debated, but it likely evolved from earlier grain-based flatbreads as a way to use leftover mashed potatoes, and it is now closely tied to Norwegian Christmas celebrations.

Regional variations exist across Norway, with softer, thinner versions common in the west and slightly thicker or more elastic styles in the east, often made with added flour or even cream. Beyond its holiday role, lefse serves as a symbol of Norwegian heritage in immigrant communities, especially in the upper Midwest of the United States, where it remains a cherished cultural food.

🍳 How to make Lefse

AI-assisted, not kitchen-tested

Lefse (Norwegian Potato Flatbread)

A traditional Norwegian Christmas flatbread made from a potato-and-flour dough rolled paper-thin and cooked on a hot griddle, then filled with butter and cinnamon-sugar.

Prep
45 min
Cook
30 min
Total
75 min
Serves
12 rounds
Difficulty
Medium

Recipe ingredients

  • 500 g (1.1 lb) russet potatoes, or other starchy/medium-starchy potatoes; peeled
  • 125 g (1 cup / 4⅖ oz) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 30 g (2 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for serving
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 60 ml (¼ cup) milk or cream, warmed slightly, only if dough is too dry
  • 100 g (⅓ cup / 3½ oz) unsalted butter, for serving, softened
  • 75 g (⅓ cup / 2⅔ oz) granulated sugar, for serving
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon, for serving

Steps

  1. 1 Boil the peeled potatoes in salted water until fork-tender, about 18–22 minutes. Drain well and rice or mash them while still hot (do not use a food processor; it makes the dough gummy). Spread on a tray and let cool completely, uncovered, or chill briefly — cold dough is easier to handle.
  2. 2 For each 250 g (≈ 1 cup) of cooled potato, mix in 60 g (½ cup) flour, 15 g (1 Tbsp) softened butter, and a pinch of salt. Knead gently just until smooth and cool to the touch; do not overwork. The dough should be soft and non-sticky. If it feels dry, work in warm milk 5 ml (1 tsp) at a time. Cover and rest 20 minutes.
  3. 3 Set up a rolling station: a well-floured cloth or pastry mat, a rolling pin (a special grooved lefse rolling pin is traditional but not required), a long flat spatula, and a large dry skillet or griddle heated to about 200 °C / 400 °F.
  4. 4 Divide dough into 12 balls of about 55 g each. Roll each ball on a heavily floured surface — flip and reflour frequently — into a round as thin as you can, roughly 30–35 cm (12–14 in) across. The dough should be almost translucent; thicker than about 3 mm (⅛ in) and it will be bready rather than tender.
  5. 5 Slide the rolled round onto the hot dry griddle. Cook 1–2 minutes on the first side until small brown speckles appear, then flip carefully with the long spatula and cook 30–60 seconds more. Do not let it color deeply or dry out — it should stay pliable. (Note: a true traditional lefse griddle is ungreased; a non-stick skillet is the closest home-kitchen substitute.)
  6. 6 Stack cooked lefse between clean kitchen towels as you go so they steam-soften. Once all are cooked and cooled, stack with parchment between rounds and store in a sealed bag in the fridge up to 1 week, or freeze for longer storage.
  7. 7 To serve: mix the cinnamon with the sugar. Spread each warm lefse with softened butter, sprinkle generously with cinnamon-sugar, roll up like a cigar, and cut into bites, or fold into triangles. Eat warm.
  8. 8 Doneness cues: the dough is fully cooked when it is no longer raw-looking on the surface and the underside shows scattered light-brown spots; it should still bend without cracking. If it snaps, it is overbaked or under-rolled.
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