Midsummer is a celebration of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. In Sweden, Midsummer Day is an officially declared holiday that falls on a Saturday between June 20-26, but the real festivities begin the day before on Midsummer's Eve. Celebrations include a long, leisurely lunch or dinner, a festive Maypole, flower crowns, singing, dancing and perhaps a shot or two of schnapps. The Midsummer meal itself often includes pickled herring, new potatoes with dill, strawberries and cured salmon.
If you are considering hosting your own Midsummer gathering and are looking some ideas for what to serve, you have come to the right place! Keep reading for a list of Scandinavian-inspired recipes that are sure to kick off the longest day of the year with Nordic style.
Midsummer Recipes
The Midsummer meal is usually served smörgåsbord style, or as a buffet with a variety of items for your guests to choose from. Feel free to mix and match from the following list of summery Nordic-inspired recipes!
Swedish 75 (Lingonberry Cocktail)
A refreshing Scandinavian take on the French 75 cocktail with sparkling wine, gin, lingonberry preserves and fresh lemon juice.
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Homemade Rhubarb Syrup (Rhubarb Cordial)
This Homemade Rhubarb Syrup (or cordial) is tangy, sweet and the perfect addition to refreshing drinks, cocktails, mocktails and desserts that capture the essence of summer. With only a handful of ingredients, it is also incredibly easy to make at home!
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Elegant and Easy Rhubarb Cocktail
Looking for a sophisticated drink to kick of a summer evening? This rhubarb cocktail is for you! Think of this refreshing sipper as a rhubarb cosmopolitan, bursting with tangy rhubarb flavor and easy drinking elegance. You and your guests will love it!
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Cream Cheese Cucumber Bites with Dill
A deliciously simple cucumber snack recipe featuring refreshing cucumber rounds topped with a savory cream cheese and dill mixture.
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Potato and Pickled Herring Bites with Remoulade
An easy and delicious Scandinavian-inspired appetizer with sliced potatoes, curry remoulade sauce, pickled herring and fresh dill. A simply elegant beginning to a festive evening!
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Traditional Toast Skagen (Swedish Shrimp Toasts)
An easy and elegant Swedish appetizer...crispy, buttery toast topped with creamy shrimp salad and caviar. A perfect way to begin a memorable evening!
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Chilled Cucumber Soup with Avocado and Dill
Refreshing cucumber, vibrant peppers, fragrant dill and creamy avocado come together in this vegetarian no-cook soup. A delicious, cooling elixir for hot days!
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Easy Swedish Crispbread (Knäckebröd)
A simple recipe for Swedish Crispbread (Knäckebröd) featuring dark rye flour and oats. A delicious and nutritious accompaniment to snacks and meals at any time of day!
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Kavring (The Easiest Swedish Rye Bread)
Kavring is a delicious Swedish rye bread that is dark in color and slightly sweet in flavor. This incredibly easy recipe contains NO yeast and is instead leavened with baking powder and baking soda.
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Swedish Limpa Bread
Limpa is a classic Swedish rye bread with a tender crumb and a hint of fragrant orange and anise seed. While some rye breads can be tricky to work with, this recipe is incredibly simple. If you are new to baking rye bread at home, this Swedish Limpa is the perfect place to start.
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Midsummer Smoked Salmon Salad
A showstopper of a salad featuring all of the iconic ingredients from the midsummer table and shaped like a wreath.
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Herbed Potato Salad with Capers and Pickled Golden Beets (No Mayo)
Tender potato slices tossed in a mustardy vinaigrette with loads of fresh herbs, capers, shallots and pickled golden beets.
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Creamy Herbed Potato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
An easy and delicious potato salad featuring fresh summer herbs and a creamy buttermilk dressing.
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Barley Salad with Asparagus, Red Pepper and Spinach
A delicious and hearty spring salad with sautéed asparagus, red pepper, spinach and pearl barley
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Warm Barley Salad with Fresh Garden Herbs
A versatile and delicious warm pearl barley salad with mustard, lemon juice and fresh garden herbs.
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Nordic Red Cabbage Slaw with Carrots and Beets
This zesty, colorful slaw is much more interesting than the average coleslaw.....shredded red cabbage, carrots and raw beets are tossed with chopped red onion, dill and a creamy skyr or Greek yogurt-based dressing to create a Nordic-inspired slaw you are going to love!
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Swedish Beet Salad (Rödbetssallad)
A classic Swedish salad featuring pickled beets, crisp apples and a zippy creamy dressing.
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Roasted Beet Salad with Arugula, Rye and Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce
This impressive and hearty salad is a delightful combination of flavors and textures: Earthy beets, spicy arugula, crisp shallots and pop-in-your-mouth rye berries all tossed in a honey mustard vinaigrette. And alongside there's a Creamy Herbed Skyr Sauce to perfectly compliment the components and bring them all together.
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Lemon Cucumber Salad with Dill
A deliciously simple summer salad with crisp cucumbers and a creamy lemon dill vinaigrette.
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Swedish Marinated Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad
Easy and flavorful marinated tomatoes combine with leafy greens, soft goat cheese and toasted almond slices to create an unforgettable summertime salad.
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Spicy Quick Pickled Beets
Scandinavian style quick pickled roasted beets with a spicy kick! The perfect compliment for all manner of Nordic inspired dishes.
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Quick Swedish Pickled Cucumbers
An easy recipe for Scandinavian-style fresh pickled cucumbers with dill.
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Easy Quick Pickled Mushrooms
These zesty quick pickled mushrooms bring together the earthy richness of mushrooms, the aromatic allure of garlic, the freshness of parsley, and the citrusy burst of lemon.
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Green Beans with Dill Caper Butter and Toasted Hazelnuts
Fresh green beans tossed with a zesty dill and caper compound butter and toasted hazelnuts. An easy and elegant side dish for any time of year!
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Buttery Swedish Dill Potatoes (Färskpotatis med Dill)
These buttery, herby Swedish Dill Potatoes are the ideal compliment to any meal. This traditional dish has a rich culinary heritage in Sweden. Known as "nypotatis" or "färskpotatis med dill" in Swedish, Dill Potatoes are a staple on the Midsummer menu, enjoyed alongside foods like pickled herring, gravlax (cured salmon) and crispbread.
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Homemade Gravlax (Easy Cured Salmon Recipe)
Silky smooth in texture and perfectly flavored with aquavit, dill and white pepper, this traditional gravlax is delicious and surprisingly easy to make at home.
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Traditional Mustard Dill Sauce for Gravlax (Gravlaxsås)
A zesty traditional accompaniment to cured salmon (gravlax).
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Spiced Salmon Skewers with Lemon
Easy and elegant grilled salmon skewers showered with a mixture of fresh oregano, sesame seeds, cumin and red pepper flakes.
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Easy Grilled Cedar Plank Salmon with Creamy Horseradish Sauce
This plank salmon is so delicious and so easy to make!
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Tunnsbrödrulle (Swedish Hot Dogs)
A classic Swedish street food hot dog wrap featuring mashed potatoes, creamy shrimp salad OR creamy pickle relish sauce. As unusual as it is delicious!
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Danish Hot Dogs
Grilled hot dogs topped with creamy, curried remoulade sauce, fresh pickled cucumbers and crispy fried shallots. A Danish street food classic!
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Beef Lindström
A Swedish classic! This is no ordinary hamburger….ground beef is mixed with pickled beets, capers and onion to create a zesty and delicious patty bursting with flavor. Top it off with a fried egg for the fully authentic experience.
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Swedish Cheese Pie (Västerbottenpaj)
A delicious quiche-like dish featuring a tender, all butter crust and a rich filling of eggs, cream, milk and cheese.
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Rustic Strawberry Rhubarb Rye Galette
An easy free-form tart with rye crust and a delicious strawberry rhubarb filling.
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Swedish Cream
An easy, creamy make-ahead dessert flavored with almond extract. Perfect for effortless entertaining!
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Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling (Swedish Midsummer Cake)
A show-stopping celebration cake filled with roasted strawberries and pastry cream and topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Perfect for any summer occasion!
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Finnish Strawberry Almond Tart
An easy summer tart filled with vanilla scented strawberries and surrounded by tender almond dough and sliced almonds.
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Summer Skyr Tart with Fresh Berries
A fresh, easy and gorgeous summer berry tart with a skyr and cream cheese filling.
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Simple and Sweet Roasted Strawberries
Intensely-flavored, sweet and saucy strawberries that have been roasted in the oven.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Compote (Easy Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce)
A sweet and tangy fruit compote (sauce) featuring strawberries and rhubarb. Perfect on oatmeal, toast, ice cream....just about anything!
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Mandelmusslor (Swedish Almond Tart Cookies)
Crisp, buttery, almond flavored tarts that are delicious plain or filled with something sweet.
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Simple Swedish Almond Cake
A simple recipe for a deliciously moist and tender almond-flavored cake.
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Swedish Cardamom Cake (Kardemummakaka)
A simple, most bundt cake bursting with cardamom flavor.
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Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka)
Swedish Sticky Chocolate Cake (Kladdkaka) is one of Sweden's most beloved fika treats. And fortunately it meets all the requirements for an easy afternoon baking project: Simple (no mixer! one bowl!), delicious and an excellent pair with coffee. Think of it as a Swedish molten chocolate cake that is lightly crispy on the outside and a bit gooey on the inside.
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Glad Midsommar to you and yours!
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