Swedish Christmas Meal: A Julbord Guide for Home Cooks

Swedish Christmas Meal: Think of it as courses served in rounds from the same table, where guests return for a fresh plate each time. As Instacart’s overview of traditional Swedish Christmas food describes it, a large gathering typically moves through a fish course, cold meats, a hot course, and then desserts. Families often gather on Christmas Eve (julafton), which is when much of Sweden celebrates the main meal.

The julbord is a cousin of the smörgåsbord, and its history goes back hundreds of years, with regional variations around the country. That’s worth remembering if someone tells you a dish is “wrong.” Swedes disagree about it constantly, and every family has its own version.

One habit worth borrowing: use a clean plate for each round. Mixing herring and warm meatballs on the same plate is a rookie move that muddles the flavors.

The Fish Course

Fish comes first, and pickled herring (sill) is the closest thing to a non-negotiable. It’s usually served with boiled new potatoes, crispbread, or both, often in several flavors such as mustard or onion. Most home cooks buy it in jars, which is perfectly acceptable and what plenty of Swedish households do.

Gravlax (cured salmon) is the other anchor. It’s cured with salt, sugar, and dill, sliced thin, and served cold with a sweet-mustard-dill sauce called hovmästarsås. It’s easy to make ahead, which makes it one of the best value dishes on the whole table.

Then there’s lutfisk, dried cod that’s been treated with lye and rehydrated. It’s gelatinous and polarizing, and I’d treat it as optional unless someone at your table grew up with it. If you want the full story on how it’s made, the lutefisk overview is a good starting point.

Extras you’ll often see include smoked salmon, egg halves topped with roe or shrimp, and shrimp or crayfish salads.

The Cold Meats and Classics

Julskinka, the Christmas ham, is the centerpiece of the cold table. It’s usually cooked, glazed, and sliced, and served with mustard. Every Swedish family seems to have a preferred recipe, and there’s no single correct method.

Beetroot salad (rödbetssallad) shows up on almost every julbord, made from pickled beets and apple with a creamy dressing. Pâtés and jellied veal also make appearances if you want to go fully traditional, though they’re an acquired taste for many guests.

For a practical shortcut: buy a good pre-cooked ham, glaze it yourself with mustard and breadcrumbs, and let it be the star. Nobody will mind that you didn’t cure it from scratch.

The Hot Dishes: Meatballs, Sausages, and Jansson’s Temptation

The hot course is where things get cozy. Swedish meatballs (köttbullar) and small fried prince sausages (prinskorv) are the crowd-pleasers, and kids tend to head straight for them.

The dish people either love or argue about is Janssons frestelse, a baked casserole of thinly cut potatoes, onions, cream, and anchovies or sprats. It’s rich, salty, and deeply nostalgic for many Swedes. If you’re nervous about anchovies, they melt into the cream and add savory depth rather than an overt fishy taste, though a small tray on the side lets skeptics opt out.

Red cabbage, other pickled vegetables, and sometimes spare ribs or game round out the hot table. Hunting is a popular pastime in Sweden, so venison, elk, or boar appears in some households.

What to Drink

Glögg is the signature welcome drink, a spiced mulled wine that’s often fortified and served warm with raisins and almonds. It’s typically flavored with cinnamon, cloves, orange peel, ginger, and cardamom, and you can read more about the tradition on the glögg page.

Beyond that, many tables have beer and snaps (a small shot of flavored aquavit) alongside the fish. And for those skipping alcohol, a non-alcoholic Swedish Christmas soda called julmust is a common choice, so it’s worth stocking if you can find it. Non-alcoholic glögg versions also exist and work fine.

Desserts and Sweets

Rice porridge (risgrynsgröt) is the classic Christmas dessert, served warm with cinnamon. A single almond is traditionally hidden in the pot, and whoever finds it gets a bit of luck or bragging rights, depending on the family.

Beyond that, expect ginger snaps (pepparkakor), saffron buns during the Lucia season, and homemade sweets like toffee. Cheese and crispbread often close the table too.

Building Your Own Swedish Christmas Meal at Home

You don’t need every dish. A realistic home menu that still feels authentic could look like this:

Pickled herring in two flavors, with boiled potatoes and crispbread. Gravlax with mustard-dill sauce. A glazed ham with mustard. Beetroot salad. Meatballs and prince sausages. Jansson’s temptation. Red cabbage. Rice porridge for dessert. Glögg to start.

That’s a full julbord in spirit, and it’s doable in a normal kitchen if you stagger the work. The Local’s breakdown of the julbord’s essential components is a helpful reference if you want a native perspective on what’s essential and what’s optional.

Timing and Planning Tips

Work backwards from the day. Gravlax needs a couple of days to cure, so start it early. Ham and beets can be prepared a day or two ahead, and herring is usually store-bought anyway. Jansson’s temptation and meatballs are best made the day of, since they reheat well but taste best fresh.

If you’re serving it buffet-style, set up the cold dishes first and keep the hot dishes on warming trays or in the oven until the second round. And keep serving spoons separate for each dish, since herring and cream don’t mix well.

Common Mistakes

Trying to make everything from scratch is the big one. Even in Sweden, plenty of households buy herring, pate, and sweets. Pick two or three dishes to make well and buy the rest.

Another is skipping the sides. Crispbread, butter, and cheese aren’t glamorous, but they’re what makes the table feel complete.

And finally, don’t overload a single plate. The whole point is to return multiple times.