Icelandic Foods to Keep You Warm This Winter

Sægreifinn
Sægreifinn | © gordon cheung/Flickr
Camille Buckley

If you’re visiting Iceland this winter, there are many ways to offset the chilly weather, including with some delicious and hearty local food. Icelanders have found the cuisine that is most fulfilling and that helps locals get through the long, dark winter on this little island. And, of course, it involves a lot of fish.

1. Lobster Soup

Restaurant, Icelandic

This creamy, rich soup is a must during winter in Iceland. You’ll find one of the best bowls at Sægreifinn in Reykjavik, where customers enjoy the classic creamy recipe that has been passed down from the eccentric fisherman who opened the restaurant.

Plokkfiskur

Plokkfiskur, which means ‘plucked fish’, is a hearty stew of fish, potatoes, onions and béchamel sauce. It is a common favourite in Icelandic kitchens all year, but especially during the long winter months. Recipes barely vary from kitchen to kitchen, and it is served in many restaurants in Reykjavik and around the countryside.

Fish Soup

Icelandic Fish Soup is definitely a winter staple. Most recipes revolve around arctic char, salmon, haddock, cod or plaice, which is accompanied by local seasonal vegetables, such as onions, leeks, celeriac and tomatoes, and then it’s topped off with some cream and port or sherry.

Icelandic fish soup

Blueberry Skyr Cake

Icelandic Skyr has become a symbol of health in the last couple of years. It is low-fat and high in protein, and it is delicious when paired with full-fat cream in a cheesecake topped with fresh blueberries or blueberry jam. This is a great winter dessert, especially with blueberry schnapps.

Blueberry skyr cake

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