Kroppkakor
Kroppkakor is a traditional Swedish potato dumpling, especially popular in the southern provinces of Blekinge and Småland, where each region claims its own variant as the authentic one. The name comes from old Swedish, referring to the round, full shape of the dumpling, which hides inside a savoury filling of smoked bacon and sautéed onion. This rural-origin dish was considered filling and nourishing, ideal for the heavy field work during the long northern winters. Today, kroppkakor remains a comfort dish deeply rooted in Swedish culinary identity, often prepared across several generations of the same family from orally passed-down recipes, with each cook having their own considered-perfect ratio of starch to potato.
Potato dough
Mashed potato mixed with starch
Bacon filling
Chopped smoked bacon and onion at the centre
Round dumplings
Hand-shaped, roughly fist-sized
Melted butter
Served sliced, with melted butter on top
Ingredients 4 servings
- 1 kg floury potatoes
- 150 g potato starch
- 1 large egg
- Salt
- 200 g smoked bacon, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- Black pepper
- Butter for serving
- Sour cream for serving
How to make it
- 1Boil the potatoes in their skins in salted water until soft, then drain, peel while still warm and mash finely.
- 2Let the mash cool completely, then mix it with the potato starch, egg and salt until you get an elastic, easy-to-shape dough.
- 3In a pan, fry the chopped bacon together with the onion until golden and fragrant, then let it cool.
- 4Take a portion of dough in your palm, flatten it and place a teaspoon of the bacon and onion filling in the centre.
- 5Close the dough around the filling, forming a round, smooth dumpling with no cracks.
- 6Simmer the dumplings in salted water over low heat, without a hard boil, for 20-25 minutes, until they float to the surface.
- 7Remove them carefully, drain well and serve sliced in half, with melted butter and sour cream on top.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
