Minnesota Recipes 

Enjoy Minnesota recipes like Minnesota hot dish, Indian fry bread, SPAM recipes, lefse recipes, and more from a variety of our traditional cultures.

Food evokes incredibly strong memories and feelings. Food not only nourishes the body, it also comforts the spirit and helps create a sense of community.

Eating is a very intimate way of connecting with people; you sit across a table from each other and share your food.

Church basement dinners that might include lutefisk and lefse still exist. You may even hear an "Uff-da" or two.

Whether in a home or restaurant, sharing a meal is an act of community and cooking is an act of love. Minnesota food traditions are diverse. Discover the "tastes of Minnesota" as you explore our state.

Other food traditions, and recipes, have been passed down through the generations from a wide variety of cultures. Scroll down the page to see them.

**Feel free to add recipes for your favorite dishes in the form near the bottom of the page.

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with
abandon or not at all. ~Harriet van Horne

Minnesota Hot Dish is 
One of Our Traditional Foods

The Minnesota hot dish, known as a casserole to most of the rest of the country, is a Minnesota staple. Several versions of hot dish will show up at almost any picnic, church potluck, or neighborhood gathering. We have several versions of this classic Minnesota recipe.

Tater-Tot hot dish is one the classics you will find on the hot dish recipes page.

Minnesota Cookbooks

Spam Recipes:

SPAM is made in Austin, Minnesota.

The Hormel Company created SPAM in 1937 as a way to provide a high protein meal for American troops.

It is still popular world-wide. You can visit the Spam Museum in Austin, MN. 

Scandinavian Recipes

My husband's family is "Minnesota Scandinavian" with deep roots in, and connections to, both Norway and Sweden.

When we married, I began to enjoy, and learn to make, many of the traditional recipes that are so widely appreciated in Minnesota.

Lutefisk and lefse are the two items that immediately come to mind when most people think of Scandinavian cooking, so we will start with those.

Lingonberry Recipes   These traditional Scandinavian treats are tasty year round and add a wonderful touch of color to a holiday table.

Rhubarb Recipes: After a long winter, many Minnesotans eagerly look for the first tender shoots of rhubarb that appear in the garden. This tart and tasty perennial is the basic ingredient for many of our favorite Minnesota recipes.

Aebleskiver Recipes  Traditional Danish Aebleskiver recipes are tasty "pancake balls" loved by many. For holiday guests, they could be the perfect breakfast treat.

Native American Food and Recipes

I spent many years of my childhood in Northern Minnesota both on, and near, several reservations. Indian fry bread, wild rice, wild game and fish, berries and other native staples are still a favorite part of our family's diet.

Indian Fry Bread

Minnesota Wild Rice Recipes

Minnesota Wild Game and Fish Recipes

Many favorite Minnesota recipes include seasonal foods, the fish caught in our lakes, and the wild rice, wild berries and other "free harvests."

Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest

Camping Recipes

Easy camping recipes: If you can't think of anything, other than S'mores, to cook over a campfire, here are some tasty recipes to enjoy in the great outdoors.

Food to take camping: offers some ideas about what to pack to get meals ready on your camping vacations.

Maple Syrup Recipes

I learned the art of tapping maples, and making maple syrup, in the "sugar bush" near Cass Lake when I was young.

Here are some of our favorite Maple Syrup Recipes

There are many places in our state that offer field trips and classes about making maple syrup.

Tips For Wild Food Foragers offers hints for those who like to supplement grocery shopping with "free food."

Minnesota State Symbol Recipes

Many of Minnesota's State Symbols are foods.

I thought it would be fun to include a few recipes featuring the foods that are so much a part of the Minnesota experience that they have received an "official" designation.

These include recipes using our state fruit...the Honeycrisp apple, our state berry...the blueberry, and more.

Holiday Recipes

Chocolate Christmas gifts recipes include the recipe for this stunning Bundt cake.

This  cake might be the centerpiece of your holiday buffet or taken as a hostess gift for a gathering of family and friends.

You will also find a recipe for the easiest, and creamiest, chocolate fudge ever.

If we can keep from eating all of it, we love to put some in small packages to give as little "extra Christmas gifts.

Christmas Appetizer Recipes: easy, tasty appetizers for your Christmas party or family gathering.

Homemade Christmas Gifts Jar recipes are simple gift ideas that will be appropriate for many occasions.

Christmas Food Gift Basket ideas and recipes for gifts with a personal touch.

Minnesota cooks, including the chefs in Minnesota restaurants, love to feature locally grown and traditional foods.

Farmers markets, and small farms that sell their own homegrown foods, can be found throughout the state.

Minnesota food traditions are complex and multi-ethnic. We have an interesting history of food and a reputation for wonderful cooking.

Add These "Superfoods" to Your Minnesota Recipes

Minnesota based "superfoods" include blueberries, fish and, surprisingly, maple syrup. Blueberries and fish are rich in Omega 3 and have long been recognized as superfoods.

Maple syrup has now been added to that list and is being described by scientists in the U.S. as a ‘one-stop shop’ for beneficial compounds.

Dr Navindra Seeram led the research at the University of Rhode Island and states: "We don’t know yet whether the new compounds contribute to the healthy profile of maple syrup.However we do know that the sheer quantity and variety of identified compounds with documented health benefits qualifies maple syrup as a champion food."

Share A Favorite Recipe

We are sharing the recipes that are part of our heritage and history. Every family has recipes that are familiar to them but may be new to others. Minnesota cooking has become more wonderfully diverse as has our population. We would love to reflect that tasty complexity on our Minnesota recipes pages. Share yours!

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Recipes Others Have Shared

Click below to see recipe contributions from other visitors to this page...

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup 
2 c celery 11/2 c diced onion 11/2 c diced carrot (about 3) 1 lb cooked diced chicken (about 1 3/4 - 2 cups) 4 c chicken stock (can be made if using …

Butter Fried Morel Mushrooms Not rated yet
Here is the recipe for butter-fried Morel mushrooms: Ingredients: One half cup flour Salt and pepper to taste Fresh picked morels (twenty, …

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Favorite Minnesota Recipe Books

If you are "eating out" check below for reviews in your town to see the amazing variety on the Minnesota culinary scene.

Twin Cities Chef's Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the City of Lakes to the Capital City

Back to Minnesota Food

One of Our Favorite Minnesota Books