Rømmegrøt is a warmed Norwegian porridge, much like a rich pudding, that our family likes to eat with a hefty drizzle of melted butter and a good sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. It’s a longtime family tradition from my husband’s side!
Rømmegrøt is a Norwegian Family Tradition
My heritage is mostly German. Blake’s is 75% Norwegian, 25% Swedish. And ever since our first Christmas together (1999), I had been hearing about Rømmegrøt in different conversations across his family.
While Blake’s family members were saying I should try rømmegrøt, some were also telling me to give lutefisk a fair shot. Now I’m a fairly adventurous eater, but I could die quite happily never letting lutefisk cross my lips. It’s just something I don’t feel the need to accomplish in my lifetime. Ever since then, I have (unfairly) lumped these two Norwegian foods together in my mind, summing them both up as unworthy of my taste buds.
Boy, was I wrong. (At least about the rømmegrøt…I still haven’t tried lutefisk!)
Be sure to also try a couple more of our favorites, this Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple and our favorite Sour Cream Banana Bread!
Sons of Norway and my First Rømmegrøt Experience
It was a cold March day, sun-less and dreary, when we visited the Sons of Norway in Fargo, North Dakota with Blake’s family.
Stepping inside, there really was no evidence that we were actually in Fargo.
The place gave a nod to its Norwegian ancestry everywhere we turned. The whimsical wood carvings of trolls, beautiful rosemåling, huge framed paintings of valiant Vikings, and oh-so-lovely wallpaper designs were the only decor in this space of dark paneled walls.
.
It was here that I ran head-on into my first experience with rømmegrøt.
And I gave in and let the kind lady hand me a bowl of this simple, warm Norwegian pudding. I was advised to pour some melted butter over the top, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
After finishing bowl #1, I went back for bowl #2. With more butter and more cinnamon sugar the second go ’round. That stuff was wonderful!
Rømmegrøt Recipe
Then I asked one of the servers if they might be able to share their rømmegrøt recipe with me. Because, first, I wanted to make this at home because it was so delicious. And, second, I wanted to preserve a bit of Blake’s heritage, to pass this tradition on down to our own daughters.
I was immediately invited back into the kitchen, where I met Vivian.
Standing at the stove with a red apron tied around her back, Vivian was stirring the thickening milk mixture, watching the thermometer rise. She chatted me through the recipe and was happy to share it with me.
The recipe showed obvious visible signs of being well-loved, with its crinkled paper and bent corners. Several lines in the directions had been crossed out, with revisions handwritten in ink. Those are always good signs of a tried and true recipe.
So why did it take me so long to actually get around to making rømmegrøt myself? There’s an easy answer to that >>> I lost the recipe and the photos I took that day.
But, thankfully, while organizing photo files earlier this year, I found them again. I proceeded to make a duplicate copy of the photo file and placed it directly onto my computer’s desktop. I’ve been waiting almost all year to share this recipe with you!
Rømmegrøt History
This rømmegrøt recipe is a simple mixture of milk, butter, flour, sugar, and salt, the very same recipe that I enjoyed at Fargo’s Sons of Norway and basically the same recipe that I’ve found in many cookbooks and on many online sites.
But I am now (Dec. 17, 2016) updating this post due to reader feedback. “Rømme” translates to sour cream in Norwegian, meaning a true rømmegrøt recipe would have sour cream in it. This recipe does not, so it would technically be called fløtegrøt. I am not going to change the title of this post and recipe, as this is exactly how so many people know rømmegrøt, including my husband’s entire side of his very Norwegian family. All I can say is that everybody makes their own variations on recipes, in both ingredients and recipe titles, and this is one that has obviously found its own alterations along the way from Norway to America.
How to Serve Rømmegrøt
Blake’s mom (now 84 years old) shared with me that she grew up eating this warm dish two different ways:
- as a side dish, a special treat (especially during the holidays) topped with melted butter and cinnamon sugar
- as a simple meal, served plain with soda crackers for dipping, along with a glass of milk
Loree, my mother-in-law, recalls her own mom making rømmegrøt whenever there was excess cream from milking the cows. This provided an inexpensive way to put food on the table.
And when making this for her own family, Loree remembers her three sons being in favor of her switching from cream to skim milk. This resulted in rømmegrøt that was less rich…which simply meant that her sons could eat more of it.
Loree was sure to share her best advice with me, about how to most enjoy a bowl of warm rømmegrøt:
“Drizzle with melted butter and then add a good layer of cinnamon sugar. Eat the top layer of rømmegrøt, skimming off the tasty crust of cinnamon sugar with a spoon. Then repeat, and repeat, and repeat, until you see the bottom of the bowl.”
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Rømmegrøt
Ingredients
- 1 quart whole milk
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- ½ cup salted butter, plus more for serving
- cinnamon-sugar
Instructions
- Set a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Using a kitchen thermometer, heat milk to 195°F. Stir almost continuously, scraping the bottom of the pan, so the milk does not burn.
- While milk is heating, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- While milk is heating, gently melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Turn off heat and hold until milk has reached 195°F.
- Once milk temperature has reached 195°F, stir flour mixture into melted butter to form a thick paste. Add this to the heated milk, stirring constantly, until milk starts to boil. Then turn heat down to low and let cook for 5 minutes more, stirring often. The mixture should be smoothed-out and thickened, like a thick pudding. Remove saucepan from heat.
- Spoon rømmegrøt into individual bowls. Drizzle warm melted butter over the top and then add a hefty sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar. Enjoy right away!
God dag fra Wisc!
When I read about making it with skim milk I thought how awful! When we visited Norway we had it on the menu 2X in one day! I felt my carotid arteries clogging up, but oh well I thought!
To make rømmegrøt correctly you’d need raw farm milk, let it set, take the cream off, let it sour naturally, and then cook away. Well, that’s a lot of bother so many of us make the cheater’s version and still enjoy the treat! :)
Thank you for sharing! This is what we had my whole life, calling it milk mush. Very comforting and warm!
Add cinnamon and sugar just like we put on home made lefse!
Rommegrot is made from sourcream, flour and milk . The one made with only milk is called flotegrot
(creammush). I am Norwegian and from Norway.
I have often wondered if the recipe changed here in the U.S. over time since I’ve seen some recipes say to use sour cream. I’ve wondered, though, if our modern day sour cream used here is the same or if it differs slightly from what was once used? (If that makes sense?) I will make note of the ‘flotegrot’ on my recipe since it is almost the same as the one on this post. Also, I would be interested in a recipe for what would be closer to actual Norwegian rommegrot. If you have a reference for a more authentic recipe for rommegrot and do not mind sharing, please do! :)
Hello Sarah – this recipe is how my husband’s family (his mom and his grandma) have always made it. I do realize that sour cream is used traditionally, but this is how the Sons of Norway in Fargo serves it, where I first enjoyed it.
I’m also curious as to how it would be eaten in Norway. For which meal? My family tended to eat Rommegrot (or flotegrot, rather) for breakfast often. Or at holiday gatherings it was more of a side option (either before, during, or after main meal).
Hello Liv – please refer to all the previous comments where this has been discussed.
You can’t make rommegrot with commercial sour cream available in grocery stores. Most recipes that use sour cream have you make the sour cream by adding buttermilk to cream and letting it sit for several hours.
This morning I woke up feeling like I needed a taste of home, and rommegrot came to mind. I definitely have the good old rural North Dakota church cookbook with the recipe, but for some reason googled it. Your blog made me smile. I’ve gone to that Sons of Norway with my grandparents many times. When I was small I’d put the lutefisk inside my rolled up lefse and squeeze it out the back in an attempt to make my parents think I ate some! As for this rommegrot, I just made it in my modified way. I now live in rural Africa, with poor electricity. I cut the recipe in half so I can eat it all today! I used powdered milk since I don’t have the real stuff. And I used “baking butter” since real butter is rare, and margarine doesn’t melt here. But the “baking butter” has pineapple flavoring. Let’s just say this pudding reminds me of home, yet lets me know I’m not…the flavor is just off a bit. But I knew it would be going into this cooking endeavor. Thanks for the yummy recipe and the reminder of home.
Can you store this? And if so for how long? And to re-serve, do you add anything or just warm it up in the microwave?
I think this would keep well for at least a couple days. When I heat it, I like to warm it in a saucepan on the stovetop. I add a little milk or half and half if it needs to be loosened up a bit.
Is the Norwegian pudding served warm?
Yes. :)
Rommegrot is Soooo food. If you’re ever in the Holmen, WI area, Drugan’s serves it on their Sunday buffet in the fall/winter months. I often add Door County cherries (unsweetened or lightly sweetened ). A great way to end your meal.
P.s. they also offer lutefisk, but even this good Norwegian -American passes
Beautiful!! (not the lutefisk part!)
Try this fast and easy recipe. I have been making it for the kids for breakfast for years and it tastes the same. Just faster and easier
Melt 1 stick butter and add 3/4 cup flour
Add 4 cups milk and dash of salt and tablespoon of sugar. Cook until thick. Serve with butter,cinnamon, and sugar on top. Forget all the extra steps – same results.
I just found this deliciouness on Pinterest! Thank you for sharing! And thank you for your patience with all the comments calling you out you had addressed numerous times. I am trying it now!
Thanks for posting! My husband and I love this recipe. Ever since we read it here, we’ve had this delicious dish at least twice a week! It wards off the chill of winter so well.
I made it today and we LOVED it! I think I’ve found a new Christmas tradition! Thanks!
In South Africa we have a version of this called “melkkos”. It is enjoyed as a breakfast porridge or anytime of the day during the winter months. The only difference is the butter is rubbed into the flour and salt (it gives it a lumpy texture) then whisked into the heated milk which is usually heated along with a cinnamon stick and then cooked. Served with cinnamon sugar and preserved figs or any other preserve. A similar dish is also “sous kluitjies”
Oh my thank you for sharing this! The memories it brought back having Norwegian Grandmas we had this for special occasions and especially at Christmas. Gonna make it for this Christmas! Thanks again!
My grandma would fry left overs in the frying pan with butter!. my gramma would call it just grout when she excluded the cream. Uffda it is so good!!!!
It is a great dish. Dessert, maybe. When we make it, this is all we eat. I love it.
Awesome. Thanks, Scott!
Oh, I just read your other responses. I saw the recipe on Sons of Norway using sour cream too. Maybe it can be made without it I’m guessing.
Hello Cynthia – The Sons of Norway online site does include sour cream in its recipe. But I first ate this at the Sons of Norway in Fargo, and this is the very same recipe that they shared with me. I have updated my post to talk about this more.
Hi there. My Norwegian grandparents used to make this when I was growing up but they used sour cream. I’m curious why yours doesn’t use sour cream too?
This looks really good. I think I’m going to have to try this one. Seems simple and yummy.
Thanks, Lisa. Enjoy!
Rømmegrøt is made frem sour cream. Hence the name Rømme which means sour cream. It is not a dessert but can be served as a main course with cured ham and Norwegian flat bread.
I realize this, Kristin. But this is what so many Norwegians around here know this dish as, and mostly how they make it and eat it. I simply made this according to how I was introduced to it at the Sons of Norway.
My mothers parents immigrated from Norway and my Grandmother would make Rommegrot with soured milk. A little sour taste makes it good with the sugar, cinnamon and of course butter.
I would definitely like to try the soured version!
We called it Milk Mush….
I’ve heard that term, too. Thanks Michelle!
My Grandmother “Gena Gran” would make this for us, it was my Grandpa Car’ls favorite. . My favorite way to eat is was the next day. she would put the left overs in a loaf pan and for breakfast slice it and fry it in butter. The outside was golden brown and crisp. Makes me want some now. Thank you for sharing this. :)
That sounds incredibly delicious! What a great memory for you, thanks for sharing!