Fiskefrikadeller (Danish Fish Cakes)
Smooth, crisp and delicately flavored, Fiskefrikadeller (Danish Fish Cakes) make a delicious entrée or unique appetizer.
I was given seafood for purposes of this review but all opinions are my own.
Growing up, my mother used to rave about the Danish Fish Cakes or Fiskefrikadeller her mother made. Sadly, I never got to try them, just the meat Frikadeller that were standard at our family gatherings. It seems that by the time I was old enough to appreciate food, the fish version had disappeared from the menu.
Though I got a few lessons at Grandma’s side, like cookies or aebleskivers, my mother never learned to make the tasty Danish dishes her mother served, so this recipe was lost. Happily, the internet came through and I found a recipe at Marinas Mad (a lovely blog in Danish but easy to read with the Chrome translator).
I was happy to finally taste the dish I’d heard so much about! Basically high end fish cakes, I’d describe them as an elegant-casual entrée. You know the type of dish that feels casual–but has enough flavor and good looks to rival fine dining. Delicately flavored, moist, almost creamy—yum!
And while I don’t believe these were traditionally used as an appetizer, they’d be beautiful this way. I’d serve them up individually, each topped with a dollop of aioli and a tiny dill sprig.
Preparation
I quickly learned that “hard” was not the reason these dropped out of sight.
You typically start with cod fillets and chop the fish roughly in a food processor or by hand. Next you add salt, then grated onion
Add eggs one at a time
Add potato flour, pulse again, then gradually add milk
Form into small patties and fry in a hot oil/butter combo until cooked through and golden on both sides
Enjoy.
Tips and Notes
This recipe calls for potato flour which I bought specifically for it. Since the goal is a creamy moist fish cake and I was working with a pound of quality fish, I didn’t want to do trial and error with a substitute. If you are braver than I am, here is King Arthur’s take on the subject (hint, it’s cornstarch with reservations–let me know if you try it). But I have also done a combo of all-purpose flour and tapioca flour in a pinch.
Finally, I will absolutely make this again. We ate our Fiskefrikadeller right away, but the original author said they can be kept warm in the oven briefly or the batter can keep for up to an hour before frying.
She also said any leftovers are good cold. Which could mean a future Fiskefrikadeller Salad!

Fiskefrikadeller (Danish Fish Cakes)
Ingredients
Fiskefrikadeller:
- 1 pound cod fillet
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp. potato flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- Butter neutral oil for frying
Dill Sauce:
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons dill pickle relish or chopped pickles
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Prepare dill sauce by mixing all the dill sauce ingredients. Cover and store in the refrigerator.
- Double check that your fish is free of bones and skins. Put the fish in a food processor and chop it roughly (it will be chopped more later), 1-2 minutes
Transfer the chopped fish to a bowl. Add salt and stir the fish meat gently 1-2 minutes. The salt helps bind the liquid to create a juicier fish cake. - Peel and grate the onion, then add to the fish. It is important to grate, not chop so it is thoroughly incorporated into the patty.
- Stir in ground pepper, then the eggs, one at a time. Stir the potato flour into the fish mixture
- Place the mixture back in the food processor and pulse for a minute.
- Add the milk a little at a time and pulse briefly each time. Process until the mixture is firm but smooth. You may not need all the milk (I didn’t) or you may need slightly more.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Using half butter and half mild oil (I used mild olive oil), fill a frying pan with ¼ - ½ inch of oil. Heat on medium heat. Using a large tablespoon, scoop out some fish mixture and form into a flattened circle or oval in your palm. (Tip: dip the spoon into a large glass of cold water between each scoop)
- Fry the fiskefrikadeller and flip when the bottom is golden and crusty, about 4-5 minutes. Continue frying until the second side is also golden and crusty and the center is done (you can use an instant read thermometer if you wish)
- Serve warm with dill sauce.
Nutrition
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I use Idahoan brand instant potatoes instead of potato flour. just need to allow the mixture to hydrate to get the right texture.
Good to know that this works too. Thanks for sharing!
I love this, in fact I had some when we went to Oslo a couple of years ago. It was delicate and tasted amazing, the name of the dish reminds me of that restaurant which was called Fiskeriet Youngstorget, having said that Fiske might mean fish?
I assumed that fiske is fish too. How nice that you got to enjoy this in Norway!
I love the Danish name of these fish cakes. They look scrumptious and the dill sauce sounds like the perfect condiment. Such a great recipe Inger!
Yes, I was looking for something with a little more subtlety than a tartar sauce…
Beautiful fish cakes, Inger! You are right… They are quite simple and I can only imagine how good the flavor is. Oddly, I always have potato flour on hand because I use some in my pain de mie. When am at the farmers market tomorrow, I’ll see if my fish guy has any lingcod.
Feel free to use regular cod in this too David…
I’ve never heard the term for fish, only meat frikkadels. That is what we call them here, and I thought they were unique to South Africa. Potato flour is versatile so I’m sure you will find more uses for it. Thanks for sharing this recipe, something new for me to try.
The meat version is more common here too but we really liked this!