Toast Skagen (Swedish Shrimp Salad Toast)

We’ve had beautiful weather here in Bergen the past few weeks, which has meant lots of brunches outside in the sun. And one of my favorite Scandinavian brunch staples is Toast Skagen.

Toast Skagen is made with toasted white bread topped with a heaping portion of Skagenröra, which is a Swedish shrimp salad usually made with shrimp, dill, chives, and a dressing of lemon juice, mayonnaise and sour cream or crème fraîche. The Skagen Toast is then topped with lemon, fresh dill and a spoonful of fish roe before serving.

Named after a Danish fishing port, created by a Swedish chef, and a regular on Norwegian plates, Toast Skagen really is a Scandinavian favorite. Toast Skagen feels a bit fancier than the standard open faced shrimp sandwiches you’ll often see in Norway, and it can be made with large slices of toasted white bread for lunch, or smaller pieces of toast for an appetizer.

After rinsing the shrimp and crayfish tails gently pat them dry so that your Skagenröra doesn’t have too much liquid. Of course the shrimp have a lot of liquid in them naturally, so you don’t need to fully drain them, just pat off the excess. If you’re using frozen cooked shrimp, run them under water for about five minutes, until they thaw.

I include crayfish tails with the shrimp to add a bit more depth to the Skagenröra, but you can also make this with just shrimp, or add crab or lobster to the mix. In Norway I often see Skagenröra made with shrimp and langoustine as well.

Some people make Skagenröra with red onion, but I prefer the taste of chives. Use whichever you have on hand or prefer.

Pour the dressing onto the shrimp mixture slowly while stirring occasionally, as you might need a bit less dressing. You don’t want the Skagenröra to be too thin.

You don’t need to serve the Skagenröra on toast. You can eat it on rye bread, on thin crackers, on top of your salad, or if you’re feeling very Scandinavian, use Skagenröra as a hotdog topping (I was incredibly skeptical until I tried it, but it’s actually so tasty).

Any white bread, brioche or baguette will work for Toast Skagen. You can spoon the Skagenröra onto large slices or small baguette slices, or if making as an appetizer you can cut your bread into smaller circles or triangles. I used Norwegian spiralloff, which is a bit narrower than a regular loaf of white bread.

You can simply butter both sides of the bread before toasting in a pan, or if you want the toast extra buttery, add a few cubes of butter directly into your pan as well.

The fish roe in the Skagenröra and on top of the Toast Skagen is totally optional, but if you enjoy the flavor I think a spoonful of fish roe makes the Toast Skagen more festive. I used masago here, but any red fish roe works (black might look a bit less appealing).

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.