Europe • Featured Cuisine

Explore Greenlandic Cuisine

Taste a cuisine shaped by sea ice, hunting traditions and generous hospitality, where seal soup, halibut, lamb and wild berries tell the story.

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Greenland coastal fjord

Welcome to Greenland

Briny Arctic waters, wild game and soup built for winter

Greenlandic cuisine begins with the sea. Halibut, cod, shrimp, seal and whale meet reindeer, musk ox and ptarmigan from the land, while South Greenland adds lamb, potatoes and a limited harvest of vegetables and berries.

Traditional cooking favors practical methods such as boiling, drying, smoking and slow roasting. Flavors stay direct, letting the ingredient do the talking. Suaasat, a warming meat soup widely regarded as Greenland’s national dish, captures that spirit perfectly. Explore further and you’ll find mattak, dried fish, lumpfish roe, crowberries, angelica and modern restaurant dishes that pair Arctic ingredients with Nordic and international ideas. Familiar? Not always. Memorable? Very.

13 cooking style C GR 36

Cooking Style

Boiling, drying, smoking, roasting and preserving wild Arctic ingredients

44 basil B GR 36

Signature Flavors

Seal, halibut, shrimp, reindeer, lamb, crowberries, angelica

05 D cultural context 36

Food Culture

Meals reflect hunting traditions, shared catches and warm hospitality, while kaffemik gatherings bring coffee, cakes, stories and traditional foods into homes.

Traditional Greenlandic suaasat stew served in a ceramic bowl with Kalaallit Kaagiat bread in the background

Featured Dish

Warm Up With Suaasat

Greenlandic Suaasat

Suaasat is a deeply warming soup traditionally made with seal, though reindeer, whale or seabird may also be used. Onion, potatoes and rice or barley round out the broth. Simple, hearty and widely regarded as Greenland’s national dish, it tastes like practical Arctic comfort.

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Greenlandic Recipes

Explore Greenlandic recipes

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Discover Greenland through warming soup, wild game, briny seafood and bright Arctic berries.

Two glass cups of Greenlandic coffee topped with whipped cream on a rustic wooden table

Greenlandic Coffee

A layered coffee finished with whisky and whipped cream, traditionally lit before serving. Warm, bold and designed for long Arctic evenings.

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Greenlandic halibut with mustard sauce

Greenlandic Halibut

Broil firm halibut and serve it over a quick tomato sauce with a spoonful of mustard cream for a clean, lightly rich finish.

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More Greenlandic favorites

South Greenlandic lamb, potatoes and root vegetables simmer slowly into a clear, hearty stew with clean flavor and serious warmth. Wild crowberries, lemon and apple cook into a dark, tart-sweet Greenlandic jam made for bread, desserts and savory pairings.

Looking for something beyond Greenland? Browse all recipes.

Regional Flavors

South Greenland lamb and produce; northern kiviaq; coastal halibut, shrimp and seal

South Greenland leans toward lamb and farmed produce, while northern and coastal communities draw more heavily on seal, fish, whale and seabirds.

Best Known Dishes

  • Suaasat
  • Mattak
  • Kiviaq
  • Dried Fish
  • Reindeer Steak
  • Roast Greenlandic Lamb
  • Greenlandic Coffee
  • Greenlandic Halibut

Food Traditions

Shared catches and warm hospitality

Sharing the catch remains culturally important, and kaffemik gatherings welcome guests with coffee, cakes, conversation and a rotating spread of homemade foods.

Travel & Dining

Home visits, markets and modern Arctic cooking

Visitors can explore Greenlandic food through home kaffemik visits, local markets, hotel buffets, cafés and restaurants serving both traditional dishes and modern Arctic cooking.