Must Try Icelandic Snacks

While it may sound mundane, exploring local grocery stores is one of my favorite activities when visiting a new area. It allows you to explore the food culture of the region from a more local viewpoint and you’ll likely get to try many new foods! This activity played a particularly important role throughout my trip to Iceland. When traveling through Iceland, you will inevitably be spending lots of time in a car or camper van driving to your next destination. You’ll not want to take frequent stops to eat, and even if that doesn’t bother you, there aren’t often any restaurants outside of the towns. My meals throughout this trip consisted mainly of an assortment of grocery store snacks eaten in the car, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. There were a few notable standouts from the many items I tasted, and I’m going to tell you my top five today (+ a few honorable mentions).

The grocery stores that we frequented during this trip were Krónan and Bónus. Both are reasonably priced and have a wide variety of quality products to choose from. Let’s get on to the snacks!

Oh, what I would do to have a case of Poló cookies sent to me. These were by far my favorite sweet treat from the grocery store shelves. They melt in your mouth and have the most incredible coconut flavored biscuit. I’m truly far too embarrassed to expose how many packs of these we went through on our trip. I even bought a pack to take home, which I of course kept all to myself. If you’re a coconut fan, you must give these a try. If you aren’t a coconut fan, I’m so sorry, but maybe still give them a try. 

I have never to this day even tried any energy drink here in the US, so this one is a bit of a curveball. I already consume way too much caffeine via coffee so I’m afraid that one sip of a red bull might send me into paralysis. However, something about this one caught my eye. The flavors were so intriguing (the elderflower & lime is the one pictured here and it was my flavor of choice) and the concept of the drink was so interesting to me. They’re made with marine collagen and sugar free. They even have caffeine free options if you want to give them a try and have the collagen benefits without the caffeine. My mom and I intended to just buy one to give it a try since neither of us are energy drink people but ended up buying a plethora throughout the trip. 

After a quick google search, I learned that this is actually a Norwegian company, but since they’re all over Iceland and played such a large role in my Icelandic snacking experience, I decided to still include them in this list. If you’re a fan of potato chips, do yourself a favor and look for the fuchsia bag of Maarud chips which is the hvitløk, ramsløk, and mild chili flavor. I randomly grabbed these chips from the shelf only knowing what one of the three flavors was (i.e. mild chili since it was the only one that was listed in English). After some brief google translate research I discovered that they’re garlic, wild garlic, and mild chili flavored. They’re absolutely packed with flavor and have the most perfect crunch. I know this sounds like an extreme claim, but they are without a doubt my favorite potato chips I’ve ever had.

This Icelandic yogurt was the basis of many meals for me throughout the trip. I bought a bag of granola on day one and anytime we made a grocery run, I would grab a skyr to enjoy for my car meal(s) of the day. One of my favorite brands I knew I could always count on was called ísey. Skyr is my favorite type of yogurt and it’s very high in protein so anytime you’re starting to feel ill from eating an assortment of cookies and chips for breakfast, consider picking up a skyr. There are even skyr drinks you can grab if you don’t have a spoon or need something more “on the go.”

Black licorice isn’t typically a fan favorite here in the US, but it’s super popular in Iceland! There are so many varieties to try and if you want the full Icelandic food experience, you must try at least one. I enjoy licorice to an extent, but my mom became obsessed with it during this trip. She’s a full-grown licorice connoisseur now. We of course tried many varieties, and our favorites are the ones pictured here (approved by the licorice connoisseur herself). The ones on the left were chocolate covered and we loved the colorful ones from the assorted mix on the right. 

Harðfiskur (Dried Salted Fish)

I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this is a favorite snack of mine when I know good and well that isn’t true. I didn’t dislike it, and I would of course always try it again but it’s definitely not my personal go-to from this list of snacks. However, it is absolutely a must try when visiting Iceland due to its significance in Icelandic history and culture. Many people recommend trying it with butter which I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to do, so maybe give that a try if you have the chance! 

Hraun Candy

Hraun refers to lava or a lava field in Icelandic, hence the rugged lava rock like surface of these sweet treats. This chocolaty delight is what I imagine the love child of a Crunch bar and a Kit Kat to be. While I’m still always going to grab Poló cookies over Hraun, my brother’s favorite grocery store find of the entire trip was Hraun and he was almost as addicted to them as I was to Poló Cookies. If you’re a chocolate lover and a fan of any kind of wafery candy bar, this Icelandic treat is definitely worth a try.

OmNom Chocolate Bars

This chocolate brand can be found presented on beautiful displays in most Icelandic grocery stores. It is a bean to bar chocolate factory based in Reykjavík and their award-winning bars do not disappoint.  The packaging is eye catching, and the chocolate is super high quality. I tried the milk + coffee, sea salted almonds, and sea salted toffee flavors, and all of them were delicious. 

I hope I’ve inspired you to take the time to explore grocery stores when traveling to Iceland or anywhere else in the world. If you’re ever visiting Iceland, I highly encourage you to pick up some of these snacks and any others that strike your fancy. Happy snacking!