It is nearly Thanksgiving and the time I start to crave some lefse! I come from family where lefse was made from scratch and I’ve taken part in making it myself. We even have a lefse iron and proper turning sticks. My friend Patrick does it from scratch. But it is a lot of effort and a big mess for something that you can get in other ways. So I tend to buy my lefse instead. I happened to have two different lefse packages at home so I thought a comparison would be fun.

Freddy’s Lefse

Freddy’s Lefse is made in Fargo, North Dakota and they have been at it since 1946. I’ve ordered their lefse online multiple times and I really like it. They make a traditional round lefse that is very thin and has just the right chew to it. As an added bonus, you can splurge and get Freddy’s own mix of cinnamon and sugar in a nice shaker. Why would you do that when you almost certainly have sugar and cinnamon in the cupboard? The ratio they use to me is perfect and they seem to use a very finely ground sugar that works just perfect in the lefse.

Laura’s Lefse

I had never had Laura’s Lefse before but Tammy saw it in the store and got me a bag. I was super happy for it to be the first lefse of the season. Looking closer I couldn’t find any “Laura’s Lefse” online except for Walmart and Sam’s Club website. I looked closer and the product is made in Gonvick, Minnesota so I looked for lefse in Gonvick and sure enough Mrs. Olson’s Lefse is there. Tellingly Mrs. Olson’s sells lefse in rectangular sheets just like this bag of Laura’s Lefse I have. Why does it get a different name for the retail stores? I have no idea. Reading about their company it turns out Laura was Mrs. Olson’s actual name.

As I mentioned this lefse is cut in a rectangle. It reminds me of buying sheet pasta for lasagna. I had never seen lefse prepared that way. It is also notably thicker than Freddy’s, and on the thicker end of lefse I’ve had. If you are using it for a savory snack that is a good thing. Rolling one of these sheets with a slice of ham and cheese would work very well. The weight of Laura’s (er, Mrs. Olson) is actually slightly lighter than Freddy’s but is a smaller size.

So which is better? They are both good but for a traditional lefse with butter, sugar, and cinnamon my preference would be Freddy’s. If you are making savory snacks I would use Mrs. Olson’s. And if you just want some darn lefse cause it’s so good? Either will be just fine.