Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto)

Known locally as ‘Lohikeitto,’ Finnish Salmon Soup is deliciously creamy and easy to prepare. Great as an appetizer or light meal, this hearty fish soup recipe will surely warm you up! 

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You have two of the most-loved ingredients in Northern Europe for lohikeitto — dill and salmon.

Add some cream and vegetables in there, and you’ll have a delightful bowl of warmth and comfort. 

Lohikeitto is arguably a winter soup.  

However, since we only have around four weeks of warm days in Stockholm (in a year), you can say that I make this salmon soup the whole year-round.

IF YOU WANT MORE TRADITIONAL FINNISH RECIPES, THEN YOU WILL LOVE THESE POSTS!

Ingredients

• Stock – fish stock is the best one to use for lohikeitto.  

It gives you a solid base of fish flavor, and adding salmon elevates that flavor even more.

• Carrots – peeled and diced.

• Potatoes – same as above, peeled and diced.

• Butter – I used unsalted butter for this Finnish salmon soup recipe.

• Leek – use only the white and light green parts when making lohikeitto.

• Cream – you can use light cream (half & half) or heavy cream (double cream); it depends on how creamy you want the soup.

• Salmon – go for salmon fillet and chop it into cubes.

• Dill – I strongly recommend using fresh dill to prepare lohikeitto.

Using dried dill will change the flavor of your Finnish salmon soup, so please don’t use it as a substitute.

• Salt and pepper – just use your favorite brand.

Preparation

Start preparing lohikeitto by placing a medium-sized pan over medium heat.

Add the butter and let it melt.

Once the butter is ready, add leeks and cook until it has softened.

Add diced carrot and potatoes (photo 1).

Mix to combine.

Add fish stock and cover the pot with a lid.  

Adjust heat to medium-high and bring to a boil (photo 2).

Adjust heat to medium-low and simmer your salmon soup until the vegetables are almost cooked.

Add the chopped salmon (photo 3).

Add heavy cream (photo 4).

Mix to combine the cream with the rest of the salmon soup.

Turn heat into medium and cover the pan with a lid.

Cook your lohikeitto for about four to five minutes.

Add salt, pepper, and dill (photo 5).

Mix, then turn the heat off.

Cover pan with the lid (photo 6).

Keep covered for about two minutes, then transfer into bowls.

Serve, garnish your lohikeitto with more dill, if preferred.

Helpful tips

• You can use any part of a salmon for making lohikeitto, as long as you have taken the bones out.

• Try to chop the vegetables in identical sizes but chop the salmon slightly bigger than the vegetables. 

Imagine that you can fit two vegetables and one piece of salmon in every spoonful of lohikeitto.

• If you cannot find leeks, replace them with shallots instead.  

Do not use onions.  From my experience, they’re a bit too strong for this lohikeitto recipe.

• Towards the end of cooking, add a tablespoon of chilled butter and mix if you want a creamier lohikeitto. 

Recipe variation

• Salted butter. It’s completely fine to use salted butter instead of unsalted ones.

Just make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning for your lohikeitto, especially the amount of salt — before turning the heat off.

• Stock. Although fish stock is the best to use for making this lohikeitto recipe, vegetable stock is also a good alternative if you don’t have any available.

Looks absolutely delicious, right?

So give lohikeitto a try this weekend and let me know in the comment section below! 🙂