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! 🙂
Lohikeitto Recipe (Finnish Salmon Soup)
Equipment
- Medium-Sized Saucepan
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 pc leek, thinly sliced (only white/lighter part)
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 3 medium potatoes, diced
- 5 cups fish stock
- 1/2 kg salmon fillet (about 1 lb), cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (double cream)
- 3/4 to 1 cup dill, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
Making Finnish salmon soup:
- Start preparing your lohikeitto by placing a medium-sized (or large pan) over medium heat. Add butter.
- Once the butter has completely melted, add thinly sliced leek. Cook until slightly soft.
- Add carrot and potatoes. Mix.
- Add fish stock. Cover pot with a lid, adjust heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.
- Adjust heat back to medium-low and simmer your salmon soup until vegetables are almost cooked.
- Add salmon fillet and heavy cream. Mix to combine.
- Turn the heat back to medium. Cover with a lid and continue cooking lohikeitto for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Season by adding salt and pepper. Mix.
- Add dill to finish your lohikeitto. Turn heat off.
- Cover with a lid and keep covered for 2 minutes.
Serving lohikeitto:
- Transfer to individual bowls.
- Garnish lohikeitto with more freshly chopped dills, if desired.
- Serve.
Notes
- Cook’s Tip #1: Fish stock is an excellent flavor base for making this lohikeitto recipe.
- Cook’s Tip #2: Feel free to replace heavy cream with light cream, if that’s what you prefer.
- Cook’s Tip #3: You can use any salmon cut for preparing lohikeitto, as long as it’s a fillet.
- Cook’s Tip #4: Chop the vegetables in almost identical sizes, while keeping the salmon slightly bigger than the size of the vegetables. Imagine that you will fit a couple of vegetables and a piece of salmon in every spoonful.
- Cook’s Tip #5: You can substitute shallots for leeks, but don’t use onions for this Finnish salmon soup recipe — they are too strong.
- Cook’s Tip #6: If you want a creamier lohikeitto, add a tablespoon of chilled butter when you turn the heat off. Mix and then cover with a lid, setting it aside for a couple more minutes.
Ri
Thank you very much for such delicious recipe! Great tasting comfort food that can be prepared under 30 minutes
Greatfon.com
Had Lohikeitto when we visited Helsinki, and now that we live here I insisted that this be one of the first Finnish food we made! I have been craving it since I first tried it. And this recipe definitely hit the spot! Definitely will be making it more often! Loved the recipe! Easy to make. Used fish spice instead of allspice. Thank you for the easy and authentic recipe!
Neriz
Thank you! Glad you like the recipe! 🙂
Shirley
This finnish recipe is awesome! I didn’t have fish stock, so I used chicken stock, and believe it or not, works well. I had a person who will not eat fish, say that he liked it (which totally surprised me!). This is a much healthier way to eat and would recommend it for anyone wanting to eat healthier. While I didn’t quite use as much dill, or leeks as called for, it still worked out incredibly well.
Neriz
Thanks Shirley! I will try using chicken stock next time 🙂
Antoinette
This soup was delicious!! I used chicken broth and substituted broccoli for the potatoes. I used chives and table onions for the leeks. I didn’t have much dill you’d think with all these substitutions it wouldn’t be good but it was very flavorful. I will make it again! Yum!!
Harald
Hello,
This soup is the most requested meal I make for family and friends. I found your recipe at the being of the Covid lockdown and it something that is made once a month. Over the past months I have and parsnips to add an additional earthy flavor. That you sharing my 13 year old and her besties favor meal for sleep overs!!!!
Neriz
Thank you so much for your comment! It definitely made my day 🙂
Vaughan Nash
Made this for my mixed British/Romanian family. Used all of the suggestions not chicken stock. Went down a dream!