Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto)

Warming, filling and utterly delicious — these are the adjectives I'd use to describe this Finnish salmon soup (lohikeitto). This creamy salmon soup is perfect for a cold winter's night, and it's so good you won't be able to stop at just one bowl.

Finnish salmon soup (lohikeitto) is a traditional soup that's just perfect for those cold winter nights. Besides being warming and filling, lohikeitto is also creamy, nutritious and easy to make.

It's no secret that I love salmon in all its forms and living in Scotland makes it quite easy to have access to some top-quality fillets.

So it's no wonder that when I first saw this salmon soup recipe in an edition of Olive magazine, I decided on the spot it's something I really want in my life.

What do you need to make this Finnish salmon soup?

Butter – Unsalted butter is best to use in this soup. I use 30 grams (1 ounce), but if you want your lohikeitto to be extra creamy, you can easily double the quantity. If you want the soup to be super creamy, you can add some extra butter at the end.

Leek — You only need the white (and light green) part of the leek to make this soup. I like to chop it very finely, but you can cut it into larger chunks if you want.

Carrot — Just like in the case of the leek, you can chop your carrot as small or large as you want.

Potatoes — red potatoes are a good choice for this soup because they maintain their shape better. However, if you'd like your Finnish salmon soup to be creamier, you can use a floury type of potato, such as Maris Piper, for example.

Salmon —Use salmon fillets for this soup. Skin the salmon and chop it into cubes. I like to keep the cubes on the larger side because they will start to flake in the soup as they cook, but feel free to cut the salmon as small as you like.

Double cream — Using double cream (heavy cream) in this lohikeitto recipe will result in an extra creamy soup. If you want to cut down on calories, you can use single cream (half and half) instead, but the soup won't be as creamy.

Dill — Fresh dill is one of the key ingredients in lohikeitto. You can't substitute it with anything else, not even with dried dill. You'll need a whole bunch of it, about 70 grams.

How to make lohikeitto?

Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and saute the leek for 7-8 minutes over medium heat until it softens.

Add the carrot and potatoes to the pot, then cover them with the fish stock. Continue to cook for 10 minutes until the potatoes are almost fork-tender.

Next, add the salmon chunks and double cream to the pot and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the salmon is cooked through.

Stir in the dill and simmer for another minute. Season to taste and serve with extra dill on top and a splash of lemon juice if you like.

Recipe notes and tips

• You can add a couple of smashed allspice berries to them both for an extra boost of flavour.
• The traditional Finnish recipe is made with homemade fish stock made from salmon heads and bones. Since that could be a bit difficult to achieve and it's quite time-consuming, using fish stock cubes is totally acceptable to make lohikeitto.
• Lohikeitto will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container, and you can reheat it in the microwave or on the stove. I wouldn't recommend freezing it, though.
• The soup is great with some toast or a chunk of your favourite crusty bread.

If you liked this Finnish salmon soup, you might also like some of my other easy soup recipes:

• Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Vegetarian Dumpling Soup
• Easy Creamy Taco Soup
• Butter Bean Soup with Bacon
• Creamy Italian Sausage Gnocchi Soup

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