Salmon Soup

Salmon Soup is a light fish chowder in a creamy broth strewn with fresh dill that still manages to be substantial by virtue of hearty potatoes, carrots, leeks, and bite sized chunks of salmon. It’s comforting enough to warm you from the inside out during cold winter days, but delicious and light enough to see you through last minute meals year round.

Serve this salmon chowder recipe with crusty bread, butter, and a salad, you’ll have a main meal that you turn to again and again on a cold winter’s night. You’ll instantly see and taste why this creamy Salmon Soup recipe is served throughout Finland and other Nordic countries.

In Finland, where it is served weekly by many schools and families, it’s known as Lohikeitto. Each bowl is usually garnished with a pat of butter and a sprig or two of fresh dill and is served with a sturdy brown bread and butter.

Lohikeitto is both easy to make and delicious. It’s ideal for nights where the schedule is chaotic, but you still want to eat well. It’s refined enough to serve when you have last minute guests, as well!

Salmon Soup Recipe

I love to serve this salmon soup with homemade One-Hour Bread when we’re in a hurry! When we have a little bit of time, though, there’s nothing that compares to a fresh loaf of Papa’s Dilly Bread alongside it.

Here’s a handy-dandy list to help you gather up the ingredients and equipment you’ll need for this easy salmon soup. There’s only one semi-tricky ingredient and we’ll cover a way around it after the lists!

Salmon Soup Ingredients

1. Butter
2. Leeks
3. Bay Leaves
4. Waxy Potatoes
5. Fish Stock (see below for a work-around!)
6. Carrots
7. Fresh Salmon
8. Heavy Cream
9. Fresh Dill
10. Salt and Black Pepper

Equipment for Salmon Soup

1. Chef’s Knife
2. Cutting Board
3. Dutch Oven or Heavy Pot
4. Liquid Measuring Cup
5. Long Handled Spoon

Finnish Salmon Soup

If you’re lucky, your grocery store will carry pre-cleaned and trimmed leeks. That makes leven quicker work of an already fast recipe and makes life easier.

No worries, though, if your store doesn’t have pre-cleaned leeks. Simply slice the white and light green portion off of a whole leek, thinly slice it, then thoroughly wash any sand or debris from the slices before draining well and patting dry.

And if leeks are nowhere to be found, you can substitute a diced onion and still have a delicious chowder. It will be slightly different, but still tasty.

You can use any waxy potatoes you have on hand, and whether you peel them or not is a matter of personal preference. I like to use golden potatoes or baby creamer potatoes and leave the peels on.

Heavy cream is the most traditional “creamy” component in our Finnish Salmon Soup, but you can substitute half and half or whole milk. I don’t recommend using 2%, 1%, or Skim Milk, though, as it just won’t pack a creamy punch.

Now let’s talk fish stock for a moment, shall we? I love to use Better Than Bouillon’s fish base. I keep this on hand at all times just to make this salmon chowder.

But if you do not have this, don’t feel like ordering it, and can’t find it at a local store, I’ve got you covered. You can either substitute chicken stock or vegetable broth or make a simple, fast, homemade fish stock.

How to Make Fish Stock for Salmon Chowder

Add up to 2 pounds of salmon heads, salmon skin, and fish bones, a halved onion, a scrubbed carrot and celery stalk snapped in two pieces, and a couple pinches of salt to a large saucepan. Cover with 5 cups of water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium to medium high heat.

Drop the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth lined colander and voila! Quick fish stock is yours!

Salmon Soup

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed large pot over MEDIUM LOW heat. Toss in the sliced leeks, sprinkle the kosher salt over the leeks, and stir to evenly distribute butter and salt over the leeks. 

Drop the heat to low, and gently sweat the leeks until semi-translucent and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the fish stock, bay leaf, and 2 halved potatoes to the pot and raise the heat to MEDIUM HIGH.

Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes before adding the cubed potatoes and sliced carrots. Reduce the burner to MEDIUM heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the halved potatoes and mash them then return the mashed potatoes to the pot and stir well. 

Cut the salmon fillet into bite sized pieces.

Add the fresh salmon chunks and heavy cream and let it hold at a gentle simmer for 5-7 minutes more, until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and add half of the dill, adjust with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg, place the lid on the pan, and let it rest, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. 

Remove the bay leaf. Serve garnished with the remaining fresh dill and chives. 

If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl just until hot all the way through; do not return to a boil or simmer.

Finnish Salmon Soup Lohikeitto

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Rebecca Lindamood

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

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This creamy Salmon Soup served throughout Scandinavia is known as Lohikietto in Finland. It’s a light, fresh, dill-strewn brothy chowder that still manages to be substantial by virtue of hearty potatoes, carrots, leeks, and bite-sized pieces of salmon.

Equipment

• chef's knife
• cutting board
• Dutch Oven or Heavy Pot
• liquid measuring cup
• Long Handled Spoon

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 leek thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 cups fish stock or vegetable or chicken stock. See notes for how to make a fast fish stock if you'd prefer to do so.
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 large white red, or gold potatoes, peeled and halved PLUS
• 1 pound white gold, or red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed
• 2 carrots scrubbed and sliced
• 1 ½ pounds salmon boneless and skinless
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup fresh dill finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives finely chopped

Instructions

 

• Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed large pot over MEDIUM LOW heat. Toss in the sliced leeks, sprinkle the kosher salt over the leeks, and stir to evenly distribute butter and salt over the leeks.
• Drop the heat to low, and gently sweat the leeks until semi-translucent and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the fish stock, bay leaf, and 2 halved potatoes to the pot and raise the heat to MEDIUM HIGH.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes before adding the cubed potatoes and sliced carrots. Reduce the burner to MEDIUM heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the halved potatoes and mash them then return the mashed potatoes to the pot and stir well.
• Cut the salmon fillet into bite sized pieces.
• Add the fresh salmon chunks and heavy cream and let it hold at a gentle simmer for 5-7 minutes more, until it starts to boil. Turn off the heat and add half of the dill, adjust with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg, place the lid on the pan, and let it rest, undisturbed, for 5 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf. Serve garnished with the remaining fresh dill and chives.
• If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a saucepan or microwave safe bowl just until hot all the way through; do not return to a boil or simmer.

Notes

How to Make Fish Stock for Salmon Chowder

Add up to 2 pounds of salmon heads, salmon skin, and fish bones, a halved onion, a scrubbed carrot and celery stalk snapped in two pieces, and a couple pinches of salt to a large saucepan. Cover with 5 cups of water and bring to a gentle simmer over medium to medium high heat.

Drop the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth lined colander and voila! Quick fish stock is yours!

Nutrition

Calories: 508kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 44gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 160mgSodium: 1073mgPotassium: 1326mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 4802IUVitamin C: 18mgCalcium: 130mgIron: 3mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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