Lohikeitto also known as Finnish Salmon Soup is as traditional a Finnish food as you can get! It is so hearty and light at the same time, with that awesome salmon and potato flavor. I have added prawns to mine, because I love both salmon and prawns. My Finnish ancestors would be proud!
As I was growing up, I was exposed to mostly your basic meat and potatoes recipes on the farm, as well as a few Finnish recipes that our family heritage provided. Being from the prairies, we rarely had salmon. That’s probably why my mother never made Finnish Salmon Soup on the farm! It would have been expensive to buy salmon in town, and I know she was on a budget!
It was only since leaving the farm, that I began to experiment with cooking and recipes from other cultures. I love Mexican, Greek, Oriental, Lebanese and Italian! Recently I started experimenting with Keto recipes…more about that later.
I am always looking for easy dishes to make at our cabin as we have limited access to grocery stores and specialty ingredients. Here is the version of this Finnish Lohikeitto recipe I made at the cabin (keep reading).
Back to Finnish. I first tasted Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto) on my last trip to Finland in 2016, while I was visiting my Finnish relatives. I remember distinctly being so surprised at how good it was. But I had never tried to make it for myself. This summer at our cabin I was craving a chowder of some form, and we only had a few ingredients.
I was surprised how easy it was to make at the cabin, with what I was lucky enough to have on hand.
Most of the ingredients for traditional Finnish Salmon Soup you can see here, but I added prawns to give it the extra kick. (Please ignore my messy cabin counter!)
Ingredients:
Caution: This recipe contains seafood! Please check the ingredients for any allergies / food sensitivities, before trying this recipe.
2 T Butter
1 leek – sliced
5 cups water or fish stock (use less if lighter cream or if you desire stronger flavor)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 carrot sliced
1 1b salmon
8 large prawns, deveined and peeled (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh dill
salt and pepper
Instructions for Finnish Lohikeitto Recipe:
Melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the leaks, cook until tender and translucent, about 7 minutes.
Add the water and bring to a boil. Then add the potatoes and carrot, cook until almost done, about 10 minutes.
After that, add the cream, salmon and the prawns, cook another 5 minutes to 7 minutes, just until it is starting to boil.
Then quickly turn heat off and add the dill, salt and pepper to taste.
Ready to serve with wine and a nice rye bread of course and white wine!
Keto Option for Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto):
If you are following a keto diet, it is easy to substitute other vegetables for the potatoes and carrots, such as cauliflower, broccoli, and peppers.
Serve with your favorite veggies and dip, or low carb bread, such as my Best Keto Cheese Scones.
Recipe Card
To print, just right click on recipe card image, select Open image in New Tab, then go to your new tab in your browser and select Print from your menu. This should print the card in 4X6 format.
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Lohikeitto – Finnish Salmon Soup. You also might like to try my recipe for: Finnish Blueberry Pie (Mustikkapiirakka).
🙂 Bonnie