Lohikeitto is the name of a most dreamy soup. It's Finnish for a bowl of deliciousness: chunks of tender potatoes, carrots, and beautiful pink salmon in a creamy broth flavoured with leeks and dill. Floating on top are little speckles of melted butter and more bits of bright green, fresh dill. It's a true indulgence that whips up in less than half an hour. (Skip to recipe.)
Oh, come with me on a visit to the Land of the Midnight Sun, country of saunas and reindeer, lakes and technology, vast forests and modern design. We're heading there this month for our Eat the World recipe challenge. Finland is one of the world's most northerly countries; geographically remote and sparsely populated. And wildly beautiful.
Finland is touted as 'the happiest country in the world' with 5.5 million of the 'happiest people in the world'. That's reason enough to visit, isn't it? We're all chasing that elusive concept of 'happiness', so let's take a few lessons from the Finns. Let's get outside into nature more, let's take care of our people more - our elderly, our children, and our parents, let's put more value on music, and design, and creativity, let's roam the forests and swim naked in frigid waters, let's eat more fish and wild berries. Let's head to Finland!
Because it's also got a vibrant food scene, and we love food.

Helsinki, the capital city, is becoming famous for it's evolving food culture: you'll find Michelin starred restaurants, great coffee houses, wonderful markets, and the creators of Restaurant Day (where anyone can set up a restaurant, bar, or café for the day).
This country has been occupied by both the Swedes and the Russians during its long history, and only gained its independence in 1917. Today it is a high-technology welfare state with an excellent standard of living and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Its food culture is influenced by both of its former occupiers and also by its natural landscape. Most of Finland is covered by forest, and it boasts over 188,000 lakes and about as many islands. So fish and wild meat are a staple, along with potatoes and the ever-loved bread, along with a healthy amount of cream and dairy products.
The recipe I've chosen to represent Finland this month is Lohikeitto. Salmon, trout, and whitefish are abundant in Finland's northern rivers; potatoes, leeks, and carrots are easily grown in the southern agrarian belt, and cream comes from the dairy farms in that same region. If you're eating a bowl of Lohikeitto, you're sampling a most delicious taste of Finland. Big tender chunks of salmon, potatoes, and carrots swim in a thin buttery broth flavoured with leeks, dill, a subtle pinch of allspice (the famous flavouring in Swedish Meatballs) and lashings of rich cream. How such simple ingredients can combine to form such intense flavour is a delicious mystery.
Lohikeitto is also simple to cook; done in less than half an hour, uses one pot, and is as suitable for a fancy dinner as it is for a homely family meal. Pronouncing the name of this soup is the only difficult part. (Audio pronunciation of Lohikeitto here.)

Have your Lohikeitto soup with a slice of country rye bread or toasted whole grain gluten free bread slathered with creamy butter, and you will be in Finnish heaven. If you can head for a sauna afterwards, or maybe outside to see the Northern Lights once it's dark, you'll be there in spirit and soul, too.
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Kitchen Frau Notes: Fish stock is hard to find, unless you make your own, but sometimes you can find fish bouillon cubes. If not, chicken stock will work fine. I found a Better Than Bouillon lobster stock paste and used half that and half Better Than Bouillon chicken stock paste.
If your salmon fillet still has the skin on, scale it and remove it in one piece by laying the fillet skin side down on a cutting board and starting at the tail end, run a sharp knife all the way along the fillet while pulling on the skin at the same time. The skin will come off in one piece and you can add it to the soup with the stock, then remove it at the end. This will help to give the soup a more intense salmon flavour, but if you have no salmon skin, it will still taste delicious.
The traditional Finnish version of Lohikeitto is with a thin, creamy broth. However, if you prefer a thicker broth, mix a few tablespoons of the cream with 2 or 3 teaspoons of cornstarch before stirring it into the soup near the end.
Lohikeitto (Creamy Salmon, Potato, and Dill Soup)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large leek (2 cups), white and light green parts only, rinsed, quartered lengthwise and sliced (or 1 large onion, chopped)
- 1 lb (454gms) potatoes, about 3 medium (2½ cups peeled and diced in ¾ inch cubes)
- 1 cup diced or sliced carrots (about 2 large carrots)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups fish stock (or chicken stock* see notes, above)
- 1 lb (454gms) fresh salmon fillet, skin and bones removed, diced into ¾ inch chunks
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream (35% milkfat)
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ cup (120ml) chopped fresh dill, divided
To clean the leek; cut it in half lengthwise then rinse it well under running water, separating the layers as you rinse to remove any bits of mud and sand lodged between the layers. The cut each half in half again lengthwise and slice crosswise into thin pieces.
In a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot, cook the butter and leeks together for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the diced potatoes, carrots, salt, pepper, bay leaf, water, and fish or chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the salmon chunks, cream, allspice, and about three quarters of the fresh dill (reserve 2 tablespoons for serving). Cook for a further 5 minutes, covered, until the salmon is just done. Stir gently so as not to break up the salmon chunks. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve each portion of the Lohikeitto sprinkled with the reserved fresh dill and a side of fresh whole grain bread and butter.
Serves 4 to 5.
Guten Appetit!
Check out all the wonderful Finnish dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!
Pandemonium Noshery: Vispipuuro - Whipped Semolina Pudding
Nicoletta & Loreto Sugarlovespices: Mustikkapiirakka (Finnish Blueberry Pie)
Margaret at Kitchen Frau: Lohikeitto (Creamy Salmon, Potato & Dill Soup)
Tara’s Multicultural Table: Makaronilaatikko (Finnish Macaroni Casserole)
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Mustikkapiirakka (Finnish Blueberry Pie)
Amy: Sima (Finnish Lemonade)
Sharanya Sara's Tasty Buds: Voisilmapulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)
Evelyne: Pannukakku Finnish Pancakes with Blueberries
Sue: Lattyja Pancakes with Strawberry-Gooseberry Jam
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Lihapullat (Finnish Meatballs)
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Check out my past ‘Eat the World’ Recipe Challenge posts:
- A Taste of Ireland: Dublin Coddle (A tasty Sausage and Potato Stew)
- A Taste of Thailand: Shrimp Laksa (Khung)
- A Taste of Kenya: Maharagwe with Ugali (Red Beans with Cornmeal Slice)
- A Taste of Sweden: Swedish Meatballs with Cream Gravy
- A Taste of New Zealand: Classic Pavlova
- A Taste of France: Axoa d’Espelette (A Simple Stew from the Basque Country)
- A Taste of Argentina: Red Chimichurri Sauce
- A Taste of India: Kerala Upma (Fluffy, Kerala Style Breakfast Upma Recipe)
- A Taste of Poland: Polish Honey Cake
- A Taste of Ethiopia: Four Ethiopian Recipes for a Fantastic Feast
- A Taste of England: Gluten Free Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas
- A Taste of Georgia: Charkhlis Chogi (Beets with Sour Cherry Sauce)
- A Taste of Mexico: Cochinita Pibil Tacos (Pit Barbecued Pig to Make in Your Oven)
- A Taste of Cambodia: Noum Kong (Cambodian Rice Flour Doughnuts)
- A Taste of Israel: Cucumber, Feta, and Watermelon Salad
Juli
This is my trifecta of creamy soup, potatoes, and dill. It looks so amazing.
Margaret
Thank you, Juli. Potatoes are my comfort food, and they really shine in this delicate and flavourful soup along with the salmon. The fresh dill really is the taste of summer, too.
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli
Oh Margaret, I already know I would love this soup! And what beautiful pastel colors in your pictures, so serene and happy!
Margaret
We eat with our eyes, don't we? I was so thrilled with how this soup looked, too - it matches its delicate flavour. I will definitely be making it again!
Wendy Klik
What a perfect summery starter for a dinner party.
Margaret
Thanks, Wendy - it is summer in a bowl, I think 🙂
Tara
Love those dots of melted butter on top! This is such a stunning soup
Margaret
Butter, cream, salmon, potatoes, and dill - all the foods I love! (And yes, the butter and cream really add the lusciousness!)
Christine Enkerlin
Finnish or not, sounds like a delicious soup specially for a good cold winter day!
Thank you so much for bringing up so many great recipes! We will have to keep some fresh dill from the garden for it to look so tasteful!🙂
Margaret
Thanks, Christine - yes, I think this soup would be as great for a cold winter day as it is for a warm summer one. It's so light tasting and looking, but very satisfying to the belly. The dill adds such fantastic flavour!
Celina
Hi! 🙂
Thank you for writing so beautifully about Finland!! 🙂
This lohikeitto you made is looking absolutely fabulous, and you know what - unlike most "Finnish" recipes around the internet, your take on our humble soup is so authentic you could serve it in a top class restaurant here and it would be a great success!!
I wish you happy summer and lots of sunny days!! 🙂
Yours,
Celina from Finland
Margaret
Hello Celina, Your lovely message just Makes me smile in humble appreciation - thank you for writing. 💕 It is so heartwarming to hear your kind words. I think you are very lucky to live in such a wildly beautiful corner of the world. I hope to visit some day. We can learn so much from your culture - we need to get out of the rat race treadmill we sometimes live on.
And The Soup! Lohikeitto! What wonderful rich flavour! It is a new favourite of ours. This small sample of Finnish food has me totally hooked and keen to learn more.
Sending you greetings from Canada 🇨🇦 and also wishing you sunny days and happy kitchen times😍