Fiskesuppe – Creamy Norwegian Fish Soup

Since I was a little kid fiskesuppe (fish soup) has been one of my favorite Norwegian dishes. So of course when I moved to Norway as an adult fiskesuppe was already a staple in my repertoire.

Fish soup is a Norwegian favorite, and there are so many different versions here. Some are quite complex with lots of ingredients (maybe I’ll share one of those in the future), but this fish soup is simple and easy to whip up on a random Tuesday night.

And of course living in Bergen, I eat fish soup at least once a week.

Northern Norwegians make their fish soup a bit differently than Norwegians here in Bergen. And since I’ve lived both in Northern Norway and now in Bergen, I’ve incorporated elements of both into my own fish soup recipe.

I especially love to add crème fraîche or sour cream (whichever I have on hand) to my fiskesuppe as it makes the fish soup so creamy and delicious.

I take a lot of road trips around Norway for work, and this fish soup is one of my favorite meals to make while I’m traveling, if I’m staying somewhere with a kitchen. It’s easy to pull together and doesn’t require too many ingredients. It’s such a cosy meal both in the winter and summer, and I like that you can load it with lots of different vegetables.

I’ve also included a video at the bottom of the recipe card at the bottom of this post, so you can see exactly how I make this soup.

Tips

If I’m not making my own fish stock I simply use fish stock cubes. If your local grocery store doesn’t have them, you can buy fish stock cubes on Amazon here. Shrimp bouillon cubes also work great for this.

But if you do want to make your own fish stock it’s actually fairly easy and will take you about an hour. You can find a fish stock recipe here.

Start off making fiskesuppe by cutting up your vegetables into thin strips. Also remember to defrost the fish for a bit if frozen.

You can use whatever vegetables you like, or happen to have in the fridge. I always include potatoes, carrots, and leek, and then if I have any other vegetables in the fridge I might throw them in as well. Frozen vegetables also work well in this, and you don’t have to defrost them first.

You can chop the vegetables into cubes if you prefer, but the typical Norwegian way is to cut them into thin strips. This is really one of the main distinct features of Norwegian fish soup, so it would be a bit strange for me to eat fiskesuppe with cubed vegetables. Plus this means they cook more quickly! I do this with all the vegetables, including the potatoes.

Some places in Norway serve a smooth version of Norwegian fish soup without vegetable or fish pieces, but most commonly you’ll see strips of vegetables and pieces of fish in fiskesuppe here.

Then melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat and add the garlic. Add the flour into the melted butter as soon as the garlic starts to turn golden, as you don’t want the garlic to burn. I always travel with a small ziplock bag of flour to use when making soups and sauces. If you want a thicker soup, add a bit more flour.

You can also use cornstarch instead of flour. Mix it in with the milk instead of butter and pour it into the soup.

Add the fish stock and continue to whisk until there are no lumps.

Then add all of the cut vegetables to the fish stock at the same time. Since they’re all cut into thin strips they will cook quickly. I add the milk as well and then bring the soup to a boil.

Let the soup cook for about 10 minutes and then add the crème fraîche (or sour cream), bringing the soup back to a simmer before turning off the heat completely. Keep the soup on the burner and add the fish.

I do sometimes use sour cream instead of crème fraîche. You can also skip the crème fraîche altogether, though personally I think it adds a really nice flavor to the soup so I try to always include it. Norwegians love to cook with crème fraîche and you’ll see it used in many sauces and soups here.

This means the crème fraîche also adds what now feels like quite a “Norwegian” flavor to sauces and soups.

You can make this with any type of fish fillet, except herring. I usually use cod or salmon – or both! Having a couple different types of fish in the fiskesuppe adds more depth to the flavor here.

I often make this soup with frozen fish because it’s much cheaper and easier to keep in my freezer, but I do try to take the time to defrost the fish at least a bit so that it’s easier to cut (frozen cod is like a block of ice). The fish doesn’t have to be fully defrosted though – just soft enough that you can cut it with a sharp knife.

Turn off the heat and then let the fish cook in the hot soup for 5 minutes. If using shrimp, add right before serving. Try not to overcook the fish or shrimp – they will cook very quickly in the soup!

The shrimp are totally optional, but I definitely think they enhance the fiskesuppe. If you order fiskesuppe in Norway it will almost always come with shrimp. And you can get creative with adding other seafood like crab legs, scallops, or even clams. You’ll often see a fun variety of seafood used in fish soup in Norwegian restaurants, based on the day’s catch and seasonal availability.

I usually top my soup with fresh chives, but dill and parsley also work great.

I like to serve my fiskesuppe with fresh bread and butter, though it’s not entirely necessary as this soup has plenty of potatoes and other vegetables to make it a nice hearty meal.

I most recently made this while traveling to Ålesund with my Scottish friend Catriona and she loved it so much that I made it again when we got back to my home in Bergen. I love that it’s so easy to make, and it can taste slightly different depending on which vegetables and fish I use, so I never get tired of this fiskesuppe.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

You can switch the recipe from US measurements to metric by clicking from “US Customary” to “Metric” under Ingredients.