Fiskesuppe – Creamy Norwegian Fish Soup

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, Norway fish soup is a weekly staple for me.
For a traditional Norwegian fiskesuppe I turned to Norway’s holy grail cookbook: Den Rutetete Kokeboken. This fiskesuppe recipe is based off her “simple Scandinavian fish soup with vegetables” recipe, though I made a few tweaks to make it a bit creamier. And yes, this recipe is easy, but it’s still so 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.
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.


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!

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.
You can make this with frozen fish, but 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).

You can 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.
The same goes for the shrimp – they’re totally optional, but I definitely think they enhance the fiskesuppe. If you order fiskesuppe in Norway it will almost always come with shrimp.


Fiskesuppe (Creamy Norwegian Fish Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 pound fish fillet (fresh or frozen) – eg. half salmon, half cod
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 medium potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1 leek
- 3 tbsp butter
- 5 tbsp flour
- 4 and 1/4 cups fish stock
- 1 cup milk
- 1 and 1/4 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
- 1 cup shrimp, peeled and cooked (optional)
- 1 tbsp chives (or dill or parsley)
Instructions
- Cut the fish fillets in cubes or strips. Crush or chop the garlic. Rinse the vegetables and cut into thin strips.
- Heat the butter in a pot and add the garlic. Once the garlic starts to turn golden add the flour, whisking well.
- Add the fish stock and continue to whisk until there are no lumps.
- Add the vegetables and milk and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the crème fraîche (or sour cream). Bring the soup back to a simmer and once the soup begins to bubble again turn off the heat. Keep the soup on the burner and add the fish. Let the fish cook in the hot soup for 5 minutes. If using shrimp, add right before serving.
- Sprinkle with chives (or dill or parsley) before serving.
10 Comments
c
May 12, 2023 at 5:26 am
Looks delicious! Which brand of fish stock are you using or did you make your own? I am not from/in Norway, and have never heard of fish stock, actually haha. Will chicken stock be a good substitute?
Also, may I ask you to set-up an email subscription thingy when you post new recipes/posts? I don’t have social media and don’t want to miss an update from you! 🙂 Thank you!
Silvia
May 15, 2023 at 10:33 am
Oh interesting, maybe fish stock isn’t as common in the US? I use a Norwegian brand, but you can use any sort of fish stock or fish bouillon cubes. Chicken stock would change the flavor of the soup, so I would really try to find fish stock cubes. I’ve just created an email subscription and added the email address attached to your comment!
Meinir
May 31, 2023 at 12:56 pm
Knorr do fish stock cubes. 🙂
Linda
May 21, 2023 at 2:03 pm
I used sour cream instead of creme fraiche and it was so good! The whole family loved it.
Nynke
May 21, 2023 at 8:50 pm
Hi Silvia! I have a very basic question – if you use frozen fish fillet, do you need to defrost it first or can you cut it while frozen if you only have basic knives?
Silvia
May 22, 2023 at 7:50 am
Fully frozen fish will usually be incredibly difficult to cut. But if you defrost it for about half an hour or so it should be soft enough to cut! You certainly don’t need to fully defrost the fish before adding it to the soup. Though if it’s a bit frozen still I would probably keep the burner on low heat after adding the fish, to make sure it fully cooks through.
Marta Botos
June 21, 2023 at 9:22 am
Just visited Norway. The fiske suppe is my favorite. Loved it. Right now I am staying in Budapest and will try it here…and when I am back in Sydney will be on the menu all the time.
Maria
July 28, 2023 at 2:06 pm
I tried making fisksuppe before and something wasn’t right. Your recipe made me realize it’s the way you cut the vegetables into thin strips. This recipe tasted exactly like the soup in Norway.
Raya
August 4, 2023 at 2:04 pm
Yes, this turned out just like the fiskesuppe I had in Norway!
Cheryl
September 18, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Recipe looks great. I just got back from Bergen and had the fish soup at a restaurant there. It had small shrimp and scallops in it. I think they left out the “fish” part because we had so me members of our group who did not eat fish. And it was so mild, I was wondering if they used something other than a fish stock for the same reason listed above. Have you ever heard of using scallops instead of the fish?? I want to try and make this for my husband because it was soooo good!