Delicious traditional Finnish summer soup is a simple but deeply flavorful light meal. Some fresh garden vegetables and high-quality fresh dairy, seasoned perfectly to your taste with a little salt and white pepper, make for an absolutely incredible fresh soup that you’ll turn to again and again, especially in the summer months! A variety of root vegetables, combined with a handful of different green vegetables, make this soup so flavorful and diverse. Don’t worry if you don’t have one of the vegetables on the list on hand, or if you’d just rather omit or substitute one- there’s so many opportunities for fresh flavor here, it will be absolutely fine.
Tools & Equipment for Finnish Summer Soup
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- large liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Cutting board & knife
Ingredients for Finnish Summer Soup
- Butter: salted or unsalted
- All-purpose flour
- Yellow onion
- Water: You can use vegetable broth if you wish, but the water becomes vegetable broth in its own right, so I don’t think it is necessary!
- Milk: Whole, 2% or 1% milk should all work fine
- Heavy cream
- New potatoes or baby gold potatoes
- Carrots
- Parsnips
- Celery
- Cauliflower
- Fresh peas
- Fresh spinach
- White pepper or freshly ground black pepper
- Kosher salt or fine sea salt
- Chives, optional, for garnish
A note on the vegetables: The wide variety of vegetables in this soup gives such a wide variety of flavor that there’s no need to worry if you don’t have one of them- you’ll hardly notice. This traditional soup also offers a great opportunity to use up any summer vegetables you’ve got in your garden! Broccoli, green beans or any number of other fresh vegetables would be great added to this soup.
The Process: How to Make Finnish Summer Soup
Finely dice your onions, slice your potatoes, peel and chop your parsnips and carrots, break up a small cauliflower into florets, and finely slice celery and spinach leaves.
Set a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add butter to your pot, allowing to melt and then to cook until lightly browned. Add the flour and whisk to make a paste. Let the paste cook for a couple of minutes until light brown. Add your diced onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions are slightly softened.
Slowly pour in your water, whisking briskly the whole time to avoid lumps. When all the water is added, bring to a simmer and add your potatoes. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add the carrots and parsnips. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, until the potatoes are getting close to cooked through, but nothing is mushy.
Add the celery then stir in the milk, continuing to simmer.
Add the cauliflower, then the green peas and spinach, and a generous pinch of salt.
When all of the vegetables are tender, add the cream, letting the soup cook for a couple more minutes, until warmed through. Taste and add more salt and pepper, to taste.
Garnish with chives, if desired, and generously scoop into bowls!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Should I Serve and Store Finnish Summer Soup?
Serve alongside Finnish or Swedish rye crispbread with cheese, or some fresh sourdough rye bread with butter!
I’ve also encountered some recipes that suggest serving a hardboiled egg on top of this soup- a great way to add a bunch of protein to this traditional vegetable soup!
You can store Finnish summer soup in the fridge in an airtight container for three-four days.
Finnish Summer Vegetable Soup (Kesäkeitto)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter: salted or unsalted
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 medium or large yellow onion
- 2 1/4 cup 540 mL water
- 3/4 cup 180 mL milk: Whole, 2% or 1% milk should all work fine
- 1 1/4 cup 300 mL heavy cream
- about 8 small new potatoes or baby gold potatoes
- 2 large or 4 small carrots
- 2 parsnips
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 small cauliflower
- 1/2 cup fresh peas
- large handful fresh spinach
- white pepper or freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Kosher salt or fine sea salt
Instructions
- Finely dice your onions, slice your potatoes, peel and chop your parsnips and carrots, break up a small cauliflower into florets, and finely slice celery and spinach leaves.
- Set a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add butter to your pot, allowing to melt and then to cook until lightly browned. Add the flour and whisk to make a paste. Let the paste cook for a couple of minutes until light brown. Add your diced onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the onions are slightly softened.
- Slowly pour in your water, whisking briskly the whole time to avoid lumps. When all the water is added, bring to a simmer and add your potatoes.
- Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add the carrots and parsnips. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, until the potatoes are getting close to cooked through, but nothing is mushy.
- Add the celery then stir in the milk, continuing to simmer.
- Add the cauliflower, then the peas and spinach, and a generous pinch of salt.
- When all of the vegetables are tender, add the cream, letting the soup cook for a couple more minutes, until warmed through. Taste and add more salt and pepper, to taste.
- Garnish with chives, if desired, and generously scoop into bowls!
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