This simple yet flavorful Salmon and Potato soup is not hard to prepare and delivers a wonderfully comforting and delightful taste. Featuring fresh salmon, a variety of crisp vegetables, and aromatic herbs, this soup is sure to impress.
Let’s talk about Salmon and Potato Soup—it’s hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but surprisingly light in flavor! That’s one of my favorite things about it.
You can start with a simple mix of aromatic veggies like onions, celery, and carrots. But don’t be afraid to get creative! Adding more vegetables can really enrich the soup and enhance the flavor. The peppers and tomatoes add a bit of sweetness. I love the note of acidity that the tomatoes add to the soup. You can use either a poblano or a jalapeño pepper, adjusting the heat level to your preference. You can also add some crushed pepper flakes and/or cayenne pepper for additional heat. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also toss in some crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne for an extra spicy touch. All those vegetables really make the soup bursting in flavor and textures.
The star of the show is definitely the salmon. It cooks up super tender and juicy, soaking in all the wonderful flavors from the aromatic veggies. And those potatoes? They make a perfect pairing with the fish, creating a comforting and satisfying dish.
This soup has become a family favorite in our home, and I think you’ll love it just as much!
Watch the video of how to make Salmon and Potato Soup
Ingredients:
(Scroll to the bottom of the page for the printable recipe card with all the measurements.)
- Aromatic vegetables - onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, jalapeño/poblano pepper, tomatoes, garlic
- Potatoes - any type of potatoes will work in this recipe
- Salmon
- You can also use many other types of fish, such as cod, trout, snapper, etc. Shrimp is another great option to use instead of or in addition to the fish.
- Heavy cream - it adds richness and creaminess to the soup. Although, you can certainly omit it too.
- Fresh herbs - dill, green onion, parsley
How to make Salmon and Potato Soup Recipe
- Prep and saute the vegetables.
- I prefer the vegetables to be on the smaller side, but you can cut them into whatever pieces you prefer.
- Pour in the water/broth. Add the potatoes.
- Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Add the salmon.
- It is best to chop the fish into bigger chunks, so that it stays juicy and tender. Cook it for only 3-5 minutes if using fresh fish and 5-7 minutes if using frozen fish at the very end of cooking, when all the other vegetables are done cooking.
- Lastly, pour in the cream and add the fresh herbs.
Serving the Soup
This soup is SO good! The broth is really flavorful and all the components give it so many layers of deliciousness.
Serve the soup hot. It is so comforting, you can serve it on its own, without anything else, but with some fresh bread or rolls, it's really great too. Cheddar biscuits would be incredible with this soup.
Helpful Tips For Salmon Soup
Normally, using broth is preferable for soup, but in this case, there are so many vegetables in the soup, that the water soaks in all their different flavors and it tastes phenomenal with just water. You're creating your own vegetable and salmon broth already.
Fish soups are wonderful because they are very versatile and you can use a variety of different fish and seafood here.
Cod is another great fish to use and other thick boneless, skinless fish fillets, such as haddock, snapper, steelhead trout, tilapia, bass, etc. Shrimp is another great option to use instead of fish. You can also use a combination of different fish fillets and/or shrimp. Try this Potato Cod Soup.
You can use either fresh or frozen salmon, boneless and skinless fillets, in this soup. You can also use any variety of salmon that you like. If you like it sauteed or roasted, you will enjoy it in the soup too.
If you add the vegetables to the soup without sautéing them first, the soup will be
much more watery and bland. Sautéing the vegetables will bring out their natural sweetness and concentrate their flavors, making the overall flavor of the soup better.
Salmon and Potato Soup
This simple yet flavorful Salmon and Potato soup is not hard to prepare and delivers a wonderfully comforting and delightful taste. Featuring fresh salmon, a variety of crisp vegetables, and aromatic herbs, this soup is sure to impress.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 75 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Soup
Ingredients
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 1 carrot (peeled and grated/shredded)
- 1-2 celery stalks (thinly sliced)
- ½ sweet bell pepper (finely chopped)
- ½ poblano pepper (finely chopped, (you can use jalapeno pepper instead if you want the soup to have more heat))
- salt (ground black pepper, to taste)
- 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons butter or oil
- 1-2 to matoes (seeded and chopped)
- 2-4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1-2 dry bay leaves
- 8-10 cups water or vegetable broth
- 3 medium potatoes (peeled and chopped)
- 1 ½ lbs salmon (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup heavy cream (optional)
- 1-2 Tablespoons fresh herbs (dill, green onions, parsley, etc)
Instructions
- Prep all the vegetables.
- In a dutch oven or a large pot, heat the butter or oil until hot, then add the onion, seasoning with salt and ground black pepper to taste, and cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, just until the onions have softened.
- Add the carrots and celery, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 3-5 minutes, until tender.
- Add the peppers, mix to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and garlic. Mix to combine, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the bay leaf, pour in the water and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, season to taste with salt.
- Add the potatoes, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes have cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Cut the salmon into approximately 2 - inch pieces. Add the salmon at the very end, when the rest of the vegetables are completely cooked through. You can use both fresh or frozen fish. If the fish is frozen, you can add it into the soup without thawing it; it will thaw and cook through in the soup. If using frozen fish, cook for about 7 minutes, and about 5 minutes if using fresh/defrosted fish.
- Pour in the heavy cream off the heat, if using. Garnish with fresh herbs.
- Serve hot.
I don't have parsley do you think I can sub for cilantro
You can use whatever fresh herbs you like, Elizabeth. Cilantro will be great. You can also use dill or green onions.
So so good! Used a combo of home smoked salmon and canned tuna
- about 240g of each. I didn't have any tomatoes other then canned chopped tomatoes, so I used those. I also used milk instead of cream.
This soup is definitely a winner recipe! Thanks for sharing!
I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup, Katherine. What a great idea to add some smoked salmon too; it sounds delicious. Thanks for taking the time to write. I really appreciate it.
love the recipe....i added some chopped fennel bulb.....delicious!
Can this be made in a slow cooker or pressure cooker?
I have never tried it, so you'd need to experiment on your own.
Hi can I use trout instead of salmon?
Yes, you can use any fish that you like.
Super delicious soup! A go-to for one of our favorite soup recipes.
Have you tried to freeze this soup? Or do you happen to know if it would freeze well?
I don't recommend freezing any soup with potatoes or fish in it. Usually cooked fish will be very dry when frozen and then reheated and the potatoes get blown out during the freezing/thawing process.
My family loves this soup. I've made it three times already. The vegetable broth is so rich in flavor. I substituted the poblano for a deseeded/deveined jalapeno. Once I tasted the soup prior to the cream, I realized it was excellent as it was. I opted to keep this soup cream free.
So happy that you enjoyed this recipe, Robert. Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Made this soup last night. It is wonderful but I made approximately double the recipe since I had more salmon. I decided to freeze a lot of it since I did not add the cream or herbs yet. I think this should work out fine since I often freeze soup and if there is no dairy in it I do not see the problem.
I love this soup!
I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup, Carol:).
Dang that was delicious! For health conscious, i just added 2% milk at the end and it was still bomb
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Eman. Thanks for taking the time to write.
A favorite! My sister stopped by and tried some and after that told me to always tell her when I'll be making it again so she can drive 3 hours to have some. Thank you, Olga!
Oh, this soup is soooo good! Thank you for a great recipe 🙂