Kjøttsuppe, meat soup, is a traditional dish in Norway. Especially so during fall as the dark and cold weather sets in and the root vegetables come fresh off the fields. It’s an easy dish to make, but in order to get a tasty soup you need fresh ingredients, rich meat or vegetable stock, and plenty of time to let it simmer on the stow. Here’s my recipe and how I make it. Enjoy!
Ingredients for a Norwegian Meat Soup

Meat or Vegetable stock

Vegetables in the soup
- Rutabaga
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Leeks
- Celery
- Celery root
- Onion
- Cabbage
- Jerusalem artichoke
Meat in the soup
As with the vegetables, there are no strict rules to what kind of meat you add to the soup. Add whatever you have in the fridge, or whatever meat you like. It’s also fine to mix different kinds of meat (beef and pork). To save some money you might also choose cheap pork sausage over more expensive beef.
Personally I do prefer meat that “enjoy” a long cooking time, so typically I choose some kind of beef and make sure that it has some fat and bones. This will for sure add more flavor to the soup.
NB! I would avoid using poultry… Typically a “meat soup” in Norway would not have it, and it would rather be named a “chicken soup”.
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Recipe for Norwegian meat soup
- 1 liter (33 oz) chicken stock (or vegetable/beef stock).. or more if you have.
- 4 carrots
- 2 medium sized yellow onions
- 1 medium sized rutabaga
- 1 leek
- 1/2 celery root
- 12 ish small-medium sized potatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Water
- 600 grams (1,3 lbs) beef meat (any part, but no expensive meat)
- 400 grams (o,8 lbs) sausage
How to cook the soup

How to eat the soup
Serve the soup with your choice of beverage, I enjoy a cold glass of water, or perhaps a red wine or a dark ale. Also have some flatbrød (flat bread, traditional Norwegian bread) on the side. If you can’t get flat bread you could replace it with some thin crisp bread, but it should have a neutral flavor (nothing sweet). Some like to have a bit of butter on the flat bread as well.
Since it’s a big portion you’ll probably have a lot of leftovers. But don’t worry! It will taste even better the next day.
Vel bekomme! Thanks for sharing this article with anyone interested in cooking and Norwegian food. Tusen takk, thank you!
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