Hearty Sausage and Root Vegetable Soup (Makkarakeitto)

Published: 7/31/2026

This colorful and affordable soup is the ultimate family meal. Filled with chunks of savory sausage and a variety of sweet root vegetables, it’s a bowl of pure comfort seasoned with traditional whole allspice.

Ingredients (6 servings)

• 12 oz (340 g) Smoked Kielbasa or Knockwurst, sliced into rounds
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 small rutabaga or 1 cup (130 g) celery root, cubed
• 6 cups (1.4 liters) beef or vegetable broth
• 8 whole allspice berries
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup (30 g) fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, bring the broth to a boil.
2. Add the potatoes, carrots, rutabaga, allspice berries, and bay leaves.
3. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. While the vegetables are simmering, lightly brown the sausage rounds in a skillet to enhance their flavor.
5. Add the sausage to the soup and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.
6. Remove the bay leaves and allspice berries before serving.
7. Stir in the fresh parsley and serve hot with dark rye bread.

Pro Tips

• Sausage Texture: Using Smoked Kielbasa or Knockwurst provides the firm, snappy texture characteristic of Finnish lenkkimakkara.
• Uniform Cubing: Cut all your root vegetables to roughly the same size (about 1 inch) to ensure they all finish cooking at the same time.

See Also

• Traditional Nordic Cabbage Soup (Kaalikeitto)
• Classic Beef Stroganoff (Finnish Style)
• Classic French Onion Soup (Ranskalainen sipulikeitto)

Categories: soups, comfort-food