Consider the following scenario: You wake up at 6 am, go to the gym, get to work, eat your keto-friendly lunch at midday, work some more, and get stuck in a traffic jam on the way home.
After your busy day, you’ve got just 30 minutes to get dinner on the table. You open the fridge and all you see is half an onion and some wilted greens. There is not a single fiber of your being that wants to cook anything!
Or, maybe you’ve had a relaxing day curled up on the sofa, it’s raining or snowing outside, and you want to make something warm to eat.
What would be ideal in each of these circumstances, in your opinion?
How about a nice pot of soup! It is so tasty and easy to make, and there are so many different kinds.
These keto soup recipes will give you the perfect low-carb way to warm up.
Quick to prepare, these simple instructions result in hearty, flavorful soups high in protein and fiber without adding too many carbohydrates.
The following low-carb soups are the perfect comfort food, whether you prepare them on the stovetop, in a slow cooker, or with your dependable Instant Pot.
Benefits of Keto Soup
Keto soups can supply the nutrients, antioxidants, and electrolytes you need to feel your best on a low-carb diet.
- Plant-based keto soups are a great way to add nutrient-dense vegetables you may have trouble working into your daily meals.
- Onions are antibacterial, rich in antioxidants, and may support bone, heart, and gut health. They make a good base for any soup, but check the carb count so you don’t add too many onions.
- Don’t like the flavor of certain vegetables? They will taste more mild when cooked in a soup, plus you can add herbs and spices to overpower them.
- Don’t like the texture? Use a blender or hand blender to smooth it out.
- Bone broths can help replenish your electrolytes, provide collagen, and satisfy hunger without carbs.
- Chicken or beef soups give you protein and that warm, cozy feeling that comes with a hearty comfort food.
- Try adding these veggies high in antioxidants: artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, collard greens, kale, spinach.
The ketogenic lifestyle isn’t always easy, but the benefits are well worth it! Weight loss, increased energy, reduced health risk factors, and breaking sugar addiction are just some of the positive effects a healthy keto diet can have.
Make these hot keto soup recipes for meals that will warm you from the inside out any time of year.
Which soups are not keto-friendly?
Sometimes a good starting point is knowing what NOT to do. Here, the same ketogenic guidelines that apply to conventional foods also apply.
This means no pasta, potatoes, rice, beans, lentils, corn, or high-carb veggies.
Here is a list of the most popular soups that are not allowed on keto:
- Beef or chicken noodle
- Barley and vegetables
- Gumbo
- Wild rice and chicken
- Potato cream
- Lentil
In some cases, you may be able to use low-carb substitutes, or leave out the offending ingredients.
Now let’s look at ideas to spark inspiration in your ketogenic kitchen!
Keto Soup Recipes
- Bone Broths
These are easy to make but do take time. The basic steps are:
- First, cook the bones (chicken, beef, lamb, or other) in the oven for 30 minutes or until brown.
- Then, in a large pot, heat olive oil and add garlic, onion, celery, carrot, and spices.
- Next, add the bones and a large amount of water.
- Simmer and cook on low for up to 24 hours.
- Add water when the level gets low.
- Strain the broth before enjoying, so all you use is the liquid.
Here are some ideas to mix it up:
- Ginger bone broth with cardamom
Spices like cardamom, ginger, and turmeric give this hearty bone marrow broth an added burst of anti-inflammatory properties. The ingredients only need to be cooked in a sizable pot or crockpot, strained, and then consumed on their own or as the base for a filling soup or stew.
- Chicken bones and/or feet
Don’t let the list of ingredients in this bone broth recipe scare you. Chicken feet reared in pasture provide a very gelatinous and healthy broth full of collagen and other minerals. You can remove them before eating. Plus, the leftover bone broth can be a foundation for other soups and curries.
- Herb bone broth with lamb
Lamb that has been fed only grass is a wholesome protein. This keto bone broth recipe uses the bones to create a flavorful, herbaceous broth high in collagen. It is ideal for stews, shirataki noodle soups, or sauces.
- Beef Recipes
- Beef stew cooked slowly
A rich and filling stew that goes great with mashed cauliflower or steaming green beans can be made with little preparation time, a slow cooker, and Bulletproof Grass-Fed Ghee. Each serving has less than 5 grams of net carbohydrates.
- Bowl of beef cabbage
This soup recipe has fall-apart tender beef pieces, carrots, and cabbage for an unexpectedly satisfying lunch with only 2 grams of net carbs per serving.
- Beef and vegetable soup
This mouthwatering soup recipe has crisp bacon bits, tender stew meat chunks, and celery root in place of stodgy potatoes.
- Chicken Recipes
- Creamy chicken soup
Instead of using heavy cream, this keto soup recipe uses fresh pumpkin and coconut cream, which naturally gives it a velvety feel. This chicken soup is healthy and soothing with the additional zest of turmeric, fresh ginger, and lime juice. And with only 5 grams of net carbohydrates per serving, it is suitable for keto dieters.
- Chicken noodle soup
This keto soup recipe substitutes spiralized daikon radish for wheat noodles, which can cause inflammation. Without the gluten, you’ll still have the same slurpable effect.
- Chicken cauliflower soup
It makes a filling chicken soup with soft pearls of riced cauliflower in a creamy broth.
- Turmeric chicken soup
This recipe for keto soup blends earthy turmeric with chicken and filling vegetables. Use vegetables like chard and cauliflower florets to reduce your carb intake (steamed before adding to the soup).
- Vegetable Soup Recipes
- Vegetarian ramen
The keto soup recipe can be used to create a flavorful vegetarian meal. Every mouthful is stuffed with vegetables like zucchini noodles and cabbage and served in a hot broth with curry paste and ginger for flavor. With 11 grams of net carbs per serving, you may include vegetables without exceeding your macros.
- Creamy leek and salmon
Instead of using heavier meats, try using seafood in your soup. Leeks add a subtle taste to this beatified keto recipe, including bite-sized salmon chunks and a creamy coconut broth.
- Cauliflower and coconut cream
This recipe uses cauliflower for its inherent smoothness and coconut cream for an additional boost of healthy fats. This creamy, dairy-free soup is lovely and quick to whip up on any chilly weekday.
- Miso soup with vegetables
Generally speaking, miso soup is good for weight loss, and keto is no exception. You can use miso as a base and add your own seawood, tofu, and veggies. However, be sure to check the label on the miso for carbs, so you know how much to add.
- Spicy Keto Soup Recipes
- Low-carb Thai curried butternut squash soup
Red curry paste adds a spicy touch to this zesty keto soup recipe. Creamy coconut milk and pureed butternut squash counteract the heat.
- Low-carb keto chili
This meaty chili soup is perfectly spicy thanks to ingredients like cumin, green chilies, chopped tomatoes, and chili powder. Swap high-carb beans for eggplant instead.
Which keto canned soups can you buy?
Here are some of the top low-carb soups you should stock up for your pantry. Consuming soup from a can naturally have a higher carb count, but we examined every one of these canned options to ensure the serving size is under 10 grams of net carbs.
You can always adjust your serving size to include fewer carbs.
Remember that just because something is keto-friendly doesn’t imply you can eat as much of it as you want. It simply means that you can consume more of them than foods heavy in carbohydrates. So the only way to ensure that you stay in ketosis is to keep track of your daily consumption of carbs.
| Kettle & Fire Spicy Cauliflower Soup | 6g net carbs per container |
| Progresso Broccoli Cheese with Bacon | 20g net carbs per can |
| Progresso Classic French Onion | 16g net carbs per can |
| Costco Broccoli Cheddar Soup | 12g net carbs per cup |
| Healthy Choice Country Vegetable | 17g net carbs per can |
| True Primal Beef & Vegetable | 11g net carbs per pouch |
| Freeze Dried Miso Soup | 2g net carbs per container |
How to find keto-friendly canned soup, and what to look for?
Unfortunately, a lot of well-known soup brands contain a lot of preservatives, sugar, and sodium. So although it’s not always the case, in general, you should always check the label, even if you are sure it’s a safe flavor, like broccoli cheese.
When looking at the nutrition information, be aware of how many portions are in each can. Companies often find ways to label their products to appear healthier, in some cases even misleading the consumer with false claims.
Moreover, always calculate the net carbohydrates by subtracting the fiber from total carbohydrates. Since your body cannot digest fibers, they don’t add to your daily carb intake when you’re on a ketogenic diet. Use this metric instead of total carbohydrates to understand your carb intake better.
Soups in cans are particularly prone to having too many carbs, so be wary and always check the label. and sodium.
Here are some flavors that should typically be more keto-friendly; however, the carb count may vary widely depending on the brand:
- Broccoli cheese
- Mushroom-based soups
- Creamy soups
- Roasted chicken and veggie
- Bone broth soups
- Beef and cabbage
- Cauliflower soups
- Asparagus soups
- Spring soups with egg
- Vegetable beef soup
Canned foods are often high in sodium, so that is another thing to be aware of. Also look out for additives.
Keep in mind that homemade soup made from real ingredients is healthier than eating processed food that comes in cans. Still, it can be handy to have an easy meal ready to go for certain occasions.
Disadvantages of Eating Only Soups
If you are thinking of following a strict soup diet, it is important to keep in mind that one of the most significant drawbacks of this type of approach is that it is not designed to be adhered to for longer than 5–10 days. Therefore, you’ll probably gain back any weight you lose on the diet unless you have a more sustainable diet to switch to.
Additionally, research suggests that your metabolic rate decreases when you severely restrict your calorie intake or lose a significant amount of weight quickly. As a result, your body starts burning fewer calories per day than it did previously. Hence, once you stop the diet, your slower metabolism can make it more difficult for you to keep the weight off.
So, it’s best to incorporate these soups into a well balanced ketogenic diet that also includes other types of food.
Conclusion
Soups can increase your intake of vegetables and fiber, along with increased water consumption.
You can find the best keto soups for weight loss in your home, not in a store!
Making them is pretty straightforward, at least for basic keto soup. If you’re looking for a strategy to lower the sodium, sugar, and carb levels of store-bought soups, don’t be afraid to prepare your own vegetable or meat-based stock or bone broth.
Knowing exactly what you’re putting in means that preservatives and bothersome carbohydrates have no place to hide.
