
Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowThis post may contain affiliate links, which help keep this content free. (Full disclosure)
There’s something about a hot keto chicken soup recipe that feels like comfort. One bite of this low carb chicken soup will remind you to slow down, making it a perfect meal for cold winter nights. This spaghetti squash soup (one of my fave keto pasta alternatives!) has all of the traditional components of a chicken noodle soup, but it’s a keto chicken noodle soup.
Like most keto soups, I adore making this low carb chicken soup recipe every winter, not only to soothe my body but to metaphorically soothe my mind as well. Somehow, sitting down with a big bowl of it is a reminder to slow down and think about what’s important.
And when I do get sick, this provides the same chicken soup fix without the carbs. Bonus: this is also a whole30 paleo chicken soup, too. (You can find more paleo recipes here and whole30 recipes here.)
Keto chicken noodle soup is just one of my many “comfort foods made keto” recipes. If you’re craving traditional comfort foods without the carbs, you may also like leftover turkey soup, keto chicken pot pie, keto shepherd’s pie, and eggplant lasagna. These good-for-you swaps will satisfy the comfort food craving in a delicious and healthy way.
This keto friendly chicken soup was originally published on February 1, 2017, and the post was republished in January 2021 to add additional pictures and useful tips.

The Best Keto Chicken Soup Ingredients
The ingredients for low carb chicken noodle soup are not so different from the “regular” kind. We’re just swapping the noodles with spaghetti squash. You’ll need:
- Chicken – I used pre-cooked shredded chicken I made in my Instant Pot, but you can also make baked chicken breast and dice that in. Or you can just add uncooked chicken to the soup, and shred it once it’s cooked. Season the chicken with poultry seasoning for more flavor!
- Carrots – While carrots are not super keto friendly on their own, they are perfectly fine in small amounts in a soup like this
- Celery
- Onions
- Chicken broth – I like a combination of this chicken broth and homemade bone broth. Adding bone broth takes this keto chicken soup recipe to the next level for both taste and health benefits. It’s full of collagen!
- Italian Seasoning – I like to make homemade Italian seasoning like this, but I also recommend this brand if you prefer to buy pre-made
- Bay leaf
- Spaghetti squash – You’ll use half for this recipe, so see my ideas below for ways to use the rest
…plus sea salt and black pepper.
How To Make Keto Chicken Soup
This low carb chicken soup is super easy to make, and the active prep time is only around 10 minutes. The rest is hands-off simmering time!
Here’s how to make low carb chicken noodle soup:
- Simmer soup. In a large pot, stir together shredded chicken, carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, sea salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.
- Roast squash. Meanwhile, bake spaghetti squash, until strands are tender, but not mushy. When spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, slice in half and scoop out the strands.
TIP: Follow my guide for how to cook spaghetti squash here.
- Combine. Remove bay leaf from soup and stir in spaghetti squash strands.
Low Carb Chicken Soup FAQs
Is chicken soup keto?
“Can you eat chicken noodle soup on keto?” is a popular question. The answer is, it depends. Most chicken soups are made with rice or noodles, which would not make them keto-friendly.
But yes, you can make a low carb chicken soup! The key to making chicken noodle soup low carb and keto is swapping out the noodles with a low carb option.
What kind of noodles can you use for keto chicken soup?
This is a spaghetti squash chicken soup recipe, but you can use any of my recommended low carb pasta alternatives. Popular options are zucchini noodles, kelp noodles, or shirataki noodles (like this).
Can you make chicken soup without noodles?
Sure, you can make chicken soup with no noodles if you like. Feel free to omit the squash altogether if you don’t want any kind of noodles. You’ll want about half the broth in that case. (Or try my noodle-free chicken detox soup!)
But, my opinion is that spaghetti squash chicken soup is way more delicious than noodle free chicken soup! 😉
How many carbs in chicken soup?
Carbs in chicken soup will vary depending on the soup or the recipe. It can vary from 8 grams to 30 grams, or more, depending on how many noodles it has. Either way, chicken soups with wheat noodles are not the cleanest option.
Spaghetti squash soup is a much healthier way to eat low carb noodle soup! This recipe has just 3 grams net carbs, and is packed with veggies.
Can you put spaghetti squash in soup?
Yes, you can put spaghetti squash in soup and it makes a great healthy noodle alternative!
Can you use uncooked chicken in this soup?
Yes, you can make chicken soup with raw chicken. Just add whole chicken breasts to the soup and shred when it’s cooked.
Spaghetti Squash Soup Storage Instructions
Can you make it ahead?
Yes, you can easily make this soup ahead, or simply prep the ingredients and it will take just minutes to put together.
This keto chicken noodle soup recipe lends itself to batch cooking. Here are some ways you can prep ahead:
- Roast the spaghetti squash ahead of time. This takes the longest, so is the most convenient part to do in advance.
- Make your shredded chicken in advance. Another time saver is making your shredded chicken ahead of time. Using the Instant Pot to make shredded chicken in bulk is my favorite way. Plus, then you’ll have some ready to make yummy chicken nachos and low carb chicken salad, too. But this isn’t necessary if you’re planning to just add the raw chicken to the soup, which you can.
- Make the whole soup ahead. It stores very well, so feel free to make it ahead!
How to store keto chicken soup:
Store the soup in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Can chicken soup be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze spaghetti squash chicken soup. I like to freeze it flat in zip lock bags, then once they are solid, you can store them vertically to save space. Another option is to freeze using souper cubes.
How to reheat spaghetti squash soup:
Reheat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave, until hot.
What To Serve With Keto Chicken Noodle Soup
This spaghetti squash soup makes a great starter before just about any keto dinner, but you can also double the serving size to make it a meal if you like. The best pairings for soup are:
- Keto Bread – Easy keto bread recipes such as 90-second bread, keto chaffles, fathead dinner rolls, or keto garlic cheese bread are delicious alongside a soup.
- Chips or Crackers – Try keto cheese crackers or 3-ingredient almond flour crackers.
- Salad – Salad recipes such as wedge salad, deviled ham salad, and chopped Italian salad all pair well with keto chicken noodle soup.
Ways To Use Up Spaghetti Squash
This recipe uses half a spaghetti squash, so you’ll have a second half left over. You can save the half you don’t use in the freezer, or try one of these keto spaghetti squash recipes:
- Spaghetti Squash Carbonara
- Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
- Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
- Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
All the above recipes actually use a whole squash, but you can simply cut the other ingredients in half to use your spaghetti squash half left over from the soup.
Tools To Make Keto Chicken Noodle Soup
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.
- Baking Sheet – This baking sheet works great for roasting the spaghetti squash for this recipe.
- Dutch Oven – Let your keto chicken soup recipe simmer away in this dutch oven that’s sturdy AND beautiful.
- Soup Ladle – Long enough so that it won’t slip into the pot!
- Souper Cubes – Freeze extra keto soup with chicken in these soup cubes, which freezes individual portions.
Keto Chicken Soup Recipe
Low Carb Keto Chicken Soup Recipe (Quick & Easy)
The best low carb keto chicken soup recipe = comfort in a bowl! Spaghetti squash makes delicious, EASY keto chicken noodle soup, with just 3g net carbs per cup.
Recipe Video
Tap on the image below to watch the video.Like this video? Subscribe to my YouTube cooking channel for healthy recipes weekly! (Click the bell icon to be notified when I post a new video.)
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
-
In a large pot on the stove, stir together all ingredients except the spaghetti squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 1 hour. (If using raw chicken, shred it once it's cooked through.)
-
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (191 degrees C). Poke holes in the spaghetti squash using a sharp knife. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40-60 minutes, until you can easily pierce through the skin with only a little resistance when using a fork. (Don't overcook to the point where there's no resistance at all, or the noodles will be mushy.)
-
When the spaghetti squash is done cooking and cool enough to handle, slice it in half and use a fork to scoop out the strands (pull with the fork in the same direction as the strands, cross-wise across the short side of the spaghetti squash).
-
Right before serving, remove the bay leaf and stir in half of the spaghetti squash strands.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram, or in our free low carb support group, too - I'd love to see it!
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cup
Nutrition info is calculated based on using 1/2 of the spaghetti squash. You'll need to cook the whole thing but only half goes in the soup. You can reserve the rest for another use.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Want to save this recipe?
Create a free account to save your favorite recipes!
Sign Up To Save Recipes© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We'd LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂
59 Comments
Carol
0Hi, what is spaghetti squash? I’m in UK ad have never heard if it but I am new to keto. This is my first week.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Carol, Spaghetti squash oblong variety of winter squash that can vary in color from ivory to yellow.
Marty
0I’ve made this many times. I always double it so I can share with my daughter’s family. Another great vegetable in addition to the squash noodles is peas put in at the end because the cook quickly. Love the addition of the green color. I always use chopped garlic, too.
Susan
0Will be making this! I am wondering why it requires a medium spaghetti squash but then uses half. I see many recipes that say 1/2 an onion – why no one small onion? 🙂
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Susan, A medium spaghetti squash is usually easier to find, and then you can also make another recipe from just one squash.
Diana
0Hi Maya do you have any recipes where you use hearts of palm?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Diana, No, I currently do not have any heart of palm recipes.
Gayle
0Very tasty. I froze the soup without the squash and added cooked brown rice after reheated.
Sandy
0I absolutely love this soup! I made it last week and it’s all gone so I’m making more today. One pot for me and another for my son’s family. I can hardly wait for supper time!
Jake
0Great recipe! I don’t follow a keto plan, but have been sticking to a whole food diet. I love the use of spaghetti squash in this soup. I used two raw chicken breasts, cut the chicken broth (no salt added) to 8 cups, and added a tsp of poultry seasoning, but everything else was the same. This is in the top 5 soups I’ve ever made. Definitely will have to make this again.
Shannon
0Can this be made in a crock pot?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Shannon, Yes, that should work.
Dottie Bacon
0I love the fact that I can actually put carrots in the soup!! The soup was excellent, and I didn’t change a thing. GREAT recipe!! Thank you so much!
Kelsey
0Omygosh this was soooo tasty! I bought the smallest squash I could find so I could use the whole thing and not waste half. Adjusted to 25 min at oven temp and came out perfect. Also used all three chicken broth boxes and did the raw chicken breasts in a stock pot. I pulled them out after about 25 min, shredded and put back to simmer and it turned out GREAT! I saw comments about fat content and added half a stick of butter to the mix and it made the taste even better. Literally making this again today because it was so good 😊
Jon Rehbein
0Really enjoyed this recipe. Easy to make and satisfied just like real chicken soup.
Chris Koponen
0This was delicious and so easy! Definitely a keeper! I subbed in a box of ‘zoodles’ for the spaghetti squash out of convenience…thank you for this recipe!
critter42
0My wife and I loved this recipe – I did have one question. This is my first foray into the world of spaghetti squash, and I looked at the article on roasting the squash, but are there any tips for giving the strands a little more flavor? I was expecting a little bit more of a savory, maybe nutty flavor and all it seemed to do was give some more texture to the soup rather than flavor. Not a complaint at all, though, we ate that soup in record time 🙂 .
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi, Spaghetti squash is a very neutral flavor so it can be added to most dishes without affecting the flavor. When roasting you could add more seasoning if you wish to add more flavor.
Terr
0Could hearts of palm linguine be substituted for the spaghetti squash?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Terr, I think that should work for this recipe.
Florence Spratt
0My husband and I enjoyed this soup a couple of months ago, and now I just have to make it again. One question: in your intro instructions, you indicate to put in all the baked spaghetti strands, but in the recipe card you indicate to put in half of the strands. Do I put in all or half of the spaghetti strands into the soup? Thanks so much for all your recipes–they are all winners at our house!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Florence, You are going to use half a spaghetti squash.
Andrea
0Simple, yet flavorful and an easy lunch or dinner to have on hand for busy days. I added maybe a half tsp of granulated chicken bouillon and pinch of red pepper flakes. I took another reviewer’s advice and added a pat of butter on it, but I used it to sauté the mirepoix. I had to use frozen spaghetti squash, which doesn’t shred as well as fresh, but it still tastes great. This will be in the regular rotation for me!
Linda
0Uh-may-zing. Entire family LOVED it! Than you Aa
B
0Can I add cream cheese to this to make it more keto/rich?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi B, Sure!
joan
0Hi
Going to try this, as it looks very good. Just a quick question. how long would this be good in the fridge? and can it be frozen with the squash in there?
I know I will be the only one eating this and it would be great for lunch at work.
Thanks 🙂
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Joan, This recipe freezes well! I like to freeze in individual portions, which makes life a little easier for lunch time meal prep.
Louise Roberts
0Hi
I’ve swapped the squash for zucchini noodles. What would be the net carbs for this? Thanks
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Louise, I don’t know off-hand how the nutrition would change using zucchini noodles. Feel free to enter the recipe into an online recipe calculator to get an accurate idea of what the nutrition would be with that substitution.
Katie
0Delicious!
Kim Demmon
0Thanks for the recipe. I’ve never thought about adding spaghetti squash.
Nancy
0Just made this awesome soup!!! Made it exactly as directed however, I added 1 small chili pepper for heat. The flavor is amazing. A crowd pleaser for 13 guests!
Thank you once again Maya for an easy and great recipe! 🙂
Jessica
0This is so good!! I used green onions rather than regular and it was delicious!
Keely
0Mine came out a little bland and also not hearty at all. I feel like next time I’d cut my veggies bigger, rough chop. Also if add more chicken. 2 cups for 14 servings was a little shy for me. Wondering what seasoning I could add to give it a perk of flavor. I do not care for more Italian seasoning, personally.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Keely, Feel free to customize to your liking! Poultry seasoning would go well.
Lana
0Very good soup. Lacking in fat though. I added a pad of butter on top before I ate, it was even more delicious! Thank you.
Elle
0Hello. Aside from spaghetti squash, what else can you recommend? Because I can’t find spaghetti squash here in the Philippines. Thank you.
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Elle, this would also taste wonderful with shirataki noodles or spiralized daikon radish.
Angel
0Awesome recipe!
Herbalchef
0I discovered this recipe this morning as I awoke with a sore throat and stuffiness. It is simply delicious, healthy and flavorful. I did sauté the onions, carrots, celery in olive oil first then after a few minutes I added the Italian Seasoning.. I used organic Chicken Bone Broth…i only had nine cups so I added a cup of white wine…..I let that simmer and added baby spinach at the end……served with the spaghetti squash…genius Maya! Thank you
Carolyn
0I thought carrots were too carby
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Carolyn, In very small amounts they are fine.
Mary
0I made this for dinner today and it tastes so good with the spaghetti squash. Thank you for the recipes.
Sandra
0Miracle noodles were mentioned here. What are they?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sandra, Miracle noodles are shirataki noodles – you can get them here.
Cookie
0I am printing this recipe as it looks both easy and flavorful. Not sure why I would put cooked chicken in the mix to cook for an hour. If chicken is already cooked, I would add it at the end just to reheat. I am going to use zucchini noodles as they almost mimic real noodles. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Laurie
0Hey! Just wondering if you’ve ever tried this with cauliflower rice instead of noodles? I’m looking for a creamy chicken and ‘rice’ soup recipe and man! They are HARD to find! Thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Laurie, Not yet but that’s a great idea! I think it should work. Just don’t cook it too long with the cauliflower rice – add it toward the end.
Penny
0Made this last night. AWESOME! I’m storing the cooked squash in separate container & adding to each bowl before reheating. Husband said best chicken “noodle” ever! I wouldn’t change anything about recipe!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Penny! I’m glad you both enjoyed the recipe!
Lisa Smith
0I’m excited to try this recipe tonight! The yield says “14 cups”. How big is each serving size? Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lisa, A serving is a cup, but you can see from the nutrition info that the soup is very light, so you can easily have multiple servings. 🙂
Christina
0This popped up in my instagram feed this morning so I though I’d try it since I’m currently battling a cold. It came together super quickly and the spaghetti squash adds an extra layer of filling comfort. A new favorite!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Christina! It’s a favorite at our house, too. I hope you feel better soon!
Sarah
0I can totally relate to having a hard time saying no! Your soup looks amazing!
Stacey Crawford
0I love that there are squash noodles in your soup. Chicken noodle soup would be sad without the noodles 🙂
Kim | Low Carb Maven
0My mother always made me chicken soup when I was a child and I make soup for my kids, too. Spaghetti squash = genius. Thanks for the lesson on stepping back and looking at my week. It is so hard to be good in all of the roles our lives demand of us.
Georgina
0Genius use of spaghetti squash – have never thought to put it in soup!