Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowThere’s something about a hot bowl of keto chicken soup that feels like pure comfort. Like most low carb soups, I love making this one every winter. Made with spaghetti squash (my fave keto pasta alternative), this low carb chicken soup has all the traditional components of a classic chicken noodle soup, but with just 4.9g net carbs per serving. Even my kids and very-not-keto friends love this!
Keto chicken noodle soup is just one of my many “comfort food” keto recipes. If this is your thing, you may also like keto pizza, a tasty keto chicken pot pie with almond flour pie crust, or keto shepherd’s pie. These good-for-you swaps will satisfy the comfort food craving in a delicious and healthy way.
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for low carb chicken soup, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Olive Oil – For sauteing the vegetables. You can use avocado oil, or butter if you don’t turn up the heat too high.
- Veggies – You’ll need carrots, celery, and onion for that classic chicken soup combination. You could add other veggies, such as peas (for low carb but not keto), zucchini, bell peppers, or cauliflower florets.
- Chicken – You can cook raw chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs right in the keto chicken soup. If you have leftover pre-cooked shredded chicken in the Instant Pot or baked chicken breast, those also work great. Season the chicken with poultry seasoning for more flavor! If you have more leftover chicken, use it to make a low carb chicken salad next.
- Chicken Broth – I prefer to buy reduced sodium or make chicken broth from scratch, but regular broth or bone broth would work as well.
- Italian Seasoning – Make your own Italian seasoning blend in just a few minutes, or simply use store-bought.
- Bay Leaf – For richer flavor in your low carb chicken soup.
- Sea Salt & Black Pepper
- Spaghetti Squash – You can either bake spaghetti squash or microwave spaghetti squash, but will only need 1/2 of the squash. Use the other half to make spaghetti squash carbonara, classic spaghetti squash alfredo, or spaghetti squash pad Thai.
VARIATION: Use a different type of low carb noodles!
You can use zucchini noodles, kelp noodles, or shirataki noodles instead of spaghetti squash. You can also omit the squash altogether if you don’t want any kind of noodles (like my noodle-free healthy soup recipe), or add a pound of cauliflower rice in the last couple of minutes.
How To Make Keto Chicken Soup
This section shows how to make low carb chicken soup, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Saute the veggies. In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onions and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Simmer the soup. Add the chicken, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer.
TIP: If using raw chicken, shred it once it’s tender.
Remove the cooked chicken from the pot, shred it, and return to the pot to continue simmering.
- Bake the squash. While the soup simmers, preheat your oven and poke holes in the spaghetti squash. Place it on a baking sheet and bake until a knife can easily pierce through the skin with only a little resistance. 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.
TIP: Don’t overcook the squash.
Don’t overcook to the point where there’s no resistance at all, or the noodles will be mushy.
- Combine. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the noodles from half of the spaghetti squash. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish keto chicken soup with fresh parsley if desired.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Pour the soup into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Meal prep: You can roast the spaghetti squash in advance to save time. Additionally, you can make the entire soup ahead of time, and it stores well to enjoy later.
- Reheat: Warm keto chicken soup on the stovetop or in the microwave, until hot.
- Freeze: I like to freeze it flat in zip lock bags. Once they are solid, you can store them vertically to save space. Another option is to freeze using souper cubes.
What To Serve With Low Carb Chicken Soup
This keto chicken 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:
- Low Carb Bread – 90 second bread is the quickest option, but classic white keto bread tastes great on the side, too. You can also try chaffles (garlic parmesan is my fave with keto chicken soup), some keto dinner rolls, or crusty keto garlic cheese bread.
- Chips or Crackers – Try my easy keto crackers or flax seed crackers. Each needs just 3 ingredients, or you can customize them with spices.
- Salad – Lighter salad options like a wedge salad or cucumber tomato salad make a light meal with keto soup, or try a chopped antipasto salad for a heartier option.
More Keto Chicken Soup Recipes
I love this classic low carb chicken soup, but there are lots of different ways to make one. Here are some of my other favorites:
Recommended Tools
- Dutch Oven – I use a Dutch oven instead of a pot because it heats the soup more evenly.
- Baking Sheet – This is my go-to baking sheet. Its nonstick surface lasts a long time.
Keto Chicken Soup (So Easy!)
You'll love this low carb keto chicken soup! It's easy to make with simple ingredients, just 4.9g net carbs, & tastes like comfort in a bowl.
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onions. Saute for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
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Add the chicken breasts (you can use either raw or precooked), chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. (If using raw chicken, remove it after 30 minutes, shred it, and return to the pot to continue simmering.)
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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.)
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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, crosswise across the short side of the spaghetti squash).
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Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the noodles from half of the spaghetti squash, or about 3 cups of spaghetti squash noodles. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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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.
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72 Comments
Ashleigh Ramirez
0Hi can this be made in a crockpot?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Ashleigh, That should work, but I haven’t tried it. I think the spaghetti squash noodles would get mushy if cooked for too long, so I’d add them towards the end.