A delicious keto chicken and vegetable soup that can help you reach your weight loss goals – especially when used as part of my 5 Day Soup Diet! Make it once and reheat all week with great results! Originally posted in Woman’s World Magazine as the IBIH Turbo Atkins Soup Diet.
Try my 5 Day Keto Chicken Soup Diet for quick and easy weight loss! Most lose 5 lbs or more on this plan, which is perfect to get yourself back on track after an indulgence, or to lose weight for an event (wedding, vacation, reunion, etc.)
This keto chicken soup originated when Woman’s World Magazine reached out and asked me to create a low carb soup recipe using chicken and lots of healthy low carb veggies for the Turbo Atkins Diet Soup feature they were running in the November 9th issue.
Of course I wanted this keto chicken soup recipe to be delicious, but I also wanted it to be undeniably healthy – since so many critics are still under the misconception that a keto diet is all bacon, steak and cheese, with little to no vegetables.
That’s just not true – or at least it doesn’t have to be if you are mindful about where your carbs are coming from.
This Keto Chicken Soup Diet recipe is loaded with delicious veggies that are low in carbs, filling, and tremendously good for you – making it the perfect complement to any low carb diet plan.
In addition to being low calorie, low carb, keto, paleo, delicious and super healthy, there is nothing more comforting than a steaming bowl of soup when it’s gloomy and cold outside – making this keto chicken soup recipe a winner on all fronts!
Now let’s talk about some of these ingredients – because every single one of them was chosen for a purpose!
I went with chicken as my protein because it’s widely available and has a mild flavor that pairs well with all of these veggies. Of course I added bacon, because it adds a lovely smoky flavor and a hint of decadence – it also provides some of the metabolism boosting fat in this recipe.
Celery root (Celeriac) is the perfect alternative to potatoes in low carb chicken soup recipes (like this one) because it’s super filling and loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and a hefty dose of phosphorus, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. If you can’t find celery root you can use cauliflower, jicama, or even turnips as a replacement – DON’T SUB PARSNIPS AS THEY ARE TOO HIGH IN CARBS.
I included regular white mushrooms in this keto chicken soup recipe, because they are not only inexpensive and low in carbs, but surprisingly high in antioxidants, B-vitamins, and Selenium! (as a side point, in the Woman’s World article they called for Vitamin D enhanced mushrooms – I’ve never heard of them, regular white or baby bella mushrooms are fine.)
The yellow squash adds color and texture, but it’s also high in potassium (especially important on a low carb diet) and Vitamin A.
You can substitute any greens in this keto chicken soup (EXCEPT KALE WHICH IS HIGH IN CARBS,) but I went with swiss chard in this keto chicken soup recipe because it holds up better in liquids than spinach, which tends to turn the broth muddy. I also love the texture and color of the swiss chard stalks, and the fact that it’s low in calories and carbs but incredibly nutrient dense.
If you’re not familiar with Swiss chard (aka. silverbeet), I wrote a post about Swiss Chard which includes information on nutrition, health benefits, culinary uses, and even how to grow it in your garden!
Next up – garlic, onion, and sun-dried tomatoes not only add flavor to this keto chicken soup, but are also powerful antioxidants and contain immune boosting compounds just in time for cold and flu season!
The green beans I added for color, texture, and low carb/calorie filler (not that they don’t also provide valuable nutrients), and the red wine vinegar added at the end of cooking balances out the flavor of the low carb chicken soup and gives it a mouth-watering quality that keeps you coming back for more.
You can also substitute apple cider vinegar if you prefer. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes – just be sure to add it at the end so you don’t lose the slight tang during the cooking process.
Finally, the fresh basil over the top gives it a punch of brightness and unites all of the other flavors, making every bite pure bliss.
All of those healthy and delicious ingredients combine beautifully to make this incredible keto chicken soup – which comes in at just 136 calories and 4g net carbs!
While there is some chopping involved, once you’ve made this big pot of keto chicken soup you can store it in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for several months and have it at the ready whenever you want some. (If you also happen to have some of my Sundried Tomato & Asiago Zucchini Muffins in there then you are winning at life my friend.) ?
I think the flavors in this low carb chicken soup get even better with time – and the people who tested it for the Woman’s World article agreed!
Replacing just one meal per day with a bowl of this hearty keto chicken soup will not only load you up with healthy vitamins and minerals, it is also a powerful weight loss tool because it is so filling and has so little calories!
Have this keto chicken soup for lunch AND dinner and you could lose up to 10 pounds in one week, as did some of the test subjects for the magazine article!
If you give the 5 Day Soup Diet a try be sure to let us all know how you do!
SUBSTITUTION NOTES:
As per the comments and Facebook Group, quite a few are subbing in parsnips and kale in this keto chicken soup, but as you can see by this list those are the highest possible carb options and can absolutely affect your weightloss on this plan! There is room for subs, but be smart about it per this list!
(Approximate weight for root veggies is 5 oz)
1 cup turnips – 6g net carbs
1 cup celery root – 11g net carbs
1 cup parsnips – 18g net carbs
1 cup jicama – 5g net carbs
1 cup cauliflower – 3.5g net carbs
Greens (approximate weight 1.3 oz)
1 cup Kale – 5.5g net carbs
1 cup Collards – 0.7g net carbs
1 cup swiss chard – 0.7g net carbs
1 cup fresh spinach – 0.6g net carbs
Keto Chicken Soup – Keto Soup Diet Recipe
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: Fourteen servings
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This delicious keto chicken soup recipe is loaded with healthy veggies and chicken. It’s so good it was featured in Woman’s World Magazine in November 2015!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup sliced white mushrooms
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups celery root, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes (or cauliflower, jicama, radish, turnip)
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped
- 2 cups yellow squash, sliced and quartered
- 1 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cups swiss chard, chopped (or collards – NOT KALE)
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, cook the bacon and olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock and water, then add the celery root and chicken. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the squash, green beans, and swiss chard and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per 1.5 cup serving: 136 calories, 4g fat, 4g net carbs, 19g protein
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 27 minutes
- Category: keto Soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 136
- Fat: 4g
- Carbohydrates: 4g net
- Protein: 19g
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Linda says
My husband is diabetic, on insulin. Has kidney problems also. I have been making this soup for 4 months, he loves it. His sugar readings have come down, but when he went to his kidney dr yesterday, he told him his kidneys show more protein from his last blood work. I’m wondering if it’s the soup. Is this soup to high in protein?
JenHamm says
Linda, eating extra protein would not lead to protein found in a urinalysis. This is most likely a diabetes complication. I’m sure you’re aware of this by now, but wanted to add this response for others who may be reading comments. From WebMD:
Both diabetes and high blood pressure can cause damage to the kidneys, which leads to proteinuria. Other types of kidney disease unrelated to diabetes or high blood pressure can also cause protein to leak into the urine.
BTW, Melissa, the soup is delicious. I subbed rutabaga for the celery root and it added a nice hearty, spiciness. I’ll be gobbling this up all week!
Chris says
Could you put all these ingredients into a crock pot then switch it on for 4 to 8 hours and leave it?
Leah says
I’m wondering this too. Did you try it?
Linda says
I just made this amazing soup for the second time. Thanks so much Mellissa!
Artist Johnson says
Quick question: I do more of a liquid nutrution meal plan. Would this work as a gazpacho type of purée then eaten with the chicken and bacon chunked in the purée. Hmm that sounds delicious maybe I will just whip up a batch and find out 1st hand.
Amanda says
Yum! I’m thinking of replacing the celery root with radishes and the Swiss chard with collard greens, since I have those on hand now. Can’t wait to try this…LOVE making a big pot of soup and eating on it throughout the week. And having something readily on hand is 80% of my battle with healthy eating. Thanks for this yumminess! Happy New Year!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Amanda and I love both of your substitute ideas! Let me know how it works out with the radish especially! Enjoy!
Amanda says
I’m happy to say that the substitutions worked beautifully! I had good reason to believe the radishes would work well since I’ve replaced potatoes with them before, and the collard greens are great as well. Which is good because I have a bunch of them that are still producing in my garden. It’s a winner and one that will definitely happen again! My 2 year old is enjoying her second bowl! Two thumbs up!
Courtney Divine says
How did it turn out with radishes? I couldn’t find celery root. Also no swiss chard, :(
Dana Tanner says
I made this soup today and this is probably
a stupid question but what do you store it in?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Depends – you can store it in the pot in the fridge if you have room, or break it into smaller portion sized containers if you have them and freeze some, or if your whole family is eating it store it in a large glass or plastic container. Whatever you usually store food in I guess.
Debbie says
My kind of recipe that is fabulous and super simple to make. Thanks a bunch!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Debbie – hope you like it!
norma says
Yum, nothing better than a cuppa soup on a cold winter day. This one looks like a winner. Thanks for a great soup recipel
Mellissa Sevigny says
I appreciate that Norma – I think you’ll enjoy this one!!!
Denise says
I LOVE soups and love making soups. This is just what I need to re-kick in my keto/atkins diet. I started it last February, laxed quite a bit on the carbs and sugar over the holidays and am ready to get going again. With steady workouts, I lost 17 pounds and 6 inches last year! With an improved metabolism, I didn’t gain much back. Want to stock my freezer with soups for my lunches at work. Love your blog and your recipes!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks and congrats on keeping the weight off Denise – hope you like this soup!!
Ingrid Cerone says
This looks amazing!! I’m definitely making this tomorrow!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! Hope you like it as much as we did Ingrid!
Mellissa Sevigny says
My fitness pal is notoriously inaccurate (I wish you knew how many times I have to type that sentence to people looking for reasons as to why my numbers are different) because it uses averages and sometimes brands with sugar are averaged in due to key words in their database or other reasons. I can assure you my numbers are accurate because I calculate each item individually using calorie king for the specific brand or item and then I tally them all up and recheck it several times to be sure I’m on point. I’m confident in my numbers – perhaps they aren’t subtracting fiber from that number either.
David O'Quinn says
You are correct and I most humbly apologize for even posting this but when I saw the number of carbs I panicked. Came to find out that any recipe I incorporate from the web into myfitnesspal, I must go through each ingredient and make sure I am using only verified ingredient nutritional info. For instance, where it matches onion(and why it doesn’t match it with a verified item to begin with I don’t know) but it comes up with something like 384g carbs alone. Once I went back through your recipe and matched up verified ingredients manually, it did come out to four carbs. Sorry I ever doubted you. Your soup will be a staple on my table for a long time. Thanks so much for responding though I’m sure you are tired of having to because of app shortcomings.
Mellissa Sevigny says
No worries David, I really need to write a FAQ page and this would be one of the topics – then I could just link to a lengthy explanation as to why MFP isn’t always reliable when counting carbs! Glad you liked the soup though and thanks for responding and confirming that you did end up with the right carbs when you put everything in separately – that’s good for me to know! ?
Lisa Schmidt says
Thank you so much for this; IBIH TURBO ATKINS DIET SOUP – LOW CARB & PALEO.
My 53 yo husband and I just came from our annual physical. My husband is 50 lbs overweight and pre diabetic. (he was an athlete his whole life so this was hard to hear) This will be rectified in spite of him kicking and screaming!! He had two bowls of your soup and announced satisfaction. My husband woke up this morning and announced how well he had slept….
Thank you again, I will continue to search the Internet for recipes authored by you.
Have a great day. L. Schmidt