Which soups are keto friendly? A Comprehensive Guide

November 6, 2025 •

2 min read

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb regimen that requires careful attention to ingredients. This guide reveals which soups are keto friendly, providing the perfect, warming meal solution that fits your nutritional goals by focusing on low-carb vegetables, healthy fats, and protein.

Quick Summary

This guide details the best ingredients and recipes for creating delicious keto-friendly soups, from rich and creamy options to hearty meat and vegetable bowls, all with low net carbs.

Key Points

Choose Low-Carb Ingredients: Opt for bases like bone broth and heavy cream, and fill your soup with non-starchy vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, and mushrooms.
Avoid High-Carb Staples: Steer clear of traditional soup ingredients like potatoes, pasta, rice, and beans, which are high in carbohydrates and can disrupt ketosis.
Thicken with Keto Alternatives: Instead of flour or cornstarch, use pureed keto vegetables like cauliflower, a dash of xanthan gum, or cream cheese to achieve a creamy texture.
Incorporate Healthy Fats and Protein: Add richness with high-fat items like butter and heavy cream, and make it a filling meal with protein from meat, chicken, or seafood.
Flavor with Herbs and Spices: Season generously with keto-friendly herbs and spices like basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, and cumin to create delicious and satisfying flavor profiles.

Understanding Keto Soup Basics

Creating a keto-friendly soup involves replacing high-carb ingredients like potatoes and pasta with low-carb alternatives. This results in a flavorful and filling meal that supports ketosis.

Choosing a Low-Carb Base

A low-carb base is crucial for keto soups. Options include bone broth, unsweetened chicken or beef broth, and heavy cream or coconut milk for creamy versions.

Keto-Friendly Vegetables for Soups

Focus on low-carb vegetables. Good choices include cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, kale, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and bell peppers. Avoid starchy vegetables.

Protein Powerhouses

Add keto-friendly proteins for a satisfying soup. Options include shredded chicken, ground beef, sausage, shrimp, or fish.

Thickening Soups the Keto Way

Avoid high-carb thickeners like flour. Instead, use methods like pureeing cooked low-carb vegetables, adding a small amount of xanthan gum, or melting cream cheese into the broth.

Comparison Table: Keto vs. Non-Keto Soup Ingredients


Ingredient Category	Non-Keto Options to Avoid	Keto-Friendly Alternatives
Starch	Potatoes, parsnips, corn	Cauliflower florets or rice, celeriac, rutabaga, radishes
Thickener	Flour, cornstarch	Xanthan gum, blended vegetables, heavy cream, cream cheese
Bulk Vegetables	Legumes (beans, lentils), peas	Mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage, kale, spinach
Noodles/Pasta	Egg noodles, pasta	Shirataki noodles, zucchini noodles, shredded cabbage

Popular Keto-Friendly Soup Varieties

Many classic soups can be made keto-friendly with ingredient substitutions. Popular options include creamy mushroom soup, bacon cheeseburger soup, taco soup, creamy cauliflower soup, and chicken "noodle" soup using zucchini or shirataki noodles. Hearty vegetable beef soup and French onion soup can also be adapted.

Recipe Highlight: Keto Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup

Here is a simple example. Brown 1 lb ground beef with 1/2 chopped onion and celery. Add 8 cups beef broth, 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, and low-carb vegetables like cabbage, green beans, and radishes. Season with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender.

Conclusion: Embrace the Warmth of Keto-Friendly Soups

With careful ingredient selection, soup can be a comforting and nutritious part of a ketogenic diet. By focusing on low-carb bases, vegetables, healthy fats, and protein, you can enjoy a wide range of delicious soups while maintaining ketosis. Resources like Diet Doctor offer more keto soup recipes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can have vegetable soup on a keto diet, as long as you use low-carb, non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and leafy greens. Avoid high-carb root vegetables like potatoes and parsnips.

You can thicken keto soups using several methods, including pureeing some of the cooked vegetables (like cauliflower), stirring in cream cheese or heavy cream, or adding a small amount of a keto-friendly thickener like xanthan gum.

Some canned soups may be keto-friendly, but it's crucial to read the label carefully to check for hidden sugars, high-carb thickeners, and non-keto ingredients. Canned broth or bone broth is often a safe, low-carb base.

Yes, bone broth is an excellent choice for a keto diet. It is naturally low in carbs, high in protein and electrolytes, and can help with hydration and curbing hunger.

For a low-carb alternative to traditional pasta, you can use shirataki noodles, zucchini noodles (zoodles), or thinly shredded cabbage.

Creamy soups are definitely allowed on keto if the creaminess comes from heavy whipping cream, cream cheese, or pureed low-carb vegetables, rather than from high-carb starches.

Increase satiety by adding high-fat, high-protein ingredients like heavy cream, cheese, ground beef, shredded chicken, bacon, or sliced avocado to your soup.