Keto Chicken Soup with Spaghetti Squash Noodles

This keto chicken soup with Spaghetti Squash Noodles is easy to make and so nutritious.  The rich broth tastes like it cooked for hours, but this low carb chicken soup is ready in about 30 minutes!

There is nothing like a bowl of chicken soup on a cold day or when you've come down with a cold.  The warm broth and hearty chicken are such a classic comfort food.  You may think you have to have special ingredients to make a keto friendly soup, but like I explained in my post on Tips to make Low Carb Soups, It is actually really simple to make a keto chicken soup when we make a few swaps from starchy vegetables to less starchy vegetables.

A lot of chicken soups contain potatoes, pasta noodles, dumplings or grains like barley.  We simply swap those for less starchy vegetables like celery, carrot, and spaghetti squash in this low carb chicken soup recipe.

Ingredients needed

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for this keto chicken soup recipe, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For the printable recipe, see the recipe card below.

1 medium spaghetti squash - When picking a spaghetti squash, the heavier the better.  We want one medium in size which is about 3-4 pounds.  We want it to yield approximately 3 cups of squash noodles.

1 tablespoon avocado oil (15 mL) - Olive oil will work as well as canola oil.  I like to use avocado oil for it's high smoke point and neutral flavor.

1 cup diced celery (100g) - Celery is essential to any chicken soup, in my opinion.  You could even add more for even more veggies in your soup.

1 cup shredded carrots (60g) - I like to buy already shredded carrots at the grocery store for ease.  You can definitely buy whole carrots and peel and dice them yourself.

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs - Chicken thighs have the best flavor and since this soup is already so light, I wanted a richer cut of chicken.  If you want a truly healing keto chicken soup, you can boil a whole chicken in 8 cups of water to make your own chicken stock, and then shred the chicken.

½ teaspoon kosher salt - I always use kosher salt for my recipes.  If you use table salt, use half as much.

½ teaspoon black pepper - This may seem like a lot of pepper, but this makes a lot of soup.

½ teaspoon dried basil

½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ cup soy sauce (59mL) - I really love the umami flavor the soy sauce brings to this soup.  It really tastes like it has been simmering for hours.  If you need a gluten free alternative, use Tamari.  If you need a soy free alternative, use coconut aminos.

8 cups chicken broth (2L) - This may seem like a lot of broth, but I really wanted each serving to be a really good size.

3 scallions - You may be thinking that you will skip these because they are "just another garnish."  They really add amazing flavor to this low carb soup so I wouldn't skip it!

How to make keto chicken soup

This section explains how to make this low carb soup recipe step by step. For a full printable recipe, see the recipe card below.

Step 1 - Make the spaghetti squash noodles: Pre-heat the oven to 425F and line a large baking tray with foil or parchment paper.  Using a sharp knife, poke 1 to 2 holes in the spaghetti squash and place on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 5 minutes.  Let cool enough to handle.  This step really makes the spaghetti squash easier to cut.

Using a sharp knife, cut the squash into 1 inch rings and place on the baking pan in a single layer. Roast for 20-25 minutes until tender. When finished cooking, scrape and discard the seeds from the center of the spaghetti squash rings, then shred the squash noodles from the skin.

Alternatively, you can cut your spaghetti squash into boats and roast them like I did in my Keto Stuffed Spaghetti Squash Recipe.

Step 2 - While the squash is in the oven, make the soup: Add the oil to a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat.  Add the celery and carrots and sauté until soft.  About 5 minutes. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3 - Season with basil and thyme and stir in the soy sauce. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Now stir in the chicken broth and let simmer for a few minutes. Finally, stir in the spaghetti squash noodles.

Step 4 - Serve garnished with sliced green onion.

Tips for the best low carb chicken soup

• Easy to cut spaghetti squash: Microwave your spaghetti squash for 5 minutes before cutting to make it so much easier to cut.
• Chicken breast or chicken thighs: You can use chicken breast, but boneless skinless chicken thighs really give this soup so much flavor.

Variations

• Use a whole chicken: For a truly healing keto chicken soup, instead of boneless skinless chicken thighs, you can use a whole chicken to make your own broth.  Simply simmer a whole chicken in 8 cups of water for at least 1 hour.  Make sure to season with salt to taste.  Strain the broth and pull the chicken from the bones.  Discard the bones and skin, or save for chicken bone broth.
• Use a rotisserie chicken: For an even easier keto chicken soup, pull the chicken from a rotisserie chicken and use that in place of the chicken thighs.
• Different vegetable noodles: Use zucchini noodles in place of spaghetti squash noodles like in this Chicken Meatball and Zoodle Soup.

Storage Instructions

• Store:  This low carb chicken soup can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freeze:  Place the cooked and cooled soup in an airtight freezer safe container (freezer ziptop bags are perfect for this) and freeze for up to 3 months.
• Meal Prep: I like to divide the soup into air tight meal prep bowls so I can have lunches throughout the week.  Just be sure to consume within 4 days.

Tools to make keto chicken soup

• Dutch oven - I love to use a heavy dutch oven for all of my keto soups.  The one I linked here is really nice and a great price.
• Sharp knife - I love these knives from Global!
• Baking pan - My favorite sheet pan set

More keto soup recipes

• Keto Cheeseburger Soup with Bacon
• Keto Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Keto Hamburger Stew
• Keto Creamy Taco Soup

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