This keto vegetable soup is super nutritious and so flavorful! It makes a wonderful light yet filling lunch or dinner for the entire family - kids and adults alike. My hearty homemade vegetable soup is ready in just 30 minutes and 7.6g net carbs per generous serving.
There are countless ways of making a really good low carb vegetable soup and this is mine!
This simply, fragrant soup strikes the perfect balance between flavour and simplicity and I make it literally all the time. It is great with keto dinner rolls or cheesy keto biscuits.
Some keto soups are firmly for winter and cold days - I'm thinking anything with lots of cream or cheese here, or hearty, thick stews with chunks of meat.
But this soup just straddles the seasons. It will warm you on chilly days like a hug in a bowl, but it also JUST WORKS in spring and even summer.
Many keto vegetable soup recipes are variations on a classic minestrone and use tomato as a base. Whilst I sometimes add 1-2 diced tomatoes to this recipe plus a dash of apple cider vinegar, I'm not a big fan of green veggies in a thick tomato base. I think the tomato flavour overshadows everything else.
The beauty of this low carb veggie soup is the simplicity of flavours that allow the vegetables to shine. Can a soup be elegant? Am I taking it too far?
But that's exactly how I would define the essence of this recipe. Elegant simplicity, my friends!
Carbs in vegetable soup
Let's talk carbs. On a low carb diet and a keto diet, root vegetables - which often feature in regular soups - are generally avoided. You'll see that I HAVE added carrot in this keto vegetable soup.
Trust me: carrots are important for flavour and it would be a shame to leave them out.
Even with the carrot (and also the garlic, onions and leek, which are all higher in carbs but just so essential for taste), this soup is keto friendly.
It contains just 7.6g net carbs per serving of 2 cups (480 grams). This is a full soup bowl - a properly filling main meal.
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Ingredients
I vary the vegetables depending on what's in season, what's on offer and what I have in my fridge. Here are the vegetables I use in this recipe:
- Onion
- Carrots
- Leek
- Celery
- Zucchini
- Green beans
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Garlic
You can use more of some and leave out others. Or replace them with alternatives. These veggies will work just as well:
- Broccoli
- Diced tomatoes
- Bell peppers
- Kale
- Spinach
- Cavolo nero
- Savoy or white cabbage
- Celeriac
- Turnips
- Mushrooms
Instructions
(This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. Find the recipe card with ingredient amounts and nutritional information at the bottom of the post.)
Heat 2 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a non stick soup pot and sauté on a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, leek and celery and fry for about 5 minutes until they start to soften.
Add the garlic, zucchini, green beans, chopped thyme and 2 tablespoon of the parsley. Sauté for another 3 minutes and stir regularly.
Add the cauliflower, broth, bay leaves, salt, seasoning and bring to the boil (For a keto vegetarian soup use vegetable stock, otherwise I recommend chicken stock for deeper flavor).
Reduce to a simmer and cook with a lid on for about 15 minutes.
Remove half the mixture and discard the bay leaves. Put into a jug and pulse with stick blender.
Option to place in a high speed blender if you prefer. This thickens the soup and adds flavour.
Add the pureed soup back into the pan along with the greens and simmer until they soften (about 1 minute).
Mix the lemon juice with olive oil and swirl into the soup and top with fresh parsley. Adjust seasoning to taste and enjoy.
Note - of course it's possible to replace the fresh herbs with dried herbs. However, I am a huge fan of everything fresh and implore you to give it a try. It really makes all the difference.
Variations
So many possibilities here!
- add shredded roast chicken
- make a vegetable beef soup: fry beef chunks and add to the broth
- replace ½ cup of the chicken stock with white wine
- grate in the zest of 1 lemon
- for a vegan keto soup, swap out the chicken broth with vegetable broth and use olive oil instead of the butter
- a splash of fish sauce, fried ginger, a squeeze of lime and prawns for a Thai version
- experiment with different seasonings: sage, oregano, basil, marjoram, tarragon, paprika, rosemary, cumin, hot sauce
- for a thicker soup, add 3 tablespoon collagen peptides
Instant pot and crock pot instructions
To make this soup in the crock pot, saute the onions, carrots, garlic, celery and leeks. Then put the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot or slow cooker and cook for 2 hours.
With the Instant Pot, 10 minutes at high pressure are sufficient.
Storage
Homemade vegetable soup stays fresh in the fridge for up to 4 days.
And even better, it is perfect for freezing. Once the soup has cooled down to room temperature, simply portion it out into ziplock bags.
Stack the bags on top of each other and freeze until solid. If it helps you save space and for better access, store them upright once they are frozen.
Thaw keto vegetable soup the night before you plan to eat it. Defrost in the fridge and always place the zip lock bag in a bowl to avoid any accidental leaks.
Then, reheat it either on the stove or in the microwave.
More keto soup recipes
We have low carb soups at least once a week in our house. Here are a few more recipes to choose from:
Creamy Keto Roasted Cauliflower Soup - Instead of loading this soup up with cheese for flavour, I have opted to roast the cauliflower instead of cooking it. This gives the soup a superb nutty note.
Low Carb Keto Turkey Soup - A creamy soup that uses leftover turkey. This recipe also works well with chicken.
Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Soup Recipe - Some low carb recipes are like a hug in a bowl! A rich soup that's made with ground beef and a tomato base.
Keto Roast Chicken Soup - My remedy when I need a low carb soup recipe that nurtures the body and the soul. This keto chicken vegetable soup recipe consistently gets 5 star reviews. Don't miss it.
Recipe
The Ultimate Keto Vegetable Soup
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced (½ cup / 60g)
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced (1 cup / 140g)
- 1 small leek diced (1 cup / 75g)
- 3 medium stalks celery diced (1 cup / 120g)
- 1 zucchini diced (1.5 cup / 170g)
- ½ cup / 50g green beans chopped into 1 cm pieces
- 3 cups / 300g cauliflower chopped into small florets
- 1 cup kale chopped, 50g
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoon rosemary chopped
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 3 garlic clove minced
- 7 cup / 1.7l chicken broth Or vegetable broth if vegetarian. Increase to 2 litres / 8 cup depending on vegetable amount
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste dependent on how salty your stock is
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoon of butter or olive oil in a non stick soup pot and sauté on a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, leek and celery and fry for about 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic, zucchini, green beans, chopped thyme and about ⅔ of the parsley. Sauté for another 3 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower, broth, bay leaves, seasoning and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook with a lid on for about 15 minutes.
- Remove half the mixture and bay leaves (discard the bay) and put into a jug and pulse with stick blender. Option to place in a high speed blender if you prefer. This thickens the soup and adds flavour.
- Add the pureed soup back into the pan along with the greens and simmer until they soften (about 1 minute).
- To serve: Mix a squeeze of lemon juice with 1 tablespoon olive oil and swirl into the soup. Top with 1 tablespoon fresh parsley. Adjust seasoning to taste and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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Edie
I have made this delicious vegetable soup many times now and often add diffferent vegetables according what is left in my vegie bag in the fridge. Its delicious, filling, and nourishing too. Sometimes I add a bit more by -cream when serving, and sometimes I blend it till the soup is creamy (My hubby likes it in a mug and to drink it.)
Thank you again.
Shelly Hunter
This soup is amazing! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe Katrin.
*@Joseph Oberlander* that recipe you shared in your review sounds great also. I was suprised you rated Katrin's recipe instead of creating your own recipe page for it. I encourage you to do so, I'm sure so many more people would find it useful.
tara pierce
This is my absolute favorite soup!
I’ve been making soup for 20’years & this is the BEST recipe I’ve found !
Changed kale to cabbage
Frances Donnelly
This is so tasty
David Briscoe
I always have a few tomatoes left over that I'd like to put into this soup. When would be the best point to add the tomatoes, and would I also need some tomato purée? Also, when adding cooked chicken pieces, when would I add it? Is it best to add the meat at the same time as sautéing the vegetables. Sorry for the beginners questions? I made this soup for the first time last weekend, and it was nice. Just want to make sure I'm cooking it properly. Thanks.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi David, I would fry the onion, leek, carrot and celery first and add the tomatoes with any other vegetables you're using. If the chicken is already cooked, you can add it at the same time as the tomatoes. You could use tomato puree for a stronger tomato taste of you like, but it's not essential. 🙂
Peggy
Are the herbs (thyme leaves and rosemary) fresh or dried? (I assume they are dried since you specified "fresh" parsley.)
Could you edit the recipe so this is clear please?
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Peggy, I used all fresh herbs.
David Briscoe
Hi,
What size of pot do you use for this recipe? I need to invest in a good soup pot or an actual Crock Pot. As a single person my aim is to cook a big pot at the weekend and then split and freeze the soup for eating during the week. Thanks.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi David, the pot is 22 centimetres in diameter. It's Le Creuset.
David Briscoe
Is there a bare bones stripped down version of this soup? I'm just building up my confidence with cooking, and all the ingredients seem a bit daunting (and hard to get at the moment). For instance, I'm trying your simple porridge today. Is there an equivalent simple soup that you could share? I really want to move away from the tinned soups for the sake of my health. Thanks.
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi David, the basic soup would be the onion, leek and celery plus herbs - which don't have to be fresh -, stock, pepper and salt. I would also add a little olive oil. You can then add any vegetables you like, or even sausage, chicken or beef
Joseph Oberlander
The original version of this soup was designed to help clean out your digestive system when dieting and has only vegetables.
2 heads celery
2 lbs zucchini
1 lb green beans
1 lb Brussel Spouts (Cauliflower or Broccoli can also be substituted here since they are the same family/variations of the same plant.
1 bunch parsley (minced, add at the end)
( I remember this when shopping as 2, 2, 1, 1, 1) - it's that simple as a basic soup base, and basically the start of most minestrone recipes as well.
Add:
2-3 ounces of ginger root (minced into oblivion - use a food processor)
1 small carrot for flavor (same as the ginger - mince it in a food processor until it is all stuck on the sides in tiny bits about 1-2mm in size - you want maximum flavor spread and virtually no carbs.
recommended spices:just salt and pepper.
It's basically a pile of vegetables, and isn't much different than a green "cleanse" type juice with ginger you get at an organic market, except in soup form. You can add from there. The parsley and ginger are important to the process in terms of cleaning out your body and helping with stomach irritation, which can happen as well when on keto (usually due to higher intake of coffee and tea instead of soda or juices). It also is important when on Keto as you are processing a lot of old chemical and junk-laden fat cells to take supplements of items that are strong antioxidants. I like ginger, personally.
I also highly recommend shredded cheese to make it come together. - this is essentially the same as adding cream/fat to it, similar to your average broccoli soup recipes, but you can control it after the fact to how you like it.