10 Low-Carb Soup Recipes Perfect for Cozy Winter Meals

Soul-satisfying soup, especially homemade, is a salve for a wintery day. Many favorites call for starchy ingredients like potatoes, beans, and noodles, so low-carb eaters may eschew them. But there are plenty of excellent low-carb soup recipes to satisfy any craving.

What exactly is low-carb? A daily limit of 130 grams of carbs on a 2,000-calorie diet, according to the USDA Dietary Guidelines. A keto diet significantly reduces carbs to a maximum of 50 grams per day. Even if you’re not following a keto or low-carb diet, reducing carbs a few meals every week can benefit your health, potentially lowering your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

All of the soups here contain less than 50 grams of carbs per serving, and feature healthy proteins and nonstarchy vegetables. Whether you want a quick-fix soup for a busy weeknight, or are looking for a slow-simmering stew to make your kitchen smell fantastic, there are low-carb options for you right here.

Related: Sign up to receive delicious recipes, expert advice, and shopping tips in your inbox!

1. Slow Cooker Creamy Taco Soup

This spicy soup is low in carbs but also hearty and filling, thanks to the addition of ground beef and black beans. For low-carb eaters, beans get a bad rap, but certain types are lower in calories and carbs than others, and vitamin-rich black beans fall into that category. This recipe calls for just one 15-ounce can, along with another convenience food, canned tomatoes and chiles, a favorite shortcut in Tex-Mex cooking.

Try the recipe at Beautiful Eats and Things.

2. Roasted Tomato Soup

This recipe calls for a whopping 12 cloves of garlic, but never fear: They’re roasted to soften garlic’s pungency to a sweet, buttery consistency that beautifully complements tomatoes. It’s adapted from our own Clean Plates Cookbook, so you can be sure that this soup is healthy and delicious.

Try the recipe at Detoxinista.

3. Keto Chicken Soup

This chicken soup tastes like it took hours to make but actually comes together in just 45 minutes. Simmering cauliflower rice with chicken is a great trick for giving a brothy soup like this one richness and body. Don’t skip the bay leaves; they have powerful health benefits and add a depth of flavor that gives this soup that little something extra. Just make sure to pluck them out before serving.

Try the recipe as The Big Man’s World.

4. Homemade Miso Soup

With only 5 grams of carbs per serving, miso soup is an extremely low-carb meal and a joy to sip on a cold day. Miso is a fermented paste made from soybeans, sea salt, and koji and is an excellent source of flu-fighting vitamins B and E. You can find it in the refrigerated sections of most supermarkets. To bulk up the recipe, feel free to play around by adding daikon radishes, cabbage, onions, and shiitake or enoki mushrooms.

Try the recipe at Just One Cookbook.

5. Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

With just over 38 grams of carbs per serving, this soup is one of the higher-carb options on this list — but did we mention that it has gnocchi? Plus, with chicken, bacon, and mirepoix, the classic French mixture of diced onions, carrots, and celery, this soup is loaded with flavor and good nutrition. Factor in the convenience of the slow cooker, and this soup is sure to become a cold-weather favorite.

Try the recipe at Pinch of Yum.  

6. Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This broccoli cheddar soup is reminiscent of the popular versions at The Cheesecake Factory and Panera Bread but is healthier and a fraction of the price. Though carrots are not considered a low-carb vegetable, the recipe calls for just one large carrot in the whole batch. Chicken broth and vegetable stock work equally well here — and you can alternate depending on what you have on hand.

Try the recipe at Smitten Kitchen.

7. The Best Healthy Turkey Chili

Fortified with lean ground turkey and dark red kidney beans, this aromatic chili will stick to your ribs. It becomes deep russet with generous amounts of musky chili powder, cumin, and cayenne, but you can cut back on the spices according to your tastes. Dark red kidney beans are among the lowest-carb beans. The dark red variety has a more robust flavor and higher nutritional value than standard red kidney beans, and you can enjoy them in moderation on a low-carb diet.

Try the recipe at Ambitious Kitchen.

8. Beef Bourguignon

This is the type of hearty stew you could serve for dinner and enjoy the leftovers the next day, as it only gets better when the flavors have time to meld. Unlike typical beef stew, there are no potatoes or parsnips mixed in, but instead, lower-in-carb carrots and keto-friendly mushrooms. Serve this French classic with low-carb bread or crackers.

Try the recipe at Well Plated.

9. Thai-Spiced Coconut Soup

Traditional tom kha gai is a Thai chicken and coconut milk soup that is gluten- and dairy free. This version uses meaty mushrooms in place of the chicken, but you can make it heartier by adding a pound of cubed chicken thighs to the broth when adding the mushrooms. Ginger and lemongrass add zing and are a powerful health duo: Both can help prevent chronic diseases and certain types of cancer.

Try the recipe at Whole-istic Living.

10. Cauliflower Soup with Roasted Garlic Oil

Vampires beware: This soup calls for eight cloves of garlic and a drizzle of garlic oil to boot. Roasted garlic adds a lovely sweetness to creamy cauliflower — important considering that there’s an entire head of the cruciferous vegetable in this soup.

Try the recipe at Clean Plates. 

Read next: 6 Low-Carb Casseroles Perfect for Cozy Winter Meals