25 Keto Soups and Stews for Cozy Evenings

There’s something almost primal about a bowl of hot soup on a cold night. It’s comfort food that doesn’t judge you for wearing sweatpants or binge-watching an entire season of something questionable. But when you’re on keto, most traditional soups are off the table—literally—thanks to noodles, potatoes, rice, and all those sneaky carb-loaded ingredients.

Here’s the good news: keto soups and stews can be even better than their carb-heavy cousins. More flavorful, more satisfying, and they keep you full for hours without the sugar crash. I’ve spent enough evenings experimenting with broths, proteins, and low-carb vegetables to know which recipes deliver maximum coziness with minimal carbs.

Why Soups and Stews Are Perfect for Keto

Let’s start with the obvious: soups and stews are meal prep champions. Make a big pot on Sunday, and you’ve got lunches sorted for half the week. They freeze beautifully, reheat without turning weird, and somehow taste even better the next day when all the flavors have had time to become friends.

But beyond convenience, soups and stews solve one of keto’s biggest challenges—getting enough fat and protein while keeping carbs low. A bone broth base packed with collagen supports gut health and joint function, according to research on bone broth’s nutritional profile. Add fatty cuts of meat, full-fat cream, butter, and low-carb vegetables, and you’ve built a complete meal in one pot.

The key is avoiding the usual thickeners. No flour, no cornstarch, no potatoes. Instead, you use heavy cream for creaminess, pureed cauliflower for body, or just let the natural fats create that rich, coating texture that makes a soup feel substantial.

The Beefy Classics

1. Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Chuck roast, beef broth, celery, turnips (they sub for potatoes surprisingly well), onions, garlic. Season it with thyme and bay leaves, let it cook low and slow for eight hours. The meat falls apart, the vegetables soften perfectly, and your house smells incredible all day.

I use a 6-quart slow cooker for this because it handles the volume without crowding. The turnips absorb all that beefy goodness without adding the carbs potatoes would bring.

2. Cabbage Roll Soup

All the flavors of stuffed cabbage rolls without the tedious assembly. Ground beef, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, garlic, beef broth. It’s hearty, tangy, and hits that comfort food spot dead center.

Skip the rice that traditionally goes in cabbage rolls. You won’t miss it. The cabbage provides plenty of bulk and texture on its own.

3. Beef Pho

This Vietnamese classic is naturally keto-friendly if you swap rice noodles for zucchini noodles or shirataki noodles. The broth is where the magic happens—star anise, cinnamon, ginger, beef bones simmered for hours.

Making proper pho broth takes time, but an Instant Pot cuts the cooking down from 12 hours to about 90 minutes. Still delivers that deep, complex flavor you’re after.

4. Taco Soup

Ground beef, diced tomatoes, green chiles, taco seasoning, beef broth, cream cheese. Top it with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and avocado. It tastes exactly like tacos in a bowl.

The cream cheese melts into the broth and creates this rich, slightly thick texture that makes it feel more substantial than regular soup. Game changer.

5. Korean Short Rib Stew

Beef short ribs, daikon radish, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes). It’s spicy, savory, and deeply satisfying. The short ribs get so tender they practically melt.

I use a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for this because it distributes heat evenly and handles the long cooking time without scorching anything on the bottom.

When you’re planning your keto week, pair these soups with 25 easy keto dinner recipes for every night of the week to keep your meal rotation interesting and your taste buds happy.

The Chicken Comforts

6. Chicken Zoodle Soup

Classic chicken soup, but replace the noodles with spiralized zucchini. Chicken thighs (more flavorful than breasts), celery, carrots (in moderation), onions, garlic, chicken broth. It’s exactly what you want when you’re feeling under the weather or just want something simple.

Use a spiralizer for the zucchini noodles. The ribbon blade creates noodles that hold up better in hot broth than the spaghetti blade does.

7. Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup (No Rice Version)

Shredded chicken, cauliflower rice instead of wild rice, heavy cream, mushrooms, celery, onions, chicken broth. The cauliflower rice mimics the texture surprisingly well once it’s cooked in the creamy broth.

This one’s rich enough that a small bowl feels like a full meal. The heavy cream and butter make it incredibly satisfying.

8. Buffalo Chicken Soup

Shredded chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce, ranch seasoning, chicken broth, celery. It’s like buffalo wings in soup form, and if that doesn’t sell you on it, I can’t help you.

Top it with blue cheese crumbles and more hot sauce if you’re brave. The cooling effect of the cream cheese balances the heat perfectly.

9. Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken, green enchilada sauce, cream cheese, jalapeños, cumin, chicken broth. Top with cheddar, sour cream, cilantro, and avocado. It’s Mexican food that happens to be soup.

The green enchilada sauce makes this different from every other Mexican-inspired soup out there. It’s tangier, brighter, and somehow feels lighter even though it’s loaded with cream cheese.

10. Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

Chicken, coconut milk, mushrooms, lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves, fish sauce. It’s aromatic, creamy, and has this perfect sweet-sour-spicy balance that Thai food does so well.

Finding galangal can be tricky. I get mine from an Asian grocery store, but if you can’t find it, extra ginger works in a pinch. Not traditional, but still delicious.

If you’re looking for more protein-packed options beyond soups, these 21 high-protein keto meals that actually taste amazing round out your weekly menu perfectly.

The Pork Powerhouses

11. Italian Sausage and Kale Soup

Italian sausage, kale, heavy cream, chicken broth, garlic, red pepper flakes. Sometimes called Zuppa Toscana, this soup is stupid easy and ridiculously good. The sausage fat renders into the broth, the kale adds earthiness, and the cream ties it all together.

Use hot Italian sausage if you like heat. Mild if you don’t. Either way, don’t skip browning the sausage first—that caramelization adds depth.

12. Ham and Cauliflower Chowder

Leftover ham (or just buy diced ham), cauliflower, heavy cream, cheddar cheese, chicken broth. It’s what you make after a holiday ham when you’re sick of ham sandwiches but still have half a ham sitting in your fridge.

The cauliflower breaks down slightly and helps thicken the soup without any flour or cornstarch. Natural thickener that actually works.

13. Pork Green Chile Stew

Pork shoulder, green chiles, tomatillos, jalapeños, cumin, oregano, chicken broth. It’s got that New Mexican vibe—earthy, spicy, and deeply flavorful.

Pork shoulder is fatty enough that the stew develops this glossy, rich broth as it cooks. Plus it’s cheap. Win-win.

14. Wonton Soup (Without the Wontons)

Pork broth, ginger, garlic, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, sesame oil. You don’t need the wontons when the broth is this good. Add some soft-boiled eggs if you want more protein.

A fine-mesh strainer is essential for this one if you’re making your own broth. You want that crystal-clear, restaurant-quality look.

15. Split Pea Soup with Ham (Cauliflower Version)

Okay, traditional split pea soup is too carby. But if you use cauliflower and a blender, you can approximate that creamy, thick texture with way fewer carbs. Ham hock, cauliflower, onions, celery, chicken broth. It’s not identical, but it scratches the same itch.

Let me be honest: this one takes some imagination. If you’re a split pea soup purist, this might not do it for you. But if you just want something creamy and ham-flavored, it delivers.

For meal prepping these soups alongside other keto staples, check out 25 low-carb meal prep recipes for busy weeks for a comprehensive approach to batch cooking.

The Seafood Selections

16. Creamy Shrimp Bisque

Shrimp, heavy cream, butter, tomato paste, seafood stock, white wine, garlic, Old Bay. It’s fancy without being complicated. The shells simmer in the stock first to extract every bit of shrimp flavor.

Save your shrimp shells in the freezer until you have enough to make stock. Homemade seafood stock makes this soup significantly better than store-bought stock ever could.

17. New England Clam Chowder (Keto Style)

Clams, bacon, celery, onions, cauliflower instead of potatoes, heavy cream, clam juice. The cauliflower works shockingly well here—it absorbs the clam broth and takes on that chowder flavor perfectly.

Chopped clams work fine, but if you can get fresh clams, do it. The difference in flavor is worth the extra effort.

18. Cioppino

Italian fish stew with tomatoes, white wine, garlic, fennel, and whatever seafood you can find—shrimp, mussels, clams, white fish, calamari. It’s bold, garlicky, and feels like a special occasion even on a Tuesday.

I serve this in wide, shallow bowls so people can dig through and find all the different seafood. Presentation matters, even at home.

19. Tom Yum Soup

Spicy Thai soup with shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemongrass, galangal, lime juice, fish sauce, Thai chilies. It’s hot, sour, and incredibly aromatic. The kind of soup that clears your sinuses.

If you want more variety in your keto meals beyond soups, these 20 low-carb chicken recipes everyone will love and 21 low-carb dinners that actually taste delicious provide excellent alternatives.

The Vegetable-Forward Options

20. Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli, sharp cheddar, heavy cream, chicken or vegetable broth, onions, garlic. It’s creamy, cheesy, and loaded with broccoli without being virtuous about it.

An immersion blender makes this soup come together in minutes. No transferring hot liquid to a regular blender and dealing with that mess.

21. Cauliflower Soup

Roasted cauliflower, vegetable broth, heavy cream, garlic, thyme. The roasting step is non-negotiable—it caramelizes the cauliflower and adds a depth that boiled cauliflower soup will never achieve.

Top it with crispy bacon, chives, and a drizzle of truffle oil if you’re feeling fancy. Cauliflower soup doesn’t have to be boring.

22. Mushroom Soup

Mixed mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, portobello), butter, thyme, garlic, shallots, heavy cream, beef or vegetable broth. It’s earthy, rich, and so much better than anything from a can.

Don’t wash mushrooms under running water—they absorb moisture like sponges. Wipe them with a damp paper towel instead.

23. Zucchini Basil Soup

Zucchini, fresh basil, garlic, vegetable broth, heavy cream, parmesan. It’s bright, summery, and feels lighter than most keto soups while still being satisfying.

Make this in summer when zucchini is cheap and basil is growing like crazy. It doesn’t taste the same with sad winter produce.

24. Loaded Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower, bacon, cheddar, sour cream, chives, chicken broth. It’s a loaded baked potato in soup form, except the potato is cauliflower and somehow it works.

FYI, this one’s ridiculously rich. Serve it in smaller portions unless you want everyone falling asleep on your couch afterward.

25. Egg Drop Soup

Chicken broth, eggs, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, scallions. It’s simple, light, and comes together in about ten minutes. Perfect when you want soup but don’t want to spend an hour making it.

The trick to those silky egg ribbons is stirring the soup in a circle while you slowly pour in the beaten eggs. Creates that classic egg drop texture.

Building Better Broths

Here’s what most people don’t talk about: the broth makes or breaks soup. Boxed broth is fine in a pinch, but homemade bone broth elevates everything. Collagen-rich bone broth contains amino acids that support joint health and gut healing, making it more than just a flavorful base.

Making your own broth sounds intimidating, but it’s actually just throwing bones and vegetables in a pot and forgetting about them for 12 hours. A large stockpot with a heavy bottom prevents scorching during those long simmering sessions.

Save vegetable scraps—onion peels, celery tops, carrot ends—in a bag in your freezer. When the bag’s full, you’ve got the base for vegetable broth. Costs nothing, tastes better than store-bought.

For meat broths, roast the bones first at 400°F for about 30 minutes. That caramelization adds color and depth. Add a splash of vinegar to help extract minerals from the bones. Don’t skip this step—it’s the difference between okay broth and restaurant-quality broth.

The Practical Side of Soup

Let’s talk logistics because soup only works if it actually fits into your life. First, invest in good storage containers. These glass containers with snap lids don’t stain, don’t retain smells, and are freezer-safe. Worth every penny.

Portion soups before freezing. Individual servings in wide-mouth mason jars work great—they thaw faster and you can grab exactly what you need. Leave headspace at the top because liquids expand when frozen. Learn this now or learn it when you’re cleaning glass shards from your freezer.

Most soups last 3-4 days in the fridge, 2-3 months in the freezer. Label everything with the date and contents. Future you will appreciate present you’s organizational skills.

Reheating: stovetop is best for maintaining texture. Microwave works but sometimes makes things weird, especially cream-based soups. Add a splash of broth or cream when reheating if things got too thick in the fridge.

IMO, soups and stews are the most underrated tool in the keto toolbox. They’re forgiving, flexible, and surprisingly hard to mess up. Plus they make your house smell amazing, which is basically free aromatherapy.

When you’re building out your full keto menu beyond soups, don’t miss these 25 keto breakfast ideas that keep you full until lunch and 25 low-carb lunch ideas for work or meal prep for comprehensive meal coverage.

Related Recipes You’ll Love

Want to expand your keto recipe collection beyond soups and stews? Here are some recipes that complement these cozy bowls perfectly:

Complete Meal Ideas:

• 25 easy low-carb meals for every craving when you need variety
• 21 low-carb soups and stews for cozy nights for even more warming recipes

Snacks and Sides:

• 25 keto snacks that crush cravings without guilt to pair with lighter soups
• 25 low-carb snacks to beat hunger pangs for between-meal options

Sweet Endings:

• 18 low-carb desserts you won’t believe are sugar-free to finish your meal

Quick Alternatives:

• 20 low-carb breakfasts that keep you full all morning for easy morning options

The Bottom Line

Keto soups and stews prove you don’t need bread bowls, noodles, or potatoes to make something deeply satisfying. The right combination of proteins, fats, and low-carb vegetables creates meals that warm you from the inside out without kicking you out of ketosis.

Start with two or three recipes that sound genuinely appealing. Make them, see which ones you love, and add those to your regular rotation. Build from there. You don’t need to master all 25 at once.

The beauty of soup is its flexibility. Don’t have the exact vegetables listed? Substitute. Prefer chicken to beef? Swap it. Hate mushrooms? Leave them out. These recipes are frameworks, not commandments.

And remember: even mediocre homemade soup beats takeout on a cold night. It’s warmer, cheaper, healthier, and you can eat it in your pajamas without judgment. That’s the real win.