This Keto Lemon Chicken Soup recipe is made with cauliflower rice to lower the total carbohydrates without sacrificing flavor. With only 6 net carbs per serving, this bright and lemony chicken soup is a warm and comforting meal perfect for colder weather.
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After the success of my recipe for Creamy Lemon Chicken Skillet with Cauliflower, I wanted to create a soup recipe with the same flavors.
This recipe for Keto Lemon Chicken Soup is a modification of traditional Greek Avgolemono soup. This healthy soup recipe uses the same technique of cooking egg, lemon, and chicken broth into a thick, flavorful base.
By using riced cauliflower instead of actual rice or orzo pasta, this recipe has only 6 grams of carbohydrates per serving and is and suitable for those following a low carb or keto diet. This soup is also naturally gluten free.
Why This Recipe Works
- This soup is bright and lemony, yet still a warm and comforting meal during the colder months.
- With plenty of chicken, bone broth, and vegetables, it’s a hearty, nutritious meal.
- It’s an easy soup recipe that can be made in just 30 minutes!
How to Make Keto Lemon Chicken Soup
Prep!
If you’re not using leftover or rotisserie chicken, you will need to cook the chicken first.
Before you begin cooking, prepare your ingredients. Shred the chicken, mince the garlic and cilantro, dice the celery, and rice the cauliflower.
Tip: you can follow the instructions in the post on How to Rice Cauliflower or use riced cauliflower from the produce or frozen food section of the grocery store.
You’ll also need to juice a lemon or two until you have at least 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add the eggs to a small bowl and lightly beat.
Create!
Heat the olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shallot and celery and cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the cauliflower rice, chicken bone broth, and water. Increase the heat to medium-high and gently boil until tender, about 7-8 minutes.
Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot stock to a small bowl with the beaten eggs. Pour the mixture back into the pot and stir well.
Add the lemon juice, chicken, and cilantro to the pot and cook until heated through and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
Taste and season with salt, pepper, and/or additional lemon juice, as needed.
Tip: you can add more lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired level of lemon flavor is reached. I like mine extra lemony and typically use 3-4 tablespoons.
Present!
Ladle into 4 soup bowls and garnish with extra herbs, lemon slices and lemon zest, if desired
Tips and Techniques for the Best Lemon Chicken Soup
- You can use leftover or rotisserie chicken to save time.
- Or, cook the chicken in an Instant Pot – it will be super simple to shred when it’s done cooking!
- Try shredding the chicken using a food processor to speed up the process even more.
- For more lemon flavor, add extra lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired flavor is achieved.
- To lower the carb count even more, you can omit the shallot. Just be aware that the flavor may vary slightly.
FAQ’s
- How do you store extra Lemon Chicken Soup? Store any leftover soup in air-tight containers in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days by gently reheating – do not boil.
- Can you freeze Lemon Chicken Soup with Cauliflower? Yes, you can freeze this Lemon Chicken Soup in air-tight containers. For best results allow to thaw before gently reheating. Use within 3 months.
Other Recipes to Try
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Keto Lemon Chicken Soup with Cauliflower Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons shallot * minced
- 1/2 cup celery * diced
- 4 cups cauliflower rice
- 4 cups chicken bone broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 eggs * beaten
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice * freshly squeezed
- 2 cups cooked chicken * shredded
- 1/4 cup cilantro * or parsley, minced
- salt and pepper * to taste
- lemon zest * optional, garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the shallot and celery and cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the cauliflower rice, chicken bone broth, and water. Increase the heat to medium-high and gently boil until tender, about 7-8 minutes.
- Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot stock to a small bowl with the beaten eggs. Pour the mixture back into the pot and stir well.
- Add the lemon juice, chicken, and cilantro to the pot and cook until heated through and slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt, pepper, and/or additional lemon juice, as needed.
- Ladle into 4 soup bowls and garnish with extra herbs and lemon zest, if desired.
Notes
Tips and Techniques for the Best Lemon Chicken Soup
- You can use leftover or rotisserie chicken to save time.
- Or, cook the chicken in an Instant Pot - it will be super simple to shred when it's done cooking!
- Try shredding the chicken using a food processor to speed up the process even more.
- For more lemon flavor, add extra lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired flavor is achieved.
- To lower the carb count even more, you can omit the shallot. Just be aware that the flavor may vary slightly.
FAQ's
- How do you store extra Lemon Chicken Soup? Store any leftover soup in air-tight containers in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days by gently reheating - do not boil.
- Can you freeze Lemon Chicken Soup with Cauliflower? Yes, you can freeze this Lemon Chicken Soup in air-tight containers. For best results allow to thaw before gently reheating. Use within 3 months.
Nancy says
Wanted to let you and your readers know that I am a huge foodie–always cooking etc. I am very critical of recipes and always changing them. This soup however is easily my favorite soup!!! Found it about 2 years ago and enjoy it thoroughly (without any changes!) Usually double it so I can eat if for days and days!!
Lauren Vavala says
Thank you so much! This was such a nice comment to read tonight – made my day! I know that any recipe is simply a matter of personal taste – glad that ours is in sync with this one!
– Lauren
Kate says
I just made this last night as I was craving a chicken rice soup then thought of Avgolemono soup my mom & grandmother made. This recipe has a lot more chicken then the normal version but it was what I had wanted to have as a more filling soup. I used the juice from 2 lemons as 2 tablespoons is not near enough. Also I separated the yolks from the whites, whisked the yolks with most of the lemon juice, whisked the whites until almost hard peaks then folded the whites into the egg yolks then slowly tempered the eggs with the broth. Once everything was incorporated I slowly warmed the whole soup up. I also used a large bag of frozen cauliflower. Delicious
Cindy says
Aaahhhhhh!!!!! I was CRAVING avegonmolo soup but am on keto so I was excited to try this recipe. I made it last night and invited my aunt over for dinner. We both agreed it was amazing and enjoyed two bowls of it! It really hit the spot. Thank you so very much for sharing this simple, low carb, delicious recipe.
Angela says
I just made this. It had a good flavor but had a lot of broth. Yours doesn’t look like it has a lot of broth. Is there a way to thicken it or make it creamier like a restaurant version without adding a ton of carbs?
Lauren Vavala says
Hi Angela – I’m not sure why yours had a lot of broth. The eggs are meant to thicken it. Maybe cooking it longer would have done the trick. I’m not sure about adding anything to this since it does have egg in there. Low carb thickeners are xanthan gum or guar gum, but I rarely use either so I’m sure not how they would work in this particular recipe. Sorry I can’t be more helpful. Lauren
Pat Schunda says
an extra egg??
Jennifer says
About how big is a serving? 1 cup, 2 cups?
Lauren Vavala says
Hi Jennifer. I’m not able to calculate nutrition info by an exact serving size. It’s done automatically by dividing the total amount of the recipe equally into 4 equal servings for this particular recipe. I would say it’s probably closer to 2 cups though. Hope this helps a little – Lauren
Ashley says
This was awesome!!! I doubled the recipe & I was a bit nervous. But it turned out better than I expected!!
Yummy! I hope my fam loves it too!
Thanks so much for the recipe! ?
Lauren says
Hi Ashley! Glad to hear that it worked out for you! Hope the rest of your family enjoyed it as well 🙂 – Lauren
Tylene says
Looks amazing. Can you use frozen cauliflower rice? If so, would you need to prepare it first? Thank you.
Lauren Vavala says
Hi Tylene! You should be able to use frozen cauliflower rice without any issues. You might need to heat it an additional minute or two is all. Hope the recipe turns out delicious for you!! Lauren
Kacie says
This looks great! I did the Keto diet for a bit last year and I was surprised at how satisfying some of the meals can be. I still eat cauliflower rice all the time!
Bhawana says
wow such a unique soup recipe. with cauliflower rice. I am surely going to try its vegetarian version. such a drooling one I found today.
Valentina says
I always love a broth with lemon and chicken. It’s such a delicious and comforting blend of flavors. And with all of the cauliflower it must be a hearty meal. Love it.
Michelle Miller says
Love the combinations you’ve made here. Cauliflower rice is one of my go-to’s to lower the carbs too so great option here for this soup. I like the lemon touch too! Looks like the perfect soup to cozy up in the winter!
Lucy says
How do you rice the cauliflower? New to keto
Help
Lauren says
Hi Lucy. I’m actually working a post on how to rice cauliflower, but it’s pretty easy. You can either cut the cauliflower into pieces, throw it in a food processor, and pulse a few times OR use a manual box grater (like you’d use for shredding cheese). If you’d rather not do it yourself, check your grocery store for already riced cauliflower in the product section or the frozen veggies aisle. Hope this helps and good luck!!
Jill says
I love the flavor of lemon in both sweet and savory dishes. This is definitely a soup recipe I would like to try!