Make Chicken Tortilla Soup (Keto, Gluten-free, Low-carb)

This Chicken Tortilla Soup is creamy, thick, and spicy, and takes only 30 minutes to prepare.

This dish is loaded with toppings like avocado and shredded cheese, but you won’t miss the carbs — and neither will your family!

Why Is This Recipe So Delicious?

• This keto chicken tortilla soup recipe takes everything you love about a traditional chicken tortilla soup, removes the tortillas, and converts it to a keto-friendly version! You can prepare your own tortilla strips from low-carb tortillas and add them to your bowl if you’re low carb (as opposed to keto) and want that crunch.
• This dish is bursting with flavor! Fresh onion and garlic, zesty lime, fire-roasted tomatoes, sharp jalapenos, luscious cream cheese Each spoonful improve on the previous one.
• It’s already a simple recipe, but using shredded rotisserie chicken makes it much simpler. You can skip the process of boiling the chicken breasts because rotisserie chicken is already cooked. Simply shred the rotisserie chicken and stir it into the soup until it has warmed through.

Key Ingredients

Chicken – No boring, bland boiled chicken here! Because we cook the chicken in a blend of onion, garlic, jalapenos, chicken broth, cumin, and tomatoes, the chicken in this soup is incredibly aromatic.

This recipe can also be made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, though the cooking time would be slightly different.

Cream Cheese — A block of creamy, full-fat cream cheese provides richness.

When shopping for a keto cream cheese, stay away from any that are high in carbs or have additional sugars (or sugar substitutes that aren’t keto-friendly).

The greatest cream cheese I’ve discovered that satisfies all of the criteria is Philadelphia’s original cream cheese.

Tomatoes, Fire-Roasted — I adore the taste that fire-roasted tomatoes bring to a dish. They’re just what they sound like: tomatoes that have been roasted over an open fire before being sliced and canned.

If you really want to decrease the carbs in this soup, remove out the tomatoes, but keep in mind that the flavor may vary!

Chef’s Advice

• Step 2: Don’t overcook the chicken! While the internal temperature of the chicken should be 165°F, take in mind that the chicken will continue to cook somewhat as it rests. I like to take the chicken out when it reaches 160°-162°F, so it ends up just where it needs to be.
• It’s quite simple to shred cooked chicken. Did you know there are five different approaches you can take? Oh, absolutely. The 2-forks method and the stand-mixer method are my go-to’s.
• If you don’t like spicy flavors, the jalapenos can be used to reduce the “heat” in this recipe. For a very mild flavor, use only one jalapeno and remove the seeds. For a more strong flavor, use 2 jalapenos with seeds.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This keto chicken tortilla soup is creamy, thick, and spicy, and takes only 30 minutes to prepare. This dish is loaded with toppings like avocado and shredded cheese, but you won’t miss the carbs — and neither will your family!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral oil
• ½ of one medium white onion diced; or 1 small onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 jalapeños finely diced, see Notes
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 14.5-ounce can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese softened, see Notes
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately 2-3 medium chicken breasts
• 2 limes juiced, plus wedges for garnish
• 1 ½-2 teaspoons salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup cilantro leaves roughly chopped
• 1 large avocado is optional, for topping; pitted, sliced
• shredded Monterey cheese is optional, for topping; see Notes

Equipment

• 1 large pot
• shredding method of choice see Notes
• 1 Medium bowl
• Ladle
• Whisk

Instructions For Chicken Tortilla Soup

1. In a large pot, heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and simmer for 2 minutes, or until softened. Add the minced garlic and diced jalapenos after 2 minutes. Cook for another minute.
2. Add chicken broth, cumin, and fire-roasted tomatoes to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and add uncooked chicken breasts after the mixture begins to boil. Allow 20 to 25 minutes for the chicken to cook through, being cautious not to overcook it. Allow cooked chicken to rest in a basin or on a cutting board.
3. When the chicken is cold enough to handle, shred it using your preferred manner (see Notes). Place aside. In a medium mixing bowl, soften the cream cheese. Note: If the cream cheese hasn’t softened yet, microwave it for 1 minute, or until softened but not melted or heated. The cream cheese must be softened before proceeding to the next stage.
4. In a medium bowl, ladle a little hot soup over melted cream cheese. Whisk the mixture vigorously until it is smooth. Add lime juice, salt, black pepper, and fresh cilantro to the cream cheese mixture in the pot. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and stir it thoroughly.
5. Fill serving bowls halfway with soup. As desired, top with avocado slices, cheese, extra jalapeos, sour cream, etc.

Notes

• You may leave out the onions and the fire-roasted chopped tomatoes to make this low-carb. However, it will alter the soup’s overall flavor.
• Jalapenos: Use only one jalapeno and remove the seeds first for a milder flavor. Use two jalapenos with the seeds in for a stronger flavor.
• Philadelphia original cream cheese offers the lowest carb content of any cream cheese I’ve come across. Feel free to use whatever cream cheese you choose, but search for one with the fewest carbohydrates.
• Methods of Shredding: Choose one of the chicken shredding methods. The 2-forks method or the stand mixer method are my go-to methods.
• Use a block of cheese that you’ve to shred yourself if you’re adding shredded cheese to your soup! Fillers and anti-clumping chemicals in prepackaged shredded cheese add unneeded carbs.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 315kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 1435mg, Potassium: 525mg, Fiber: 2g, Vitamin A: 543IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 80mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 8g