This easy, flavorful, and healthy Keto Chicken No Noodle Soup uses zucchini noodles! It’s gluten free, low carb and packed with protein!
PIN Chicken Zoodle Soup
(originally posted in 2014. Photos updated in 2018 – narration not changed)
Not even gonna beat around the bush with some kind of fancy opening sentence to draw you in.
I’m pretty sure the promise of LOW CARB, comfort food, soupy goodness, that is going to remind you of your childhood is enough to KEEP YOU HOOKED.
So, let’s get right down to it and talk chicken zucchini soup.
This zucchini noodle soup is actually an ode to my G-ma, whom I love dearly and miss all the time. Hi Grandma!
It’s her old, German recipe that I grew up eating (and loving) as a child. The thing that I love the best about it is the fact that the stock is HOMEMADE! No “the-ingredient-list-may-as-well-be-in-gibberish-because-this-girl-can’t-pronounce-half-of-it stuff from a can here”
Just like the healthy chicken noodle casserole, we are going HOMEMADE low carb chicken noodle soup!
Why this is the BEST Chicken Noodle Soup EVER
If you’re like me, a hot bowl of hearty and healthy soup on a cold day is the BEST winter meal. A bowl of whole30 instant pot turmeric tahini chicken soup or a steamy pot of carrot ginger soup on the stove gets me so excited because it warms me up from the inside out! Today’s soup is an ode to my grandma, as I said above and EVERYONE knows that grandmas make the best soup. This keto no noodle chicken soup recipe is loaded with goodness from a variety of veggies and fragrant spices to make it the PERFECT pick me up on a wintery day. The natural ingredients will permeate to create the most delicious and rich flavor you’ve ever had in a chicken soup. To top it all off, this soup is low carb and keto friendly!
Ingredients Needed
Like I said above, this soup is made with the best of the best. Whole foods and spices combine to create a healthy, delicious soup that the whole family will love! Here’s everything you will need to gather up to make keto chicken no noodle soup:
- 1 Pasture Raised Stewing Hen
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Parsley, wrapped and tied with twine
- Bay Leaves
- Peppercorns
- Star Anise Seed
- Chicken Broth
- Zucchinis, spiralized
- Salt
How to make Keto Chicken No Noodle Soup
Prepare
Place the hen in a large stock pot. Chop up the carrot and celery into a few chunks and toss them in the pot. Do the same with the onion, placing the chunks on top of the hen. Place the wrapped parsley and bay leaves on top of the veggies. Fill 2 steel diffusers with black peppercorns and place them in the pot, along with the star anise in a separate diffuser. Pour in the box of broth, then fill the rest of the pot with water.
Simmer
Bring the pot to a full boil, then reduce the heat a bit and simmer all day long, or for at least 8 hours. Remove the veggies and the chicken from the pot, skimming the surface of the broth for any fatty pieces. Shred the chicken and set it aside.
Assemble
Taste the broth to see if it needs any adjustments (more pepper or salt, etc.) and then toss the shredded chicken in, stirring to combine. Press out excess water from the zoodles and place them in the soup.
Serve
Use a ladle to serve the finished soup into bowls, then serve and DEVOUR!
Other Noodle Ideas
If you are LOVING the sounds of this delicious no noodle chicken soup keto but want to mix it up when it comes to noodles, go right ahead! Instead of zoodles, you could use spiralized winter squash or beets. You could add in some cauliflower rice for a bit more bulk or go for some store bought keto noodles. If you need it to be gluten free but not necessarily keto, toss in some rice noodles or use regular noodles if you don’t need it keto or gluten free!
Top Tips for making Chicken Soup
- Don’t omit anything: If you don’t have one of the ingredients, I would recommend spending the time to get it from your local supermarket. Star anise, in particular, adds SO much flavor to this soup and should not be omitted!
- The longer, the better: Let this soup simmer away all day. 8 hours is the minimum cook time I recommend, as the flavors infuse more and more with each passing minute!
Chicken Soup FAQ
Instead of regular noodles, you can actually use spiralized veggies! For this soup, I went with zucchini noodles and they are so tasty.
Chicken soup can be good for weight loss, as it contains a lot of protein. Protein helps to keep our bodies nice and full for a while after we consume it, making it less likely for us to reach for snacks shortly afterwards.
There are about 75 calories per cup of chicken soup without noodles. It’s low calorie but highly nutritious!
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Thai Crockpot Paleo Chicken Noodle Soup
Easy Homemade Crockpot Vegetable Soup
Coconut Curry Soup with Sweet Potato Noodles
Healthy Baked Cheesy Zucchini Casserole
Ingredients
For the broth:
- 1 Pasture raised stewing hen (a roaster chicken works well too, just not as flavourful)
- 3 Medium Carrots
- 4 Stalks of celery
- 1 Large onion
- 2 Whole bundles of parsley, wrapped and tied with twine
- 6 – Bay leaves
- Whole Peppercorns
- Whole Star anise seed This is KEY! Do not omit
- 2 Boxes chicken broth (not sodium reduced)
- For the Zoodles:
- Zucchinis, spiralized with blade d (or 1 zucchini per person)
- Salt
Instructions
- Place the hen in a large stock pot.
- Cut each carrot and stalk of celery into 3 large chunks and place on top of the chicken.
- Cut the onion into large chunks and place on top of the carrots and celery.
- Place the wrapped parsley and bay leaves on top of the vegetables.
- Fill two steel diffusers (or a tea ball) with black pepper corns and place in the stock pot. This doesn’t have to be an accurate measurement, just fill it up.
- Do the same as the peppercorns with the star anise seed, into a separate diffuser.
- Pour the box of chicken broth over top of everything in the stock pot. *
- Fill the rest of the pot up with water, until all the ingredients are just covered.
- Bring the pot to a boil over high heat and then turn down to medium/low and cover and simmer for the whole day (or at least 8 hours.)
- Once the stock is done simmering,remove the veggies and set them aside. ** Remove the chicken, it will just fall off the bone, and place onto a plate and skim the fat and any little floaty bits off the top of the stock.
- Remove any excess fat from the chicken, shred and set aside.
- Taste the stock to see if it needs any additional salt, or any additional chicken broth, depending on the “chickeny” flavor that you like.
- Gently press out any excess moisture from the zoodles with a paper towel and then divide them between bowls. Ladle stock over top and add shredded chicken,
- DEVOUR!
Tips & Notes:
** You may chop up the veggies and put them in the soup if you wish, or just discard.
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
No nutrition info for this recipe as it will vary vastly depending on how much chicken you use, white vs dark meat etc.
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Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
I totally know how it feels when family visits, that’s when the major cleaning tools come out! This soup looks great, I’d love to cozy up to it!
Tate says
Right?! Thanks Pamela! 🙂
Sandi says
We use chicken broth sometimes too in our soups. The flavor is great. Zucchini noodles are one of our new go to ways to eat soup or pasta.
Taylor Kiser says
The broth adds just that much more flavor! 🙂
Jillian says
I love to say ‘Zoodles” and I love to eat Zoodles!
Taylor Kiser says
Haha! Me too!!
Tilly says
Love the addition of Star Anise, adds such a unique flavour compared to other chicken soup recipes.
Taylor Kiser says
It really does – it’s so key!
Marie says
This soup looks so comforting and hearty! I need to start using my spiralizer again ’cause I need to make this soup. Love that this is low-carb!
Taylor Kiser says
Thanks Marie! The spiralizer is awesome!
Tracy says
There’s nothing better than a soup with homemade broth!! And using zucchini noodles? That’s just pure genius right there! Talk about a comforting, healthy soup!
Taylor Kiser says
Thanks Tracy!