Keto Soups and Stews: Warm, Delicious, and Low-Carb Recipes

For those following a ketogenic diet, finding comforting and satisfying meals can sometimes be a challenge. However, the world of soups and stews offers a wealth of possibilities for creating warm, delicious, and low-carb dishes. These recipes will not only keep you within your macros but also tantalize your taste buds with a variety of flavors and textures.

The Foundation of Keto Soups and Stews

The key to successful keto soups and stews lies in choosing the right ingredients. Focus on non-starchy vegetables like kale, broccoli, and bell peppers, which provide essential nutrients and fiber without adding excessive carbs. Pair these with hearty cuts of meat such as chicken, beef, or fish to create a protein-rich and satisfying meal.

Elevating Your Soup and Stew Game

Don't settle for basic recipes - explore different techniques and ingredients to enhance the flavor and texture of your keto soups and stews. Consider using coconut milk for creamy, dairy-free options or experimenting with flavorful broths to add depth and complexity.

Keto Beef Stew: A Classic Comfort Food

Keto Beef Stew is a delicious meal perfect for a cold winter day. It's filled with beef stew meat, has a ton of flavor, and keto friendly vegetables. This comforting dish can be made in a Dutch oven, in the slow cooker, or in an instant pot. This traditional beef stew recipe is made without potatoes which makes it perfect for a keto diet.

Selecting the Right Ingredients

Try to get the best stew meat or beef chuck roast you can find since it’s the best part of this dish. Keep in mind that this tougher meat needs to cook longer to get it tender.

Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here are the brief instructions to make this stew:

1. Add butter to a large stock pot and melt over medium-high heat.
2. Working in batches, add the stew meat in a single layer and cook on all sides until seared. Return all meat to the pot and stir to get up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
3. Add the beef broth and diced tomatoes.
4. Season stew meat on all sides with salt and pepper.
5. Add butter to a large stock pot or Dutch oven and melt over medium high heat.
6. Working in batches, add stew meat and cook on all sides until seared. Remove and sear the next batch. Return all stew meat to the pot. Add beef broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
7. Work in batches to prevent steaming the meat. Slowly simmering the beef will help to tenderize tough cuts of meat.
8. Add remaining ingredients (except arrowroot powder or thickener) and let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
9. Add additional seasoning if needed.
10. Add arrowroot powder as a thickener if desired. Add thickener right before serving.
11. Add butter and stew meat to the liner of the instant pot. Use SAUTE mode to sear the outside of the beef on all sides (working in batches to prevent steaming).
12. Return all beef to the pressure cooker and add remaining ingredients except the thickener if using.
13. Pressure cook on high for 25 minutes. Let pressure release natural for 10 minutes before releasing remaining pressure.
14. Stir in thickener if using.

Thickening Your Keto Beef Stew

Thick beef stew is delicious and exactly what you need during cold weather. Instead of using all-purpose flour (which isn’t keto-friendly), this recipe uses arrowroot powder. It has 7x the thickening powder of all-purpose flour, is gluten-free, and it’s 2.7 carbs per teaspoon.

Here are some keto-friendly thickening options:

• Xanthan gum: This is a great option because it has zero net carbs.
• Heavy cream: Add ¼ cup of heavy cream to thicken it up.
• Cream cheese: Add 4 ounces of cubed, softened cream cheese.
• Corn starch: While corn starch isn’t the perfect keto option, it’s a better option than flour. Even though all-purpose flour is lower in carbs compared to cornstarch (6 g vs 7 g), corn starch has twice the thickening power compared to flour, so you don’t need as much to thicken the soup.
• Mashed cauliflower: Add mashed cauliflower to your stew to thicken it.

Slow Cooker Instructions

If you have time, sauté the beef and vegetables and then add them to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover with the lid, and set the time to cook on low for six hours or on high for 4 hours. Before serving, add the arrowroot powder to thicken the stew if you’d like.

Instant Pot Instructions

Turn on your pressure cooker and make this keto recipe in the instant pot. The biggest advantage of cooking it this way is that the cooking time is cut way down without compromising flavor. To cook in the instant pot, use the sauté function to cook the beef and vegetables first.

Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide

Substituting Potatoes

Potatoes aren’t very keto-friendly, so this hearty low carb beef stew uses a daikon radish as a substitution. Daikon radish is used in this recipe for its neutral flavor.

Freezing and Meal Prep

Freeze beef stew for later if you’d like. You can even make an extra batch and keep it in the freezer for up to three months. This keto stew recipe can be stored frozen, uncooked as a dump and go meal.

To cook stew in the slow cooker from frozen: Thaw overnight and add to the crockpot in the morning.

To cook stew in the instant pot from frozen: Sauté in Instant Pot for 5 minutes, then flip meal over. This should create enough liquid to pressure cook the stew without risk of burning. Pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.

Prep the ingredients the morning or night before you plan to cook.

Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto

Keto Beef Stew: FAQs

• How many carbs are in beef stew? There are about 20 grams of carbs in one cup of traditional beef stew.
• Can you have potatoes on keto? Potatoes are not part of a keto diet. At 37g, that's too many carbs to be keto-friendly.
• Why does the stew have to cook for so long? It's a good idea to cook stews and soups for at least an hour to make the meat tender and infuse flavor in the broth. You may need to add additional broth or water if it cooks down too low.

Beef Stroganoff Soup: A Keto Twist on a Classic

This recipe is adapted from a traditional Russian stew that is commonly served with pasta that can easily be replaced with zucchini noodles - you can add some if you like. It's meant to be eaten as a main dish.

Ingredients

• 2 large beef rump (sirloin) steaks (800 g/ 1.76 lb)
• 600 g brown or white mushrooms (1.3 lb)
• 1/4 cup ghee or lard (55 g/ 1.9 oz)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium white or brown onion, chopped (110 g/ 3.9 oz)
• 5 cups bone broth or chicken stock or vegetable stock (1.2 l/ quart)
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard you can make your own
• juice from 1 lemon (~ 4 tbsp)
• 1 1/2 cup sour cream, heavy whipping cream or coconut cream (345 g/ 12.2 oz)
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Place the steaks in the freezer in a single layer for 30-45 minutes. This will make it easy to slice the steaks into thin strips. Meanwhile, clean and slice the mushrooms.
2. When the steaks are ready, use a sharp knife and slice them as thin as you can.
3. Grease a large heavy bottom pan with half of the ghee. Once hot, add the beef slices in a single layer - do not overcrowd the pan. Quickly fry over a medium-high heat until browned from all sides. Remove the slices from the pan and place in a bowl. Set aside for later.
4. Grease the pan with the remaining ghee. Place the chopped onion and minced garlic in the pan and cook until lightly browned and fragrant, for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Add Dijon mustard, paprika, and pour in the bone broth. Add lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the browned beef slices and sour cream. If using a thickener, add to the pot and stir well.
7. Finally, add freshly chopped parsley.

Queso Keto Taco Soup: A Tex-Mex Delight

This Queso Keto Taco Soup is a game-changer for low-carb dinners! Simmered with ground beef, tangy tomatoes, and melted cheese, it’s like your favorite queso dip transformed into a hearty, spoonable meal. Whether you’re using an Instant Pot or slow cooker, this creamy, zesty soup will quickly become a staple in your keto meal rotation. This low-carb keto taco soup with ground beef has become a family favorite. The cream cheese and taco seasoning blend to create a rich, cheesy flavor that’s absolutely delicious.

Key Ingredients

• Ground Beef: Acts as the rich, savory, and protein-rich foundation to the soup.
• Rotel Tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with green chilis): This is simply a can of diced tomatoes with green chilis already added.
• Cream Cheese: Adds fat and a rich, creamy texture that makes the soup similar to an authentic queso dip.
• Beef Broth: Is the backbone of your soup’s flavor.

Keto Taco Seasoning

I have a recipe for homemade keto taco seasoning that works great in this soup. It’s a simple mix of chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and a few other spices. Unlike store-bought packets, it doesn’t have any fillers, which helps keep the carb count lower.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here is the step-by-step guide to making an amazing keto taco soup without beans.

1. Grab your favorite large pot and set it over medium heat. Toss in the ground beef and diced onion. I like to use an 80/20 beef for extra flavor, but use what you prefer. Brown it all up, breaking the meat into small chunks as it cooks. This usually takes about 8-10 minutes. Once it’s nicely browned, drain off the excess grease.
2. Add the cream cheese to your beef and onion mixture. I find it’s easier if the cream cheese is softened, so take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start cooking or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. Use a wooden spoon to mix it in well, breaking up any large chunks.
3. Add in the rest of your ingredients - the Rotel tomatoes (or diced tomatoes with green chilies), beef broth, heavy cream, and taco seasoning. Give it all a good stir to combine.

Tips and Tricks

• Swap the Beef: Don’t have ground beef in your kitchen? No sweat!
• Soften the Cream Cheese: Pop the cream cheese in the microwave for a few seconds or leave it at room temperature until soft.
• Simmer, Don’t Boil: Keep it low and slow.
• Taste and Adjust As Needed: One of the best things about cooking is that you get to taste everything before it’s served! If you think the soup needs more heavy cream, beef, or seasonings, adjust the amount of ingredients you use.
• Toppings:
  • Jalapenos: For the brave!
  • Avocado: Adds creaminess and healthy fats.
  • Fresh cilantro: Gives a nice fresh kick.

Slow Cooker Instructions

To ensure the best quality of this recipe, I would suggest adding the drained browned ground beef, diced onion, beef broth, diced tomatoes, and spices first. Allow it to slow cook for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low. I would follow the general guidelines mentioned above for cooking dairy in the slow cooker.

Instant Pot Instructions

First, brown the ground beef and onions on the saute setting and drain. Next, add beef broth, Rotel tomatoes, and spices. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then an NPR for 5 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

Pair this delicious taco soup with a simple leafy garden salad, avocado salad, or some fresh salsa for a perfect match. And if you’re in the mood for dipping, go for low-carb tortillas or crunchy pork rinds.

Dairy-Free Option

I haven’t tried making a dairy-free keto taco soup myself, but I did some digging, and you might be able to use dairy-free cream cheese and coconut cream instead of cream cheese and heavy cream.

Thickening the Soup

Easy! Just add more cream cheese or let the soup simmer a bit longer.

Storing Leftovers

When I have leftovers, I sometimes freeze them for later. Here’s a tip I learned from experience: cream soups can get a bit separated when frozen and thawed. Don’t worry - it’s still safe to eat and can be fixed! Thaw the soup in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to eat it. As you reheat it, use a whisk to stir it well. This helps bring the soup back together. If it still seems a bit grainy, I’ve found that blending it for a few seconds can make it creamy again.

Variations

• Throw In some Veggies: Sneaking in some veggies is totally okay.
• Spice It Up: My family LOVES this soup spicy!

Streamlining Your Keto Cooking

Busy days got you feeling overwhelmed? Fear not! With these one-pot wonders, you’ll have a satisfying meal on the table without spending hours in the kitchen.

tags: #keto #stews #and #soups #recipes