Skipping the starchy pasta and beans and adding rotisserie chicken keeps this Healthy Chicken Minestrone Soup low carb and hearty enough for a main meal.
My kids love soup. It seems like I can never make enough of it. I know that some people think of soup as a Fall and Winter dish because it is hot, but I find it a light and refreshing alternative to cooking a main and two sides. I don't particularly enjoy cooking sides to accompany my main dishes. So when I can combine a protein with a good helping of veggies in the same dish, I'm all kinds of excited!
Minestrone soup reminds me of Summer -- counter-intuitive, I know, but it's chock-full of Summer vegetables. And this healthy low carb chicken minestrone soup is full of Summer's bounty, too. If you have been extremely blessed with a prolific garden this Summer, this recipe just may be another way for you to use or share your blessings.
Now, let me share the embarrassing fact that I am of the age of "Eternal Summers". Yep, early menopause at age 40. Lucky me, huh? Well, it's a mixed blessing, but I'll tell ya that for obvious reasons I don't like to stand in front of a hot stove, or oven, or in a hot kitchen any longer than is absolutely necessary. (The "warming spells" are so frequent and so bad that my husband and I joked that we would name the blog "Hot Flash Kitchen"!)
Thankfully, this recipe only takes a few minutes of standing in front of the heat, and then it does it's own thing for a while. I don't know about you, but that's my kind of recipe. And it tastes so good! My husband gave it an "Mmmm." and my kids asked for seconds. Okay, my son usually asks for seconds anyway, but my daughter wanted seconds, too! Healthy low carb Chicken Minestrone Soup = kids eating more veggies. That's a WIN!
Don't despair upon seeing the longer than average ingredient list. Most of the items may already be in the fridge or in the pantry. I try to break-up my recipes into intuitive steps to hurry things along so you're not hanging-out in the kitchen all day.
The recipe for this minestrone soup produces 6 hearty helpings but can be easily doubled for a larger batch for the freezer or for help during the busy work week.
If you'd like another great Summer soup recipe, try the Chicken Sausage and Kale Soup.
Healthy Low Carb Chicken Minestrone Soup is 6 net carbs per serving.
Healthy Low Carb Chicken Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 4 oz onions, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 2 oz celery, sliced
- 2 oz carrot, rolled or sliced
- 1 tablespoons Garlic and Herb Seasoning Blend
- 4 oz zuchini large dice, (1 medium zucchini)
- 1 cup green beans cut about ¾" long, (3 oz)
- 3 oz cabbage, cut into strips like coleslaw, (¼ cabbage)
- ¼ cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken broth (32 oz)
- 14 oz can whole tomatoes (like Cento or San Marzano brand)
- 1 whole rotisserie chicken meat removed and torn into bite sized pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes
- pesto
- extra virgin olive oil
- Parmesan cheese
- fresh basil
- fresh parsley
Instructions
- Open the can of tomatoes. Chop the vegetables and have them ready to go in the pot group, by group.
- In a large soup pot, heat two tablespoons of oil over medium high heat. Add the vegetables in this order, stirring them and covering to cook between each addition: Onions, garlic, celery and carrots, cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Zucchini and the seasoning blend, cover and cook for 1 minute. Green beans, cover and cook for another minute. Cabbage and wine, cover, and cook for roughly 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and their liquid crushing them with your hands, and add the chicken broth and cover, bringing to a fast simmer. Reduce heat and simmer gently, covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the carcass of the rotisserie chicken and add to the Minestrone. Stir and warm through. Add the remaining olive oil, adjust seasoning and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Low Carb Fennel and Cream of Celery Soup with Rotisserie Chicken
SteveB
Let me start by saying that I never follow a recipe to the letter. In this case I came close and was very happy with the results. I didn't measure the amounts of vegetables, just used whole units (1 large onion, 1 Large carrot etc). I added 1 bunch of asparagus chopped in 1" lengths, and instead of the tomatoes I used 2 cups of leftover roasted tomato soup that was quite thick and contained carrots, potato, onion, garlic and basil; the only other change I made was to increase the amount of stock to get the consistency where I wanted it.
The finished soup was packed with flavour and tased as good as any minestrone I have made before. The lack of pasta and beans was hardly noticeable to the taste.
Kim
Hi Steve. I appreciate you coming back to let me know how you liked the soup. I love how flexible soup recipes are and how you were able to use what you had on hand. That roasted tomato soup sounds killer! Thanks again. Have a nice week. -Kim
Jim K
Directions say use the 2 Tbs olive oil, but ingredients say 1/4 cu oil. I assume that should be 2 Tbs oil.
Kim
Hi Jim. It is 1/4 cup olive oil, which is not too much divided among 6 servings. You may use as little or as much as you like. -Kim
tracey
followed recipe but ended up with no broth, very thick for a soup. Ideas as to what went wrong?
Kim
No, Tracey. Honestly, this recipe was shared in my very first year. It sounds like I need to make it again and update. Thanks so much for letting me know. -Kim
Sonja
I just made this soup and it is sooooo tasty! I used McCormick’s salt free garlic and herb seasoning and doubled up on the seasoning and for the wine i used Pinot Grigio! I didn’t use cabbage or green beans since we don’t like either! My boyfriend and I loved this so much that we can’t wait to eat it tomorrow! Plus it is perfect since we are doing the keto diet!
Mary Ann
Does this freeze and reheat ok?
Kim
I have frozen it before. Yes. Enjoy the recipe. -Kim
JodieQ
Very interested to see how this works for me > I've struggled all my life with food > I work long hours and usually need sugar to revamp, so if you any ideas for snacks to keep me going all day these I would be very thankfull.
Kim
Hi Jodie. I'm assuming you are giving low carb/Keto a try. Honestly, you will be irritable and tired the first 5 days. Then you will notice your appetite decrease quite a bit. I prefer quick snacks like sandwich meat wrapped around a piece of cheese or nuts. Read my article about starting a low carb diet and then look at the foods list. Good luck. -Kim
Diana Carroll
I made this soup and it was so good! I measured all the veggies by weight and the only change I made was not using the entire rotisserie chicken as that would have been way too much chicken to veggies. I'm looking forward to the leftovers for lunch this week!
Kim
So glad you liked the soup, Diana. It's my favorite soup for the Summer. Have a great week! -Kim
Monica
How I'm really want to make your recipe but I'm trying to figure out the serving size. Thank you.
Kim
Hi Monica. It's a pretty generous portion at about 1 1/4 - 1 1/3 cups. I hope this helps. -Kim
Hannah
This recipe looks really great! I'm excited to try it, but is there anything I can substitute for white wine? And about how many ounces of chicken does the recipe call for? Thanks!
Kim
Hi Hannah. Thanks. If you don't drink wine, you can leave it out. If you are afraid of the carbs, the alcohol will burn off leaving the flavor but eliminating the sugar from the alcohol. I'm going to guess and say about 1 pound or 16 ounces of chicken. Enjoy. -Kim
Stephanie
If I didn't want such a high fat soup, what alterations would you recommend? Just reducing the total olive oil? Should I add or increase something else?
Kim
Hi Stephanie. Yes, reduce the olive oil to 2 tablespoons and then don't use rotisserie chicken. Since each tablespoon of olive oil has 14 grams of fat, the bulk of the fat is coming from the rotisserie chicken. Grill 2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts and shred or chop for the soup. This will reduce the amount of fat greatly. You may need to add more seasoning to taste since fat is flavor. Thanks for your question and have a great day! -Kim
Melanie
Would you be able to provide measurements in cups instead ounces or even estimates?
Kim
Sure, Melanie. Done! :) -Kim
Laura
Hi, looks good, can it be made in the crock pot and left to cook all day (chicken and all)? If so for how long?
Kim
Great question, Laura. I shamefully don't use my crock pot very often. I'm sure you could put cubed raw chicken in the bottom and the veggies on top. I would just be afraid that the zucchini would get mushy - but, it won't affect the taste at all. At least 4 hours on high to cook the chicken? Does that sound about right? Let me know if this was about right. Have a great day. -Kim
Adam J. Holland
By 9 o'clock this morning, I'll be longing for winter. Still, I'd make and eat this soup. Yes, it looks that delicious. :-)
Kim
Thank you Adam. It's a family favorite. I'll be awaiting the next story from the RV Chronicles!
Lauren @ Wicked Spatula
Love the name "Hot Flash Kitchen!" haha! I totally agree about soup not just being a fall and winter thing. I have a total of three soups on the menu for this week. It's totally better to throw everything in a pot and let it do it's thing than standing in front of a stove for forever. I'll be making this minestrone soon...I'm digging the pesto on top!
Kim
I know Lauren, "soup is where it's at" for us right now! Have a nice day! -Kim