This creamy Keto Fennel Chicken Soup is SUPER satisfying, rich, & hearty, while also tasting like a fancy restaurant soup! It’s gluten free and easy to make, too!
It was a fairly involved recipe from back in my pre-keto days, involving starting the day before by making the broth from scratch.
It was a good rainy day soup recipe, though - so I decided to design a more simple fennel chicken soup recipe, based on that original recipe.
Man... I forgot how fantastic it made the house smell.
Just getting the onions, fennel, and garlic cooking managed to draw my husband up from the basement to get a better whiff of it. SO good!
This soup is every bit as good as the original - maybe even better, to be honest.
There’s something to be said for more instant gratification. Whipping this up in less than 45 minutes definitely beats having to clear fridge room, skim fat off a homemade stock, etc.
I left the sausage out and bumped the amount of chicken, which gave it a more refined, elegant taste.
He says that it’s “surprisingly amazing” clarifying that it’s not that he was expecting it to not be good or anything, but he was shocked that such a simple soup ended up being one of his absolute favourites.
I think he’d be happy having this on a near daily basis - and I’m not far behind him on that!
LOVE that he can be so excited about my keto meals - in no way is he low carbbing himself.
He likes to have some crusty bread with his bowl of soup - that’s all. Super easy to make a pot of soup that works for both of us!
Nutrient Information
Assuming no dairy issues, this fennel chicken soup recipe is really inclusive for those on a special diet.
It’s inherently gluten free, for one.
It’s a little higher in carbs than some of my other soups - 14 g carbohydrate in total, and 3 grams of that is dietary fiber, or 11 g net carbs.
Most of the carbs come from vegetables - I don’t know about you, but when it comes to low glycemic veggies, I tend to be a little more permissive with the carbs.
Also, that’s for a super filling, large serving - it’s definitely easy to cut the carbs by stretching the soup to 6 servings - 8 if as an appetizer.
There’s also 35 g protein per serving, which is definitely decent for a soup!
Ingredients
As elegant as this creamy soup is, it’s actually a really easy fennel chicken soup recipe. The ingredients are all really simple, and should be easy to find in pretty much any grocery store.
A few notes for you, though:
Cooked Chicken
I’ve been on a “buy a rotisserie chicken and use that pre-cooked chicken in my recipes” kick, lately. (Have you tried my Chicken Pot Pie Soup?)
It’s super easy to just break pre-cooked chicken down into bite-sized pieces and go from there, and I’ve been feeling a bit lazy lately, LOL.
That said, feel free to cook your own - or have leftovers to use up. If you’d like to do shredded chicken breast, check out my recipe for Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken!
Also, a note: When using leftover chicken, the age of the chicken at the time you cook it into the fennel chicken soup affects the longevity of this dish.
As a rule, chicken is good for 3-4 days after cooking.
If it’s been in your fridge for a couple of days before making this creamy keto chicken soup recipe, you’re going to want to eat it quickly!
Fresh Produce
This recipe uses fresh turnips in place of the red potatoes in my original recipe this was based on.
When cooked up in this soup, you’d never know they weren’t actually diced potatoes!
The fennel is another key ingredient here - it looks something like the base of a celery plant, with a licorice smell / taste.
The anise taste cooks off - the soup does not taste like licorice at all - and leaves just a really elegant, refined taste to the soup.
Try to get a fennel bulb that has the fronds still attached. Mine did NOT, this time around - just a few stray bits. It’s not a big deal, but the fronds look really pretty in the finished fennel chicken soup.
Beyond that, you’ll need a bit of fresh onion and some fresh garlic cloves, as aromatics.
Dry White Wine
I use a dry white wine for a bit a refined flavour and acidity. The alcohol completely cooks off in the simmering process.
That said, feel free to skip the wine if you’d like - just replace it with the same amount of additional chicken broth.
I recommend adding a teaspoon or so of lemon juice or vinegar to the broth, just to brighten the soup up a bit.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you’ll need:
Chicken Stock / Chicken Broth
Heavy cream
Olive Oil
Ground Black Pepper
Xanthan Gum
Salt
... I just don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Like I said - it’s a pretty simple recipe!
How to Make Creamy Keto Fennel Chicken Soup
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through.
Preparing the ingredients before getting started makes things go quickly and smoothly!
In a medium pot or dutch oven, cook turnips, fennel, onion, and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat, until onion is tender and translucent.
Add stock, simmer for 8-10 minutes - until turnip pieces are tender.
In a small bowl, combine reserved fennel fronds with xanthan gum, salt and pepper. Mix well - you want the xanthan gum evenly distributed, to prevent clumps.
Add xanthan gum mixture to the pot, stir well to combine.
Turn the burner down to low heat, cook at a gentle simmer for 5 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through.
Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Leftovers
Once cooled to almost room temperature, the soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Keto Soups & Stews
Looking for some more keto recipes for low carb soup and stew? I've got you...
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Beef Stew
Cabbage Roll Soup Mix
Chicken and Cabbage Soup
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Clam Chowder
Creamy Taco Soup
Doro Wat
Easy Ramen
Egg Roll Soup Mix
Italian Wedding Soup
Loaded Pierogi Soup
Steak and Kidney Stew
But wait, there's more! Keep an eye on my Keto Soups and Stews section for new recipes!
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Creamy Keto Fennel Chicken Soup
Equipment
- Medium pot
Ingredients
- 2 Small Turnips Peeled and chopped
- 1 Small Fennel Bulb Thinly sliced, fronds reserved
- ½ Onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Garlic Cloves Pressed or finely minced
- ¼ cup Dry White Wine
- 3 ½ cups Chicken Stock
- 1 ½ cup Heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ lbs Cooked Chicken chopped or shredded
Instructions
- Chop and reserve the fennel fronds, set aside.
- In a medium pot, cook turnips, fennel, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until onion is tender and translucent.
- Add dry white wine, if using, simmer 1 minute.
- Add stock, simmer for 10 minutes.
- Once the 10 minutes are up, add the heavy whipping cream, stir to combine. Continue cooking until it’s steaming but not boiling.
- In a small bowl, combine reserved fennel fronds with xanthan gum, salt and pepper. Mix well - you want the xanthan gum evenly distributed, to prevent clumps.
- Add xanthan gum mixture to the pot, along with the chicken.
- Turn the burner down to low heat, gently simmer for 5 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through.
- Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
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