A delicious keto chicken and vegetable soup that can help you reach your weight loss goals! Make it once and reheat all week with great results! Try my 5 Day Keto Soup Diet for quick and easy weight loss! Most lose 5 lbs or more on this plan, which is perfect to get yourself back on track after an indulgence, or to lose weight for an event (wedding, vacation, reunion, etc.)
This past summer, Woman’s World Magazine reached out and asked me to create a low carb soup recipe using chicken and lots of healthy low carb veggies for the Turbo Atkins Diet Soup feature they were running in the November 9th issue.
#challengeaccepted
Of course I wanted this low carb soup recipe to be delicious, but I also wanted it to be undeniably healthy – since so many critics are still under the misconception that a low carb diet is all bacon, steak and cheese, with little to no vegetables.
That’s just not true – or at least it doesn’t have to be if you are mindful about where your carbs are coming from.
This Turbo Atkins Diet Soup recipe is loaded with delicious veggies that are low in carbs, filling, and tremendously good for you – making it the perfect complement to any low carb plan.
In addition to being low calorie, low carb, keto, paleo, delicious and super healthy, there is nothing more comforting than a steaming bowl of soup when it’s gloomy and cold outside – making this low carb soup recipe a winner on all fronts! ? ? ? ?
Now let’s talk about some of these ingredients – because every single one of them was chosen for a purpose!
I went with chicken as my protein because it’s widely available and has a mild flavor that pairs well with all of these veggies. Of course I added bacon, because it adds a lovely smoky flavor and a hint of decadence – it also provides some of the metabolism boosting fat in this recipe.
Celery root (Celeriac) is the perfect alternative to potatoes in low carb soup recipes (like this one) because it’s super filling and loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and a hefty dose of phosphorus, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. If you can’t find celery root you can use cauliflower, jicama, or even turnips as a replacement – DON’T SUB PARSNIPS AS THEY ARE TOO HIGH IN CARBS.
I included regular white mushrooms in this keto chicken soup recipe, because they are not only inexpensive and low in carbs, but surprisingly high in antioxidants, B-vitamins, and Selenium! (as a side point, in the Woman’s World article they called for Vitamin D enhanced mushrooms – I’ve never heard of them, regular white or baby bella mushrooms are fine.)
The yellow squash adds color and texture, but it’s also high in potassium (especially important on a low carb diet) and Vitamin A.
You can substitute any greens in the soup (EXCEPT KALE WHICH IS HIGH IN CARBS,) but I went with swiss chard in my keto chicken soup recipe because it holds up better in liquids than spinach, which tends to turn the broth muddy. I also love the texture and color of the swiss chard stalks, and the fact that it’s low in calories and carbs but incredibly nutrient dense.
Garlic, onion, sundried tomatoes not only add flavor but are also powerful antioxidants and contain immune boosting compounds just in time for cold and flu season!
The green beans I added for color, texture, and low carb/calorie filler (not that they don’t also provide valuable nutrients), and the red wine vinegar added at the end of cooking balances out the flavor of the soup and gives it a mouth-watering quality that keeps you coming back for more.
You can also substitute apple cider vinegar if you prefer. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes – just be sure to add it at the end so you don’t lose the slight tang during the cooking process.
Finally, the fresh basil over the top gives it a punch of brightness and unites all of the other flavors, making every bite pure bliss.
All of those healthy and delicious ingredients combine beautifully to make this incredible keto chicken soup – which comes in at just 136 calories and 4g net carbs!
While there is some chopping involved, once you’ve made this big pot of low carb chicken soup you can store it in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for several months and have it at the ready whenever you want some. (If you also happen to have some of my Sundried Tomato & Asiago Zucchini Muffins in there then you are winning at life my friend.) ?
I think the flavors in this low carb chicken soup get even better with time – and the people who tested it for the Woman’s World article agreed!
Replacing just one meal per day with a bowl of this hearty low carb soup will not only load you up with healthy vitamins and minerals, it is also a powerful weight loss tool because it is so filling and has so little calories!
Have it for lunch AND dinner and you could lose up to 10 pounds in one week, as did some of the test subjects for the magazine article!
If you give it a try be sure to let us all know how you do!
NOTES ON TURBO ATKINS KETO SOUP SUBSTITUTIONS:
As per the comments and Facebook Group, quite a few are subbing in parsnips and kale, but as you can see by this list those are the highest possible carb options and can absolutely affect your weightloss on this plan! There is room for subs, but be smart about it per this list!
(Approximate weight for root veggies is 5 oz)
1 cup turnips – 6g net carbs
1 cup celery root – 11g net carbs
1 cup parsnips – 18g net carbs
1 cup jicama – 5g net carbs
1 cup cauliflower – 3.5g net carbs
Greens (approximate weight 1.3 oz)
1 cup Kale – 5.5g net carbs
1 cup Collards – 0.7g net carbs
1 cup swiss chard – 0.7g net carbs
1 cup fresh spinach – 0.6g net carbs
IBIH Turbo Atkins Diet Soup – Low Carb & Paleo
- Yield: Fourteen 1.5 cup servings 1x
Description
This delicious low carb soup recipe is loaded with healthy veggies and chicken. It’s so good it was featured in Woman’s World Magazine in November 2015!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced
- ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup sliced white mushrooms
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups celery root, peeled and chopped into ½ inch cubes (or cauliflower, jicama, radish, turnip)
- 4 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped
- 2 cups yellow squash, sliced and quartered
- 1 cup green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cups swiss chard, chopped (or collards – NOT KALE)
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, cook the bacon and olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes.
- Add the onions, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock and water, then add the celery root and chicken. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the squash, green beans, and swiss chard and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
Notes
Approx nutrition info per 1.5 cup serving: 136 calories, 4g fat, 4g net carbs, 19g protein
- Category: Low Carb Soup Recipe
- Cuisine: American
Had a little too much fun and need to drop some pounds? Get started today with my free low carb and keto menu plans to kick start your weight loss in 2016!
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RB says
The best soup ever!!!!
★★★★★
Venita says
This soup is so tasty and versatile. I like to make it even when I’m not following Keto.
★★★★★
Kay says
I have been making this for a few years and especially go to it when I am under the weather, so nourishing iin those times. And when feeling well. especially nice to have so. mething so good and flavorful for weight loss. I like the finish with the basil and red wine vinegar.
★★★★★
Dottie says
We love this soup and don’t consider it ‘diet soup’.
★★★★★
Lorraine says
This soup is delicious and filling. I felt great eating it while getting back on my keto diet!
★★★★★
Rebbekkah Marasco says
This soup is filling and easy to make! I love to prep this and plan on restarting with this this week!
★★★★★
dr laura a andersson says
(as a side point, in the Woman’s World article they called for Vitamin D enhanced mushrooms – I’ve never heard of them, regular white or baby bella mushrooms are fine.)
how to do this – SUPPOSEDLY if you put your mushrooms out in the sun for 1 hr or so, they absorb vit D and are healthier.
https://mariamarlowe.com/blog/how-to-increase-vitamin-d-in-mushrooms/
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yeah, vitamin D enhanced mushrooms is a total gimmick – any normal white mushrooms are fine.
Hazel Marron says
I love this soup so much and I sometimes substitute turkey for chicken and turkey stock for chicken stock, especially at this time of year. I have a freezer full of frozen leftover turkey and frozen homemade turkey stock – I should have enough to last till Christmas when I’ll have another large turkey carcass to make stock with and plenty more left over turkey to fill the freezer with. I make this soup every Sunday, I prep whilst cooking Sunday lunch and then cook whilst cleaning up, then I have the soup for dinner and portion the rest up to eat through the week. The only problem I ever come across is having it run out before the end of the week because other members of my family like it too.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Great ideas Hazel, thanks for sharing! Happy to hear that your family enjoys it too!
Sofia says
I have a question regarding the chicken stock. I am not making mine from scratch so should I buy the regular chicken stock most days 0 fat or get the kettle & fire version that has 10g of fat.
Lisa says
I am not a coffee drinker. I’d like to try the Turbo Atkins Soup plan. What other options are there for the morning coffee? I’ve thought of tea, but any other ideas that will work with this meal plan?
SJ Macleod says
Is there any way to make this without meat for vegetarians? I’m actually a pescatarian. So, I suppose I could sub with fish but that doesn’t appeal to me.
Kathryn says
I am also a pescatarian and made a tofu version of the soup tonight. I made a few changes to help increase the fat content to be keto friendly. I cooked the mushrooms, onion & garlic in ghee and added MCT oil to my vegetable broth. I used 1 1/2 packages of extra firm tofu cut into small cubes. I also mixed spinach and Swiss chard to add substance. The soup was so good and filling!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for letting us know you were able to make it work with tofu!
Marguerite O'Connell says
I made this for dinner tonight and loved it. I was somewhat surprised how much I liked it, actually, only because my favorite flavors are southwestern spicy and when I first read the recipe, I assumed it would be bland. But it is not. It is quite flavorful. I did substitute cut cauliflower for the celery root and fresh spinach for the Swiss chard. I also used frozen cut green beans and they cooked up just fine. I had pulled a few spices thinking I would want to doctor it before eating it, but I didn’t even add salt or pepper. It was delicious.
I have done low carb/lazy keto for years. But after a trip to see my family in August on which I let myself eat ALL the fried and breaded things, I never did get back on the keto bandwagon. Now my insides are very unhappy with me – I am bloated, tired and sluggish, and have gained weight. Carbs are not my friend. I know this. But it took a miserable weekend for me to finally decide it was time to start eating right (for me) again. So I made this soup to make sure there is a low carb choice for meals during the first few days when giving up carbs is kind of really hard. And I am so glad I did. I don’t feel deprived at all. Thank you so much for sharing this and all your recipes with us.
★★★★★
Francesca says
I’m on the last day of the soup diet and as of this morning I was down about 4 lbs. I love the soup, I used shrimp instead of chicken and I though it was delicious. After cooking the bacon, I removed it out of the pan but left the fat, then proceeded with the rest of the recipe (exact quantities and no subs). Once the vegetables were cooked I used an immersion blender to puree all the vegetables, then added in the bacon back in and the shrimp. I have to say, it was awesome!!!! I was short 3 cups so I thinned it out with chicken broth, a little watery but still flavorful. I think the reason I had less in the end is because of the pureeing, I think solids take up more room, at least that’s the explanation I’m going with. Thanks for the recipe Melissa and all the other menu plans you share, I’ve suggested your website to several friends already.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Your version sounds delicious Francesca – thanks for sharing and for taking time to rate the recipe!
Sharon King says
Soup is Great! Hubby and I did the 5 day diet – I lost 8lbs – husband lost 7. Soup was filling and had good taste.
Plan on doing it again next week
Thanks
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Congrats on fantastic results for both of you!
Tina says
I bought way too many vegetables! I’m not familiar with these so I only wound up needing one yellow squash, one collard green bunch, and two celery root. A good handful of green beans was perfect. Very excited to start in the morning. Thank you for the recipe.
★★★★★
Brandy says
Can I substitute mushrooms for something else?
Bert says
How many of the 4 fat grams are Saturated Fat?
Cathy Munro says
Made the soup today and I really like it but I only got 10 1 1/2c servings. Hum? Don’t know what I did wrong. Anyway, I made the soup today but I am not going to be able to start the diet for a couple of weeks. Can I pressure can it?
Thank You
★★★★★
Suzanne says
What can I replace bacon with?
Becca says
I just made a batch and it is good! I used fresh radishes, celery, collard greens, zucchini, and frozen whole green beans cut in half.
★★★★★
Dee says
Dislike green beans. Substitute with any low-carb green veg?
★★★★★
Kelly Marshall says
Can I sub courgette (zuccinni) for the yellow squash, as not readily available in Ireland.
Plan to start tomorrow.
Tx
Kelly
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes absolutely!
Rebecca says
Loved it! Used Jicama instead of celery root. And sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, they add a richness to the soup. I followed the advice on the doling it out in to serving sizes from the beginning.
Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Laura says
I really hate being “that person” who asks for substitutes. Mellissa, I 10000% appreciate all of the time, energy and effort that you put into providing us these resources (FOR FREE, no less!!!)- you are truly appreciated and we are every so grateful for you!
That being said, I cannot have chicken or bacon. Can anyone help me determine substitutes for these things in the soup that may be equivalent or similar to the nutrition for Mellissa’s recipe as it is listed?
Thanks so much and good luck to everyone on their journeys!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I think someone in our soup diet facebook group did it with fish and said it turned out well – shrimp would work too, being careful not to overcook it. If you can eat beef, ground beef could work or even an Italian sausage if you’re also omitting the bacon.
Robin says
I’m confused. Do you only eat the soup? I don’t see a diet plan, just the recipe for the soup. What’s the diet plan?
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can find the keto soup diet plan here.
LJR says
i left a comment after egg week, but forgot to ask a few things because trying soup week. I am probably doing something wrong, but I measured just 10 cups of soup. Others said they ran out but this is only half. I went over everything and cant see it … I had measured 2 c in 5 bowls for the 5 days, and when i went over the diet again it showed 2 cups lunch and 2 at supper and my soup didn’t do 20 cups. I guess I will try to figure this out and see what happens in the days I have enough soup for, and if it works, will have to make another batch. Can’t eat avacados or bacon so I maybe could eat a small hamburger with eggs in morning. I keep trying, but i really hate that bullet coffee no matter what i do with it. But I just make do, have been avoiding so much all my life, 5 more days wont hurt, ha. Hope you can reply soon, since i have all that soup sitting there. Thanks so much, we are like having a million kids asking for help.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Not sure how you ended up with only have the amount of soup for the week unless you measured wrong or simmered the soup uncovered for hours and hours so the broth evaporated. Unfortunately I can’t really advise you because I’m not sure if it’s a problem with your liquids or the veggies or the protein. If you add more veggies it can throw off the carbs and affect your results. If the soup seems very full of meat and veg then I’d stretch it out with more broth. Otherwise possibly add more chicken which won’t affect the carb count at least. Hope you can make it work for you!
LJR says
Just made soup today so not sure how it will work for me weight wise. Hopefully better than the egg one. I “misplaced” only 2 lbs and the 7th day found them again. Im hopeless. So today made soup. I have been keeping with keto foods for years, just not to gain weight. Then i get picky, and lower amounts and still doesn’t work; and still don’t lose. The 2 lbs I was down before off and on with keto foods but comes back on; and by end of the egg week up a bit everyday until it was back again. Anyway, still trying to figure what’s not working. (ND etc.) Nothing helps so far. But the salty things aren’t good for me, I swell and weight is up and stays up.
But have tried several recipes, and they sure are great for not having many ingredients in them. Thank you for all your hard work!!!
★★★★★
Chrissy says
Can you provide the ounces or grams for each ingredient? Finding it hard to measure these items in cups. Would rather use a scale to be exact. Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry but no. You can do a conversion online, but there is no way to be exact because the hydration of vegetables affects the weight also.
Allison says
Do you have any way of providing weights for the amount of each type of produce and meat used (grams or ounces)? I’ve found it to be super difficult when chopping fruits and veggies to get an accurate and consistent measurement with cups.
Chrissy says
100% agree!!!
Judy says
I have a question- can I make this in the instant pot? I have the 8 quart and don’t have a big soup pot for stove top use. Also my kids would like to try so I want to make 2 servings. Thank you!
Kelly says
I do and it works great!
Rebecca says
It looks so good I have a feeling my husband will end up eating more then I do! But on to my question; I absolutely HATE mushrooms, can I just add more celery root or of one of the other ingredients to substitute or is there another recommendation you make?
Sherri Comrie says
I cant find yellow squash what can I substitute
Mellissa Sevigny says
Regular zucchini will work also.
Lisa says
This soup is delicious! Melissa is a genius! Every recipe I’ve tried exceeds my expectations. I make this soup even when not dieting to have over Carba-nada garlic fettuccine with shredded Asiago on top. It feels like cheating.
★★★★★
Kathy Ramirez says
I did the soup diet for 5 days and I lost 5lbs. It is a doable eating plan and a great kick start! It got me off the sugar high and now I’m following the 3 day diet. I’m hoping that this will get me on track. Great tasting soup and very filling. I plan on making this soup one of my staples.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Kathy, so happy for you that you enjoyed the soup and also got results!
Natalie says
Can you use ground beef and beef broth? Ok
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, I don’t see why not!
Correen says
I like spice and purple kale so I swapped swiss chard for kale and added two jalopeno pepprs ..yummy
Sheila says
What about subbing beef for chicken?
Maggie says
Love the soup. If I wanted to substitute tofu for the chicken, would I use 4 cups of it?
Thank you!
★★★★★
Christine says
I tried to find the answer but was unable, so I apologize if it is out there. Adding cilantro, cumin, and lime juice for the broth acceptable? It sounds so much like my mom’s Caldo de Pollo. Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
yes!
Kam in Boston says
Hi there!!
This is by far the BEST soup recipe, it’s great to have on hand, it’s filling, tastes phenomenal and does get better each day.
Is there a way to freeze this? Or other thoughts on long term storage? I’m sorry if you mentioned it and I didn’t see it. Thank you!
Deb says
This was so good! I used cherry tomatoes( it is what I had). And cauliflower to sub for celery root. The cauliflower absorbed the soup and was almost like a dumpling- I added more larger pieces as week went on as it was so good! Definetely not a diet tasting soup. I am making again. So good! I lost 4 lbs first 6 days. No stomach upset.
Jerilyn Spring says
I cannot eat tomatoes. What should I substitute?
Sash says
What type sun-dried tomatoes? I only have the ones packed in oil. Please advise.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Those will work fine
Robi Hawley says
I just made the soup and have a few minor suggestions. I used the recipe ingredients as listed but tweaked the cooking a bit. I boiled the 2 pounds of chicken in 1 quart of chicken bone broth and 1 quart of water. When done, I removed the chicken from the broth and diced it. I then evenly divided the diced chicken into 5 separate containers. In a separate large soup pot I fried the chopped bacon in 1T oil, then sautéed the onions, mushrooms, garlic and dried tomatoes. I deglazed the soup pot with the broth and additional 3 cups of water and added the additional vegetables. Once the vegetables had simmered for about 20 minutes, I blended the vegetables and broth using an immersion blender. Then I poured equal amounts of broth into each container of diced chicken. This allowed me to get the portions correct for each day. Soup was extremely bland at that point but when I reheated my lunch portion on day one I flavored it with salt, pepper, turmeric, and a little Thai green curry powder – Delicious! Tomorrow I think I’ll season it to taste like Greek lemon soup and something different every day after that. Thank you so much for this recipe! My “tweaks” simply make it easier to get the right mix of carbs, fat and protein!
★★★★★
Stacey koch says
Can you drink regular unsweetened hot tea during the day or just strictly water?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes, zero calorie unsweetened beverages like black coffee, tea, or seltzer water are fine.
Tricia Perry says
The soup is delicious! This is my first day. I was wondering if I could cut breakfast in half and have a cup of soup at lunch and dinner. Thank
you.
★★★★★
Tere says
Hey, Mellissa: preparing grocery list to make this soup yet again. However, after making your beef stew with cheesy biscuits (absolutely yummy btw); I’m wondering about subbing radishes for the celery root? How would this change the carb count and what amount should I sub if allowed?
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Same amount should be fine, you’d have to look up the nutrition info on both to figure out the carb count.
Angela says
Hi! I love this recipe and am planning on a startup again…however, my sister would like to do it with me, but is a pecetarian. Fish is the only meat she will eat…can you suggest what we can use for bacon and chicken substitute that would taste good with this? Tofu based? Fish of some sort?
Vicki Willey says
Has anyone made this and used riced cauliflower instead of regular?
Thanks
Valerie says
Yes I have and I preferred it that way. Like chicken and rice soup! But add it at the end or it’ll turn to mush because it soaks up the moisture. You may end up needing to add more broth towards the end of the 5 days like I did. Good luck!
Chris says
How many servings are there exactly in the full recipe?
eliza says
I’m confused why the serving size is 1.5 cups when you eat 2 cups of it at a time?
Mellissa Sevigny says
The soup diet came after the soup recipe.
Lena says
Are any of the ingredients essential for the recipe to work? I have most of the ingredients, but am wondering if the red wine vinegar, basil, onion, or sun dried tomatoes are essential or if they could be omitted without effecting the desired results.
Thank You
Melissa says
Thank you for this recipe! This soup is delicious! It is so flavorful and filling.
★★★★★
Gayle says
Had to make a few minor substitutions since Storm Laura blew thru. Watched carb count closely for subs (spinach for greens, 1/2 can chopped tomatoes).
As you suggested the red wine vinegar at the end set it off perfectly!
★★★★★
Meg says
I’ve made this several times and I never end up with the quantity listed – I always end up with 14 cups total, and I know I’ve very carefully measured every single ingredient. Has anyone else had this issue?
Tatiana says
Hi, first timer here and just plugged it in to MFP and it’s telling me it’s 46g net carbs? What am I doing Wrong?!? Thank you.
Abby says
Your calculations were probably for the entire pot of soup. If you follow her recipe exactly how she says; your serving size would be 4 net carbs.
Stacey Hill says
Hi. I recently purchased an instant pot. Do you know how to make this in an instant pot. I have a chicken vegetable recipe I could probably use and adjust. Just wondering. Thanks! Recipe is great!!!!!
★★★★★
Shelley says
Do you use the sun dried tomatoes that are packed in oil?
Jessica says
I love this soup! Yes, it takes some prep, but it’s well worth it! My first 5 days of the SCKC consisted of the soup diet, and let me tell you it was an easy way to ease into squeaky clean. And celery root as a potato replacement = game changer for any soup recipe calling for potatoes!! :)
★★★★★
Dawna says
I have used this diet several times with good results. I am starting day 5 with 7 lbs down. I need help with transitioning to my regular keto diet. I always gain back 2-3 lbs. I continue to count carbs and calories and keep them about the same. Do you have thoughts about the weight gain? Thanks!
Laura says
Is the soup all you eat during the day for all day for the 5 days.
Mellissa Sevigny says
No there is a link to the meal plan in the post.
Carol says
I made this and lost 6 pounds in 5 days. And I always had my little jigger of tequila at night. I don’t only make this when I need to loose a few it is my family’s favorite chicken soup recipe!!! Thanks so much. We ALL love it = on a diet or not!
Lú Thierry says
I am going to make this for the first time. Can I use chayote squash Instead of yellow squash? What about regular celery instead of celery root? I live in Cancun and I can’t find some of the items. I’d appreciate the info.
COREY HILL says
Great recipe, made a few changes, instead of cooking bacon, used a tablespoon or more of bacon fat to saute the veggies with olive oil. Didn’t use celery root even though i had it but simple celery and celery salt. . Used a combination of boullion cubes/powder or better then boullion with store bought organic stock. Used cremini mushrooms, for the chicken used whole skinless chicken thights with the bone in. The collard greens worked well. Added a good pinot/chard instead of vinegar which helped soften the extra fat from the chicken and the bacon fat. When served, veggies and one whole chicken thigh, of course you have to take the bone out, but that was easy. Just a great comforting chicken soup, perfect for cold weather, and with the fat in it, you can get by with one bowl per day and nothing else, so great for intermittent fasting. Thank you so much for a great keto soup that is warming and comforting.
★★★★★
Siobhan says
So in other words… You didn’t make the soup…..
kristin says
Haha!! Exactly my thought!!
Sarah says
Really struggling with how earthy/green juice tasting the soup is with the addition of the swiss chard (last week I didnt add it because we didnt have any and I loved the soup). Wondering if we were only supposed to add the leaves and not the stems? It didn’t specify in the receipe but I’m just really struggling to eat it as it just tastes like dirt to me now but I dont want to waste it :(
Mellissa Sevigny says
Recipe calls for leaves and stems, but if you really hate the flavor you can omit it next time.
Laura says
Do you use fresh greenbeans, frozen or canned?
Thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I used fresh but frozen would probably work, canned will probably disintegrate.
Trist'n says
Can you use chicken bouillon cubes in place of the stock?
josie says
I made this and it’s delicious, just as it is. The second time around, i did make a tweak on it, understanding it changes the macros. I actually want to crunch the numbers because i have a weakness for thai coconut soups. I left out the bacon, and added a can of full fat coconut milk (10 carbs total), and minced ginger. Im going to try to figure out the carb count and see if it’s manageable if i sacrifice another ingredient.
Tammi Mitchell says
I have been making this soup weekly since January and my husband and I are still not tired of it! We have it for lunch daily. Recently, due to the shortage of items at the grocery stores, I have been unable to find celery root. I almost cried when the produce guy at my store said they were not getting any more until things get back to normal from the COVID-19 virus. He said it is not a high volume item. I told him I buy one weekly! LOL Anyway, last week I used turnips. Not may favorite but it wasn’t bad. This week I am going to try jicama. I make it a bit different each week using different spices. This week I am using a red curry spice and thought eggplant might be a good addition. I don’t add mushrooms because I do not like the texture. Have you ever used eggplant and how did it turn out?
★★★★★
Brenda says
I just made this & absolutely love it!!!
★★★★★
Julie says
How many cups does a single batch of soup make?
Julie says
Sorry I found it……approx 21 cups :)
Donna says
Melissa’s recipe says it makes 20 cups– enough for the 5 Day Keto Soup plan.
Emma says
UK/EU People
I have looked up the equivalent in grams for each of the veggies – thought it might be useful for others:
1 cup raw chopped mushrooms = 100g
2 cups raw chopped celeriac = 300g
4 cups cooked shredded chicken = 500g
2 cups raw chopped yellow courgette = 350g
1 cup raw chopped green beans = 175g
4 cups raw swiss chard = 400g
Eunice says
THANK YOU!! One nice person like you saves us from being frustrated & having to look it up!!
Helen says
I used to do that too until I decided it was a lot easier to buy a set of measuring cups from Amazon for £5 :-)
★★★★★
Cammi Quinton says
Thank you!! People don’t realize that measuring by weight never changes, but measuring in measuring cups does!! I’m from the US, but I guarantee you, if 10 of us try to measure out 4 cups of chicken, it will be different amounts for all 10. One person will push it in the cup, trying to get as much in as possible. Another will gently place it in, which may create a lot of empty space. I think this is also the reason why some people will comment on certain recipes and say they don’t like it (when everyone else does) or that it didn’t work for them. There’s a very good chance the measurements were off. Thanks again!
Emma says
Hello, I really love the sound of this recipe/5 day plan and am going out to get the ingredients after work tonight! Just one question, sorry if this has been asked/answered already but does it matter what chicken stock you use?
I’m not sure I’ll have the time and inclination to make my own stock from scratch but the clean Keto FB groups always say that stock cubes like Knorr aren’t suitable…what are your thoughts? Some guidance on which brands/types are best would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance :-)
Mellissa Sevigny says
I like Pacific and Kitchen Essentials, but really any canned or box chicken broth or stock will do. Check the label and choose one without MSG and as few carbs as possible and you should be good to go!
Rosemary says
What can I use instead of mushrooms or can I just omit them and is celery root celeriac please?
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can omit the mushrooms and celery root is the same as celeriac.
Sarah says
Hi, I’m in the UK and have a couple of questions about the ingredients. Is the bacon back bacon or streaky bacon? Or does it not matter? And what is yellow squash? From google it looks like a yellow courgette (or zucchini) can I just use a normal green one?
Mellissa Sevigny says
streaky bacon and yes if you can’t find yellow courgette regular zucchini will work!
Sarah Robinson says
I made the soup today ready for this week and it’s so lovely. Overestimated the size of my pot though so will have to top up with extra stock. I couldn’t find chard or collard greens so I’m going to use spinach and just add a handful to each bowl as I eat it.
I’m not quite sure how to measure solid food in cups so just tried to estimate and hopefully will lose a few pounds this week!
★★★★★
Mary says
I’ve been stalling for weeks so am going to try this. Sounds yummy! My question is, do I just eat this for all 3 meals 5 days in a row and eat nothing else?
Mellissa Sevigny says
There is a detailed menu plan to follow.
Shelagh DB says
This soup is one of the best I have run across. I am a high carb whole food plant based gal but over Xmas like many of us, reached for the wrong carbs and needed a reset. This is phenomenal. Not really an animal protein consumer but occasionally I make an exception and this is well worth it. The only downside? My husband wont stop devouring it and I will have to make another batch tomorrow!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much, I’m happy it’s a hit with everyone!
Tanya says
Hi 👋 I totally love this recipe. I am after an exact version to copy into MFP. When I enter it manually it comes up as 44gms per serve. I have tried 3 times.
Please help.
Thanks
★★★★★
lori m says
oh my gosh!! I have the same problem, but mine is my 16 year old son! He sat and ate 2 bowls at two sittings all weekend… now I have to get more stuff and make another pot!! So, quick question…. what do you do with the butter??? I can not just eat butter! Yuck! My eggs are hard boiled…. that’s a tough one… thought about melting it in the soup for added flavor… haven’t tried it yet! haha
angela says
Oh my it is, I made it on Sunday for the week, my first dish was at lunch and lawd, I did not want to put the bowl down. It is very, very filling. I will continue to follow these receipes
STEPHANIE GARZA says
Question: Can cabbage be used in place of the swiss chard? I just love the stuff but not sure if its a good idea. Thx!
JK says
Stephanie Garza
Chard, collards & spinach all have less than 1 g.carbs/1 cup, but cabbage has just over 4 g.
Glenn says
I was a wee bit skeptical but lost 10lbs in 7 days! Thanks for this and the weekly menu planning around it!
I’m doing it for a 2nd week!
★★★★★
Anne W says
One thing wrong with this soup—-you can’t stop eating it!
★★★★★
Mel says
Do you have an instant pot adaptation for this soup? Thanks !
Rita says
I just made this in my IP and it came out great! One difference, I did not pre cook the chicken. After adding the water, stock, celery root and chicken, set it for 2-4 minutes at high pressure. (I did it for 6 minutes, and the chicken was overcooked) so will just have to experiment next time. Did a quick release then added the squash and greens, set it on low saute, covered, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Delish!!
★★★★★
Joyce says
Love the recipe. It’s a nice soup.
But I gained after the first day. Is this normal?
Am I getting a sort of whoosh after a few days? I used all the right ingredients and I drinking plain water and coffee.
★★★★★
Joni says
I love this soup! I have made it twice so far and getting ready to do it again. I have to say, I have tried over 20 recipes so far from Melissa page, been part of the Squeaky Clean Challenge, and I have yet to find a recipe I did not like! Thank you for all your hard work in helping us learn how to cook healthy.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Joni!
Heather says
I absolutely love this soup! The sundried tomatoes and basil really add a lot of flavor. I melted some butter in mine to up the fat- delicious!
★★★★★
Phillip Nollner says
love this soup…i am on day 3 and down 9 pounds…the only thing i added was lots of hot pepper flakes to the soup, and lots of tobasco habanero sauce to each serving because i love hot and spicy :) i made a double batch and will keep making it and following this diet until i hit my goal of 80 pounds…only 71 to go…lol
★★★★★
Janessa says
I made a batch of the soup last night. I fried the bacon in a separte pan and drained the grease ( I save it for cooking) I realized that per tge recipie the grease was probably meant to be included, so I added one tablespon of butter which at 11 grams of fat is less than the grease rendering of 4 strips. Thoughts? Thanks :)
★★★★★
Janey says
Thank you for this recipe/program Mellissa – I am on day 3 and love the soup. I wanted to ask if it was safe/recommended to repeat the program several times. I have a Dr. Appt coming up in a month and I am trying to hit my goal healthy weight before that date. Is there any reason why I couldn’t do the 5-day program 3x in the next 30 days (and do regular keto the other days)?
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Absolutely, you can repeat this plan as often as you can stand it!
Janey says
Great. Thank you for the reply
Lori M says
How do you “use” the daily butter? I eat hard boiled eggs so I can’t fry in it… I was thinking of adding to the soup? Sounds yucky though! haha :-) I didn’t had to add extra broth and only had reduced sodium, beef broth…. looked like they are about the same as far as calories and carbs… OMG! it totally changed the flavor and was SOOOO GOOD!! I can’t keep my 16 year old son out of it though! :-( haha… We are both total soup eaters…. any kind, love them all! Thanks for the recipe….
Gina says
I make hard boiled eggs and when they are still warm, I mash them up with butter. So good!
Kathryn says
I’m a vegetarian looking to make this soup. Has anyone tried using tofu or other veggie substitutes?
Grace says
I lost about six pounds in five days the first time I made this soup, and I have made it many times since, because it really keeps me on track with carbs. It’s delicious! Here are the changes I’ve made to my version:
– I blend it with an immersion blender. This makes a world of difference because we prefer smooth soups.
– I add the zest and juice of one lime near the end. It adds a lovely tang!
– I make small meatballs and prefer those as the protein over chicken. Make sure to add them after pureeing! It doesn’t take long for them to cook in the soup on low heat.
– I have stopped looking around for yellow squash, and just use zucchini instead.
I love all the thought and effort you’ve put into this soup, and I feel good about us having it regularly! Thank you!
Silvia says
I like the idea of meatballs rather than chicken!
I will make the soup!!!
Cynthia Aguilo says
Hi Melissa!
I’m planning on making the soup to cleanse and get back on track with keto, but noticed there’s a couple of options (1×, 2x, or 3x), dont mean to sound ignorant but I was wondering which option do I chose if just for me (enough for the 5 days, of course)?
Thanks!
Cynthia
Mellissa Sevigny says
The 1x is the recipe as written (which is what you’ll need for the week) the 2 and 3 are for doubling or tripling any recipe. Hope you have excellent results!
Megon says
Melissa you’re amazing. First, thank you for posting this recipe, second, thank you to all the people who made the soup and posted their reviews of high praise. I look for those before I invest my time and resources into making something. This soup is wonderful and I feel so good about it; it works for my eating plan AND it got me to try some new vege’s – that I liked! Thank you to the person who mentioned using their submersion blender, I like “smoother” soups, (less messy for one thing), this reminded me a bit of split pea soup, (which I love too, but it’s not keto). THANK YOU Melissa, this was my first experience with one of your recipes. I’m a big fan now!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Welcome Megon, and I hope that you enjoy more of the recipes as you try them! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Kathy H says
Quick question, sorry I know you were wanting us to figure simple things out for ourselves! I have never used sun dried tomatoes & when I looked for them all I could find was a tube of organic sun-dried tomato puree. I’m sure it will be fine but I have no idea how much to use. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup but I doubt I’d use that much of the puree….or maybe yes? Rural Montana is so lacking in so many ingredients :( Thanks for anyone that can help!
Mellissa Sevigny says
1 tablespoon should do it!
Jenn says
I also live in rural Montana! I find jars of sun-dried tomatoes at Safeway. They are usually with the pickles.
Mary says
I did the challenge, I lost 4lbs, I was happy, but the soup was so good, that I make it on a regular, this is great for lunch and dinner, and it keeps me on target. Thanks a bunch ibreatheimhungry.
★★★★★
Courtney says
Hi there,
I’m super keen to try out this soup, however some of the veg might be a bit difficult to find where I stay. As you mentioned, I’ll most likely sub the celery root with Cauliflower but my question is what could be subbed for the yellow squash? Is that the same as a patty-pan? I’ve only ever seen those where I live. or zuchini, which is apparently the same family?
Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
pattypan or zucchini are fine.
Cheryl Slaughter says
Hello, I am fructose intolerant. I really want to try this soup, but I am not to have tomatoes, garlic, onions, or green beans. Would the soup work the same as far as weight loss if I just omit these vegetables?
Thank You.
Michelle says
Hi! I don’t really want to follow the rest of the meal plan (because I’m lazy and do not like to do a lot of meal prep). Since the protein macros in the soup are high, can I just add butter to increase the fat? I pretty much only want to eat just the soup. Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes you can absolutely add more butter and or bacon to increase the fat in the soup!
Marie Braccia says
OMG! This is the soup I’ve been looking for! I’ll have to make 2 batches (1 with and 1 without due to mushroom allergy) for my family. Going to try it with pressure cooker which I use all the time! Thanks!
Michele says
Can this be made in the crockpot? If so, how long?
Michelle says
I do not eat meat so subbing an extra egg in the morning. Also subbing fish and/or shrimp in the soup. Assuming it will be ok since it’s just a protein switch.
Anyone do this yet?
C says
This soup is great! I tried the basil with my first bowl and even though I love basil it didn’t quite work for me with this soup. I LOVE cilantro with it though and I skip the avocado at breakfast and toss that in the soup as well. YUM! Thanks for this recipe and the five day soup diet! I’m down a pound on the morning of day 4 and my husband is down NINE :0)))))))
★★★★★
Marley says
Please forgive me if someone has asked this before but can I make this in my crockpot?
Regitze Birketoft says
This looks really good and please forgive me if it gas beeb asked before, but do you have this converted to metric so not only the americans can enjoy this?
Cups, tbsp ect are very imprecise measures when we have no idea if the ingrefuents we have available are the same. I.e 4 slices of bacon…. in a bacon nation (im Danish – its our absolute no. expot goods) 4 slices of bacon is no less than 100g We cut it of a big piece our selves. But how much is it in your recipies!
Best regards a very enthusiatic dane ??
Heather Alderman says
I have made this recipe one time before and it was really tasty! Even my picky husband said it wasn’t bad ;). Forgive me if this has been asked previously, but I didn’t have time to read all the comments to find the answer. Have you or anyone else made the recipe in your Instant Pot? That would be a time saver for me, so I would greatly appreciate any help or suggestions. Need to get this stubborn weight off somehow…
Thanks!
★★★★★
Coco says
INSTANT POT: I’m obsessed with my instant pot and made this recipe today in the instant pot and it turned out great. I sauteed called for ingredients per the directions then added the stock, water, mushrooms, tomatoes, jicama (they didn’t have celery root) and chicken. I set it on high pressure for five minutes, did a quick release, then added the rest (except basil and vinegar per directions) and reset it for three more minutes on high then did a quick release and added salted, basil, red wine vinegar, stirred, and ate. The veggies were toothsome – not too mushy, which is perfect for me. If you like it mushier, I’d say add time to the first cycle.
Great recipe! Loved it! I still am going to try to find celery root, but I was amazed at how much the texture of the jicama (which is REALLY great raw, too) mimicked potato.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for sharing your IP instructions!!!
Becky says
Thanks for sharing the instant pot version, I was just going to ask!
M.J. says
Hi Melissa:
I really like this soup. It introduced me to swiss chard and celery root as well. I confess that I did add three big spoonfuls of marscapone cheese to the soup at the end, to make it a touch creamier, so clearly I was not following this 7-day soup diet to a T, yet I still lost 5 pounds. I bought the ingredients for the full recipe, but I made only half each time. I love how the celery root is somewhat like potato, at least in this soup. One of the things I do miss by eating low carb is potatoes, and this soup gave me the illusion of having guilt-free chunks of “potato” in every bite.
I’m continuing to eat this soup into a second week, just because I enjoy it so much, not to mention that it’s cold(!) outside. I work three days a week and help care for a younger sibling, so having leftover soup ready to go at mealtime is a big plus.
Now I’m going to explore some of the recipes on your Squeaky Clean Keto plan. Thank you for this site and your great recipes. I’ve tried many over the past year and every single one has been good, with many going into regular rotation in my house.
★★★★★
Christine Garlough says
Hello- What can I substitute for the yellow squash? I can’t eat it.
Yendi says
I suggest looking up the carb count and minerals and vitamins that yellow squash has and substituting something similar. (Not like it is baking and needs some precision right?)
★★★★★
Georgette Stokes says
Zucchini
Meagan S. says
What happens if you can not eat the whole 2 cups, I can only eat maybe a cup maybe a cup and a half. Just as long I stick with the breakfast and the soup should I be fine?
★★★★
Tammy Reid says
Can celery be subbed for celery root?
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t recommend it, the celery flavor would be overwhelming I think.
Jennifer Nawrot says
I substituted celery was delicious
Melanie says
5⭐️
Making my second batch. Could ground beef or turkey be substituted instead of chicken? Tia
sharon says
I’d like to know the same thing Melanie asked about subbing out the chicken for…ground beef, beef broth, and maybe skip the bacon because of the extra fat from the meat. Haven’t seen a response. Not a fan of chicken.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Theoretically it should be fine to do it that way – the type of protein shouldn’t matter, only the quantity.
Monica S says
Love this soup! It’s very delicious! We made it with a combination of celery root and radishes, for one of the veggie choices, and swiss chard for another of the selections. We had bone broth from cooking up two small (organic) chickens and also a turkey leg. We used all the meat (we made a double batch of the soup), so our soup is made with a combination of white and dark meat. The broth from pressure cooking the chicken and turkey was not enough, so we supplemented with our own bone broth (which we make every week, recently including the gelatine from our recent pig’s head, ears and trotter (cooked to make Head Cheese) into our regular bone broth, making it extra gel and nutritious!). The resulting broth in the soup is so delicious and our soup is quite gel until heated. Next time we will use 100% broth, no addition of water. We will definitely make this soup again. It’s a bit of work, lots of prep, but then lots of meals afterwards. You feel really healthy eating this; especially when made with homemade broth.
★★★★★
Janis says
Vitamin D enhanced mushrooms are just mushrooms exposed to natural sun light. They will make the vitamin D.
★★★★★
Anita W. says
I have made this soup many times and it is amazing. I absolutely love it. Make this….you won’t regret it!
★★★★★
Dana Fox says
One quick question…. is the 1 Tabkespoon butter for breakfast the one for Bullettproof coffee or is it to cook the eggs?? If it’s eggs than actually 2 T. for breakfast correct?
Your recipes are making this Keto way of life pretty tasty! Thanks for your hard work!!
Gretchen says
Can you make this pescatarian or vegetarian?
Michele E says
When I enter the recipe into carb manager, it shows it is 11 carbs per serving but the website shows 4. Does everyone log their food while doing the 5 day soup diet?
AMY S says
Are you looking at total carbs or NET carbs?
Debi says
Is your version of Keto grain free?
Wanda says
Yes Keto is grain free, and the soup is delicious
Anita W. says
All versions of Keto are grain free.
Terra Brown says
I’m starting this 5 day soup challenge tomorrow … making the soup now and it smells AMAZING !!
Paige Powers says
Can I use sundried tomatoes that come in jars? It looks like they’re probably packed in oil.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes!
Priyanka Chakraborty says
Hi Mellissa,
I have been thinking of starting the keto diet and was on the verge of starting it when I came across your recipe and website. I just have one question. Do I need to be in the ketosis stage before starting this soup diet plan? If yes, then I will start with your 3-day keto kickstart plan.
Kindly let me know. Loving your blog and recipes.
Much love
Mellissa Sevigny says
You don’t have to be in ketosis to start but it will be a more intense detox to be giving up carbs as well as sweeteners, gluten and dairy all at once.
Nathalie says
True. I was off Keto for about 2yrs and went right back into Ketosis at the end of the 5 days.
★★★★
mireya says
i’ve been on keto for almost two month, now that i’m on my 4th day on this Atkins diet soup i have not lost much if so maybe half a pound. help ?
Lauren says
My two year old – who has started refusing all veggies – loved this! My husband said it’s the best soup I’ve ever made, even better than my gumbo! I used turnips and collard greens, since the stor was out of swiss chard and celery root. This truly is one of the best, most savory and satisfying soups I’ve ever made or eaten! Thank you for the work you put into this blog and your recipes. You are a lifesaver!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Lauren – thrilled that this was a hit even with your toddler and hubby! ??
Louisette says
Thank for this recipe. I love this soup. It is my ‘go to’ every time my husband goes away for a few days. I can’t ever find yellow squash but found out that yellow courgette has the same nutritional value. I am currently freezing batches of the vegetables that will not be available in the winter. Living in rural France is lovely but you can only get things in season.
I saw a post on here saying that a rotary chicken gave four cups of meat. That was really useful advice. I now buy a roast chicken, take off the skin and debone it etc. I use all those bits to make my stock along with the veg peel and some herbs/spices. A couple of weeks ago I bought a smoked chicken from Lidl – gives a different sort of flavour, still very yummy. Sometimes I use a stick blender for a few seconds to make a thicker soup while still having chunks.
It is so easy to have batches of this soup in the freezer and then I don’t have to cook, just warm up the soup and eat it. Very filling and very delicious.
Best wishes xx
★★★★★
Kathy Humann says
This soup is awesome. I made it yesterday and had it for lunch today. The broth is so full-bodied and luscious! A real comfort food that is good for you. I followed the recipe to the “T”, using Collard Greens instead of Swiss Chard because I couldn’t find the Chard at my store. Totally surprised that this tastes so great and it all comes from healthy ingredients. I was able to freeze individual servings for future lunches…this is a great addition to my food choices! Yay!!! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Ellen says
Holy cats. This soup is simply fantastic! The red wine vinegar and sun dried tomatoes are such a small portion of the overall recipe, and I don’t really detect their individual flavors in the soup, but I think they are the key to the soup’s balanced, bright flavor. I made my batch yesterday and measured it out for the 10 meals for the week. As a variety-oriented person, I was a little nervous about committing myself to a week of the same meal, but I am excited to change it up for some of the servings and try some of the ideas people have posted here. I will try blending it to create more of a cream soup, and for some servings I will sub other herbs for the basil (I think thyme would be lovely in this). A little sriracha or curry, or a tiny dash of balsamic are interesting options as well. Again, I think the recipe is perfect as is, but I know myself well enough to plan ahead for my own need to change it up on occasion.
Thank you for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Suzy says
I was surprised at the amount of carbs in sun dried tomatoes (no oil version included) per tbsp-!?! and this calls for 1/4 cup.. I omitted it..
Lene says
I know this is an older comment but remember that 1/4 cup is devided by 10 meals so not much per serving. She has done the math
Julia says
Thank you for this comment Ellen. I was worrying about the same thing. Good ideas! I can’t wait to try this recipe!!
b_price says
I wanted to first thank you for this wonderful, meticulous, and well thought out plan (the 5 day plan)!
Second, my family is Romanian and there is a traditional type of soup called “ciorba”, which is sour soup. It has its roots in Turkey as our countries had some mingling historically. It’s a soup that you add something sour to, like the juice from anything pickled, sour cream, or straight vinegar. So when I read this recipe, I was super excited! As expected from the ingredients and process, it’s incredibly delicious. And a taste and fragrance that is from my childhood. :)
My question is this: the nutrition facts are for a 1.5 cup serving. But your plan asks for a 2 cup serving twice a day. I’m using a macro tracker and would love to put them into it. Is there a reason for the difference? Should I just use math to increase the macros equally by 25% for the 2 cup serving (I’m during the 5-day plan).
Many thanks!!!
★★★★★
Kathryn Lowery says
I just did the math, or “a math” and got the following for 2 cups: Calories 181.2; Fat 5.2; Carb 5.2; Protein 25.2. I subbed cauliflower and collards, so I wouldn’t know the exact counts for me. I figure (hope) this is close enough. I divided and multiplied on paper, so others may want to check my math.
Wanda says
Hi Melissa,
I’m at the end of my second day of the 5 day soup diet. I’m having problems eating the snacks, the egg and the tuna snack. I haven’t been eating the snacks at all because I don’t feel hungry. Will it have an impact on my weight loss? Eating such a filling breakfast, it keeps me going until lunch time, then it’s soup again for dinner. I must add the soup is delicious, so are all your recipes. Thank you so much, you’re a genius!
I wasn’t eating breakfast, I did the intermittent fasting, so this is why I’m so satisfied after eating breakfast on this 5 day soup diet.
Will report back to you after my 5 day soup diet, hopefully with some kilos lost.
Enjoy your European vacation.
Wanda, Western Australia
Wanda says
Melissa, my 5 day soup diet went well, I lost 5lbs and feel great.
I’m going to make the soup again so I can have it on hand for lunch or dinner.
★★★★★
JULIE Strate says
Is there a nutritional breakdown, carbs, calories, protein, fats? I could have missed it….
★★★★★
Daisy says
NOTES
Approx nutrition info per 1.5 cup serving: 136 calories, 4g fat, 4g net carbs, 19g protein
Heather says
Wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
angeliczoa says
It is amazing! I followed the recipe exactly! I am so happy to have this soup. Thank you so much. I will make this soup often just to have in the refrigerator when I am not hungry, due to the heat and being in ketosis.
10 stars if I could!
Thanks again!!
★★★★★
Diane says
I just suffered through day 3…
I’ve been drinking oceans of water to curb the appetite with little help. I AM STARVING! I wasn’t going to weigh in until the end, but noticed I’m bloated , bigger belly and my pants felt tight in the waistline…I gained 3 pounds! Only changes I made to the recipe were that I made my own broth with a bunch of chicken/duck bones I had saved up, I grilled most of the veggies, just a lite coating of olive oil, added a little shrimp because I didn’t have enough chicken, then separated the broth from the veggie/chicken stuff so I could portion it out correctly and get it down…I’m not a soup fan. Just spiced it up with cayenne and curry so I it wouldn’t be so bland and I could try not to dump a truckload of cheese on it. After the weigh in this morning with the 3 pound weight gain, I had uhh…nasty bowel issues, so lost 2 pounds there, but just gained another pound re-hydrating. I might also mention that I work out fairly hard for 1.5 hours a day (my workouts have sucked since starting this), walk the dog briskly for at least an hour a day, my head is killing me and I am misserable!!! I actually wasn’t trying this to lose weight as I am 5’4″/ 115/ 52 YO, muscular build, just clean up my diet and get rid of the belly bloat What’s going on here? Can anybody help??
★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
You gave a recipe you didn’t even follow 3 stars – your changes sound like they would taste awful but that’s not the fault of my recipe. AND if you’re working out that hard you shouldn’t need me to tell you that you’re probably not getting enough calories on this plan so no wonder you are starving and not losing. There could be any number of reasons for the bloating, were you already keto before? if not you’re detoxing from carbs, gluten, dairy, sweeteners, and your body will rebel against all of that. If you were keto already then you could still be adjusting to a lack of dairy or bloating from getting more veggies and fiber into your diet than usual. Other than that I can’t comment on what your issues are because you aren’t actually following my plan as written.
Diane says
Thanks, Mellissa! It’s not the recipe I rated 3 stars (it was very good!), it was the weight gain issue. I believe you are right about the detoxing, casing the bloat, etc. After the 5 days, I switched to nothing but meat and eggs and things are looking better.
Thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
The star rating is for google to determine the quality of the recipe and whether or not to show it to more people in searches. You had issues with the plan personally but that shouldn’t affect how the recipe is seen by google or others who might want to try it for themselves. Happy for you that less vegetables in your diet is improving your digestion.
Diane says
Sorry about that…5 stars here, it really is good! Do you know if/how I can change the rating on the original post?
★★★★★
Sheesh says
I was excited about this and haven’t even made it and am giving it one star for your distasteful and snarky attitude 🙄
★
Pooja Sritharan says
Hi Ms Melissa, what can I substitute for bacon, without altering the macros. Please let me know. Thank you.
AMY R says
I added some turkey kielbasa sauteed in butter. It’s was awesome!
★★★★★
LeAnn R. says
Sounds like Keto flu. You may need to add back carbs to relieve this symptom. As light as you are weight wise, it might benefit you to use a carb calculator to determine how many carbs you need to “maintain” your weight, rather than lose it.
Sara Brown says
I made this soup the other night. Before Keto there would have been no way I would of even tried it. Squash & mushrooms are not something I like to eat. I had never tried jicama or collards (I had to use the substitution for the recipe). This soup is AWESOME!!! I couldn’t finish a full serving. The jicama – if I didn’t know better I would have thought it was potatoes!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!!
Valerie Tomlinson says
hi, I have never heard of jicama… where can I find it in a grocery store please… thanks, and do you think butternut squash is good or is that not yellow one… hmmm I really want to try this.. thanks
LeAnn R says
Produce section. It’s a large root vegetable. Looks like a giant round turnip. HEB, Kroger, and WalMart all carry it in Texas.
Aimee Tillett says
I love this soup! It makes me stay on track or get back on track with this way of eating…. plus it is delicious and full of flavor.
Marcy says
Perhaps a super dumb question I didn’t see here….fry the bacon in oil in the pot…do i keep all the bacon grease in there as I’m adding the other ingredients, or do i drain it first?
Many thanks in advance!
Mellissa Sevigny says
yes keep it in there!
Marcy Szeliga says
Thanks so much!!
Theblonddieter says
For me the hardest part about eating healthy is I am allergic to a lot of vegetables. I really want to try the soup and I am curious what you would recommend swapping for Squash and Green beans? My stupid allergies ruin all my fun!
Wendy says
I am new to Keto and found this recipe. I love having soup on hand for a quick meal when I’ve been busy running around, or am feeling lazy about cooking dinner. It was really delicious. My chicken was raw, so I cut it into bite size pieces and cooked it in the pan with the bacon, adding it in when the bacon was about 1/2 done. Worked out perfect. I almost forgot the red wine vinegar, glad I didn’t, it added a perfect finishing touch! :)
I’m thinking about doing the diet to turbo charge my starting weight loss, but I can’t do bacon & eggs every morning. I don’t really like bacon and eggs I can only do every other day. Do you have suggestions for the breakfast that would work with the diet?
★★★★★
Diana says
I am getting ready to make the soup. My question is, for 5 days, do you eat the soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Any snacks?
Cindy says
No for breakfast its suggested you have two eggs, two slices of bacon, half an avocado and a tablespoon of butter
★★★★
Dean-O says
Read the entire blog/directions….. it is clealry stated what to have for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.
Calvin says
Interesting ingedients in this soup that matches a lot of special diets. I learned a lot more about the veggies in this today, good for keeping the body healthy this summer
Janis says
Last night I made a double batch of this soup with cauliflower, Swiss chard, spinach subs and 1lb of extra firm tofu, as I am a Vegetarian. I added Sriratcha and Bay Leaves and IT WAS AWESOME. I would make this for anyone, anytime!!! Tofu nutrition facts before anyone screams NO TOFU!! From calorieking.com PER POUND BLOCK of Extra Firm Tofu:
Calories 414 (1729 kJ)
Calories from fat 239
Total Fat 26.5g 41%
Sat. Fat 2.5g 12%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 36mg 2%
Total Carbs. 9.1g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1.8g 7%
Sugars 2.3g
Protein 45g
Calcium 796.3mg
Potassium 600.6mg
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
This is awesome Janis, thanks for sharing your vegetarian version!!!
Jena says
Hi Janis!
I’m a pescetarian here so I’m glad to hear you liked your vegetarian version. Did you use anything to sub for the bacon or is it still delicious without?
Aliie says
I’m looking at making this for next week but I’m curious if you have a suggestion to sub for the bacon as I don’t eat pork. Tia
Shari Ann says
Dear Mellissa – another fantastic recipe – thank you so much for all you do for us!
To my fellow “Breathers”: I just made this soup last night and had my first bowl today. Like everything else I’ve made from Mellissa, it was delicious!
I followed the recipe exactly, but may try some subs in the future – a beefy take, maybe radishes…(definitely making it again).
One interesting tidbit, the Swiss Chard my grocer had was the red variety. That, and maybe the sun dried tomatoes and red wine vinegar turned the soup a a lovely rosy pink color. Tasted fantastic but it’s the first pink soup I’ve ever had.
I’m doing Mellissa’s 5 day Turbo soup diet. I will report back with my weight loss. (**Note: I am fully fat-adapted and was in ketosis when I started the Turbo diet, but have hit a stall – here’s hoping!)
Regards – Shari Ann
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Haha – “breathers” LOVE IT!
Shari Ann says
After 5 days I have lost 7 lb, also I uncovered a possible food allergy. With no dairy, nuts or sweeteners for 5 days a persistent little rash I had on my wrist and the top of my foot is gone. Now it will be easy to pinpoint as I add back those foods (If I ever stop this amazing plan – I’ve already made another batch of soup – it’s sooooo good!) People at my work smell it and they come running like my cats when they hear the can opener lol. I’m taking a crock pot full for a potluck next week.
My deviations to the pan was one day I only had soup once (forgot to take it to work), and I do not like BP coffee, so I added a Tb of butter to each serving of soup.
Also Mellissa – I cannot say enough about what a wonderful human being you are. I read every comment on the 5-day plan, and some of the people were not very nice. Every question had already been answered in the instructions, yet people hammered you like you were their personal assistant. You kept your cool, and even the one time you responded with justifiable indignation, you were a class act.
#bossbabe
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Congrats on losing 7 pounds AND getting rid of that rash! I’ll be interested to find out which of the things excluded turns out to be the culprit! Thanks very much for your kinds words – I appreciate the validation and your understanding!!!! ?
Shari Ann says
Dairy was the culprit! A little is OK so don’t panic, I can still have cream in my coffee – whew!
Mellissa, I’m on my 4th time making this soup. I don’t know what sort of magical juju you used in formulating this recipe, but it is just perfect! Even though I am not on the “official” 5 day plan, I’ve been losing weight steadily since discovering this recipe. Have a lovely day, ?
Much love, Shari Ann
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Shari Ann and congrats on figure out what was stalling you!
Patrece says
I went shopping today to buy whatever ingredients I did not have on hand for this recipe. I even told a fried about it and she went shopping for the ingredients too. tomorrow, we will connect by phone, and prepare your 5 day low carb detox soup together, as we chit-chat.
None of my local grocery stores offer celery root, so, swiss chard, baby spinach, some celery sticks and green zucchini will find it’s way into my soup. I a wondering, however, if you think a small amount of grated fresh ginger would be a good fit for this soup?
Thank you! I appreciate you sharing this recipe and trying to keep up with answering the posts in here.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Patrice, I’m not sure what the ginger will do to the flavor profile of the soup, especially with celery instead of celery root in it – it could be too astringent. I would suggest grating a little into your first bowl and seeing how that tastes before you put it into the entire pot! Hope you ladies do well, keep us posted!
Nanci says
Could I just use celery in stead of celery root that I cannot find here.
Thank you
Mellissa Sevigny says
That will alter the flavor and texture quite a bit, as well as the soup volume – I recommend subbing cauliflower or rutabaga if you can’t find the celery root.
Tina says
HI there!
Has anyone tried making this delicious soup in slow cooker?
Jessica says
I make my own butter, churning it from heavy cream I get from a local creamery. I am trying to jump start some weight loss as I have been too lax in the past few weeks and gained back 7 lbs. I am making the soup right now and my breakfast. I want to do it right, and would just like to understand better what the difference is between butter and heavy cream. Thanks!
Jessica says
actually, I think I just answered my own question in that of course the buttermilk that comes out has carbs in it. So this is why the butter is better for this fast. Sorry about that! I can’t believe I just spent the morning pondering this.
★★★★★
Dsayko says
For someone who does not eat bacon, can anyone recommend a substitute to get the smoky flavor? Maybe a drop or two of liquid smoke? Or just skip it and the soup is still delicious?
Mellissa Sevigny says
liquid smoke would work well actually just don’t overdo it!
smdunn12 says
Day 2 and before lunch (11:30am) I was starving today. I had the breakfast, lunch and snack so far today and I feel like I’m starving, plus I feel so sleepy as I type. Any suggestions?
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Have another bulletproof coffee.
Marche' says
Wrong spot BUT how can you recommend celery root over kale when the carb count of celery root is so much higher than kale???
Mellissa Sevigny says
Because celery root adds bulk and texture in a different way than kale does to the soup – it’s not a one to one comparison. That would be like saying replace sugar with garlic powder because it has less carbs.
Julie says
I have made this delicious soup many times and love it. Sometimes I add chili powder and red pepper flakes in place of the basil. I did want to make a note about cooking the chicken-I tried to ‘save time’ by just adding the raw cubes to the boiling broth-didn’t turn out flavorful at all. Pre-sauté the chicken makes it so much more flavorful. Lesson learned.
Sandy says
Can I substitute cooked turkey for the Chicken?
Julie says
There is very little difference between the two so I would do it.
Toni says
Made this fantastic soup this morning!!! I didn’t have any fresh basil, so I threw some dried in at the end, otherwise, made exactly as stated!! Husband loved it too and wanted more. I made a single batch to make sure we liked it before we go for the 5 days and we loved it enough that I will make it again at the end of the weekend! Fantastic soup, with or without needing to do the 5 day stall break!! Thank you for all you do in the Keto world!!
★★★★★
Toni says
Just wanted to reiterate how much we enjoy this soup!! I made the initial batch on Friday without the intentions doing the 5 day drop. After enjoying it thoroughly, we decided to go ahead go for it and I made enough tuna salad and egg salad for the week and another double batch of soup this evening. Decided to go the route of the egg salad for breakfast and tuna for afternoon snack.
Thanks again for your wonderful recipes!
Priya says
Hi,
I’ve made this soup multiple times….. its easy to make, looks great, and tastes fantastic. I especially love that once its done I’m pretty much done with my cooking for the next few days. Takes the thinking away from the ‘what next’ part of keto which happens to me often.
One request, if you ever edit/ update the recipe…..could you please put the ingredient quantities in gm/oz in addition to cups ( e.g. beans- 100 gm)? It makes it much easier to just weigh out stuff and not think about cups/ sizes of veggies.
Many thanks for an awesome recipe.
Priya
★★★★★
Erika says
This is a delicious recipe! I’m doing a Keto diet and was looking for a soup I could have in place of a salad. Fantastic flavour with easy to follow directions and suggestions for substitutions! I love the extra flavour the red wine vinegar adds.
Thank you so much for your work on this. It’s going to be a stable for me from now on.
Perth, Western Australia
★★★★★
Erin L. says
I have made this soup 3 times now. I came across it initially because my mom is on a low-carb diet, and I wanted to make something different and “comfort food-y” that she could enjoy…But I like it so much I am making it again and again for myself! The entire family loves this – from grandparents to teenagers. We use the Jicama substitution and I would not even try celery root bc I love it too much. On one trip the store was out of chard so we used collards – not nearly as tasty. THANK YOU!
★★★★★
trying to make it to day 16 over and over again says
oh no! my store was out of chard as well, so I bought collards. I am now tabling the soup for a day as I am about to try this for the first time. I am planning to begin the 5-day after my daughter’s wedding shower this Saturday because I know I am planning to be bad and need a reset! :) I want the soup ready to roll on Sunday!!
Alana Spadafora says
Hi,
I was just wondering what to eat for breakfast when doing this?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Check out the Keto Soup Diet Meal Plan – it’s all in there!
Cindy Dillon says
This has now been added to my soup rotation – forever. We love it! I followed pretty closely, but added some zero carb spicy sausage we had in the fridge to bump the protein and flavor. SIDE NOTE: Celery root is now one of my favorite things. I’m a celery lover already, so it’s a no brainer. I used it in a low-carb recipe for Clam Chowder and having that texture in the soup made all the difference. Thank you for another ‘keeper’.
★★★★★
Julie says
Hi Melissa!
Love this soup plan-but I think I made a mistake and I still lost weight! 7.5 lbs to be exact. I measured two cups of soup which gave me 10 portions-just right over 5 days (I added an additional 3 cups of stock to make it all work). I now see it is 1 1/2 cups but I think I’ll stick to this plan as I was so full I didn’t eat my snack :) thanks again for creating the IBIH and the Soup Plan and the Egg Fast-I have lost 30lbs over 3 years but more because of portion control than anything else (and I cut out cheese and nuts this month to see if that would make a difference). Have a great new year.
Leisa says
I made this thinking I wasn’t going to like it, but I at least wanted to give it a try. OMG — I love it! And even better, my husband likes it even though it’s full of veggies he’d never touch. The broth has such an amazing flavor. I’ve never eaten celery root, and I really like it! I did sub chicken thighs for the the white meat chicken. Thanks for this recipe!
★★★★★
ketosap says
hi! let me start by saying that I love your recipes!
I intend to start this detox immed after the holiday season but we dont get yellow squash here.
Can i sub with zucchini? or any other suggestion?
thanks a ton
Audrey says
Did you ever find a suitable substitute for yellow squash? Went all over looking for it… none here where I live!
Jessica Younger says
Yellow squash is often labeled zucchini squash at my grocery stores so I think you might be ok subbing zucchini.
Liz Tsirigo says
I live in Greece; we don’t have yellow squash here, either, so I’m just going to go with zucchini. I suspect the yellow squash was primarily there to provide bulk and colour, in which case zucchini would be an acceptable, if less interesting, substitute.
Adria says
Mellisa, this soup has been pinned to one of my boards since I saw it on Facebook a while back. I finally made it today and although I haven’t added the red wine vinegar or basil yet, I had to have a soup ladle full. It is SO delicious. I made it using all the listed ingredients, but in the future may try a few subs. This will now be a “go to” for me. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you liked it Adria!!!
Janet says
I have now made this soup 6 times….love love love it! The ease of knowing what I will be eating has really helped me on my low carb journey.
You may want to mention rutabaga as a sub for the celery root….It is cheaper per pound than celery root and easily available for folks who can’t find celery root.
I have also been subbing out the bacon and using finely diced boiled ham and adding some bacon fat…..for those days I don’t have bacon.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for sharing your subs Janet, so glad you’re enjoying the soup!!!
Vickie says
Made this soup last night, very good. Thanks so much for sharing.
★★★★
Jacqueline says
Getting all the ingredients today and making the soup …..starting the plan tommorrow….
I’ve been struggling with losing weight….so am excited to kick start the loss.
Will let you know how I do.
Tammy says
Why not Kale? Spinach and chard get slimy but kale keeps its texture? Just curious…
Mellissa Sevigny says
I talk about that in the post Tammy – it is much higher in carbs.
Stephanie says
Im dying to try this soup!! Unfortunately, I am allergic to green beans and squash, what would you recommend I substitute for both? I was thinking cauliflower would probably work. Or should I just omit both?
Thank you!
Sheila Martin says
I have to say, I LOOOOVE this soup!! I leave out the basil at the end (not a fan), but otherwise I made it by the recipe exactly…and it is wonderful! My question is this…could a lean ground beef or lean stew beef be sustituted for the chicken to make a variation? Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! I lost 9.2 lbs in a week, eating the soup once a day and two low-carb meals, with low carb snacks in between! I am never hungry but am losing weight!! How fantastic!!
Kaitlyn Radandt says
Do you have a suggestion for what to use instead of mushrooms?
Michelle Angel says
Can the soup be frozen?
★★★★★
Tam says
Absolutely my fave of all soups I’ve ever made! Brand new to this lifestyle and in 2 weeks I’m down 12 pounds and I don’t even know what I’m doing! I’m just following your lead… THANK YOU! I substituted kale for the chard and added some baby bok choy… the celery toot was a first and I love it! Thanks for introducing me to it ??♥️
★★★★★
Barb Marshall says
I am excited to make this soup this morning. I need to detox from the bad eating ugh. I couldn’t find celery root so just using celery. Do i use the stems of the swiss chard as well?? Thanks.. i will post to let you know my results. Thanks for all your hard work with all your amazing recipes.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes use the stems! Hopefully the celery flavor won’t be overpowering, next time I’d try turnips or cauliflower as an alternative!
Melissa Midkiff says
I did the same thing and the celery is pretty much tasteless in the soap worked great. :)
★★★★★
Laura says
This soup is so delicious. My 5 year old had 3 bowls of it. The flavor of the broth is really unique. I would make this even if I wasn’t eating low carb.
★★★★★
April dyar says
Can you sub beef broth in the recipe or would it make the flavor weird?
Courtney Hollingshead says
I made this soup today, and had my first bowl for lunch. It is AMAZING!! The only thing I found I had a problem with, was getting a full 5 days at one and a half cups per Bowl.I got 31/2 days. I followed the instructions to a T. But it is something I WILL be making again! Do you have any idea why I didn’t get a full 5 days supply!?
★★★★★
Kammy says
I made it and I got five days. After I was done with the soup I immediately put into plastic container and I measured each one out and it worked for me.
Sonya says
Uh oh. I’m making this right now and I’m not sure if I was supposed to include the Swiss chard stalks.
Nancy says
DeeeeeeeeeeeeeLICIOUS!!!!!!!!
Dawn says
Made this recipe exactly as stated (just missing the basil to top is off, which is a bummer) and it was AMAZING! So GOOD!!! Never had celery root before, and I think it is what makes the soup. So much flavor, so fresh, filling, I wish I could eat more than two cups at a serving because it tastes sooooo good. Thank you so much for this recipe. I am actually looking forward to eating this over the next five days! Will make again.
★★★★★
Misty says
Crazy question…. but do you have a recipe for the Chicken Stock? Can we just use Chicken Broth?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Store bought broth or stock is fine – or you could use my Instant Pot Bone Broth recipe in a pot on the stove or even a slow cooker.
Cindy Dillon says
Be careful when buying stock, though. Some of them have more carbs than others.
Haylie says
I have just made this and it looks and tastes lovely! However, I did use butternut squash, which I am regretting now as doing a bit of googling I see that yellow squash is not the same thing :( Being from the UK we do not really have yellow squash, so I assumed it was butternut. I hope this won’t impact the results too much! But I am looking forward to trying my first full bowl and starting the 5 day soup diet tomorrow (I have my last bottle of wine to finish today)!! Thanks for a great receipe and blog !
★★★★★
Wilma says
I used Long Squash and Zuchini, the long squash is low in carbs and has a good amount of potassium! Love the taste, at the end of 5 days I will post me results.
Angela Galinski says
Hi- I saw a one week diet plan with this recipe link and forgot to save the diet plan, only saved the link…I think it was egg salad wrap or tuna wrap twice a day plus the soup 3 times a day? Does anyone have that info or page link they could post or send to me?
Mellissa Sevigny says
I added the link at the top Angela – and here it is as well!
Cat says
Do you have the macros for the soup or the calorie / fat / protein/ carbs
Jo says
This website was shared with me by my aunt, who has been following it for about a month. I just made this recipe substituting the swiss chard for collard greens and the bacon for turkey bacon (I don’t eat pork). It was delicious! I am not much of a cook but this recipe was extremely easy to follow. I was a little skeptical about liking it because I do not like tomatoes or mushrooms but I cooked with them to try to follow the recipe as much as possible. However, I was very shocked that I liked the mushrooms and tomatoes in this soup. This was one of the best tasting soups I have ever had (including homemade soups and canned/store bought). Thank you very much for this recipe! I will be making it again, as I plan on starting the 5 day diet soon! I cannot wait to try the other recipes on this site.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Jo, glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know!!
Josie says
I have been doing low carb since March 2 and as of this morning have lost 29 lbs. My goal is 30 more pounds. I admit I have not been Uber strict, but have been cognizant of the carbs. Thinking of giving the soup a try but I am going to start with half a recipe to see if I like the flavor because I hate mushrooms and despise cooked greens. That said, I am willing to give everyone it a try. I was thinking of chopping the mushrooms and chard into small pieces in case it is partly a texture thing.
Nancy says
DeeeeeeeeLICIOUS!!!!
Kara says
This is incredible!! So much flavour! Everyone in the office came to see what I was eating, purely on the basis of how incredible it smells, let alone tastes!!
Martha Cox says
What is the closest sub for celery root? No store near me sticks celery root. I’m considering rutabaga, parsnip, or turnip and have never tasted or cooked with any of them. Thanks!
Laura T says
Turnips are a good sub, and have thee lowest carbs of the three choices.
CitrusPJ says
I’m using ruttabaga and parsnip. My store didn’t carry celery root either.
Margaret says
Hi Mellissa. Just thought I’d let you know that this soup is delicious! Thank you. I also want to thank those that have posted their subs with equivalent carb count. That helps a whole lot when ingredients are hard to come by or don’t have on hand but want to make this soup, like, right away. I didn’t have any bacon (yes, forgot to get some) BUT I did have bacon grease and I used some of that instead when reheating my 2 cup portions, no tomatoes, no celeriac but subbed with jicama and celery. Yummy. This soup is so good and tasty even with my omissions that I don’t see how it can get any better with the whole complement of goodies in the recipe. I will test that though .
In 3 days I’ve lost 6.4 lbs! Day 1, I had 2 meals of 2 cups each. Between meals I had a snack of a cheese wedge (Laughing Cow, but Aldi brand, much cheaper same taste) on a romaine leaf. I was hungry before going to bed after the soup dinner, but I didn’t cave. Day 2, again 2 meals of the soup but I switched to breakfast for dinner with 3 eggs and 3 sausage links to stave off hunger later and it worked. Day 3, 2 soup meals, and hunger was a looooong way off. No snacks. Dinner was bacon on romaine leaves.
When I portioned the soup into 2 cup containers so I wouldn’t have to measure again, there wasn’t enough liquid in any of them. No problem. Once in the reheat pot, I added 2 cups of water with a ½ tsp of powdered chicken bouillon for additional flavor (just in case), more of the spices and ½ tsp of bacon grease (remember I had no bacon) and about ½ tsp ACV. Wow. Only a slight loss in flavor.
Day 1 and Day 2 I didn’t find the soup very filling. On day 3 (when I began to add more liquid to the reheat pot, and ½ tsp bacon grease) it was extremely filling.
I will be making more since I only have 2 meals left! 6.4 lbs lost. Can’t argue with those numbers
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Margaret I am ecstatic for you! 6.4lbs lost in just three days is truly fantastic progress, and it sounds like you didn’t go hungry much either! I really appreciate you taking the time to update us – this is definitely inspirational!
Pamela J Jewel says
It says ” substitute apple cider vinegar if you want ” …what would I be substituting it for?
Margaret says
The red wine vinegar.
Bethany says
I don’t eat any pork products ( I know, I know “how do you live without bacon?”) Any way, do you suggest a substitute for the bacon or just omit it entirely? I can’t wait to make this! i am so glad I found your site.
Jennifer Lickenfelt says
I don’t follow a low carb plan, but wanted something to jump start my weightloss after a binge-full spring! I found this site and recipe scanning Pinterest and it’s exactly what I was looking for.
I couldn’t bring myself to spend $5 on celery root that looked like a moldy tree stump, so I used celery thinking it’s basically the same! Oh well, at least it didn’t hurt. Love the fullness I felt after eating the 1 1/2 cups for dinner. I did add 1/4 avocado and some hot sauce which I thought gave it the touch of creaminess and zing it needed.
After all the chopping and prep the amount of soup it makes is totally worth it. YUM.
★★★★★
Sarah says
Hello! I saw a couple of people ask this question but didn’t see a response, but then again I could be blind =). Can you please tell me if any of you have made this soup in the slow cooker, and how it turned out?
Many thanks!
Kara says
I used the slow cooker and it was spot on. I didn’t have time not to use it (working, two kids (three inc husband), house, pets etc). Lazy in some respects but results where amazing.
Lindsay says
I made the soup, it’s very good.
I couldn’t not find celery root, so I substituted with jicama. It was my first time cooking with jicama, but it turned out great!
I brought a 1L jar of the soup to work this morning, and dropped it on the floor :-( The jar smashed into pieces! I was planning on doing the soup diet for the week, so I’ll have to make another batch.
Oh Monday!!!
★★★★
Genevieve Olanigan says
I know you get a lot of questions. Please forgive another. I made this soup for the first time ever. It tastes amazing!! I think I made some mistakes though because instead of having 2 cup servings for each lunch and dinner it was more like 1 cup. I made sure I used all the liquid required. I think I may have not used as many vegetables as Im supposed to. For instance your shopping list said to buy 8oz mushrooms but the recipe said 1 cup chopped mushrooms. When I measured it out 8 oz was more than one cup so I didnt use them all. Do you think this is what I did wrong? Any tips on measuring chopped vegetables properly? Seeking advice from the expert! :) Thanks in advance.
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can add more broth if you are having trouble getting the full amount – it’s possible that you had a lot of evaporation?
Genevieve Olanigan says
Thank you!!
Leiba says
Can you recommend a proper alternative to pork-bacon for people who keep a strict kosher diet, please? TIA! I really enjoy your content.
★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Turkey bacon?
Patricia Bell says
Every one likes your soup but I did not see any comment about their weight lost. Could people comment on their weight lost. I am not a soup person so before I made it I was just wondering
Mellissa Sevigny says
People are posting progress on the forums – someone just reported that they lost 8.1 pounds in the five days!
Margaret says
I’ve lost 6.4 lbs in 3 days. Began Wed. and Sat. morning weigh-in was a 6.4 lb weight loss.
allie201 says
Thank you for this recipe! To use what I had on hand, i subbed zucchini for yellow squash, radishes for celery root, 2 tbsp tomato paste for sundried, and collards for Swiss chard. It’s totally possible to make it work for “you”. I just made sure anything I subbed wasn’t more carbs than the original. It was a good soup, but the surprise for me was the apple cider vinegar! Took it to a whole other level and definitely made it! Delish!
Chelsea says
I don’t think I’ve ever come across celery root in my local stores. What is a substitute that will be similar in taste/carbs?
Lindsay says
I used jicama, and it tastes fine. I compared nutrition information, and the carbs are very similar for celery root and jicama.
Theresa Chea says
The celery root at my local Harris Teeter were covered in mold, so I opted for red potatoes instead… Would it still taste okay? Also, is the mold on the celery root harmful? I’ve never tried it before, so I was hesitant to buy it.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Red potatoes are very high carb and will ruin your results on this plan I’m sorry to say.
Theresa Chea says
Oh, sorry I forgot to mention. I’m sharing this soup with my family, who are not partaking in my diet. So no worries, I won’t be having any potatoes!! However, is mold on celery root still good to purchase?
Mellissa Sevigny says
You’re going to peel it anyway so a little is probably not horrible but who knows what is under the skin if it’s already moldy on the outside so probably a good call to pass on it!
Corrie says
I know making certain substitutions might be frowned upon, however I’m curious about using skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts? I couldn’t bring myself to spending $21 for one organic humanely raised chicken breast, the thighs were much more reasonable. I know it will be higher fat content. Thoughts?
Mellissa Sevigny says
That’s fine Corrie!
Danielle says
This was the best soup!!! Everyone in the house loved it!!!
★★★★
Tamera Alexander says
Made the soup to your specifications and it’s DELICIOUS! I’ve never used chard in a recipe before. Not even sure I’ve eaten it before, but it’s delicious. I bought all your cookbooks last night (the $19.99 deal) and love them. Can’t wait to make more recipes. Some of my faves of yours are the Easy Green Chicken Enchilada Soup. So good! And then your lemon pie. Oh! And your Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts. Have made those numerous times. And so tasty left over as well. Thanks so much for doing the heavy lifting when it comes to Keto. I’ve been eating Keto for a year on June 26th, and I’m down 25+ pounds and feel so good! Plus my husband is diabetic so it’s also great for him. Appreciate you.
mjcarini says
This soup is DELICIOUS! I had some zucchini to use, so I substituted zucchini for the yellow squash–almost the same. Then I saw somewhere in here that I could use collard greens instead of swiss chard, and I had a lot of kale which is a lot like collard greens, so…. I measured 4 cups of chopped kale–packed down, so there was a lot of kale. I am only guessing that the carb and calorie count on my soup is close to your recipe. I hope so. I could eat it all day! Oh, yeah. I almost forgot. Instead of chopping basil at serving time, I took one of my “basil cubes” from the freezer and dropped it into the soup pot at the end. I make my basil cubes when basil is in season. I take a bunch of basil leaves and finely chop them up in my food processor with some olive oil. Then I put the green mush into ice cube trays to freeze for my soups. You didn’t say whether the tomatoes are packed in oil or not. Mine are, but I drained them before I chopped them into the soup. A wonderful recipe. The celery root is perfect in there. It made me think I was eating diced potatoes in my soup.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So glad you liked the soup! A note on kale – it’s not interchangeable carbwise with chard or collards as both of those contain 3g net carbs in 4 cups. Kale contains 21g carbs in four cups, and if you packed them tightly it’s probably more. So your soup definitely had more carbs than stated – next time to keep the carbs under control be sure to use chard or collards if you can get them – or at least cut your kale amount in half.
Derval says
Hi from Ireland. Is yellow squash the same as butternut squash? That’s what’s readily available here… And Swiss chard isn’t that common, use spinach? Or cabbage? Thanks
PamJ says
Yellow squash is also called Summer Squash or Crook Neck Squash. Bright Yellow in color and shaped kind of like a question mark “?” If you can’t find it, you can use Zucchini or I think you call them Courgettes?
★★★★★
Amanda says
Yellow squash is like zucchini- butternut is much more carby. Spinach is closer to chard than cabbage. ?
Mia says
Any tips on cooking this in an instant pot? I’m going to try this tonight, sounds SO good!!
Zumba56 says
This soup sounds delish! I had been in a stall for more than a month, so I just changed to total carbs from net carbs. Can you tell me the total carb value? Even if I don’t eat this now, I’m definitely saving this for later! Thanks for sharing!
Rosamond says
Can you please tell me the name of the tomatoes you used?
Mellissa Sevigny says
I don’t remember – they were dried though, not packed in oil.
Sandy says
If this is what dishwater tastes like, then dishwater tastes WAY BETTER than I could’ve ever imagined! My sweet husband made this for us today, and we couldn’t be happier with it! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe and introducing us to celery root! They’re such an awesome substitute for potatoes; you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. Have a great day and please keeep sharing your recipes!
Dan Sheehan says
My wife and I followed the recipe exactly. This tasted like swamp water.. We definitely will NOT be making this again. What a waste of time and money for all the ingredients. We threw the entire batch in the garbage disposal.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m sorry you weren’t a fan, but since so many have made this recipe with excellent results, I have to wonder if something went wrong on your end or with one of your ingredients?
Margaret says
If this is what swamp water tastes like, I’m moving to the swamp :)
Cathy says
Love this soup! It has a simply amazing smoky bacon flavor!
★★★★★
Carol says
Made the soup it taste great . But is the bacon supposed to be wilted and whole? Or chopped and crispy?
I cooked it in the oo for about4 mins and it didn’t get criapy or curly so I continued with the instructions.
Its long and wilted. Is that normal?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Carol! The recipe calls for 4 strips bacon, chopped. You chop it first and then when you cook it the fat and flavor renders out into the soup. It won’t be crisp but the small pieces mostly disappear into the soup. It’s definitely not supposed to be whole strips of bacon.
Carol says
Oh man! I guess I goofed, do u think I can fix it somehow. I planned on eathing this all week since I just had my wisdom tooth out and I dont want to load on ice cream and pudding etc.
Thanks for your reply
kim says
Followed the recipe exact and so surprised at how delicious it is. Took a long time so next time I will double and freeze. Such a comfort food starting back on Atkins. Never used Swiss chard so it took a log time to remove all the veins, is this necessary ? Living in MI this is such a welcome to our menu, thank you
Stacy says
I just made your soup, it is totally awesome. My stores didn’t have celery root or swiss chard, but they did have fresh parsnips and spinach so that’s what I used. I can’t have a lot of sodium so I used 8 packets of sodium free chicken broth with water. This is a keeper! Down 40 lbs from year ago today!
★★★★★
Alison says
Hi,
Thank you so much for sharing! How much fiber is in each serving?
Thank you!
Sam Jones says
They look delicious! Can’t wait to it! I was looking for a low carb soup option and stumbled upon this. Cheers!!
★★★★★
veronica says
I just made this and it’s delicious!! I was looking for a high protein soup to help me during the holidays . does this freeze well?
i will be making a bigger batch to freeze. I followed the recipe exactly and i was surprised how delicious it came out.Thank you and i will be making more of your recipes.
Mellissa Sevigny says
It freezes fine!
Gardine T. says
This soup was delicious. I am building my diet around it.
★★★★★
Hazel O'Connor says
I will definitely be making this soup, it looks delicious.
Regarding the vitamin D enhanced mushrooms, they are just mushrooms that have been exposed to sun light. Check out http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/place-mushrooms-in-sunlight-to-get-your-vitamin-d.html
★★★★★
Mary says
This was fantastic! Cold, rainy day, and I was looking for a low carb soup option and stumbled upon this. Don’t believe that I ever had celery root like this before, what a perfect replacement for potato! Very flavorful and filling.
★★★★★
Selena says
I just made this soup and …oh…my…goodness!!! It is AWESOME!! My grocery store didn’t have Swiss chard so I substituted Bok choy and it came out amazing! Thanks for the recipe! You rock!!
★★★★★
Melissa Sharpe says
I’m excited to try this. Do you happen to know the total carbs per serving?
Lea says
I have been at a stall and starting to graze a bit too much. Have been looking for something to turbo charge me again and get me losing weight again. I want to lose another 30-40 pounds (I have already dropped 90 pounds with HPLC diet – not Atkins specific but very close). This soup looks like just the thing.
Will be making it this weekend.
★★★★★
Jenn says
Can I freeze some of this for a later date?
Hedy Santora says
Mine froze very well
Lorena B. says
By far one of the best soups I’ve ever made! My husband was doubtful that it’d be bland but was amazed at how good it really was (two bowls later).
Even in this Hawaii heat this is my go to quick meal!
★★★★★
Kim says
Honestly, could be the most delicious soup I’ve eaten. Needed something satisfying and tasty….. Got that with bells on. Great recipe, thank you.
★★★★★
Reba Scott says
This sounds wonderful but seeing as how it’s 99° today soup might not be perfect for dinner but I’m thinking of making it without the liquids and as a stir fry. I’ve got some garden fresh veggies to try in it….yummy….can’t wait!!!
★★★★★
Patty says
This was the BEST! Thanks for sharing!
tina says
I have to say I had my doubts mostly due to the fact that I’ve never so much as even laid eye on a celery root or swiss chard lol but I have to say this ended up delicious! I stuck to the recipe as is, and even my husband who is terrified of veggies in general loved this soup! :) thank you for a nice recipe to change up my usual low carb meals! :)
★★★★★
Kelly says
Hello – I am making this soup for the third time because my husband loves it (I do too, and I’m not a soup person at all). I use frozen green beans, they work fine, and I just toss them in frozen. I also use dried basil, not fresh, since I always seem to have waste with fresh. Today I forgot to cook the bacon first (I thought I had it memorized enough to cook it without opening the recipe) so I zapped the bacon in the microwave and chopped it up and tossed it in. It was fine.
This is wonderfully versatile, you can use any greens, even spinach and you can leave things out or put other things in. It’s a very filling snack or lunch as well as a good side dish for dinner. As you say, it freezes up very nice and is even better reheated. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Laura says
Do you use the stalks in the Swiss chard?
Mellissa Sevigny says
I did Laura, just chopped them up to 1/2 inch pieces!
Linda says
My husband is diabetic, on insulin. Has kidney problems also. I have been making this soup for 4 months, he loves it. His sugar readings have come down, but when he went to his kidney dr yesterday, he told him his kidneys show more protein from his last blood work. I’m wondering if it’s the soup. Is this soup to high in protein?
★★★★★
JenHamm says
Linda, eating extra protein would not lead to protein found in a urinalysis. This is most likely a diabetes complication. I’m sure you’re aware of this by now, but wanted to add this response for others who may be reading comments. From WebMD:
Both diabetes and high blood pressure can cause damage to the kidneys, which leads to proteinuria. Other types of kidney disease unrelated to diabetes or high blood pressure can also cause protein to leak into the urine.
BTW, Melissa, the soup is delicious. I subbed rutabaga for the celery root and it added a nice hearty, spiciness. I’ll be gobbling this up all week!
Chris says
Could you put all these ingredients into a crock pot then switch it on for 4 to 8 hours and leave it?
★★★★★
Leah says
I’m wondering this too. Did you try it?
Linda says
I just made this amazing soup for the second time. Thanks so much Mellissa!
★★★★★
helene says
yes radishes would be awesome in this too
also turnip is yummy for the celeriac–but i put celery in all my soups too lol
zucchini or patty pan squash are good subs for the yellow squash also — even spaghetti squash at the end (cooked and scraped out already) for a kinda noodle soup! i love grn beans as a noodle sub tho too.
and for extra hearty soupp—beef it is!
love the recipe :)
★★★★
Artist Johnson says
Quick question: I do more of a liquid nutrution meal plan. Would this work as a gazpacho type of purée then eaten with the chicken and bacon chunked in the purée. Hmm that sounds delicious maybe I will just whip up a batch and find out 1st hand.
★★★★★
Amanda says
Yum! I’m thinking of replacing the celery root with radishes and the Swiss chard with collard greens, since I have those on hand now. Can’t wait to try this…LOVE making a big pot of soup and eating on it throughout the week. And having something readily on hand is 80% of my battle with healthy eating. Thanks for this yumminess! Happy New Year!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Amanda and I love both of your substitute ideas! Let me know how it works out with the radish especially! Enjoy!
Amanda says
I’m happy to say that the substitutions worked beautifully! I had good reason to believe the radishes would work well since I’ve replaced potatoes with them before, and the collard greens are great as well. Which is good because I have a bunch of them that are still producing in my garden. It’s a winner and one that will definitely happen again! My 2 year old is enjoying her second bowl! Two thumbs up!
Courtney Divine says
How did it turn out with radishes? I couldn’t find celery root. Also no swiss chard, :(
Dana Tanner says
I made this soup today and this is probably
a stupid question but what do you store it in?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Depends – you can store it in the pot in the fridge if you have room, or break it into smaller portion sized containers if you have them and freeze some, or if your whole family is eating it store it in a large glass or plastic container. Whatever you usually store food in I guess.
Debbie says
My kind of recipe that is fabulous and super simple to make. Thanks a bunch!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much Debbie – hope you like it!
norma says
Yum, nothing better than a cuppa soup on a cold winter day. This one looks like a winner. Thanks for a great soup recipel
Mellissa Sevigny says
I appreciate that Norma – I think you’ll enjoy this one!!!
Denise says
I LOVE soups and love making soups. This is just what I need to re-kick in my keto/atkins diet. I started it last February, laxed quite a bit on the carbs and sugar over the holidays and am ready to get going again. With steady workouts, I lost 17 pounds and 6 inches last year! With an improved metabolism, I didn’t gain much back. Want to stock my freezer with soups for my lunches at work. Love your blog and your recipes!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks and congrats on keeping the weight off Denise – hope you like this soup!!
Ingrid Cerone says
This looks amazing!! I’m definitely making this tomorrow!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! Hope you like it as much as we did Ingrid!
David O'Quinn says
Melissa,
I made your delicious soup according to your instructions and was astonished at how good it really is. However, when I was logging it into MyFitnessPal I imported the recipe directly from this site and when all was said and done, the real surprise got me. The calculated nutrition facts all looked good except the carbs per serving. Being in the second week of induction this has me questioning whether I will need to start again. It says 1 serving packs a whopping 43.5 carbs please help me figure this out
★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
My fitness pal is notoriously inaccurate (I wish you knew how many times I have to type that sentence to people looking for reasons as to why my numbers are different) because it uses averages and sometimes brands with sugar are averaged in due to key words in their database or other reasons. I can assure you my numbers are accurate because I calculate each item individually using calorie king for the specific brand or item and then I tally them all up and recheck it several times to be sure I’m on point. I’m confident in my numbers – perhaps they aren’t subtracting fiber from that number either.
David O'Quinn says
You are correct and I most humbly apologize for even posting this but when I saw the number of carbs I panicked. Came to find out that any recipe I incorporate from the web into myfitnesspal, I must go through each ingredient and make sure I am using only verified ingredient nutritional info. For instance, where it matches onion(and why it doesn’t match it with a verified item to begin with I don’t know) but it comes up with something like 384g carbs alone. Once I went back through your recipe and matched up verified ingredients manually, it did come out to four carbs. Sorry I ever doubted you. Your soup will be a staple on my table for a long time. Thanks so much for responding though I’m sure you are tired of having to because of app shortcomings.
Mellissa Sevigny says
No worries David, I really need to write a FAQ page and this would be one of the topics – then I could just link to a lengthy explanation as to why MFP isn’t always reliable when counting carbs! Glad you liked the soup though and thanks for responding and confirming that you did end up with the right carbs when you put everything in separately – that’s good for me to know! ?
Lisa Schmidt says
Thank you so much for this; IBIH TURBO ATKINS DIET SOUP – LOW CARB & PALEO.
My 53 yo husband and I just came from our annual physical. My husband is 50 lbs overweight and pre diabetic. (he was an athlete his whole life so this was hard to hear) This will be rectified in spite of him kicking and screaming!! He had two bowls of your soup and announced satisfaction. My husband woke up this morning and announced how well he had slept….
Thank you again, I will continue to search the Internet for recipes authored by you.
Have a great day. L. Schmidt