Zesty queso chicken soup – keto

Why do I love soup so much? Not just because they are warm and delicious! Many of them are a dump and go recipe. I had a busy day at work so I threw this in the crockpot yesterday afternoon. Only thing that took a minute was to shred the chicken and dump it back in. Literally, took me a minute. Does it get any easier than that? No browning meat. No dirtying a bunch of dishes. Just a creamy soup with great flavor and a little kick. Well, the way I made it anyway. But I love the spicy stuff. This is a keto recipe but can easily be altered.

INGREDIENTS

2 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

14 ounces petite diced tomatoes not drained

2 10 oz cans of rotel

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups chicken broth

8 ounces cream cheese softened

Optional:

2 cups baby spinach

1 tbsp diced jalapeno

 

Optional toppings:

Avocado

Monterrey or Colby jack cheese

Jalapenos

Dash of hot sauce

 

Non keto add ons:

Black beans

Corn

Tortilla strips on top

Notes: The original recipe called for 28 oz of diced tomatoes and 1 cup salsa verde or green salsa. I opted for the combination of diced tomatoes and rotel above because that’s what I had on hand. I also added 2 cups of spinach because I need more greens. I’m allergic to avocado so that’s a no go for me but I did top it with a pinch of shredded Colby jack.

DIRECTIONS

Instapot:

Place chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes with juices, salt, chicken broth, and green salsa in Instant Pot. Set to manual mode and cook for 10 minutes at high pressure. Allow pressure to release naturally (about 15 minutes), remove and shred the chicken. Set aside. Stir softened cream cheese into the soup in the pot and whisk until fully melted. Return chicken to the soup and serve with diced avocado and monterrey jack cheese.

Slow Cooker:

Place all ingredients except cream cheese in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours or until the chicken is tender and shreds easily. Add cream cheese and stir until melted.

Crockpot chicken tortilla soup

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast or tenders

15 oz. can rotel

10 oz. can enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

4 oz. can chopped green chile peppers

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups water

14.5 oz. can chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

10 oz. package frozen corn

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Vegetable oil

7 corn tortillas

Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.  Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on high setting for 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, and then spread on a baking sheet.  Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

When soup is done, shred the chicken breasts with a fork.  Sprinkle tortilla strips over soup. Garnish with avocado if desired.

Summer made this for soup night and actually didn’t use tortillas.  It was still awesome! Just more of a broth based soup.  Also, if you don’t like heat, cut the cayenne pepper and replace the can of rotel with a can of diced tomatoes! Add some black beans! Another tweak, use all chicken broth instead of the 2 cups of water.  

Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ cup white onion, chopped

24 ounce jar pasta sauce

1 can chicken broth

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

8-10 lasagna noodles, broken into pieces

½ cup mozzarella cheese

1 cup water

½ cup milk

extra mozzarella cheese for topping

Cook sausage in a skillet with garlic, onions and olive oil until done. Drain excess grease.  Place sausage, pasta sauce, beef broth, onion powder, parsley, basil and parmesan cheese in a slow cooker. Cook on high for 2.5 hours.  After 2.5 hours, put lasagna noodles, water, milk, and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese into the slow cooker and let cook another 30-60 minutes, or until pasta is tender.  Top bowls of soup with mozzarella cheese.

I wanted to give mine a little kick so I added a few dashes of hot sauce and red pepper flakes while it was cooking.  I love, love, love this soup! 

Roasted Cauliflower and Aged White Cheddar Soup

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets (I used a 14 oz bag of frozen florets)

2 tablespoons oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

3 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded

1 cup milk or cream (I used skim milk)

salt and pepper to taste

4 slices bacon fried and crumbled (optional)

Directions

Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper and arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Roast the cauliflower in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.

Slice up bacon and fry in pan with onion and minced garlic. Saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the broth, deglaze the pan, add the cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes..

Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender. Mix in the cheese, let it melt without bringing it to boil again. Mix in the milk, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

I made this in the crockpot instead of on the stove.  I also added bacon which wasn’t in the original recipe.  It turned out pretty well. It has a nice smoky taste to it and was easy to make.  The biggest issue I had was finding aged white cheddar at my local grocery stores.  

Mom’s Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

Review by Jami:

It's cold outside and time for some yummy winter soups! 

Start with
2T butter
2 lbs. broccoli - peel big stems and chop all into 1/4 inch slices
1 med. onion chopped
2 med garlic cloves chopped or 2 teaspoons
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
pinch of cayenne
1 tsp. salt

This all gets blended so don't worry about neat chopping.  Melt butter in a large dutch oven pan over med. heat and when foaming stops, add all of the above and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant.

Add 1 C water and 1/4 teas. baking soda, bring to simmer, cover and cook until broccoli is soft - about 20 min. stir once or twice.

Add 2 C or one can of low sodium chicken stock or veg. stock and 2 C water, bring to simmer over med. high heat.  When mixture begins to simmer stir in 2 C of loosely packed fresh spinach and let it wilt - about 1 min.
Shred 3 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (3/4 C) and
1 1/2 oz. parmesan cheese (3/4 C)

Use a hand blender to smooth soup, always use care when blending hot stuff. Place a dry towel over the top and hold firmly to prevent burns. Adjust consistency of soup by adding up to 1 C water if desired. Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve with croutons and a bit of shredded parmesan on top. 

Weight Watchers slow cooker cheeseburger soup

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 medium garlic clove minced

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium celery stalk chopped

6 baby carrots chopped (not in original recipe but I’m glad I added it)

1 red chili pepper (also not in original recipe)

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef ( with 7% fat)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups canned chicken broth, divided

1 cup low-fat evaporated milk

8 ounces Kraft Velveeta reduced fat cheese product cubed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

24 baked corn tortilla chips, crumbled (optional)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.

Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and pepper to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Coat a 3-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray; spoon in vegetables.

Place same skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, pour off any liquid and add meat to slow cooker.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth; stir until lump-free. Pour flour mixture into same skillet; add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, and then pour into slow cooker; stir in evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper.

Cook on low setting for 2 hours.

Serve soup topped with crumbled chips.

Yields about 3/4 cup of soup and 3 tablespoons of chips per serving.

Note: If the soup cooks too long, the cheese could separate.

If that happens, combine 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of soup in a cup; stir to a paste.

Stir flour mixture back into soup in slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 15 minutes (does not affect POINTS values).

This soup was awesome! It was so good I didn’t add the tortilla chips.  Figured that was just wasted calories and I liked it without just fine.  Excellent flavor and I’m a sucker for crock pot soups.  

Mom’s Zesty Tomato Soup

Review by Jami: 

I love this soup so much, I usually make a double batch and freeze the leftovers. I prefer it spicy but feel free to adjust the amount of red pepper to your personal taste level. It doesn’t take much to give this soup zip, so start small if you’re not a fan, or do away with it completely.

The original recipe adds a slice of bread pulverized in the food processor, but I eliminated this step altogether as the soup is thick enough without the extra carbs.

½ onion, diced

Red pepper flakes

28 oz. can of whole tomato

1 tbl brown sugar

1 bay leaf

Olive oil

1 cup veggie broth

Saute onion until tender in olive oil with red pepper flakes and bay leaf in a soup pot. Add the can of whole tomatoes with juice (do not drain) and brown sugar. Cook briefly until warm and sugar is dissolved. Remove bay leaf.

Using a hand blender is the easiest way to blend ingredients, right there in the pot. Add another tbl of olive oil and the broth, blend until smooth.

At this point add spices to taste, I like some garlic and basil while Mom adds a tbl of brandy. I also like to add extra protein, as I often struggle to meet my daily recommendation. Unflavored protein is great because you can cook it into almost any dish, just blend well. In this case, I like some hemp seed protein which adds a little bit of a nutty flavor with a slightly chewy texture. This is all optional so please experiment and let us know the results. I would love to hear your personal recommendations. 

Healthy veggie soup with cheese

Review by Lyndee:

1 bag broccoli, cauliflower and carrots (frozen food aisle)

1 container plain greek yogurt

1 can chicken breast

½ cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese  

Onion

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Hot sauce (optional)

Cook frozen veggies and chopped onion per instructions on bag.  Add yogurt and chicken breast.  Let simmer until veggies are soft.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Add a few dashes of hot sauce if you would like. Stir in shredded cheese just before serving.   

If it’s runny, mix ¼ cup of milk and 2 teaspoons of flour.  Pour in slowly while stirring.   

This turned out pretty well for a throw together, last minute soup of the top of my head.  The only thing I would change is maybe when cooking the veggies, instead of using water as directed on the bag, I would try some chicken broth to add a little extra flavor.