Low Carb Chicken Fajita Soup {Keto Friendly}
If you love chicken fajitas but are following a keto or low carb diet, I’ve got the perfect alternative for you-this Low Carb Chicken Fajita Soup! It has all the same delicious Mexican flavors without all the carbs from the tortillas! It is the perfect keto soup comfort food recipe for a delicious gluten-free, low carb and meal.
How to make low carb chicken fajita soup
I love experimenting with new low-carb/keto recipes, especially when they are easy, and my entire family enjoys the finished product- like my Queso Soup recipe. So, I thought, why not change out the ground beef for some shredded chicken and add some Mexican spices to the mix! The result is a deliciously creamy, flavorful soup that is high in protein and low in carbs!
Make sure to check out more keto soup recipes in my recipe index for quick and easy meal ideas.
Chicken Fajita Soup Ingredients:
Cooking and shredding your chicken is what takes the longest, so if you have your chicken pre-shredded and ready to go, this recipe is super quick!
- Chicken breasts- I will make my shredded chicken using my slow cooker in advance in bulk. This speeds this recipe up big time!
- Chicken broth– This is the base of the soup and adds lots of flavors. It is also used to cook your chicken in your crockpot.
- Green peppers, onions, garlic– Low carb veggies give this fajita soup nutrients and lots of added flavor!
- Cream cheese, heavy cream, butter- These fats will add richness to your soup as well as creaminess.
- Taco seasoning- I like to use my homemade keto seasoning since store-bought seasoning packets contain some non-keto ingredients.
Steps for making your chicken fajita soup:
Step 1: I begin this recipe by preparing the chicken so it is easy to shred later. I add boneless skinless chicken breasts to my slow cooker. It isn’t necessary to make it this way; it just makes my life easier around dinner time to have the chicken already cooked. Also, if you prefer a different cut of chicken, feel free to make substitutions that best suit your needs. You could also use a rotisserie chicken if you like!
Step 2: Saute the onion and bell peppers in butter to bring out the incredible flavor in your chicken fajita soup.
Step 3: Add in some homemade taco seasoning if you are following a strict keto diet. I like to make my seasoning in bulk and keep it in my pantry.
Step 4: Once all the ingredients are in your pot, simmer on low so that the cream cheese melts completely and that all of the different spices and flavors are infused together.
Step 5: Garnish with more shredded cheese and freshly chopped cilantro leaves! Serve hot!
Other chicken fajita soup toppings
Toppings are everything, so feel free to have fun topping your fajita soup! Make sure you keep your toppings low in carbs and keto-friendly! Here are some toppings I like to add to my soup:
- sliced jalapenos
- a dollop of sour cream
- guacamole or fresh avocado slices
- more diced tomatoes
- freshly chopped cilantro
- more shredded cheese
- freshly chopped green onions
- sliced black olives
- lime wedges
How to get this fajita soup on the table quicker!
If you are super busy and do not have time to wait for your chicken to cook, I suggest you do one of two things.
1. Speed up the process by purchasing a rotisserie chicken from the food store. The chicken is already cooked, so all you need to do is cut off the breasts and legs and shred/chop that up to add to your soup. This will cut your cooking time by more than half!
2. Cook shredded chicken in advance in bulk. Then portion it out into one pound baggies and freeze them. This way, you can quickly defrost your chicken a few hours or the night prior and have it ready to go! This saves you lots of money, too, and can be used for many other shredded chicken recipes like my Keto Buffalo Chicken Casserole (w/ Cauliflower). How to make crockpot shredded chicken is a life-saver to save time! Check out Keto Meal Prep Ideas to save you time for more helpful tips like this.
Variations to this Easy Keto Soup Recipe:
- Instead of 3 fresh garlic cloves, use 1 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Substitute the fresh onion for 1 tablespoon onion powder
- Add celery, cauliflower rice, spinach, or kale to make the soup a bit more hearty
Is this Recipe for Low Carb Chicken Fajita Soup Dairy-Free?
Often get asked about dairy-free keto recipes. As is, this recipe is not dairy-free as it contains several ingredients such as butter, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream that are all dairy products. There are dairy-free options of cream cheese that I have seen at the grocery store. Many people sub sugar-free coconut cream made from coconut milk for heavy whipping cream and coconut oil can be subbed for butter. Personally, I haven’t tried any of these substations and cannot give a personal recommendation of how it would taste, but I did want to offer dairy-free options.
How to Store this Keto Chicken Soup Recipe:
It can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-5 days. It can be frozen in a freezer-safe container, but the soup’s texture may change when it thaws due to the high dairy content.
Best Keto Soup Recipes:
- Jalapeno Popper Soup
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Keto Soup Recipes: 20+ Delicious & Hearty Ideas
- Down Home Keto Vegetable Soup with Ground Beef
- Keto Tuscan Soup – An Olive Garden Copycat low carb friendly version
- Keto Pumpkin Soup
- Low Carb Cheesy Smoked Sausage Soup
Don’t miss out!
If you aren’t already following my easy keto/low carb recipe page on Facebook, where I post all my new recipes, I’d love for you to join us! Also, make sure to follow me on Pinterest.
If you are just getting started following a keto diet and would like more information, many fantastic resources are available. Amazon has several great books you may want to check out here.
Low Carb Chicken Fajita Soup {Keto Friendly}
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup chicken broth (this is to pour over chicken in slow cooker)
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 6 oz cream cheese
- 2 10 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chilis
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2½ tbsp homemade taco seasoning (recipe here or 1 packet of taco seasoning)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook boneless skinless chicken breasts in a slow cooker for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low in a cup of chicken broth. Season with salt/pepper.
- When chicken is cooked through, remove from slow cooker and shred. (You can strain the leftover broth for the soup.)
- In a large saucepan, saute green pepper, onion, and garlic in 1 tablespoon of butter until translucent.
- With a spoon, mash the cream cheese into the veggies so that it will combine smoothly as it melts.
- Add the canned tomatoes, chicken broth, heavy whipping cream, and taco seasoning.
- Simmer on low uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy hot!
- Optional: Top each bowl with shredded cheese, cilantro, green onions, avocado, and/or sour cream.
Video
Notes
- Option 1: Turn this 3-hour recipe into a 30 minute one by purchasing a rotisserie chicken from the food store. The chicken is already cooked, so all you need to do is cut off the breasts and legs and shred/chop that up to add to your soup!
- Option 2: Cook shredded chicken in advance in bulk. Then portion it out into one pound baggies and freeze them. This way, you can quickly defrost your chicken a few hours or the night prior and have it ready to go the day of! This saves you lots of money, too, and can be used for many other shredded chicken recipes like my Keto Buffalo Chicken Casserole (w/ Cauliflower).
Other chicken fajita soup toppings
Toppings are everything, so feel free to have fun topping your fajita soup! Make sure you keep your toppings low in carbs and keto-friendly! Here are some toppings I like to add to my soup:- sliced jalapenos
- a dollop of sour cream
- guacamole or fresh avocado slices
- more diced tomatoes
- freshly chopped cilantro
- more shredded cheese
- freshly chopped green onions
- sliced black olives
- lime wedges
Nutrition
So good I could cry! I made it twice in a row 😉
Glad you loved it, Jenny!!
This is so good that I had to make it twice in the same week because the kids requested it! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Glad y’all enjoyed!!
Delicious!!! Definitely a keeper!
THanks so much!
I used Costco rotisserie chicken to simplify and sped up dinner. I added 2 stalks of celery and a can of rinsed and drained black beans, both I’d which family loves. I reduced the cream cheese to 4 oz and omitted the heavy cream. I held the room temp cream cheese till everything had simmered then stirred it in. Very good! Husband said it was delicious and my grown son said, Killer soup!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it.
I have made this FOUR times in one month, I am obsessed and bring it to work often for lunch. My husband loves it too. one of these days I am going to measure the actual serving size since I wondered the same like others. I also use the Costco rotisserie chicken shortcut and just do 2 cups, or around there. Great recipe, thank you!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it.
Hey, I used chicken broth while cooking the chicken in the slow cooker. How much broth do I add to the soup? Just the leftovers from the slow cooker?
Use the measurement in the recipe.
Delicious soup! I have made it a number of times and everyone loves it. I am dairy free and used coconut cream in place of the heavy cream and it is just as good. I store extra in the freezer – if any is left and it is just as good when reheated.
I used my instant pot to cook and it is a good time saver too.
Glad you enjoyed, Lynn!
What is the serving size?
Makes 8 servings so 1/8 of the entire batch.
Kasey, what is the serving size?
The nutritional info is listed at the top of all of the recipe cards. I divide this evenly into 8 servings.
so to be clear the nutrition information posted is PER serving correct??
Yes
This was so delicious. I didnt have any whipping cream on hand, only whole milk so i substituted with some sour cream. I also used a rotisserie chicken. My 12 yr old son made the recipe and loved eating it! If you don’t like heat, either use a milk rotel or a can of tomatoes and green chilis.
thanks for this recipe it is going in our monthly rotation meal plan!
Hugs
jen
Glad you enjoyed, Jan!
Omg! I made this tonight for supper. My 13 year old loved it. We topped it with fresh cilantro. I cooked the chicken in the pressure cooker. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing!
That sounds like a fantastic way to make this recipe quickly. I’m so glad you all loved it!
I understand you divided the recipe in 8 serving. However some of us are not diving it up all at once or our cuts of meat varies etc… Can you advise when you divided your meals did you use a cup, 1.5 cups 3/4 cup? MyFitnessPal said this was a different nutritional value when it imported it. Thanks in advance. Also this was awesome! 😍
I have 4 starving kids at dinner so I just divide equally. Sorry! So glad you enjoyed!!
Yvonne,
She can’t really give you an exact answer because everyone’s total soup volume will vary slightly with the size of their chicken breasts used, how much liquid evaporated during simmering, etc.
The way I usually figure out serving size for a recipes like this is when the soup is done I put a large bowl on my kitchen scale, zero it out and set it to grams. Then I will pour the soup into the bowl and see how many grams my whole batch of soup made. Then, in this case, I would divide the total grams made by 8….. giving me how many grams each serving will be. This is more accurate then using measuring cups to divide it up. It doesn’t take very long to do and that way you get a pretty precise measurement. Hope that helps.
This helped so much! I was trying to figure out how to divide it up thank you so much!
You’re very welcome!
Could you make this completely in the slow cooker? Or is that not recommended?
Dairy products break down in the slow cooker so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Have made this twice. One of our favorites. Thank you
You’re welcome! I’m so glad it’s a family favorite!
This is so good, I made it twice this week! Thanks so much!
We love this soup. I’m glad you did, too!
This is a great recipe. Had two giant bowls for dinner. It has kick but we liked it. This will be made several times over the winter months. You have got to try this recipe!
I’m really glad you enjoyed it, Tad! Won’t be long before cooler weather will be here!