Roasted garlic soup with hearty chunks of chicken. This low carb chicken soup recipe makes the perfect winter warm up meal!
I feel as though I have gained a much greater understanding of the lack of personal hygiene in centuries gone by, particularly in the winter months. It has been so chilly here in New England lately, I’ve been tempted to sew myself into some winter-weight long underwear and not take them off until the first signs of spring. Whenever I have to dig myself out of my mountain of warm blankets in the morning, I am struck by how warm the jammies that I am wearing are, and how cold the clothes are that I have to put on for the day. Just imagine in the 17th, 18th, 19th centuries, prior to central heating, how nice that warm layer of woolen long underwear would be, how it would provide a buffer against the chilly undressing and re-dressing in the early morn. Sure, you might be a little stinky come April, but you wouldn’t have had the torture of putting on cold jeans in the early morning hours!
Comforting Low Carb Chicken Soup Recipes
Alas, I am fairly certain that such behaviour would get me committed to the nearest psychological ward. So my defense against the cold weather comes in the form of low carb soup. Hot soup and plenty of it, please! I’ve actually been eating a fair bit of soup for breakfast. Or rather, second breakfast, after I come home from dropping the kids off at school and the house has that extra empty, chilly feel.
I pop something like Chicken Roasted Garlic Soup or Paleo Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup into a pot to heat. Then I pour it into a bowl and settle down at my computer, sipping and slurping my way to warmth. A bowl of soup so infinitely satisfying and warms me right down to my toes. It’s like an internal set of woolen long underwear and it has the added advantages of tasting delicious and not offending the olfactory senses of friends and family.
The idea for this Roasted Garlic Soup Recipe actually came to me while I was very sick over Christmas. Sadly, Santa decided to bring me a case of strep throat for Christmas, and I was trying to battle it through natural means, which meant eating a large amount of raw garlic (talk about offending the olfactory senses of my loved ones!).
Health Benefits of Roasted Garlic Soup
Garlic has plenty of antibiotic properties, but only really in its raw form. Still, the idea of roasted garlic as the base of a low carb chicken soup lodged in my fevered brain and I kept mulling it over for a while. I knew I wanted big, hearty chunks of chicken in the soup as well, preferably thigh meat. I came across a recipe on Epicurious.com for the garlicky, creamy base. I made a few changes that suited me and broiled some boneless, skinless chicken thighs to add to the mix. It made an incredibly satisfying, warming dinner. And a great second breakfast the next day…no long underwear needed.
If you have never roasted garlic before, it’s not difficult at all. If you want to roast an entire head of garlic, Crunchy Creamy Sweet has a post that explains how to roast garlic, and Savory Sweet Life has one that explains how to roast cloves of garlic.
Roasted Garlic Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 20 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 12 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 ½ lbs cooked chicken thighs or breasts, cubed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and place unpeeled garlic cloves in a shallow baking dish. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- Roast until garlic is golden brown, about 35 minutes.
- Cool and squeeze out garlic with fingers into a small bowl.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes.
- Add roasted garlic, additional garlic cloves, and thyme and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes.
- Puree using a blender or immersion blender. Stir in whipping cream and cooked chicken and season with salt and pepper.
- Warm through and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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In step 7 it says to puree using blender. I’m a little confused–what exactly is being pureed? Thanks so much! The recipe looks simple enough and so yummy! that I want to try it tonight! 🙂
You are pureeing the garlic and onion, to get a smooth soup base. I suppose you could leave it as is, but since the garlic cloves went in whole, it would be quite chunky.
Thank you very much for clarifying. 🙂 I’m definitely making this today!
I remember my Grandpa wearing those jammies! He took them off in 2002! ;-D
I feel you…it’s SO cold! 15 degrees this morning without the windchill.
This soup is going on my weekend menu. My husband is going to flip when he sees this… the man loves garlic so much that he wants me to put it in chocolate cake. I know, I know…freak.
I’m wondering where the “high” carb count comes from. Doesn’t seem like a very high carby bunch of ingredients–especially compared to some of the yummy baked goods you come up with. And yet it’s about twice the average count for one of your recipes (albeit not in “net carb” form). Looks very yummy and I just happen to have all the ingredients on hand. I’m in the Greater Boston area, so I’ve also been soldiering on through the bitter cold snap we’ve been having. Definitely soup weather. Today, on the other hand, it’s in the high 50’s. Still soup is always welcome. In my book.
Garlic and onion have a surprising amount of carbs! Really, I was blown away when I first started developing recipes, to find that some of the things I assumed would be high carb are low, and vice versa. Neither have much fiber, so you can’t take anything away to get net carbs. Still, it’s delicious and worth it.
This soup looks so dang delicious, hope your strep is gone!
You sound like me. I don’t have to leave the house in the morning, but I’ve made the decision to get fully dressed right away anyhow. Otherwise, yeah, I’d be that stinky jammy-bound girl. Our heat pump is worthless so the house stays pretty cool. After I’ve had my morning coffee, I’m always on the hunt for something to warm my tummy. And, since I love creamy soups, you’re talking straight to me. I’m sold; this looks fantastic (as always).
I love garlic., smell and all. In fact, most of our native dishes are never without it. Wow, if you’re having that dilemma over winter, I wonder how I would fare. I’d probably just freeze into a ball. I have very low tolerance for cold weather. Even the rainy season here in the tropics sometimes gives me chills already.
For a stronger garlic taste double the roasted garlic but don’t let it get brown that makes it bitter. Just soften it in the oven maybe 20 minutes. Half the bullion and double the cream. Add garlic powder as well. Really spin in a food processor or blender, not for a short time but longer than suggested. I then returned it to the pot added mushrooms peas and the big chuncks of chicken. Loved it….Thanks for the idea!
Great tips!
The LOTR nerd in me loves that you used the term “second breakfast.” 🙂 What a great soup, I wish I had this earlier in the week when I was suffering from a sore throat myself! Will have to keep it in mind next time for some natural remedies!
Hello! I just wanted to let you know you have readers all across the globe who appreciate your work, I’m in Sweden and found your blog just some days ago. You are an amazing cook. Such an inspiration! It makes my transition from eating high carb to low carb so much more appealing now that you’ve shared some of your delicious recipes 🙂 THANK YOU!
Kind regards,
Sarah
This soup looks so delicious. . my husband and I love roasted garlic anything so definitely will try this!! Love it!
Wow….looks gorgeous & yummy..:-)
oh my! Must try this! Bookmarked
Roasted garlic is pretty much the best ingredient ever, in my humble opinion. Especially in soup!
Even though we’ve had a spell of warmth here, I am totally down for shoving myself into some super warm clothes and not coming out, while eating this soup. But alas I must work. And I don’t think hoodies and sweatpants are lab-attire
Oh my, wish I had a big pot of this simmering away right now…
HA! I feel the same way. Some days I REALLY don’t want to go outside. This soup looks so incredibly comforting.
I have been making your spicy italian sausage soup from your cookbook WEEKLY. I LOVE soup and that was is perfect!! I like garlic, but don’t love it when it’s all I can taste. Does this soup taste like straight garlic, or is it just part of the flavor? I shall be brave and take a risk! 🙂 btw – my acupuncturist had my husband eating 10+ raw cloves a day for 10 days when he had an intestinal parasite! Unfortunately it didn’t work to clear the parasite (stubborn booger), but we figured the health benefits were great anyway. Hope the raw garlic kicked your strep!
It’s not all that garlicky because of roasting it first. It’s definitely mellow, not like raw garlic at all. And it’s rich and creamy to boot!