Keto Chicken Fajita Soup
Seared chicken thighs, bell peppers and onion simmered with diced tomatoes and green chiles, fajita spices and a creamy cream cheese broth. 34 g protein and 8 g net carbs per bowl.
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Fajita night is loud in most houses. This low carb chicken fajita soup takes that sizzling skillet of chicken, peppers and onions and turns it into one creamy pot you can eat with a spoon on a cold night.
That’s the whole idea. You still get the smoky chili and cumin, the charred edges on the chicken, the sweet strips of red and green pepper. You just get them in a bowl, with a cream cheese broth holding it all together and a squeeze of lime on top.
It’s the kind of dinner that fits the stretch of the year when it’s dark before you’ve even started cooking. Sear, simmer, shred, stir. Then everyone grabs a bowl and piles on whatever toppings they like.
Where chicken fajitas come from
The word fajita comes from the Spanish faja, which means belt or strip. It first meant skirt steak, a long, thin cut that looks a bit like a belt. The dish is usually tied to Mexican ranch hands in South and West Texas, who cooked that cut over an open fire and wrapped it in tortillas. For years it stayed a regional thing, something you’d find at a ranch cookout or a backyard grill in Texas.
Then fajitas went big. Restaurants started bringing them to the table on hot iron platters, still crackling, with peppers and onions piled underneath. As the dish spread across the country, the meat changed too. Today a lot of people order chicken fajitas without a second thought, even though the name started with beef.
Fajita soup is a newer home cook’s idea, and a smart one. All the skillet flavors go into a pot with broth, tomatoes and green chiles. Some versions are brothy. This one is creamy, because cream cheese melts right into the spicy broth and makes it feel like a cozy bowl instead of a thin soup.
A soup for cold, busy weeks
Around here, the weeks before Christmas fill up fast. School events, shopping, wrapping, and somehow dinner still has to happen every night. A pot of soup that’s done in under an hour saves those evenings. So does a pot that makes extra, because tomorrow’s lunch is already sorted.
I cook every recipe on this site in my own kitchen first, and soup is where I lean the hardest once it turns cold. A soup that tastes like fajita night is an easy sell. Set out the toppings and let everyone build their own bowl: a handful of shredded cheese, a spoon of sour cream, a few cubes of avocado.
If your crew wants a ground meat version next time, my keto taco soup is another pot I keep in the cold-weather rotation. And if you’re already planning the holiday week, this soup is an easy dinner for the night before a big brunch like my Christmas breakfast casserole, since both are low effort and you won’t be standing at the stove all evening.
How this low carb chicken fajita soup stays keto
Regular fajitas lean on flour tortillas, rice and beans. A lot of fajita and taco soups add black beans, corn and crunchy tortilla strips on top. Those are the carbs that add up fast. This pot skips all of them.
What’s left is the good part. Two pounds of boneless chicken thighs give the soup its protein and stay juicy even after simmering. Bell peppers and one onion bring the classic fajita flavor. A can of diced tomatoes with green chiles adds heat and a little tang without any extra work. The spice mix is simple: chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder and oregano. The cream cheese goes in at the end.
The numbers work out well. Each bowl has 34 grams of protein and 8 grams of net carbs, with 10 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of fiber. That’s high protein, filling, and low enough to count as a keto soup. Toppings aren’t included in those numbers, so add what you pile on.
The one food safety step that matters most: cook the chicken until it reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part, which is the safe minimum internal temperature for poultry. Thighs simmered whole for 20 to 25 minutes usually get there, but a quick check with a thermometer takes the guessing out of it.
Keto crockpot soup option and easy swaps
This works as a keto crockpot soup too. Put the seared chicken, sautéed peppers and onion, spices, broth and tomatoes in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, then shred the chicken and stir in the cream cheese for the last 15 minutes. Use thawed chicken, never frozen, because slow cooker safety guidance says to thaw meat and poultry first. If you like your peppers with a little bite, hold back half of the strips and add them for the last 30 minutes.
A few swaps that still keep it low carb:
- Chicken breast
- use the same weight and simmer 15 to 18 minutes, to 165°F. It’s a little leaner and a little drier.
- Rotisserie chicken
- shred about 4 cups of cooked chicken and add it with the cream cheese. Just heat it through.
- Milder heat
- use plain diced tomatoes instead of the green chile kind for kids who don’t like spice.
- Cheesier bowl
- stir a cup of shredded Monterey Jack into the pot right after the cream cheese.
Each of these changes the nutrition a little. The card numbers are for the recipe as written, with thighs.
01Ingredients
02Gear & pantry
03Method
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0 OF 7 DONE04Recipe notes
- 01Each bowl has 10 g total carbs and 2 g fiber, so 8 g net carbs (10 - 2 = 8), calculated from USDA data for this exact ingredient list. Optional toppings are not included in the nutrition. Slow cooker: use thawed chicken only. Sear the chicken and soften the vegetables as in steps 1 to 3, then add everything except the cream cheese, lime and cilantro to the slow cooker and cook on low 5 to 6 hours or high 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C). Shred the chicken, stir in the cream cheese (whisked with a cup of hot broth) and cook 15 minutes more, then add the lime and cilantro. Keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge. To freeze, freeze before adding the cream cheese and use within 2 to 3 months; whisk in the cream cheese while reheating.
05Nutrition
Per serving- Calories
- 418
- Protein
- 34G
- Net carbs
- 8G
- Fat
- 27G
- Fiber
- 2G
Net carbs are total carbs minus fiber. Numbers are estimates from the ingredients listed.
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Storing, freezing and reheating
Let the soup cool, then refrigerate it within 2 hours. It keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge in a covered container, and it actually tastes better on day two once the spices settle in. Reheat single bowls in the microwave or the whole pot on the stove, stirring, until it’s steaming hot all the way through, 165°F. Don’t reheat it in the slow cooker.
For the freezer, the best move is to freeze the soup before the cream cheese goes in. Cool it, pack it in portions and use it within 2 to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, warm it on the stove, then whisk in the cream cheese. If you freeze it already creamy, it’s still fine to eat. The broth can look a little grainy after thawing, and a good whisk while it reheats smooths most of it out.
Questions about this soup
Is this a good low carb soup recipe for meal prep?
Yes. It makes six big bowls and holds well for 3 to 4 days. Portion it into containers and keep the toppings separate so the avocado stays fresh.
Can I add beans or corn?
You can, but they add a lot of carbs and the soup won’t be keto anymore. For more texture without the carbs, add diced zucchini with the peppers.
Are there other keto soup recipes, low carb and creamy like this one?
Cream-based soups with chicken or beef and plenty of non-starchy vegetables are the easiest. Taco soup, broccoli cheese soup and cheeseburger soup all follow the same idea as this one.
Serve it with a pile of shredded cheese, a spoon of sour cream and an extra lime wedge, and keep the pot on the stove, because someone is coming back for seconds.
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