Keto Beef & Tomato Soup
Published March 10, 2025 • Updated March 7, 2026
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This creamy keto beef tomato soup is loaded with ground beef, a rich tomato base, and low-carb lupini noodles. I make a big pot of this every week when the weather turns cold.
I started making this keto beef tomato soup last winter when I wanted something warm and filling but didn’t want to blow my carbs on a regular noodle soup. What I ended up with is this creamy, beefy tomato soup that hits somewhere between a classic tomato soup and a lasagna soup (just less cheesy). I’ve made it probably 30 times since then, and I keep coming back to it.
The ground beef gives it real body. I brown it with diced onion until everything is soft and starting to caramelize a little, then build the soup right in the same pot. Crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and a pinch of dried basil and oregano. The whole thing comes together in about 25 minutes. If you want a low carb soup that actually feels like a full meal, this is it.
Instead of regular pasta, I use lupini noodles. I’ve tested a lot of keto noodle options over the years and lupini is still my favorite for soups. They hold their shape, they don’t get mushy, and they add 14g of protein per serving on top of the beef. One thing I learned the hard way: rinse the lupini pasta for at least 3 minutes under running water before adding it. The brine leaves a sharp sour note if you rush it. I taste one noodle to make sure it’s clean before it goes in the pot. If you’re more of a regular pasta person, try my keto spaghetti instead.
The creamy part comes from cream cheese stirred in at the end. I cube it small (about half-inch pieces) so it melts fast. A little sugar-free brown sugar substitute balances out the acidity from the tomatoes, and you get this rich, velvety broth that coats the noodles perfectly. My family requests this on cold nights. Reader Amy’s husband, who never compliments food, asked to make it weekly after his first bowl.
I’ve also tried roasting the tomatoes before adding them to the pot, and it does deepen the flavor if you have the extra 20 minutes. Halve a can’s worth of whole tomatoes, roast at 400F for 15-20 minutes, and use those in place of the crushed tomatoes. Not necessary, but a nice upgrade when I’m not rushing.
This works as meal prep too. I portion it into containers for work lunches and the flavors actually get better overnight. If you like hearty, beefy soups, try my keto minestrone. For other easy ground beef dinners, my keto hamburger helper and keto beef and broccoli are both in regular rotation at my house.
How to get this soup under 15g net carbs
The full recipe comes in at 23 grams of net carbs, which I know is higher than some people want. I’ve played around with lowering the carbs and here’s what works without killing the flavor. With these tweaks, I get it down to only 12 grams of net carbs per serving.
- Omit the onion – The yellow onion adds almost 1 gram carb per serving. I’ve made it without the onion plenty of times and the soup is still good.
- Decrease the crushed tomatoes – Instead of one 28-oz can, use half a can. This saves you around 5 net carbs per serving and the soup is still plenty tomatoey.
- Omit or decrease the tomato sauce – Cutting the tomato sauce saves about 6 net carbs per serving. I usually cut it in half rather than skipping it completely.
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Ingredients
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef -
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
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1 tablespoon dried basil
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1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
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1 teaspoon garlic powder
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6 cups chicken broth
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28 oz can crushed tomatoes
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15 oz can tomato sauce
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1 teaspoon brown sugar substitute, optional
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8 oz lupini pasta
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8 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Brown the ground beef
Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, add ground beef, onion and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes, breaking the meat in small pieces, until it’s no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Drain any excess grease if desired.
- 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
It's not tomato soup without tomatoes
Stir in the basil, oregano, garlic powder, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and brown sugar substitute (if using). Bring to a simmer and add noodles. Simmer until the pasta is just al dente (about 4-6 minutes).
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar substitute (optional)
- 8 oz lupini noodles
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef?
I've made this with ground turkey and it works, but the flavor is noticeably lighter. What I do when I use turkey is add an extra tablespoon of tomato paste and a little more salt to make up for the richness you lose from the beef fat. Ground chicken is even milder, so I'd stick with turkey if you're swapping.
I'm out of cream cheese, what could I use as a substitute?
I've subbed in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of heavy cream and it works well. The soup is a little thinner but still creamy. I've also blended cottage cheese smooth and stirred it in at the end. Plain greek yogurt works too, but I add it off the heat so it doesn't curdle.
Can I make this in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?
I've done both. For the slow cooker, I brown the beef and onion on the stove first, then dump everything except the noodles and cream cheese into the slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours. I add the noodles in the last 15 minutes and stir in the cream cheese at the end. For the Instant Pot, I use the saute function to brown the beef, add the broth and tomatoes, pressure cook on high for 5 minutes, quick release, then stir in the noodles and cream cheese. My beef tips and noodles is another one that works great in the Instant Pot.
How long should I rinse lupini noodles before adding them?
I rinse mine for at least 3 minutes under running water, and I taste one before adding them to the pot. The first time I made this, I barely rinsed the noodles and there was this sharp sour note I couldn't place. Turned out that's just the lupini brine being stubborn. Reader Brett had the exact same experience and now rinses for a full 3 minutes too. Once the brine is gone, the noodles taste completely neutral and soak up the broth flavor.
Can I freeze this soup with cream cheese already added?
I've tried it both ways. When I freeze it with cream cheese already in, the texture gets grainy when I reheat. My workaround is to freeze the soup before the cream cheese step, then stir in fresh cream cheese when I reheat. Takes an extra minute and the texture is way better.
Can I make this dairy-free?
I've made a dairy-free version using full-fat coconut cream instead of cream cheese. I stir in about 1/3 cup at the end, and it gives a similar richness without the tang. The soup is a little thinner, so I let it simmer an extra 5 minutes before adding the coconut cream to reduce the broth slightly. Dairy-free cream cheese works too, though I've found coconut cream blends more smoothly into the hot broth.
Can I use Italian sausage instead of ground beef?
I've done this and it makes a completely different (and really good) soup. I use mild Italian sausage, remove the casings, and crumble it the same way I do the beef. The fennel and herbs in the sausage add so much flavor that I skip the dried basil entirely. Everything else stays the same. If you like that direction, my stuffed Italian sausage is another favorite.
How do I keep the soup from being too acidic?
I use a tablespoon of sugar-free brown sugar substitute, and that does the trick for me. The cream cheese also mellows the acidity a lot. If it's still too tangy for your taste, I'd add another half tablespoon of the sweetener rather than more cream cheese, which can make it too thick.
My mom used to make a tomato beef soup every winter that I thought I'd lost on keto. Made this last week and barely got four spoonfuls in before I had to text her a photo. The cream cheese at the end does something almost identical to what she got from heavy cream, which I didn't think was possible. Still not sure how Annie figured that out, but I've been thinking about it all week.
I almost skipped this because I had no idea what lupini noodles were and wasn't sure they'd be worth tracking down. Ended up finding them at Whole Foods, made the soup, and now I understand the appeal. The cream cheese step seemed weird to me going in, but it melts right in and gives the broth this body that most tomato soups don't have. Been making different keto soups all winter and this is the first one that actually felt complete.
Whole Foods is the easiest spot for lupini pasta once you find the section. That 'felt complete' reaction is exactly what I'm going for with this one.
I'm not a cook, like at all. Had a pound and a half of ground beef to use up and figured I'd give this a shot. I was skeptical when the recipe said to stir cream cheese straight into hot broth, but it just melted right in and turned everything creamy and thick. Made myself a big bowl and sat there kind of in disbelief that I pulled this off. More on the way this weekend.
Ha, that bowl. Now you've got a pound and a half recipe locked in. More on the way is the right call.
Never cooked with lupini pasta before. Does it go in raw and cook in the broth, or should I cook it separately first? Either way I'm guessing it soaks up a lot of liquid.
Goes in raw. Rinse it for a few minutes first or there's a sour edge from the brine. And it doesn't really absorb liquid - you won't lose your broth.
Made this Sunday thinking it was just another keto dinner to get through. My daughter, who's been on a no-soup strike for two years, ate two bowls and stood over the pot debating a third. I think the cream cheese at the end got her. She kept saying it didn't taste like regular soup, like it was thicker or something. Making it again Thursday.
The cream cheese is what does it. Melts into the broth and thickens the whole thing. She's not wrong.
First time using lupini pasta in a soup and I wasn't totally sure how they'd hold up, but they stayed firm even after sitting in the broth for a while. The cream cheese incorporation is more subtle than I expected, it doesn't taste like a cream cheese soup at all, just rounds out the tomato base. Solid weeknight bowl. Do you think this freezes well, or does the cream cheese separate once it thaws?
Freeze before the cream cheese step. Stir in fresh cream cheese when you reheat. It goes grainy if it's already in.
Tip that took me two batches to figure out: rinse the lupini pasta way longer than seems necessary. First time I barely rinsed them and couldn't place why there was this sharp sour note in every bite. Looked it up, that's just what lupini does if you rush it. Spent a solid 3 minutes rinsing the second time and suddenly the soup was what it was supposed to be. The cream cheese stirred in at the end is freaking perfect, by the way.
Three minutes minimum. The brine on lupini is stubborn, I taste one to know when it's ready. And the cream cheese, yeah.
Made this Sunday night when it was freezing outside and honestly I was nervous because my kids are so picky about soup (they usually just push it around the bowl). My son Logan who refuses anything with 'weird noodles' ate two full bowls and didn't say a word about the lupini pasta, which shocked me. I almost skipped adding the cream cheese at the end because I wasn't sure how it would mix in, but it melted right in and made the whole thing so much richer than I was expecting. My husband had two bowls too and then said we should make this every week (he never compliments food, so that's saying something). Putting this in the regular winter rotation for sure, probably a double batch next time because there was barely enough left for lunch the next day.
Logan eating two full bowls without saying a word about the lupini pasta is the whole point. A husband who never compliments food wanting it weekly, though? Worth making it every Sunday. Double batch for sure.