Keto Chicken & Rice Soup
Published March 2, 2025 • Updated March 1, 2026
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This keto chicken rice soup is my Panera copycat made with lupini rice instead of cauliflower. Rich, creamy broth and rotisserie chicken, and I can get it on the table in under 20 minutes.
If you’re missing Panera’s creamy chicken and wild rice soup but want a keto version without cauliflower rice, this is the one I keep coming back to. I’ve made it dozens of times, and it’s a weeknight regular in my house now. The broth is thick, savory, and has that same rich, comforting flavor as the original. One reader’s son actually thought they’d ordered from Panera, which might be the best compliment a copycat recipe can get. If you’re building a soup rotation like I am, my turkey soup and cheeseburger soup are both in heavy rotation at my house too.
What I love most is how creamy and thick the broth gets without any flour. The arrowroot does its job with just a tablespoon, and the lupini rice absorbs the broth the same way wild rice does. Every spoonful has that hearty, satisfying bite. I’ve served this to people who had zero idea what was in it, and nobody questioned a thing. That’s always the real test for me.
What makes this version work
- Lupini rice instead of wild rice. I tested this with cauliflower rice first, and it completely changed the flavor of the soup. Lupini rice cooks up just like traditional rice and blends right into the broth with none of that cauliflower taste. I use it in my Italian chicken and rice too, so I always have a bag in the pantry.
- Rotisserie chicken saves this recipe. I grab one from the store, shred it, and the soup is basically just sauteing veg and simmering from there. Rotisserie chicken is juicier than plain cooked breast and already seasoned, so the broth picks up extra flavor without any extra work on my end.
- Arrowroot powder instead of flour. I switched to arrowroot years ago because it has greater thickening power, so I only need a tablespoon to get the consistency right. That keeps the carbs way down compared to a traditional roux.
The whole thing comes together in about 20 minutes, making it one of the fastest low carb soups in my rotation. I reheat it for lunch the next day and it’s just as good (sometimes better, once the flavors have had time to settle). If you want more one-pot comfort meals like this, my chicken noodle skillet hits the same spot.
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Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken (about 4 cups shredded, cooked chicken) -
1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
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1 cup diced yellow onion
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1 cup sliced carrot
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1 cup sliced celery
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1 teaspoon garlic powder
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1 teaspoon onion powder
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1 teaspoon salt
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1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
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1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
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1 cup heavy cream
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4 cups chicken broth
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4 oz (1/2 package) lupini rice
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Shred the chicken
Remove all the chicken (dark & white meat) from the rotisserie chicken. Shred or chop into bite-sized chunks. Set aside. Should end up with 4-6 cups of shredded chicken.
- 1 rotisserie chicken
Cook veggies
Place butter in a Dutch oven or large pot and melt over medium heat. Once melted, add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until almost tender.
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
Season & creamy
Stir in garlic powder, onion powder, salt, oregano, black pepper and arrowroot powder. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
- 1 cup heavy cream
Turn it into soup
Pour in chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Add lupini rice and cook over medium heat until rice is tender, about 6-10 minutes.
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 oz lupini rice
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
What can I substitute arrowroot powder with?
I've tested this with cornstarch and it works just as well. Use roughly the same amount. You can also whisk in one egg yolk at the end for a silky texture without any starch at all. When I'm completely out of thickeners, I just skip it. The soup is thinner, but it still tastes great.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot or slow cooker?
I developed this as a stovetop recipe because the whole thing is done in 20 minutes, but it should adapt well. For the Instant Pot, I'd use the soup setting for about 8 minutes with a quick release. For a slow cooker, add everything except the cream and lupini rice, cook on low for 4-6 hours, then stir those in during the last 30 minutes so the rice doesn't get mushy. My minestrone adapts to the slow cooker the same way.
Where can I buy lupini rice?
I buy mine on Amazon and Thrive Market. I haven't found it at a regular grocery store yet, which is frustrating because I go through it so fast. I use lupini rice in this soup, my beef and tomato soup, and several other recipes. If your store doesn't carry it, the online options ship quickly and I usually order a few bags at a time.
Can I make this dairy-free?
I'd swap the heavy cream for full-fat coconut milk and use ghee or olive oil instead of butter. The coconut milk adds a subtle sweetness that shifts the flavor slightly, but the broth base and lupini rice carry enough weight that it still tastes rich and satisfying. I plan to test this version soon and will update with exact notes.
Can I use raw chicken instead of rotisserie?
I've done this with boneless chicken thighs. I cube them and brown them in the butter before adding the veggies, which adds about 10 minutes to the total cook time. I wouldn't use chicken breast here because it tends to dry out in soup. That said, rotisserie is still my go-to because the pre-seasoned meat adds a layer of flavor I can't get from raw chicken. My chicken casserole is one where I do prefer raw thighs, for comparison.
How can I lower the carbs even more?
When I want this even lower in carbs, I skip the carrots and cut the diced onion in half. I also swap the arrowroot powder for an egg yolk whisked in at the end, which thickens without adding any carbs at all. Those changes bring the count down significantly while keeping the creamy base intact.
Can I use cream cheese instead of heavy cream?
I've tried this with about 4 ounces of cream cheese stirred in at the end, and it makes the broth noticeably thicker and richer. I'd still use the full amount of chicken broth to balance it out, or the soup gets almost chowder-thick. It's a solid swap if you're out of heavy cream or prefer a heavier consistency.
My daughter has been asking me to recreate that Panera chicken soup for months. Made this on Sunday and watched her take one spoonful, pause, and ask me if I actually ordered from somewhere. She genuinely did not believe it came from our kitchen. The lupini rice is such a good call, it holds up in the broth without getting mushy the way cauliflower rice never quite does.
My mom made chicken rice soup from scratch every winter and I've missed it since going keto, the smell especially. Made this on a Sunday afternoon and the second it started simmering, there it was. The lupini rice actually fooled me, I kept expecting the texture to be off and it never was. I texted my mom the recipe.
Added a squeeze of lemon right before serving and it lifted the whole broth. Small thing but it works. Docking one star because my arrowroot clumped up on me (added it too fast), so whisk it in slowly.
I've made every keto soup variation at this point and the cauliflower rice issue has always been the same: too much water release, falls apart in the bowl, turns into mush by day two. The lupini rice here doesn't do any of that. Made this Sunday in my Dutch oven and the texture held all the way through to leftovers the next morning, actually held. The Panera comparison is no joke either, there's something about the butter base with the carrots and celery that actually gets the original right instead of just being some watered-down version. Rotisserie chicken takes what could be a 45-minute project down to something you can finish before the kitchen smells even hit the living room. I've been keto six years and this is the first chicken soup that didn't feel like a trade-off. Doubling the next batch.
The rotisserie shortcut is the only reason I can get this on a weeknight. Broth ratio holds when you double, I do 8 cups to a full package.
Brought this to a neighborhood get-together last weekend and my neighbor who considers himself a serious soup guy kept going back for more, then finally asked what brand of broth I used because the flavor had to be coming from something expensive. Had to explain it was just a rotisserie chicken and regular stock. Might dock one star for how fast it disappeared before I got a second bowl.
Half a stick of butter and a whole rotisserie chicken will do that. The broth is almost secondary at that point. Next time double the batch and hide some before you leave the house.
First time cooking with lupini rice and had no idea what to expect. On the table in under 20 minutes, tasted like it had been simmering way longer. Already have another bag on my list.
My mom made chicken and rice soup every time we were sick growing up, and I stopped letting myself have it when I went keto. Made this last week on a cold night and that first bowl with the creamy broth and the lupini rice hit something I wasn't prepared for. Going in the regular rotation.
The lupini rice was the whole thing for me. Cauliflower never gets that texture right and it kind of ruins the memory. Glad this one held up.
Added a squeeze of lemon right at the end after reading through the comments, and it does something to the broth I can't fully explain (brightens it? evens it out?). Before that tweak it was good but something felt slightly flat. Apparently that was the fix. The arrowroot slurry is also worth trying if you're switching from cornstarch. Texture ends up noticeably smoother and the broth doesn't cloud up.
Lemon does that. Can't explain it either but it's the same in my beef and tomato soup. And yeah, arrowroot is in the original recipe for exactly that reason. Cornstarch clouds.
Made this four times since January, and the version I landed on is adding a splash of heavy cream right before serving. The broth was already good, but it pulls the whole thing closer to the Panera version I used to get every time I was sick. Lupini rice texture is what finally sold me on it as a sub. Rotisserie chicken makes the prep so fast that this is becoming my go-to when I don't want to think.
The cream at the end is a good idea. The cup that's in there cooks into the broth, but the finishing splash stays bright. Going to try that.
Rolled my eyes at the Panera comparison. Every copycat I've tried is just watered-down broth with cauliflower floating in it. The lupini rice fixed that. Soft, slightly chewy bite that actually feels like rice, and the broth had me scraping the bottom of the bowl. This one's going in the rotation. The others are not.
Scraping the bowl is the goal. Cauliflower releases water as it cooks and thins the broth out. Lupini just doesn't do that.
My son thought we ordered from Panera, which is the most generous thing he's ever said about a meal I cooked.
Ha, that kid has good taste. The lupini rice really does nail the texture.
made this last night with rotisserie from costco. used it up before it went bad and had soup in like 25 min
Costco rotisserie is my go-to for this. The pre-cooked chicken cuts it down to basically just sautéing veg and simmering.