A good broth is the quiet engine of the keto kitchen. It turns scraps into gold, gives you a mineral-rich drink for the first weeks, and is the base every great soup is built on. This module starts from the ground up — two foundational stocks — then four soups that are pure comfort and still elegant enough for guests. Greens go into the bowls wherever they can.
Net carbs are estimates and depend on brands. All ingredients are organic.
---
1 — Golden Bone Broth
The backbone: a deep, savoury broth to sip or build on. Slow and almost free.
Roast 1.5 kg organic beef or chicken bones until golden, then simmer very gently (a whisper, never a boil) for up to 12 hours with a splash of apple cider vinegar, onion, celery, garlic, bay and peppercorns. Skim the foam early, add parsley stalks near the end, strain, and salt properly at the finish. The fat sets as a seal in the fridge — lift it for cooking or stir it back for a richer sip. ~2 g net per mug. Keeps 5 days; freezes 3 months. The classic keto electrolyte top-up.
2 — Roast Chicken Stock
Lighter, quicker, everyday — one leftover carcass is all it takes.
Simmer a roast chicken carcass with onion, celery, garlic, bay and peppercorns for 3 hours, skim, strain, and lift off the set fat (save it for roasting vegetables). Freeze in a muffin tray for instant single portions. ~1 g net per cup. The secret weapon behind every soup and pan sauce.
3 — Cauliflower & Leek Velouté
So silky no one guesses there's no potato or flour.
Sweat leek and garlic in butter, add cauliflower and stock, simmer until soft, then blend a full two minutes until velvet — that extra 90 seconds is the difference between "nice" and "restaurant". Finish with cream, a little nutmeg, chives and olive oil. ~7 g net per serving. A dinner-party starter in 40 minutes. Variations: cheddar & chive, truffle, or curried.
4 — Cream of Mushroom & Thyme
Earthy and deeply savoury — nothing like the tin.
Brown the mushrooms hard (don't crowd the pan — crowding steams, space browns), soften shallot, garlic and thyme, add stock, blend, then finish with cream and a handful of spinach wilted in for greens on the plate. A few soaked dried porcini make it special. ~5 g net per serving.
5 — Keto French Onion Soup
All the sweet-savoury comfort, with a Gruyère crust instead of bread.
Caramelise sliced onions low and slow for 35–40 minutes until mahogany and jammy — this patience IS the dish. Deglaze with a little white wine, add rich beef bone broth and a touch of tamari, then top oven-proof bowls with Gruyère and grill until bubbling. Carb note: onions are genuinely carby, so this bowl runs ~10 g net — an occasional treat, or halve the onions and stretch with mushrooms.
6 — Coconut, Lemongrass & Prawn Soup
A fragrant Thai-style bowl in 35 minutes — bright, rich, full of greens.
Infuse coconut milk and stock with lemongrass, ginger, garlic and chilli, add mushrooms, then prawns and pak choi for just 2–3 minutes (pull the pan the moment the prawns turn pink). Finish with lime juice off the heat and coriander. Balance salt, sour and heat at the end until it sings. ~7 g net per serving. Swap prawns for chicken thigh, or add shirataki/courgette noodles for a full meal.
---
Module 7 checklist
- [ ] A batch of bone broth and a batch of chicken stock in the freezer
- [ ] Blended one velouté until truly silky (two full minutes)
- [ ] Browned mushrooms properly — hard, with space in the pan
- [ ] Caramelised onions low and slow, with patience
- [ ] Balanced a coconut broth with salt, sour and heat at the end
Coming in Module 8: low-carb breads & bases — fathead dough, seeded loaves, crackers and pizza.