Thai Chicken Meatball Soup for Metabolic Health + Blood Sugar Balance
this free BONUS cozy soup will be a Fall and Winter favorite!
It has been 105 degrees here in Northern California for a week straight. I am so ready for sweaters, soup, and steamy mugs of matcha and pumpkin spice lattes. If you live somewhere in the world with cool weather, this is the perfect, easy Thai Chicken Meatball Soup for a chilly evening or to take to work or school in a container like this!
If you are looking for even more healthy, low carb Fall and Winter soups and stews, check out:
Spanish Pork Stew (Olla Gitana)
Lemon and Turmeric Meatball Soup (a personal favorite of mine)
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As with all my recipes, this Thai Chicken Meatball Soup is gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, low-carb, and blood-sugar-friendly. It has 36 grams of protein per serving, 4 grams of fiber, and just 3.8 net carbs. Substitutions and links are provided just for you!
Thai Chicken Meatball Soup
By Beth Bollinger of Nest Wellness, inspired by NYT Cooking
Gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free, low-carb, blood sugar friendly
serves 4-6
Equipment
Ingredients
1 4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeño pepper
2 pounds of ground chicken
1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped. Reserve a few whole leaves for garnishing the soup
3 tbsp fish sauce, divided
2 tbsp avocado oil or coconut oil, more as needed
2 cups chicken bone broth
1 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
½ tsp monk fruit, monk fruit allulose blend, or allulose
2 cups baby spinach or frozen spinach
1 tbsp lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
Steamed cauliflower rice for serving
Method
Grate the ginger, garlic, and jalapeño with a microplane or fine grater or chop them with a sharp knife. Transfer half to a large bowl and set the rest aside. Add the ground chicken, finely chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon sea salt to the large bowl. Combine thoroughly with your hands or a fork.
Form 2-inch meatballs (about 2 ounces each) using your hands or an ice cream scoop. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. In batches, add the meatballs in a single layer and cook until golden brown for about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate and repeat, adding more oil if needed.
Once all meatballs are browned and out of the pot, reduce the heat to medium, add the rest of the ginger mixture, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken bone broth, coconut milk, sweetener, and the remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any juices from the plate, and simmer until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked for 5 to 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in the spinach and lime juice. Divide cauliflower rice among bowls, then top with meatballs, broth and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Substitutions
Fresh ginger: use frozen minced ginger (found in cubes in the freezer section of the market)
Garlic: fresh is always best, but in a pinch, substitute dehydrated garlic granules (about 2 tsp)
Jalapeño: leave out if you don’t like spice at all, or use ½ if you like less spice
Ground chicken: use ground turkey, bison, lamb, grass-fed beef, or cubed tofu
Cilantro: if you don’t like cilantro (my daughter hates cilantro!), use parsley instead or leave it out
Fish sauce: this adds flavor, saltiness, and umami to this soup, but if you don’t have it or don’t like it, use a dash of tamari instead
Avocado oil or coconut oil: use olive oil instead
Chicken bone broth: use vegetable broth
Full-fat coconut milk: you could use lower-fat coconut milk
Monk fruit or allulose: use maple syrup or coconut sugar
Baby spinach: use chopped regular spinach, frozen spinach, bok choy, or chopped kale
Lime juice: lemon juice and lemon wedges would work in a pinch!
Cauliflower rice: cauliflower rice and riced broccoli are terrific for blood sugar balance, but if blood sugar is not a concern, use jasmine rice or ½ jasmine rice and ½ cauliflower rice
Nutrition Cronometer (4 servings)
Calories: 534
Protein: 36.5
Fiber: 4.17
Net Carbs: 3.8
Fat: 37
Thank you🧡
I have been sharing blood sugar-friendly, whole-food recipes (gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and mostly dairy-free) without ads on my blog and Instagram for four years now, and I have met so many amazing people along the way. I am excited to share this enhanced user experience on this platform, and I am so grateful you have joined me!
P.S.
Do you know someone with pre-diabetes, diabetes, PCOS, metabolic syndrome, or anyone eating for blood sugar balance, low carb, keto, grain-free, gluten-free, or just eating whole food for better health? If you do, will you forward my Substack to them? It would mean the world to me as I try to share the message of eating for good metabolic health.
🧡Beth
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I made this for dinner this evening and it was amazing. The jalapeño added a nice kick and the coconut milk gives it a bit of sweetness. Thank you!!
Your timing was perfect! I was planning to look for low carb soup recipes tonight. We are still in summer heat here in AZ but I’m ready for soup 😉