Germany certainly isn’t known for healthy dishes that are suitable for a low carb diet.
If anything most people associate Germany with their famous bread and beer, which are indeed super delicious but neither healthy nor low carb.

Well, this little gem is an exception!
While it’s not well known outside of Germany, it’s a classic here in Germany.
It’s usually served for parties and gatherings but I figured it’s such a great fit for the low carb diet that it would be a shame to not include it in my diet as an everyday recipe as well!

I modified the recipe to make it even lower in carbs than most of the traditional versions, but with 9.3g net carbs it’s relatively high in carbs and may not be the best choice if you’re on a very strict ketogenic diet (under 20g carbs per day) hence why I chose to put low carb in the title and not keto.

But it’s my duty to add that this soup is incredibly filling.
Seriously, two servings of this soup will satiate you for almost an entire day and even though it might add almost 20g to your carb count, it can still be totally fine for the ketogenic diet as well if you adjust your remaining meals for the day to match that carb count.

In the end, it’s your choice but I highly recommend to try it out!
(It takes only 30 minutes to make it!)

LOW CARB GERMAN LEEK AND CHEESE SOUP INGREDIENTS:

This section is where I’ll explain a few things about the ingredients needed for this recipe as well as tips + suggestions!

(You can find the exact amounts needed on the recipe card at the end of this post.)

ground beef

onion: finely chopped

leek: chopped

vegetable stock

cheese spread:
This is the trickiest thing about this recipe, at least if you’re living in the US.
In Germany, this recipe is usually made with a specific kind of cheese spread that’s readily available and I had a bit of a hard time finding out what equivalent can be found in the US to make this recipe.

After a bit of digging in a few German expat forums I found that the laughing cow’s spreadable cheese is the closest thing to what we use here in Germany.

So if you can, I recommend trying to get your hands on that or something similar.
If you can’t find anything close to it, you can also try to use normal cream cheese, but I haven’t tried that myself though.
I’m guessing the taste would be different but it might be worth a try. 🙂

creme fraiché

spices: salt, pepper, nutmeg

HOW TO MAKE GERMAN LEEK AND CHEESE SOUP:

CategoryDinner, Keto, Low Carb, SoupDifficultyBeginner

This low carb german leek and cheese soup with ground beef is what you've been waiting for on your low carb diet! Ready in 30 minutes and <10g carbs!

Yields4 Servings

Prep Time10 minsCook Time20 minsTotal Time30 mins

1 leek (approx. 4.6oz/130g)

1 lb ground beef (450g)

½ onion (1.75oz/50g)

25 fl oz vegetable stock (750ml)

7 oz cheese spread (200g) (the laughing cows' swiss cheese spread or anything similar seems to be the best choice in the US!)

7 oz creme fraiché (200g)

1 pinch nutmeg

salt, pepper to taste

Optional:

½ tsp guar gum or other low carb thickening agent

Low Carb German Leek And Cheese Soup Instructions:

Peel & chop the onion.
Wash the leek and chop it as well.

Heat a tbsp of your favorite cooking oil (should be heat-resistant) and fry the ground beef on medium-high for 7-8 minutes until brown and crumbled.

Add the onion and leek to the pot and fry for 5 minutes.

Deglaze with vegetable stock.
Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for approx. 10 minutes.

Add the cheese spread & creme fraiché and bring the soup to a boil.

Season with salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg.

(Optional): If you would like to have a soup with a thicker consistency, you can add a bit of a low carb thickening agent like guar gum or xanthan gum to the soup!

Serve right after.
Guten Appetit!

(I try to be as accurate as possible with the nutrition information below, but values may vary because of natural occurring fluctuations and different products used.)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1/4 of soup

Servings 4

Amount Per Serving
Calories 568

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 45.6g71%
Total Carbohydrate 10.1g4%
Dietary Fiber 0.8g4%
Protein 27.9g56%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Ingredients

1 leek (approx. 4.6oz/130g)

1 lb ground beef (450g)

½ onion (1.75oz/50g)

25 fl oz vegetable stock (750ml)

7 oz cheese spread (200g) (the laughing cows' swiss cheese spread or anything similar seems to be the best choice in the US!)

7 oz creme fraiché (200g)

1 pinch nutmeg

salt, pepper to taste

Optional:

½ tsp guar gum or other low carb thickening agent

Directions

Low Carb German Leek And Cheese Soup Instructions:

Peel & chop the onion.
Wash the leek and chop it as well.

Heat a tbsp of your favorite cooking oil (should be heat-resistant) and fry the ground beef on medium-high for 7-8 minutes until brown and crumbled.

Add the onion and leek to the pot and fry for 5 minutes.

Deglaze with vegetable stock.
Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for approx. 10 minutes.

Add the cheese spread & creme fraiché and bring the soup to a boil.

Season with salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg.

(Optional): If you would like to have a soup with a thicker consistency, you can add a bit of a low carb thickening agent like guar gum or xanthan gum to the soup!

Low Carb German Leek And Cheese Soup With Ground Beef

Ingredients Directions

OTHER SAVORY KETO RECIPES:

Eager for more delicious keto recipes? Check out these posts too:

Keto Coconut Chicken Curry
Keto-Friendly Chinese Hot And Sour Soup
Super Easy Garlic Deviled Eggs
Keto Tarte Flambée (Traditional French Bacon & Onion Keto Pizza)
Hearty & Creamy Chicken Egg Drop Soup With Spinach
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms With Cream Cheese
Keto Shepherd’s Pie Recipe

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Hello there!
I’m Uliana, the creator of hungryforinspiration.com.
The Low Carb/ Keto Lifestyle is my passion and I’m so happy that I can share my journey with you!
Click here, to learn more about me.

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4 Comments

Name: Low Carb German Leek And Cheese Soup With Ground Beef
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 leek (approx. 4.6oz/130g); 1 lb ground beef (450g); ½ onion (1.75oz/50g); 25 fl oz vegetable stock (750ml); 7 oz cheese spread (200g) (the laughing cows' swiss cheese spread or anything similar seems to be the best choice in the US!); 7 oz creme fraiché (200g); 1 pinch nutmeg; salt, pepper to taste; ½ tsp guar gum or other low carb thickening agent

Connie on October 5, 2019 at 9:42 pm
WOW!!! We love this! I’ve made it several times with what I have on hand. I use bacon grease as my oil and 8 oz cream cheese spread and 1 cup whipping cream. I’ve made it with vegetarian beef flavored broth and regular vegetable broth. The beef broth is over powering so yes, the veggie broth is best. This would easily adapt to Vegetarian using crumbles or Beyond Beef. No bacon grease of course. Thank you so very much for sharing this.. it is now a staple and I’ll bring it to pot lucks!!
Nicole on September 30, 2019 at 12:57 am
Uliana, this recipe was phenomenal. The only addition I made was to add bacon bits. My kids have asked me to make this again, and I’m happy to oblige. 🙂
Merideth on May 16, 2019 at 4:18 am
Ohhhhh my goodness this was DELICIOUS!!! This is going into high rotation on my soup recipe list! Thank you so much for the laughing cow cheese tip.
- Uliana Zoellner on May 17, 2019 at 5:33 pm
  Hey Meredith!
  Thank you so much for your nice comment!
  I’m happy you liked the soup! 😀
  Much love, Uliana