Is Well yes! chicken noodle soup Keto?

The Ingredient Breakdown

As a food scientist, I look beyond the marketing claims and dive straight into the ingredient label. When evaluating a product for the Keto diet, we are hunting for hidden carbohydrates and starches. Unfortunately, the Well yes! chicken noodle soup contains several ingredients that are immediate red flags for anyone in ketosis.

The primary offender is the egg noodles with quinoa flour. The ingredient list explicitly states wheat flour and egg noodles. Wheat flour is pure starch and is strictly prohibited on Keto. Even though the brand attempts to add a 'health halo' by including quinoa flour, the primary ingredient remains wheat, meaning the carb load is high.

Furthermore, the soup utilizes cooked great northern beans. While beans are a source of fiber and protein, they are also legumes that contain significant amounts of carbohydrates. In the world of Keto, legumes are generally avoided because their net carb count can easily use up your daily allowance. Additionally, the label lists potato starch. This is a common thickener used in canned soups, but it is derived from potatoes—a high-starch vegetable that is not Keto-compliant. Finally, the inclusion of diced tomatoes adds natural sugars to the mix, further increasing the total carbohydrate content.

Nutritional Value

Looking at the nutritional profile, this soup falls into a category often called 'carb-heavy comfort food.' While it is not necessarily high in sugar compared to a dessert, the combination of wheat noodles, beans, and potato starch creates a high glycemic load. For a standard Keto diet, the goal is usually to stay under 20 to 30 grams of net carbohydrates per day. A single serving of this soup would likely consume a massive portion of that limit, leaving very little room for vegetables, fats, or other meals throughout the day.

From a macronutrient perspective, the soup does provide a decent amount of protein from the chicken stock and meat. However, on Keto, fat is the primary energy source. This soup is relatively low in fat (despite the small amount of extra virgin olive oil) and high in carbohydrates. This ratio is the exact opposite of what is required to maintain a state of ketosis. Therefore, despite being a 'healthy' choice by general standards, it does not fit the specific metabolic requirements of a low-carb diet.