A particularly insidious source of hidden carbs are items we use as flavorings or condiments. I would never have thought I needed to look for low carb onion soup mix. Somehow, if it’s not a major ingredient, I’m not always thinking about it being a significant player in the nutritional profile. I started thinking about it, though, as I happened to be working on a recipe for low carb meatloaf and wanted to include onion soup mix. To a basic cook like me, meatloaf and onion soup go together like low carb and bacon, man! 🥓
Well, have you actually stopped to look at the carbs in onion soup mix? Because some of them have upwards of 20 grams of carbs per packet! Some manufacturers also count packets as multiple servings. Not really what I’m going for. An onion soup mix is going to have some carbs, sure, because hey–onions! But why have so many more than necessary?
So I reviewed a whole bunch of different recipes for homemade onion soup mix to come up with my own. I mixed up a big batch and put in a small mason jar to keep with my spices so I’ll have it on hand for flavoring hamburger and Crock Pot meals. You could easily make less, though. I just like having plenty on hand when I need some. That kind of preparation makes it a lot easier for me to stay low carb.
Aside about the sugar: As one of the comments noted below, the bullion I used (Herb Ox Sodium Free) is not completely sugar free and indeed, sugar is first on the ingredients list. Of course, most of the ingredients are concentrated and sugar is not, so that’s not exactly shocking that it has a higher amount of the non-concentrated sugar than other ingredients.
But all that being said, what I make using this recipe is FAR lower in carbs than traditional packages of onion soup mix. I need low sodium and haven’t found any bullion that is low sodium and completely sugar free. So I do the best I can with what I’ve got to work with. If one of you find something that’s better, please let me know and I’ll update this recipe!
I find myself using this a lot as a basic, simple seasoning in cooking, to mix with hamburger for most things, just lots of uses for adding a little flavor.
Do you use onion soup mix in your cooking? Is it store-bought or homemade?
