Our keto-friendly New England clam chowder uses cauliflower florets instead of potatoes, but it’s just as creamy, rich and flavorful as the classic soup from up north.
When you’re in the mood for soup, we’ve got plenty of recipes that will fill you up and keep you Thin Adapted. Creamy Italian sausage soup is high fiber and high fat, and low-carb taco soup is spicy and oh-so-tasty. Clam chowder is one more soup recipe that you’ll enjoy when it’s cold outside.
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Why You’ll Love It
- High protein (31 grams per serving)
- Easy for beginning cooks
- Tastes like classic clam chowder
- Perfect for leftovers
Clam Chowder Tips
These tips will answer your questions as you make this super-easy bowl of chowder.
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What To Use Instead of Potatoes
We used cauliflower florets because they are the same color and closely resemble the taste of potatoes. You could use turnips or radishes instead of potatoes too. If you make any changes to the recipe, you’ll have to recalculate the carbs.
Caramelize Onion In Bacon Grease
When you caramelize the onions in the bacon grease, you’ll infuse them with more flavor and fat. This elevates the flavor profile of the entire bowl of chowder.
Use Fresh Cauliflower
It’s very tempting to want to use frozen cauliflower florets. If you do, we suggest steaming them and then placing the florets in a cheesecloth to squeeze them and remove as much moisture as possible. Frozen cauliflower contains a lot more water, which could thin down the chowder.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need from the store before you make the chowder. Read through the list of ingredients below (we will also share any swaps/substitutions you can make).
- Oil: Use your favorite low-carb, healthy oil to fry the bacon in. We used avocado oil.
- Bacon: Thick-cut bacon has a better mouthfeel when you use it on top of soups and chowders.
- Onion: Yellow onion is mild enough to enhance the chowder without overpowering it.
- Celery: This is optional, but adds wonderful textures and more fiber to the chowder.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is always best. If you don’t have fresh garlic, add the same amount of dried garlic powder.
- Cauliflower: Chop up an entire head of cauliflower into tiny pieces.
- Chicken Bone Broth: Chicken stock or bone broth contains more nutrients than chicken broth alone.
- Clam Juice: A bottle of clam juice makes the chowder taste more like clams. If you don’t like a strong clam flavor, use a bit less.
- Spices: We used a combination of salt, pepper and thyme to flavor the chowder.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: This gives the chowder the thick texture.
- Xanthan Gum: This ingredient thickens the chowder without having to use flour.
- Clams: Canned clams are the most important ingredient—what is clam chowder without clams?
How To Make Low-Carb Clam Chowder
All the exact steps are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. First, we have some photos of each step in this recipe so you can see how we made it (this is for you, visual learners). Here’s what the chowder looks like when you make it.
Step 1: Fry The Bacon. Fry the bacon in a large soup pot. Then, place the cooked bacon on a plate but leave the grease in the pan.
Step 2: Caramelize The Aromatics. Add the aromatics—the onion, celery and garlic—to the soup pot with the bacon grease. Saute them together until the onions are translucent and tender.
Step 3: Add Broth and Spices. Next, add the broth, cauliflower, clam juice and spices to the pot. Bring it to a boil and then simmer it until the cauliflower is tender.
Step 4: Thicken With Cream and Xanthan Gum. Stir in the heavy cream and xanthan gum. Cook and stir until the soup thickens.
Step 5: Add Clams and Bacon. Finally, add the clams and bacon. Keep stirring until the clams are heated through, then serve.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover low-carb clam chowder in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Here’s the complete recipe in the printable recipe card!
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Low-Carb Clam Chowder
Equipment
- Large Soup Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. Avocado Oil
- 10 slices Thick-Cut Bacon cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1½ c. Yellow Onion diced
- 2½ c. Celery Thinly sliced
- 3 tsp. Minced Garlic
- 1 large Head Cauliflower Chopped into bite-size pieces
- 4 c. Chicken Bone Broth
- 8 oz. Clam Juice from a bottle
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Ground Thyme
- ¾ tsp. Black Pepper
- 2 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 tsp. Xanthan Gum
- 4 10 oz. Cans of Clams drained and chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon pieces to a paper towel, but leave bacon grease in pot.
- Add onion, celery and garlic to pot. Cook until onions are translucent and tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the bone broth, cauliflower, clam juice, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower is tender.
- Add the cream and xanthan gum. Bring to a boil once more. Cook, stirring constantly, until soup thickens (about 2-3 minutes.)
- Stir in clams and bacon, then serve.
Nutrition
PIN FOR LATER
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