Keto Clam Chowder (Thick and Creamy, No Flour, No Potatoes, 7.4g Net Carbs)
- Total time
- 45 minutes
- Makes
- 6 servings (about 1 1/4 cups)
- Net carbs
- 7.4g
- Calories
- 283
My first low-carb chowder tasted right and looked wrong. It was clam-flavored milk: thin, pale, with cauliflower floating in it like ice cubes. The second time I stirred in a big spoonful of thickener and it turned slick and strange. And both times the clams went in early and came out like little rubber erasers.
A proper chowder is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and in the original that body comes from potatoes and a flour roux. Take both out and you have to rebuild it from something else.
This keto clam chowder rebuilds it from the cauliflower itself. Part of it is blended smooth into the broth and cream, the rest stays in tender pieces, and the clams go in at the very end so they stay soft. It is thick, creamy and briny, and it serves six at 7.4g net carbs a bowl.
Why This Keto Clam Chowder Is Thick Without Flour
Blended cauliflower does the job of potato. Simmered until it is completely soft and then blended with some of the broth, cauliflower turns into a thick, velvety base. Leave the rest of it in pieces and you get the texture of a potato chowder without a single potato. It is the same trick that makes my crockpot cauliflower soup so creamy.
Two kinds of clam liquid. A bottle of clam juice and the liquid drained from the cans both go into the pot. That is where most of the sea flavor comes from, much more than from the clams themselves.
The clams go in last. Canned clams are already cooked. They only need to heat through, a minute or two, off a boil. Simmer them for twenty minutes and they toughen.
Turkey bacon plus butter. The smoky note matters in a New England chowder. Turkey bacon gives it, but it renders very little fat, so a couple of tablespoons of butter go in the pot for the onion and celery.
Recipe Overview
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Serves: 6, about 1¼ cups each
- Net Carbs: 7.4g per bowl
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity | Notes |
| Turkey bacon | 4 slices | Chopped |
| Unsalted butter | 2 tbsp | |
| Onion | ½ cup, diced | |
| Celery | ½ cup, diced | About 1 large stalk |
| Garlic | 2 cloves, minced | |
| Cauliflower florets | 1 lb | Cut small |
| Clam juice | 1 bottle (8 oz) | |
| Chopped clams | 3 cans (6.5 oz each) | Drained, liquid kept |
| Low-sodium chicken broth | 1 cup | |
| Bay leaf | 1 | |
| Dried thyme | ½ tsp | |
| Black pepper | ½ tsp | Plus salt to taste at the end |
| Heavy cream | 1 cup | |
| Xanthan gum | ¼ tsp | Optional, for an extra-thick chowder |
| Fresh parsley | 2 tbsp, chopped | To finish |
Do not salt it until the end. Clam juice is salty, and so are the canned clams and the turkey bacon. Taste once the clams are in and add salt only then. Most of the time it needs very little.
Drain the cans over a bowl. Keep every drop of that liquid; it goes in with the bottled juice. The drained clams wait in a separate bowl until the end.
Recipe Timing
| Order | Step | Time |
| 1 | Crisp the turkey bacon | 6–8 minutes |
| 2 | Soften the onion, celery and garlic | 5 minutes |
| 3 | Simmer the cauliflower in the clam liquid | 12–15 minutes |
| 4 | Blend part of it, add the cream | 5 minutes |
| 5 | Warm the clams through | 2 minutes |
How to Make Keto Clam Chowder
1. Crisp the turkey bacon
Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the chopped turkey bacon and cook, stirring, until browned and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and leave the butter in the pot.
2. Soften the aromatics
Add the onion and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic for the last 30 seconds, just until it smells good.
3. Simmer the cauliflower
Add the cauliflower, the bottle of clam juice, all the liquid from the cans, the chicken broth, bay leaf, thyme and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then turn it down, cover, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is completely soft, falling apart when you press a piece against the side of the pot. Soft cauliflower blends smooth; firm cauliflower stays grainy.
4. Blend part of it
Fish out the bay leaf. Ladle about 2 cups of the soup, mostly cauliflower, into a blender, leave the lid slightly open with a towel over it so steam can escape, and blend until smooth. Pour it back in. An immersion blender works too: give the pot four or five short pulses, so plenty of pieces are left.
5. Add the cream
Stir in the heavy cream and let it come back to a gentle simmer. For a chowder thick enough to stand a spoon in, sprinkle the xanthan gum over the surface while whisking, then simmer 2 minutes. Skip it if you like a looser soup.
6. Clams last
Turn the heat off. Stir in the drained clams and half the turkey bacon, and let them sit in the hot chowder for a minute or two, just until warm. Taste, add salt if it needs it and more pepper if you like.
7. Serve
Ladle into bowls and finish with the rest of the turkey bacon and the parsley.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Daikon instead of cauliflower. Diced daikon radish holds its shape like potato and tastes mild once simmered. Use the same pound, and blend a little more of the soup, because daikon does not thicken as much on its own.
Seafood chowder. Add 8 ounces of firm white fish in chunks with the cream and simmer until it flakes, about 4 minutes, before the clams go in.
Dairy-free. Swap the heavy cream for full-fat coconut milk and the butter for olive oil. It tastes a little sweeter but stays creamy.
Serving Suggestions
Chowder wants something crunchy on the side. My keto crackers are made from almond flour, one egg and salt, and they snap cleanly, so they stand in well for oyster crackers. Crumble a few over the top just before you eat.
For a bigger seafood night, start with a crisp green salad with lemon and olive oil and follow the chowder with crab cakes. It also makes a very good lunch on its own the next day.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerator: up to 3 days in a covered container. It thickens as it chills.
Reheating: warm it gently in a pot over medium-low heat, stirring, with a splash of broth if it has become too thick. Do not let it boil, or the clams toughen and the cream can separate.
I do not freeze it. Cream-based chowders tend to turn grainy when they thaw.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is clam chowder keto?
The classic version is not, because it is built on potatoes and thickened with flour. Swap the potatoes for cauliflower and thicken with the blended cauliflower instead of flour, and a hearty bowl comes to 7.4g net carbs.
How do you thicken keto clam chowder without flour?
Blend part of the soft-cooked cauliflower with some of the broth and stir it back in. If you want it thicker still, a quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum, sprinkled in while you whisk, is plenty for the whole pot.
Can I use fresh clams?
Yes. Steam them open, chop the meat, and strain the cooking liquid to use in place of the liquid from the cans. You want about 1½ cups of chopped clam meat to replace the three cans.
Why did my clams turn rubbery?
They cooked too long. Canned clams are already cooked, so they only need to warm through in the hot chowder with the heat off. Simmering them, or reheating the soup at a boil, makes them tough.
More Keto Seafood and Soups
- Keto Crab Cakes — bound with almond flour instead of breadcrumbs, 2.1g net carbs for two cakes.
- Low-Carb Shrimp Scampi — shrimp in a garlic butter sauce, on the table in 25 minutes.
- Keto Egg Drop Soup — silky ribbons of egg in 15 minutes, at 2g net carbs a bowl.
- Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup — cream cheese and cheddar, no flour, ready in 25 minutes.
Recipe Card
Everything you need for the pot, with the method in short, is in the card below.
Keto Clam Chowder
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or heavy pot
- Blender or immersion blender
- Slotted spoon
Ingredients
- 4 slices turkey bacon chopped
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb cauliflower florets cut small
- 1 bottle clam juice 8 oz
- 3 cans chopped clams 6.5 oz each, drained, liquid kept
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper plus salt to taste at the end
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum optional
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Crisp: Melt the unsalted butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the chopped turkey bacon until crisp, 6-8 minutes, then lift it out and leave the butter in the pot.
- Soften: Cook the onion and celery until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds.
- Simmer: Add the cauliflower florets, the clam juice, the liquid drained from the chopped clams, the low-sodium chicken broth, bay leaf, dried thyme and black pepper. Boil, then cover and simmer 12-15 minutes until the cauliflower is completely soft.
- Blend: Remove the bay leaf. Blend about 2 cups of the soup, mostly cauliflower, until smooth (vent the blender lid) and stir it back in, or pulse an immersion blender 4-5 times.
- Cream: Stir in the heavy cream and return to a gentle simmer. For a thicker chowder, sprinkle in the xanthan gum while whisking and simmer 2 minutes.
- Clams: Turn off the heat. Stir in the drained chopped clams and half the turkey bacon and let them warm through 1-2 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve: Top with the remaining turkey bacon and the fresh parsley.
Notes
Keep cooking
