Keto Clam Chowder
A thick, creamy keto clam chowder with no flour and no potatoes. Part of the cauliflower is blended into the clam broth and cream to give it body, the rest stays in tender pieces, and the canned clams go in at the end so they stay soft. Serves 6 at 7.4g net carbs a bowl.
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
Salt at the end. Clam juice, canned clams and turkey bacon are all salty.
Soft cauliflower blends smooth. Simmer it until it falls apart before blending.
Do not boil the clams. They are already cooked and only need to warm through.
Storage: refrigerate up to 3 days and reheat gently without boiling. Not recommended for freezing.