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Oh, for the love of winter comfort-food soups and chowders! Clam chowder has a special place in my heart, and I suspect it is related to my former love of potatoes. Lol. So sad it is that for us Ketonians, a term coined by one of my customers, we have to give up this starchy root vegetable for low-carb options. But for improved health, I hope giving up a few items in this food group isn’t a deterrent to eating keto!

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ll see I’ve had a curiosity for making this chowder. The arrival of bottled dairy-free clam chowder in Costco and Sprouts Farmer’s Market (a local store here in San Diego), peeked my interest in making a chowder that was not only dairy-free but keto and paleo friendly!

Okay, so you may be asking… What do you do to create the texture of this chowder when it is typcially filled with chunks of potato? Well, my answer is you simply substitute it for something else. In this recipe includes cauliflower rice, onion, celery and humanely-raised bacon bits, among other ingredients. And, it’s these above ingredients that create the texture for my clam chowder. While, the cauliflower and onion are largely pureed in a food processor, I do not puree it so that it’s completely pureed like an onion soup. So, there you go, pretty easy peasy.

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Dairy-Free Clam Chowder

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by J. Irish, Ketolicious Eats Course: Dairy-Free, Dinner, Paleo Friendly, SoupCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Enjoy a low-carb clam chowder that you can feel good about, with no additives or diary! One serving is approximately 9 ounces or a small bowl of soup. (Note: The majority of the net carbs are from cauliflower.) Macros below include 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil for each bowl of soup, and the 1/2 tsp bacon fat/grease used.

Macros: 463 calories | 20.5g protein | 9.7g net carbs | fat 34.9g

Ingredients

13 ounces 13 wild-caught chopped clams
12 ounces 12 cauliflower rice
1/2 cup 1/2 full-fat coconut milk
1/2 cup 1/2 filtered water
4 strips 4 humanely-raised bacon, cooked and cut into bits
1/2 1/2 yellow onion
1-1/2 stalks 1-1/2 celery, sliced
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 bacon grease, optional
1 tablespoon 1 avocado oil for cooking your cauliflower rice with
1/2 tablespoon 1/2 avocado oil for sautéing your celery
extra virgin olive oil for more good fat, added to individual bowls after serving
1 stalk 1 green onions, optional
Spices
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 mushroom powder, optional (I add this for a touch of immune support, and my preferred brand is certified organic from Om, purchased through Thrive Market. ) Choose a FREE gift, up to $24 value, when you purchase a Thrive Market membership! (1 year and 1 month memberships available)
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 ground thyme
3 pinches 3 ground sage
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 Himalayan pink salt
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon 1/4 dried parsley, optional

Directions

In a medium-sized sauce pan (or larger for more servings), sauté the celery with avocado oil on medium heat until the ends are lightly browned. Then transfer to a small dish.
Now, heat up your cauliflower rice in the same sauce pan with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and your diced onions.
After the cauliflower rice and onions are warmed, allow it to cool down some before transferring ingredients to a food processor with the filtered water. Puree it for about a minute. The contents do not have to come to a full puree when done. Some chunkiness will add texture to your chowder. Next, transfer your chowder base back to your sauce pan.
Begin heating your chowder on medium-low, and add your sautéed celery, cooked bacon (and bacon grease, if using), and coconut milk to your sauce pan. Mix well.
Now, add your spices, and mix well.
Serve when warm and enjoy with garnishes of green onions (optional) and added extra virgin olive oil.

Notes

Time-saving tip–Cook your bacon and chop your onions, celery, bacon, and green onions ahead of time. This will save you about 20 minutes!
Whenever possible, I recommend using organic ingredients.