When it comes to chowders I like mine thick so I zhuzhed an old recipe to create a low carb clam chowder. Because I wanted a little color, my clam chowder is a fusion of a New England and Manhattan chowder since I added a diced carrot.
Of course there are many ways to enjoy chowder. Whether it’s thick or thin, has a creamy, clear or red broth you can find one that fits your taste buds. Chowders are pretty easy to make. And if you’re not a fan of things with a fishy taste, the heavy whipping cream smoothes out the flavor.
Because this was a soup I had pre keto, I almost forgot it. However thanks to a google search of top 10 soups I was immediately reminded of some old school favorites.
Now when I think of chowder, I also think of oyster crackers. So naturally I had to whip up a batch to go with my soup. I wanted the cracker to be crisp and not too big so I used the cap from some bottled water. Next time I’ll try a bottle cap from some coke zero so I can get those nice rounded edges. As it turns out, I really like the cracker as a snack. So, I made two different types, plain and savory to go with this low carb clam chowder. When you have some time give my pumpkin sausage soup a try.
PrintLow Carb Clam Chowder
- Author: Andie Cumber
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 bowls
- Category: Low Carb
Ingredients
Chowder Ingredients
2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams in clam juice (separate the juice from the clams)
4 slices bacon (diced)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup chopped scallions
2 garlic cloves minced
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
2 bay leaves
3 cups cauliflower florets
½ tsp ground thyme
½ tsp guar gum powder
2 stalks of celery chopped
1/2 carrot diced
Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt to taste
Parsley for garnish
Cracker Ingredients
¾ cup almond flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp of monkfruit granular sweetener
1 ½ tsp of cold salted butter
2 tbsp of cold water
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
Instructions
Chowder Directions
- Bring to a boil about 3 quarts of water in a saucepan then blanch the cauliflower florets for 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- While the cauliflower is blanching, cook the 4 slices of bacon until done but not crispy.
- Warm up the olive oil in a pot or dutch oven and saute the scallions, garlic, celery and diced carrot until soft, about 2-3 minutes then add the thyme.
- Whisk the chicken broth, the clam juice, bay leaves guar gum powder and whisking for about 2 minutes.
- Add the clams, heavy whipping cream, and cauliflower then bring to boil. Once it’s boiling reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes
- Season with freshly ground pepper and kosher salt to your liking.
- Garnish with parsley and bacon.
Cracker directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F
- In a medium size bowl mix together the almond flour, baking powder, monkfruit, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until the dough is crumbly. Add the water a little at a time, mixing until the dough becomes firm. You can always add more almond flour if you get too heavy handed on the water.
- Form the dough into a ball and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper to ¼ inch thick. Cut the crackers with a bottle top or into squares. For decoration, pierce the dough with a toothpick.
- Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
Another option frozen clam chowder and 8 ounces of clam juice.
*The nutritional information included is for the clam chowder only
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 640 mg
- Fat: 21g
- Saturated Fat: 11g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 5g net
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 68mg
Keywords: soup, clams, clam chowder, low carb