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Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowWith the holiday season in full swing, you must be up to your ears right now in cookies and treats. As much as I’m enjoying them too, it’s nice to have healthy meals sprinkled in there. Your body just feels so much better when you do! At this time of year, what better way to do that than with a big bowl of soup? This gluten-free, low carb clam chowder recipe is my latest favorite.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been craving more comforting soups as the days get colder. This is the first week that temperatures have dropped below zero (Fahrenheit). No matter how many years I live in Minnesota, I’m never ready for the sudden jolt each year when this happens. Whether we like it or not, it’s finally (unfortunately) starting to actually feel like winter around here.
To put it lightly, winter and I have never been friends. You’d think a girl that grew up in Minnesota would be more accustomed to it, but nope. It doesn’t help that most of the best fresh produce is out of season, either. All I want to do is curl up under a blanket and hibernate until spring comes!
Tempting as that may be, my way to make the most of it is a warm bowl of soup. Even better when it’s a warm bowl of creamy, New England clam chowder. Which may or may not be followed by a cup of fancy low carb hot chocolate by the crackling fireplace.
This low carb clam chowder recipe is one of the easiest recipes I have ever posted on the blog. Five ingredients and fifteen minutes are all it takes to make it! And, it’s a one-pot recipe, which equals convenience. Seriously, it doesn’t get any easier than this. When you’re tired of all the holiday baking and just want a soothing, healthy meal on a weeknight, this is the one.
The secret to this gluten-free clam chowder is making one of my favorite healthy, low carb swaps… Substituting cauliflower for white potatoes! The cauliflower provides a similar smooth, starchy texture and easily takes on the flavors of any dish without overpowering it. Since clam chowder is one of my favorite soups, it comes as no surprise that I decided to create a healthier version of it using cauliflower.
Aside from cauliflower, and of course clams, the bulk of the soup is comprised of store-bought or homemade chicken broth, unsweetened almond milk, and heavy cream. This surprisingly simple combination creates a deliciously creamy base. No thickeners required!
By the way, the ingredients are easy enough to customize if you have any food intolerances. It’s already a low carb and gluten-free clam chowder recipe to begin with, but you can address others, too.
A paleo (or whole 30) version would simply replace the heavy cream with coconut cream. If you have a nut allergy, the unsweetened almond milk could be swapped with coconut milk, or regular dairy milk if you don’t mind the extra carbs.
If you prefer a different kind of clam chowder altogether, try Manhattan clam chowder from Low Carb Maven. It has a tomato base instead.
I’ll definitely be making this low carb clam chowder all through the winter. It’s perfect to incorporate into lighter dinners now, but I know people will love it even more come January, when clean eating is fresh on everyone’s mind. Either way, this creamy soup is light enough to make your body feel good and soothing enough to feel like a satisfying treat.
Who knew a healthy clam chowder could be so simple and taste so good?
Tools To Make Low Carb Clam Chowder
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.
- Cookware Set – If you are in need of a great cookware set, you should get this one. It includes the perfect sized pot for making this delicious keto soup recipe.
- Silicone Cooking Utensils – These cooking utensils are my favorites. They are high heat resistant and BPA free.
Keto Clam Chowder
By
This easy, low carb keto clam chowder recipe is creamy and healthy at the same time. Ready in just 15 minutes, with only 5 ingredients!
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Combine all ingredients, except heavy cream, in a large pot. (Make sure you pour the retained liquid from the clams in there, too.) Bring to a boil.
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Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower is tender.
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Stir in the heavy cream. Heat just enough for the soup to be hot again.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya's Recipe Notes
- Recipe is five ingredients not including salt and pepper.
- If you prefer a thicker soup, you can puree part of it (including the base and cauliflower pieces), then return to the pot. Alternatively, you can whisk in a thickener like 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder, then simmer until thickened.
Serving size: 1 cup
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Gluten-Free Low Carb Clam Chowder
87 Comments
Laureen C Viets
0I loved how these simple ingredients came together and tasted so good. Tbh, I didn’t think it tasted much of clams – or the chowder I used to make & love – but it’s such a great tasting base, I think I could use it for a LOT of low-carb soups. I made substitutions using what I had on hand: unsweetened soy milk instead of almond milk. (I know, it’s that awful soy thing, but I like the Ca++ and low-carb content, if not the taste, and I have lots in storage.) I don’t much like its flavor, but in this chowder it tasted great. Like others, I added some bacon, and I used my carb-free, home-made chicken broth. I haven’t used cauliflower much as a potato or rice substitute, and I don’t think it actually tastes much like a potato substitute here, but it seems the perfect thing for this chowder and I’m happy with it. I used canned clams, tasteless IMO; frozen or fresh would be better. I believe this would be a great base for salmon or other fish chowder, also for shrimp, probably chicken, too. I am so pleased I can use my burgeoning supply of bone-broth and Soy Silk in such a great tasting meal. Many thanks.
Cindy
0I loved this! It was a little bland so I dumped in a full packet of made bacon bits and it turned out great! I will be making this on a regular basis. It is also super simple.
Tammie Stockley
0Can you make this the day before? Would like to make it and then take it camping with us. Does it reheat well?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tammie, Yes, this will reheat well! Have a great camping trip.
Laurie V
0Hey, you can freeze just the broth and milk, then add the cream later; take it frozen and it will help keep stuff cold. on your camping trip. I use this delicious recipe for a bunch of high fat chowders; most times I add bacon and homemade breakfast sausage, maybe small amounts of cabbage, cilantro and other chopped condiments; sometimes i leave out the califlwoer and use shirataki noodles instead, especially when I need something filling with zero carbs; sometimes I add small amounts of other chopped meats/fish. They all taste great with this recipe.
Bernadette Ebert
0I’m excited to try this recipe. I’m planning on using different types of seafood in it. My question is whether there is something I can use besides the heavy cream to cut down on the fat?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Bernadette, You can swap the heavy cream with half & half. Keep in mind you will be trading off the fat for a higher carb count though.
Mary
0Really enjoyed this recipe. I did take some suggestions from the comments, (clam juice instead of chicken broth, added celery salt, bacon) and also found I didn’t quite care for the cauliflower texture so I pureed it. I still also added some xanthan gum just to thicken it up a bit more. Delicious!
Keri
0I did everything the recipe called for, maybe a bit more clams. I did add 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks, as well as two cloves garlic. At the end, when you add the heavy whipping cream, I added about 2 tbsp. butter. SO good! Probably won’t make the “regular” chowder again!
Victoria
0One other change we made is to use a 50/50 mix of heavy cream and water. We don’t use almond milk in our house.
Victoria
0Really enjoyed this recipe but made one change. In traditional chowder fashion in our house, we start with bacon in the bottom of the chowder pot and let that cook. Once that was done, we partially cooked the cauliflower in the bacon fat and then added all other ingredients. Everyone loved it and no one missed the potatoes one little bit! We’ll probably use this recipe to make our traditional fish chowder, too. Thanks so much!! Truly delicious!
Bryan
0This is a great recipe. I live on Cape Cod, MA, and I dig fresh clams for chowder all the all the time (yes, people actually still do dig their own clams around here). I made this while switching to a lower carb diet, but wasn’t sure my kids would like it, so I made this version side by side with my traditional version with potatoes and milk along with the heavy cream. I was amazed how much this tasted like my standard version. The texture with the cauliflower is a little different, but the flavor was great. My wife actually preferred this version. The one charge I made was that I only used the clam broth from steaming the fresh clams and didn’t use any chicken broth. We will definitely make this again.
Darlene
0I have been wanting to make a fish chowder…..I am going to use this for a jumping off point. Using HWC instead of almond milk and clam juice instead of chicken stalk. Will also add celery and a small amount of diced carrots for colour. Lobster, haddock, clams, and salmon……can’t wait. I will also try freezing it as there is just my hubby and I.
Rhonda
0Super easy. Super tasty. Added some Old Bay Seasoning and celery salt, and of course, bacon. Will be making this a lot! I have avoided making clam chowder for so long and never thought to replace potatoes with cauliflower. My husband actually liked the consistency better. Brilliant!
Jules
0I make homemade clam chowder the old fashioned way of course with small diced potatoes. But, now I will be using your new version. With one big difference. Instead of Chicken Broth!!! lol
To get a fuller clam flavor in my soup I add two bottles of real clam juice, like what is in the can, but more of it!! Usually found where the canned minced clams are found.
You have to try it. You will never go back!
Let me know what you think!
I have never added cheese to my chowder, but, it sounds like a great add, I like cheese in everything! BACON TOO!
Still do not like to take away from the real Clam flavor. Ty from a 68 yr old beginner.
Ann Mendoza
0Where do the carbs come from in this recipe? It seems a little high in carbs for one cup. I was wondering if there was something I could adjust to make it lower carb. I love cream soups.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Ann, The carbs come from the cauliflower mostly.
AJ
0This turned out amazing! I tried it with the riced cauliflower that I had in the freezer! I used 2 cups of broth and one cup of heavy whipping cream instead of adding almond milk. I also used an immersion blender with half the cauliflower to make it a bit thicker.
Does anyone know if this would freeze well?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi AJ, glad you liked it! I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe, though, since the heavy cream could separate.
Nathan Floyd
0I freeze it all the time. Although not as good as just made if you slowly recook on the stove mine came out fine.
Megan
0We made this today and loved it. We did use the emulsifier to thicken at the end. Didn’t miss the potatoes at all!!! New favorite soup recipe.
Brandon
0Is it 1 cup + half a cup of broth and milk, or is it one half cup?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Brandon, it’s 1 1/2 cups, as in 1.5.
Val
0Mmm, mmm good! I added some bacon, onion powder and thyme, and used half scallops and half clams, and did thicken it just a bit with some xantham gum. The chowder turned out way better than expected! Thanks for the recipe!
Maria
0I skipped the milk entirely and added double the cream. I puréed the cauliflower and I also added shredded mozzarella to thicken. Mozzarella is perfect as it is so mild in flavor and doesn’t add a cheesy flavor to chowder. Thanks so much for this recipe. Love it so much.
Nathan Floyd
0This was amazing. I cooked it a lot longer to soften the cauliflower as much possible and added an extra can of clams – what can I say, I like clams. I also added celery. Awesome. Thanks so much.
Habeas Humor
0I just made this for the first time, and I love it. It tastes just like any other good bowl of clam chowder I have had. The clams and the cauliflower add a nice texture so that I didn’t even miss the traditional potatoes. They never were my favorite part of clam chowder anyway. I eat keto and therefore don’t worry about fat, so next time I might try increasing the cream and decreasing the almond milk. Then again, to me this tastes plenty creamy as is. I bought prepackaged riced cauliflower and minced canned clams to make it easy, because I am a terrible chopper. In addition to salt and pepper, I put in paprika, basil, oregano, and a little bit of onion powder.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Habeas! I’m so glad you liked it. The riced cauliflower sounds like a nice time saving idea.