Shrimp and salmon team up in this hearty seafood chowder with smoky bacon. For this recipe, we recommend using salmon because it’s loaded with great keto fats, but you can substitute your favorite fish, if desired, so long as you recalculate the macros accordingly.
Ingredients List
- 2 slices (1½ oz) bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1/4 head cauliflower roughly cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1½ cups or 6 oz)
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1 (8 oz) bottle clam juice
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 lb medium peeled and deveined shrimp, roughly chopped
- 1/2 lb boneless, skinless salmon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- Line a small plate with a few layers of paper towel.
- Place the bacon in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium. When the bacon starts to render its fat, after 2 to 3 minutes, stir until the bacon is crispy, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to the prepared plate.
- Reduce the heat under the pot to medium. Add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the cauliflower, celery, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the celery softens, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Add the clam juice, water, and thyme. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the vegetables are quite tender, 15 minutes.
- Transfer about a sixth of the soup to a blender and puree it, then add the pureed soup back to the pot. Add the heavy cream. Increase the heat, bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the shrimp and cook until it’s opaque, stirring a few times, about 5 minutes. Add the salmon, gently stir to incorporate, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally trying not to break up the salmon as it cooks.
- Add the hot sauce, season to taste with salt, and pepper, and ladle into bowls. Garnish with the cooked bacon and a sprinkling of thyme leaves. Serve.
I’ll make this again! I used garlic & onions instead of the powder. I used only shrimp also. I did add an extra 1/2 cup of cream & water then adjusted the salt & pepper to taste. Puréeing some veggies like the recipe calls for or all of them before adding the shrimp really does adds extra flavor. I will be fixing this again!!
Step 1 says “Line a small plate with a few layers of paper towel.” Why? I was afraid the recipe would call for draining the bacon on that paper towel (the horror!). But no… that plate and towel never make an appearance. Must be a leftover step from the original recipe’s source…? In any event — a nice recipe!
Glad you like the recipe, Jeff. In step 2, it says “Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to the prepared plate.” That’s the plate with the paper towel 🙂
Easy and full of flavor! Made it per recipe – Delicious.
Easy & delicious…that’s a winning combo 🤩. Thanks for your feedback.
Made this delicious chowder for dinner tonight. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A definite keeper….thanks for sharing!!
I just made this tonight and it’s amazing! Next time I might puree all of it and just have the chunks of shrimp and salmon but overall a stellar recipe!
Thanks for the feedback, Donna. We sure like it too!
Been doing a very restrictive <10% carbs eating regime the last 2 weeks. Cream wasn’t on my list, but I made this tonight for dinner, and it was fantastic. The best dinner I’ve had in 2+ weeks. Will keep this in my repertoire. Not too rich. Just right./
Great recipe! All the stars were in alignment as I had just went to a local crab shack and had leftover shrimp and crab. This worked out perfectly and I didn’t need to add hot sauce to great a great taste and flavor. I will certainly make this again!
OMG!!! I thought it would be a little too much on the Thyme, but nope!! This was AMAZING! Ok, so I didn’t use clam juice (HATE IT!) so I used chicken broth instead. This was so good!! THANK YOU!!!
Made this recipe tonight. Excellent, except I made a lot of changes. Doubled the salmon, used fresh garlic and onions, added carrots and spinach, cayenne and dill. Added the salmon and shrimp at the same time. Doubled the clam juice and added the cream at the very end. Hope I remember all that next time.
I have been keto for over a year, and recently, I started dating someone new. He made this for me in an effort to cook something I could eat…. and it was fantastic! I cooked it at home the next week for myself and my date mentioned that he brought it to his non-keto family who also loved it. Thank you!!