Whole30 + Keto Creamy Chicken Chowder
Whole30 + Keto Creamy Chicken Chowder Recipe + Video – a low carb, dairy free, thick and creamy chicken and vegetable chowder! Instant pot, stove top + slow cooker instructions. Paleo, gluten free, grain free, sugar free, clean eating, real food.
Are you ready for the creamiest, dreamiest, most luscious chicken chowder?
It is going to play complete tricks on your mind because this chowder is whole30, keto, dairy free and gluten free!
Table of Contents
Whole30 + Keto Chowder
Growing up near San Francisco, chowder is a big deal. I love a thick, creamy, hearty chowder. This Whole30 + Keto Chicken Chowder is just that!
It has chicken, turnips (my fav low carb white potato substitute!), carrots, celery, onion + green beans. It’s all simmered together with bone broth, fresh herbs + garlic.
You can do this in the instant pot, slow cooker or stove top! I have directions for all 3 in the recipe card!
Whole30 + Keto Chicken Chowder Thickener
Normally chowder is thickened with tons of flour, and made creamy with tons of cream. I’ve made the most genius substitutions to keep it Whole30 + clean keto!
Rather than using flour, I puree thawed cauliflower rice with broth from the soup. Rather than using heavy cream (my stomach doesn’t do great with dairy), I use soaked cashews! Blend it all up, and it adds tons of thickness, adds in even more vegetables, and is 100% keto + Whole30 friendly!
Serving + Freezing
I’m going to have to insist you make my keto biscuits to serve with this soup. It is a match made in food heaven!
This soup makes enough to serve 8, so you should have plenty for leftovers. Use them for lunches that week, or freeze in pint size mason jars for up to 6 months!
Watch Chicken Chowder Recipe Demo (3:18 minutes)
Whole30 + Keto Creamy Chicken Chowder
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee, avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 4 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 medium turnips, peeled and chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 8 ounces green beans, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 large chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 10-ounce bags frozen cauliflower rice, thawed and all water squeezed out with a dish towel
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for 1 hour, then drained
Equipment
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set your instant pot to saute.
- Add in the ghee, carrots, celery, turnips, onion, green beans, salt + pepper. Cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.
- Add in the garlic, rosemary, thyme + sage. Cook another 30 seconds.
- Add in the diced chicken breasts, then pour in the chicken stock. Stir to combine.
- Close with the lid, and make sure the vent is at SEALING. Hit CANCEL, then cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes. Will take about 10-15 minutes to reach pressure, then it will start counting down from 10. After the 10 minutes is up, do a QUICK RELEASE, where you move the valve to VENTING to release all the steam. Once all the steam is gone and the float valve has dropped, you can safely open the instant pot.
- In your high speed blender, add the cauliflower rice, cashews, and ladle in about 1-2 cups of the cooking liquid (try and not pour in any solids) from the instant pot chowder. Blend on high for 60-90 seconds until completely smooth.
- Pour in the creamy pureed cauliflower rice mixture to the instant pot. Stir to combine. Taste for salt + pepper.
- Serve warm. Delicious served with my keto biscuits, and topped a few dashes of hot sauce or a small squeeze of fresh lemon for a little bit of acid.
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for at least 5 days, or frozen for at least 6 months.
Stove Top Instructions
- Heat your dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
- Follow Instant Pot Instructions 2-4 above.
- After adding in the chicken stock, simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 45 minutes-1 hour, until the vegetables are soft.
- Follow Instant Pot Instructions 6-9 above.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Heat your dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
- Follow Instant Pot Instructions 2 + 3 above.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables into your slow cooker, along with the chicken breasts + chicken stock. Stir to combine.
- Slow cook over HIGH for 4 hours, or LOW 8 hours.
- Follow Instant Pot Instructions 6-9 above.
Notes
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50 Comments on “Whole30 + Keto Creamy Chicken Chowder”
Huge crowd pleaser! Even my very picky six year old!Â
I love to hear that it was a crowd pleaser, even a very picky 6 year old Meghan! LOL! Trust me, I know how fantastic that feels! :)
So so good!! Your cashew cream has been a game changer in so many recipes to make them dairy free without sacrificing the rich creamy flavor of dairy. Â I also added peas to mine to make it more like a chicken pot pie soup.Â
Adding peas is a delicious addition to the soup Cynthia. I am so glad you are enjoying the cashew cream. I agree it really is a game changer and has so many uses.
We just made this in the instant pot and it was successful! My boyfriend and I were really looking to add more umami so we decided to add garlic salt, Worcestershire, dairy free cheese, onion powder, and pepper to really give it a bigger body. Love this as a base!!!Â
I love the additions you made to it, they all sound fantastic and yummy Caroline!Â
Can’t wait to try this. Do you think tapioca flour would be a good way to thicken up the soup?
I haven’t recipe tested the soup with tapioca flour, but I think it would probably work Regina. Please let me know if you try it.
What would be a good substitute for the green beans? I need to avoid the lectins in them….Â
Any of your favorite veggies would work great in this soup Mary. How about asparagus, zucchini, green peas or broccoli? I sure hope you like it.
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! I have been keto for 2 years and haven’t been able to get such a thick and creamy soup (I really hate the texture xanthan gum results in) your method of thickening this soup is genius!Â
It is so satisfying to have a thick creamy soup Kara. So happy you enjoyed it.
This is one of our favorites!!! Â This past weekend I tweaked the recipe to make it a seafood chowder…. OMG! Â We live in the northeast on Long Island and my husband has been craving seafood chowder. Â I used cod (ButcherBox) and substituted some of the chicken broth with clam juice. Â I also added some mini clams. Â Oh I crumbled a little bit of bacon on top. Â The possibilities are endless. Â Thank you for this amazing recipe!!!
I love that you were able to adapt my chicken chowder to a seafood chowder Barbara! It sounds absolutely delicious.
Loved this recipe! Just finished making it and it taste so yummy and creamy and delicious!  I used dry herbs so I didn’t put as much in as I believe there is a diff between using say a tablespoon of fresh vs a tablespoon of dry – anyway — my only issue is I don’t have a big blender – just my little magic bullet and a immersion blender – so this part took me a bit of time- started the cream  it all with my immersion blender in a huge mason jar but it wasn’t gonna get creamy enough so then had to transport it into sections in my magic bullet! But it worked out – hahaÂ
Just need to get me a big blender! Hmmm mother’s day is coming up 🤔😊
Thanks for another awesome recipe!Â
I am so glad you liked my chowder Sarah! Oh my sounds like you really worked hard for the cream portion of the soup! My goodness! LOL! I hope you get a bigger blender for Mother’s Day!
I haven’t made this yet but I’m sure it will be amazing
I made some of your heavy coffee creamer- can I use that with the cauli rice? Do you think the soup would taste too coconut-y?
I don’t mind coconut milk and creams in like thai food but I’ve never used it in soups/chowdersÂ
I haven’t recipe tested the heavy creamer with this soup Sarah. If you like the taste of the heavy creamer, I am sure it would be tasty in the soup. You would definitely taste the coconut, but I actually like that taste. I sure hope you like it!
Made this at the beginning of the week and had plenty left for lunches and froze a quart size bag. This was delicious! The only thing I need to work on is the creamy puree. I did not blend it long enough in my Ninja blender. I’m also thinking I could have added a little more of the cooking broth to help make it smoother. Even with my little mess up, the consistency was great! This will be added to my go to recipes! Thanks for creating awesome recipes and posting them!
I am so glad you liked my chowder Nicole. Here’s a tip about the cashew cream. If using the Ninja blender instead of the Vitamix, I would soak the cashews overnight in room temperature water. If you are in a hurry boil water, turn off heat and soak cashews for at least an hour. This will help soften the cashews and they will blend more thoroughly. I sure hope this helps!
This is my favorite recipe I have found on Whole30 so far! Like some other people, I substituted potatoes for turnips, and it was incredible. Mine was very thick so I just thinned it out a bit with some more bone broth. I cannot thank you enough for sharing this!!
I am so glad that you liked my soup Erin! Sounds like you did a great job improvising with what you had on hand and thinning out the soup with a little bone broth. Sounds like you are a fantastic cook!
This was a great recipe! Â I did made some adjustments based on the ingredients we already had on hand. Â I used heavy cream instead of cashews, potatoes instead of turnips, and we didn’t have sage so I subbed about a 1/2 tablespoon of a poultry seasoning we have from a local spice shop. Â It turned out super flavorful and creamy. Â This was definitely the perfect cozy meal for a 20 degree day! Thanks Natalie!!
I am so happy you liked my soup Alex! I love that you were able to improvise with what you had on hand and it still turned out great. Thanks so much for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
I made this for my husband last night. I can say the flavor is delicious! My husband however thought it was to herbaceous. I followed the instructions but used heavy cream. This did not turn out as creamy as I thought it would. I did use a food processor instead of a high speed blender so that may be my fault. I did have a bowl today for lunch and it reheats very well.
I am so happy you liked my chowder Kelsey. When you use heavy cream as opposed to cashew cream, it won’t be as thick. It’s still very flavorful though. Maybe reduce some of the herbs and spices to adjust it to your husbands taste. So glad it reheated well!
I made this last night along with your keto biscuits. I tweaked it a little – didn’t have turnips and don’t like celery, and used Original Nutpods instead of cashews, but OMG, Natalie, you nailed this one! This was so good! I’m excited to have leftovers for supper tonight!
I am so happy you liked my soup and biscuits Emily! I love that you made the recipe your own. That’s the fun of cooking. I am happy for you that you have leftovers for tonight! Yummy!
Delicious!
Made it for my 80 year old parentsÂ
They had no idea it was healthy! ?
They loved it!?
I am so glad you liked my soup Cynde. That is fantastic that you made it for your parents and they had no idea it was healthy. That is a win-win!
So good!  I can’t believe how rich and creamy it is. My kids loved it too. Â
I am so happy you liked my chowder Jen. Don’t you just love the creamy texture? I am so glad your kids liked it too!Â
This sounds delicious! Is there a substitute for the cauliflower rice?  Can’t do cauliflower unfortunately.Â
Unfortunately I haven’t recipe tested this with anything other than cauliflower rice. If I come up with anything I will let you know!
I have made several recipes with Natalie’s cashew cream before. No cauliflower. Just blend the cashews with the chicken stock. It’s delicious and still creamy!
I love to hear that it was delicious and creamy Heather! That sounds like the perfect soup!Â
This recipe is so yummy. Â Love the time I saved using my instant pot. Â This really is so creamy and delicious. Â Loved it!
I am so glad you like my chowder Jill. I am glad it turned out creamy and delicious! Isn’t the instant pot a perfect time saver? My favorite kitchen appliance for sure!
Is there a possible substitute for the soaked cashews? Â This looks amazing but I have an allergy to cashews (unfortunately!). Â Thank you! Â Love your recipes!
If you need to substitute the cashews Tracy, use just 3 cups chicken stock when cooking the soup and make it creamy using 1 cup coconut milk, original flavor Nutpods, or if you’re ok digesting dairy you can use heavy cream. Add the coconut milk/Nutpods/heavy cream to your blender along with the cauliflower rice and blend. Â
This was absolutely delish! I subbed potatoes for the turnips since I’m not Keto and it worked perfectly. I also made a separate pot for my vegan husband using vegi stock and extra vegis instead of chicken and that worked great too. The creaminess is just amazing. It’s hard to believe there is no flour or dairy.Â
I am so happy you like my chowder Mallory! You sound like a very inventive cook! I love that you were able to adapt it for your vegan husband. My mom and sister are both vegan so I can relate! I am so glad it turned out well for you and was so creamy. That is music to my ears.