Comfort food without the guilt! Low Carb Cheesy Bacon Cauliflower Chowder has a savory flavor that you’ll want to eat again and again!
Whether you’re looking for a soup recipe to warm your soul on a cold winter day or for a way to cut back on carbs without sacrificing flavor, Low Carb Cheesy Bacon Cauliflower Chowder is the recipe for you. This creamy soup is loaded with savory flavor (thank you bacon!!) and packed with delicious grated cauliflower. (I’ve just recently become a cauliflower addict, you HAVE to try this Roasted Cauliflower recipe..it’s amazing). This keto-friendly recipe is delicious AND nutritious!
LOW CARB CHEESY BACON CAULIFLOWER CHOWDER
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Every year around the middle of January, my husband and I swear that it’s time for us to start working on our New Year’s Resolutions. Yes, yes, I know you’re supposed to start them on January 1st, but then who will eat all the yummy holiday leftovers?!
Anyway, we decided this year that we weren’t going to be cutting out the foods we love. Instead, we’re focusing on ways to make our favorite foods healthier and better for us physically. One of my favorite dishes is a creamy loaded potato soup. Definitely not the healthiest choice, but boy is it a delicious choice.
So, keeping those resolutions in mind, I challenged myself to transform my favorite potato soup into an equally decadent keto cauliflower chowder! By using grated cauliflower instead, I’ve taken a delicious creamy soup from carb-heavy to a low-carb, high-fiber treat! This cauliflower chowder is a great recipe. It has been such a huge hit in our house that my husband and my sons have asked me to make it multiple times!
Ingredients for Cauliflower Chowder
Cauliflower – you’ll need about 1/2 of a large head of cauliflower for this cauliflower chowder recipe. You’ll want your cauliflower to be either shredded or grated to help create a smoother soup recipe. I personally use my food processor for this step – so much less work on my arms!
Bacon – I’m a big believer in bacon makes every recipe better, especially a chowder recipe! For this yummy cauliflower chowder with bacon, you’ll need 10 slices of center cut bacon.
Center cut bacon is simply bacon with the fatty ends cut off. This brings the fat content of your soup down significantly. If you don’t have “official” center cut bacon on hand don’t worry. Just chop off those ends off a regular pack of bacon so you’ve got the meatier pieces left!
Sharp Cheddar – for me, when it comes to cheese, the sharper the better! I love the bitterness that a good, sharp cheddar adds to this cauliflower chowder. Bacon and cheddar are a match made in Heaven!
Broth – I like to use chicken broth for this soup. You could easily swap out for vegetable broth too. Whichever of the two you have in your pantry will work.
How to Make Bacon Cauliflower Chowder
Before you’re ready to start cooking, chop up your celery, garlic, and cauliflower. I love using my food processor for this port of the prep. If you don’t have one, use a sharp for the celery and garlic and a cheese grater for the cauliflower! Easy peasy.
- Whisk together your flour and 1/4 cup of chicken broth in a small bowl then set aside. This will be your thickening agent to give your cauliflower chowder that creamy, delicious texture.
- Next, saute your bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer your cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Then drain all but 1 Tablespoon of drippings from the pot. You’ll use the drippings to cook your veggies for this soup and give them an incredible flavor!! (No olive oil needed here!)
- Next, add chopped onion, celery, and garlic to the pot. Then season with salt and pepper and saute until vegetables are tender. This takes about 4-5 minutes.
- Add your cauliflower to the pot and then stir to combine.
- Add water to your pot, then place a lid on top. Steam until the cauliflower is tender, stirring a couple of times. It will take about 5-7 minutes.
- Next, add in the remaining chicken broth and milk then turn up the heat and bring the soup to a boil. (Sometimes I make this soup with heavy cream instead for a richer soup.)
- Slowly whisk in the flour/chicken broth mixture while stirring. Then turn down the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until chowder has thickened.
- Once the chowder has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in 2 cups of cheddar cheese until smooth. Then stir in half of the cooked bacon.
- Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and/or hot sauce if necessary. I’m heavy-handed with the hot sauce because my husband loves a good kick to his cauliflower chowder. Feel free to leave it out if you prefer though!
- Last, serve your chowder topped with remaining shredded cheese, cooked bacon, and some green onion. I can almost guarantee you’ll be going back for seconds!!!
If you’d like your soup extra smooth, you can use an immersion blender or a countertop blender to puree your soup. Just be sure to do this BEFORE adding in the bacon.
How do you Thicken Cauliflower Soup?
This bacon cauliflower chowder is decadent and delicious, you might not even notice that it’s NOT a loaded baked potato soup! On its own, cauliflower chowder comes out to be pretty thick. That being said, if you find your soup not thick enough for your liking, don’t worry. You can easily remedy it!
To thicken your chowder, simply mix up some more of the chicken broth and flour mixture that you made earlier. Add it to your soup until you’re happy with the consistency!
Can Cauliflower Chowder be Frozen?
You can absolutely freeze cauliflower chowder… in fact, I fully support it! I love having a batch of this keto cauliflower chowder in the freezer so I can grab it out at a moment’s notice!
When freezing your cauliflower chowder, make sure that you allow the soup to fully cool before storing it. My biggest suggestion is that you use an AIRTIGHT container to store your chowder. I love using quart-size freezer bags to portion out individual servings. If I’m going to use the chowder as a meal for the whole family, I’ll just freeze the whole batch in a gallon bag.
When you’re ready to serve your cauliflower chowder, just let it defrost on the counter. Then, heat it up on the stovetop or in the microwave! You’ve got yourself a delicious, nutritious meal in minutes!
Looking for some more hearty soup recipes? Try some of these other Real Housemoms favorites!
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Crock Pot Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
- Weight Watchers Taco Soup
- Clam Chowder
- Slow Cooker Classic Tomato Soup
- more SIDE DISH recipes…
Tools used to make this Low Carb Cheesy Bacon Cauliflower Chowder recipe
Food Processor: while it’s not essential for this recipe, it definitely cuts down on your prep time!
Large Stock Pot: if you love soups as much as I do, you’ll need a great stock pot like this one.
*This post originally posted on 10/02/2013.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth divided
- 10 slices center-cut bacon chopped
- ½ small yellow onion peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cups grated cauliflower (1/2 of a large head)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 cups 1% milk
- 3 dashes hot sauce plus more to taste
- 2 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese divided
- Green onion thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Whisk together flour and 1/4 cup chicken broth in a small bowl then set aside.
- Saute bacon in a large soup pot over medium heat until crispy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain all but 1 Tablespoon drippings from the pot.
- Add onion, celery, and garlic to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and saute until vegetables are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add cauliflower to the pot then stir to combine.
- Add water then place a lid on top. Steam cauliflower until tender, stirring a couple of times, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add remaining 1 3/4 cups chicken broth and milk. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
- Slowly whisk in flour/chicken broth mixture while constantly stirring. Then turn down the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until chowder has thickened.
- Turn off heat and stir in 2 cups cheddar cheese until melted and smooth. Then stir in half of the cooked bacon.
- Check the seasoning and add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to your taste.
- Serve warm topped with remaining shredded cheese, cooked bacon, and some green onion.
Nutrition
Dee says
Forgot to rate this recipe when I posted my comment earlier. Excellent, will definitely keep making this!
Dee says
Made this yesterday and it tasted terrific. My husband, who told me when we were first married never to make cauliflower because he doesn’t like it, even said it was tasty and went for seconds.
Oline Wright says
looks interesting but not something my husband would like but might try it myself sometime but leaving out the celery and possibly using all of the onion. Maybe steam some of the other parts of the cauliflower for a chunkier chowder.
Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home says
Suzanne of Simply Suzannes at Home
Oh my gosh! This looks amazing!
Thinking I’m going to have to make this over the weekend.
Thanks for sharing,
Suzanne