This easy, creamy keto seafood chowder is a hearty low carb soup that you can make in less than 30 minutes. Using frozen seafood and cauliflower cream sauce, this healthy soup is full of flavor and has only 6g net carbs and 169 calories so it’s low calorie too!
You might also like this keto clam chowder recipe!

Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a creamy, chunky, hearty soup, especially in the colder months. So today I made this keto seafood chowder with frozen shrimp, scallops and langoustinos I found at Aldi. And I also used a cauliflower cream sauce to thicken the seafood soup and make it creamy without flour.
Boy was it good as well as very hearty. I ended up eating it for both lunch and dinner as my meals. Not only was it tasty, each serving has only 169 calories and 6g net carbs so it was a win win recipe for me!
What Is A Chowder Vs A Soup?
In a nutshell, a chowder is chunky and thick more like a stew, whereas soup is usually thinner. Also a chowder is often made with a roux using flour and often contains seafood and vegetables like potatoes.
Because I wanted to make a keto seafood chowder, I used a cauliflower cream instead of a roux and I also eliminated the potatoes. I did use a bit of corn and carrots which are higher in carbs but just a small amount for color and sweetness.
The Frozen Seafood I Used From Aldi
I had planned to buy shrimp, scallops and clams from Aldi for my seafood soup. However I could find canned clams there, but I did find langostinos which I always wanted to try.
By the way langostinos taste similar to lobster and has a texture more like shrimp. Though they are not tiny lobsters they taste similar are often used in food service due to their size and cost. (source)
Below you can see the Aldi bags of seafood I used. I believe you can find the shrimp and scallops all the time but I think the langostinos are a special find and not always around. No matter you can easily make subsitutions. See recipe tips and notes below for that.
Let’s Make Our Keto Seafood Chowder!
This is surprising simple to make. First thing to do is cook the bacon. You want to use the bacon grease as the oil to saute the vegetables. Once the bacon is cooked, take it out and crumble it for later.
Next add in the celery, carrots and frozen corn. Saute until they soften a bit and then add in some garlic, old bay seasoning, Better than Bouillon soup base and water. Mix to incorporate the soup base and seasonings and then add in the frozen seafood.
Let the soup simmer for a few minutes to cook the seafood and vegetables. In the mean time make your cauliflower cream sauce.
Making Low Carb Cauliflower Cream Sauce
I just made a simple cauliflower cream sauce today. Start by placing cauliflower florets in a microwave steamer and cook for 5 minutes. When they are fork tender take them out and place in a high speed blender like a Vitamix along with ½ cup of water, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Blend until it looks like thin mashed potatoes. This keto chicken pot pie recipe will show you what it looks like.
Add the finished cauliflower cream sauce to the chowder and you are done!
Recipe Tips & Notes
- I used raw, frozen shrimp, scallops and langostinos in this seafood chowder. However you can substitute any kind of seafood you want. I would consider clams and a white fish as possible substitutes.
- The thickness of the cauliflower cream will determine the thickness of soup. So err on the side of a thicker cauliflower cream sauce as you can add water or broth to thin it at the end.
- I used celery, carrots and corn as my vegetables. Because carrots and corn are higher in carbs I didn’t use much. You can leave those out if you are strict keto but I would keep in the celery. You can use other low carb vegetables like mushrooms, turnips, celeriac, radishes, etc. Just count your carbs.
- I like to use bacon grease for the flavor when sautéing the vegetables and then crumbling it and adding it to the top. You could mix it in the soup at the end to add more flavor but it won’t be as crispy obviously.
Well I hope you enjoy this keto seafood soup as much as I did. It was so tasty and since I have leftover seafood I’ll be definitely be making it again!
The nutrtional information for 1 serving is:
169 cals/ 8.1g fat/ 8.4g carbs/ 2.4g fiber/ 14.5g protein = 6g net carbs
Easy Creamy Keto Seafood Chowder
This easy, creamy keto seafood chowder is a hearty low carb soup that you can make in less than 30 minutes. Using frozen seafood and cauliflower cream sauce, this healthy soup is full of flavor and has only 6g net carbs and 169 calories!
Ingredients
- 2 pieces of bacon
- 1 piece of celery chopped
- ½ cup carrots, chopped
- ¼ cup frozen corn
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 oz bay scallops, frozen
- 4 oz raw shrimp, frozen
- 4 oz of langistinos, frozen (can substitute white fish)
- 2 cups of water (+¼ cup for cauliflower cream)
- 2 teaspoons of Old Bay Sseasoning
- 1 tablespoon of Better than Bouillon vegetable base
- 3 cups of cauliflower florets
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a soup pan, add your bacon and cook. Once it is done, take out the bacon and set aside for a topping.
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the celery, carrots and corn. Saute until the vegetables start to soften.
- Meanwhile add the cauliflower florets to a microwave steamer and cook for 5 minutes until for tender.
- Mix the Better than Bouillion base and Old bay seasoning with 2 cups of water and pour over the vegetables and then add in the seafood.
- Bring to a simmer while you make the cauliflower cream.
- Pour the cooked cauliflower into a high speed blender along with ¼ cup of water, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the garlic and parmesan cheese. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Spoon the cauliflower cream into the soup and mix well. Let it simmer for a few more minutes and it's done!
Notes
Recipe Tips & Notes
- I used raw, frozen shrimp, scallops and langostinos in this seafood chowder. However you can substitute any kind of seafood you want. I would consider clams and a white fish as possible substitutes.
- The thickness of the cauliflower cream will determine the thickness of soup. So err on the side of a thicker cauliflower cream sauce as you can add water or broth to thin it at the end.
- I used celery, carrots and corn as my vegetables. Because carrots and corn are higher in carbs I didn't use much. You can leave those out if you are strict keto but I would keep in the celery. You can use other low carb vegetables like mushrooms, turnips, celeriac, radishes, etc. Just count your carbs.
- I like to use bacon grease for the flavor when sautéing the vegetables and then crumbling it and adding it to the top. You could mix it in the soup at the end to add more flavor but it won't be as crispy obviously.
The nutrtional information for 1 serving is:
169 cals/ 8.1g fat/ 8.4g carbs/ 2.4g fiber/ 14.5g protein = 6g net carbs
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 169
Colette
What a treat on a cold winter night. I used 1 frozen cod fillet and a frozen scallop and shrimp mix. Made as written with 2 additions. I used heavy cream( because I had it ) instead of water in the cauliflower cream and added small florets of cauliflower with the fish to give it that potato feel. Such a smart recipe using the cauliflower cream to thicken. Will definitely make this again and again. Thanks for this new favorite
Denise
Hi Colette, so glad you liked it. I love the cauliflower cream for making cream soups so try it with other soups you want to make creamy. Also you can definitely use cream instead of it. Sometimes too much cream upsets my stomach (though I love it) and that is why I use the cauliflower. Thanks for coming back to comment.
Connie
OMG I love scallops and shrimp and your chowder… I can almost taste it! It looks so good. Now I have to buy this seafood and make it this week!
Moop Brown
With such a unique combination of vegetables, seafood and flavors, this soup looks tasty and perfect for fall!
Kev
What is “Old Bay Seasoning”? Never heard of it, and it isn’t in the stores where I live. I feel like this is the key to making this, but it’s a Mystery Ingredient.
Denise
Hi Kev, I’m sorry I thought that was a common spice. It’s a spicy blend of seasonings that they often use with make crabs and shrimp. Here is an article with substitutions. In my opinion a cajun seasoning would work best or maybe just a season salt. Hope that works out for you. https://www.cuisinevault.com/old-bay-seasoning-substitutes/
Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli
This seafood chowder looks so hearty and delicious! The cauliflower cream is such a great idea and I also love your choice of frozen seafood!
Heather
What a great low carb chowder! Definitely going to make this soup this week. Perfect Fall comforting soup!!
Nathalie
i couldnt find the vegtable base, i cant use meat base. it is necessary? i can use vegtable broth instead of water with the cauliflower.
Denise
Hi Natalie, I love the Better than Bouillon bases because they add a lot of flavor to dish but you can substitute dried bouillon or omit it from the recipe. The bacon and old bay seasoning should give it a lot flavor anyway. Hope you like it.
Amanda
This soup was delicious! It had the perfect creamy texture, and the seafood really made it feel like a special meal. I’ll definitely make this again and again over the fall and winter months!
Tammy
I cannot remember the last time I had seafood chowder but my goodness, this looks like absolute heaven! I’m craving a bowl of this right now 😀
Lynn Jamison
Hi Denise! I made the seafood chowder tonite, it was a hit! There are no leftovers! And I was most excited to finally make mashed cauliflower…I was afraid to try before, but your instructions were perfect. Thank you for coming up with such great recipes!
Sharon
I LOVE this keto version of seafood chowder! So creamy and delicious and just what the colder weather is calling for.
Bernice Hill
What an interesting keto recipe. Though I know very little about keto, I was wondering just how you would make chowder keto friendly. Cauliflower cream is such a great idea. Are most nuts keto too?
Denise
Hi Bernice, yes most nuts are keto friend too. I love the cauliflower cream and use it in many of my recipes.
Candice
That cauliflower cream is something else! Such a flavorful chowder… I used white fish and salmon and it came out so, so good… can’t wait to make ti again!