A rich, creamy low carb chowder recipe with the smoky kick of chipotle peppers. Make it with fresh chicken or leftover turkey. Either way, it will be delicious!
Thanksgiving is over and now it’s back to real life. You might have the day off, you might have to work. You might have kids home for a long weekend, bored and restless because it’s too cold outside to play. Or it’s beautiful and warm and you’re wondering how best to use your time off.
But perhaps it’s chilly in the evenings where you are and you’re craving some warm comfort food. Because even in the desert, it gets chilly at night at this time of year and you crave soup. I know, I used to live in the desert. I am an expert in comfort food in any climate.
I no longer live in the desert. In fact, I live in a climate where comfort food is required for a good 7 or 8 months out of the year. Soups and stews and chowders are almost always in style in New England. When that old Nor’easter blows in, you hunker down and warm yourself up over a steaming bowl. It’s just what you do around these parts.
The inspiration for this came from Campbell’s of all places. My husband loves stocking up on canned soup when it’s on sale, a habit I am determined to change. I am not against canned soup in general, but the typical can contains many things I don’t want my family consuming on a regular basis.
Beyond the gluten and the carbs, there are insane amounts of sodium and additives I think we could happily do without. Soup is so easy to make from scratch and if you make a nice big batch, you can get several dinners and lunches out of it.
It was only after I made this and everyone loved it that I realized it would also have been really good with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Simply add the cooked turkey along with the cream and you’ll have a delicious low carb turkey chowder.
Chipotle Chicken Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 slices of bacon chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cups cubed jicama or daikon radish
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 1 ¼ lbs boneless,,skinless chicken thighs cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon salt ½
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel lined plate.
- Add onion and jicama or daikon radish to bacon grease and cook until onions are tender, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more.
- Add chicken stock and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer 10 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add cream and minced chipotle and simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and reserved bacon bits.
Peggy says
This sounds super yummy. I love anything chipotle. Printing this one! 🙂
MaryPat says
I made this recipe for my family. The flavor & consistency were phenomenal, but the texture of the jicama was off-putting. No matter how long it was simmered, it was crunchy. I would have preferred the chowder without any potato replacement. Since the flavor profile was so good, I will try this again with daikon radish if I can manage to find it.
Carolyn says
Consider rutabaga too. It works well!
Marilyn says
How about using cauliflower?
Carolyn says
Sure… but it cooks through much faster so you don’t want to add it until closer to the end.
Shannon says
Made this tonight for dinner! Yum!!
Tiffany O says
This looks delish!
Melanie says
Made it and loved it! Even my ultra picky kiddos liked it. Thank you for another awesome recipe, Caroline!
Susan Hayes says
Wowza! Sooo good even my doubters are in love with this:-)
Sara @ Saucy Dipper says
Say “yes” to comfort food! Chowder especially. Yours looks awesome.
Susan says
Went over and got the recipe – thank you!!! Looks and sounds delicious!!!
Kelli Green says
made it tonight, 11/30… it was so good!!!! YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Deanna Segrave-Daly says
We got a fire going and I sure wish I had a big bowl of this chowder right now!
Toni | Boulder Locavore says
Looks really delish Carolyn! Love chipotle in anything. Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!