This delicious low carb smoky bacon and turkey chowder recipe is a great way to use up any leftover turkey or chicken! Don’t have any leftovers? Pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way home and you can be eating this delicious low carb chowder in no time!
Last year I made this Pumpkin Chicken (or Turkey) Chili with my turkey leftovers, which was a huge hit with the entire family. Finding myself with another bounty of leftover turkey recently, I wanted to try making a creamy and satisfying chowder with it.
In addition to starting with a applewood smoked bacon, I also added a bit of liquid smoke flavoring to the broth which pushed this chowder over the edge into something extraordinary!
The bacon pieces that I cooked into the soup rendered down to silky morsels that delivered amazing flavor in every bite. I did manage (barely) to save some of the crispy bacon to garnish the soup with, and that added a satisfying crunch and burst of bacon flavor at the end.
I was originally planned to use cauliflower in place of potatoes, but I decided to splurge a little by using a small amount of sweet potatoes instead – they added a lovely color and slight sweetness that perfectly complemented the creamy, smoky broth. If you want to further reduce the carb count though, cauliflower would work well as a low carb potato substitute in this recipe.
This is comfort in a bowl people. You might think you’re sick of turkey by the end of this weekend, but I promise that if you try this chowder you’ll consider roasting another one ASAP just to have leftovers so you can make it again!
And if you don’t want to go to all that trouble you can simply purchase a rotisserie chicken and a package of bacon from your local grocery store and make this delicious low carb chowder any time of the year!
Low Carb Smoky Bacon & Turkey Chowder Recipe
- Yield: 8 generous servings 1x
Description
Put those turkey leftovers to good use in this delicious low carb and gluten free turkey chowder recipe flavored with bacon and cheddar cheese!
Ingredients
- 8 oz bacon
- 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped
- 8 cups turkey (or chicken) stock
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cups raw sweet potato, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded or chopped
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop the raw bacon into 1 inch pieces.
- Brown the bacon in a medium saute pan until slightly crisp.
- Remove about 1/4 cup of the bacon, crumble and set aside for garnish.
- Add the shallots and celery to the bacon and grease in the pan, cooking until soft – about 5 minutes.
- Add the turkey stock, whipping cream and shredded cheddar cheese, whisking until melted and mostly smooth.
- Carefully add the sweet potato, turkey, parsley, and liquid smoke.
- Simmer about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Whisk in the xanthan gum and cook for 5 more minutes or until slightly thickened.
- Stir in the fresh thyme, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot, garnished with cooked bacon and more fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
Approximate nutrition info per serving: 328 calories, 19g fat, 6g net carbs, 29g protein
- Category: Keto Soup Recipe
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 2 cups
- Calories: 328
- Fat: 19g
- Carbohydrates: 6g net
- Protein: 29g
Linda Holland says
I haven’t tried this recipe because I just found it. I’m planning to make it in a couple of days. I have to go shopping first. It looks delicious. I saw your picture at the end. You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I wish I had eyes like yours.
Deborah says
Mellissa,
Found your site a few weeks ago and LOVE the recipes. Have only tried a few but ques: Have you thought of using the ‘built in recipe converter’ (not sure what it’s called) in your recipes? I am a recent widow and try to make 1-2 servings; and dividing is sometimes hard.
Thanks for your time.
Tom K. says
This recipe is spectacular! I used leftover smoked turkey along with cauliflower for the low carb version and can’t get enough of it. Will be making it again and again. Thank you!
★★★★★
Stew Ness says
I just made this tonight and used turnips instead of sweet potatoes……it was just like having regular potatoes in chowder….really really good!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Great idea, can’t wait to try it with turnips!
Debbie Dowling says
I made this yesterday and it is delicious. To make it a little thicker, I steamed cauliflower and mashed it and added it to soup. The flavors are so good. Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
Michelle says
I just made this, no parsley or fresh thyme on hand, so made do with dried thyme, a pinch of sage and a teaspoon of cinnamon.
No xanthum gum, so I just added half a cup of smoked Gouda in addition to the half a cup of white cheddar. I turned out great!
Thank you
Mary says
Ooh smoked Gouda! I have some at home. That’s a great idea. I might make this today!
Sandra says
I made this with the orange cheddar. Really looked discussing. Then I took a spoonful and I thought it was beautiful. Terrific recipe with such a different flavor from the standard Thanksgiving fare. We all loved it.
Sarah says
Melissa, are there some cranberries in the photo? I actually have a bag of fresh ones, wondering if I could add them to the chowder.
★★★★★
Mary says
I think that is crumbled bacon you are seeing. I though so first but I think it’s crispy bacon.
Michelle says
My family loves this recipe. My only change was to use radishes instead of the sweet potatoes. It was a huge hit!
★★★★★
Donna says
I usually just throw my mleftovers together and go but decided to try not follow this interesting recipe and boy, we were all so happy! Easy and delicious! I use rutabaga (frozen-which I defrosted to use-cause that’s what I had) and arrowroot as a thickener. This will be a go to for now on! And maybe Ill experiment with different veggies and guar gum as a thickener.
Donna says
My comment came up with a mean icon, I don’t understand?? This was an awesome meal! And I thought I gave it 5 stars
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
I think the gravatars are randomly assigned Donna until you put in your own in your profile – I won’t take it personally ha ha!
Cathy says
I just made this chowder it is amazing I used cauliflower along with one carrot it’s super delicious thank you so much for the recipe
★★★★★
Sherry says
I made this for dinner and it was amazing! I used butternut squash instead of sweet potato, and ham stock instead of turkey stock, because that is what I had available. SO good!!
Adriana says
If I use cauliflower instead do I use the same amount!
Yolanda says
I loved the idea of this recipe but had no turkey on hand and wanted to use the slow cooker. I tossed three or four frozen chicken breasts into the slow cooker in the morning, along with the bacon, veggies, broth and spices. Cooked it for 8 hrs on low, and shredded the chicken with two forks and added the cheese, cream and xanthan gum during the last 20 mins of cooking. Really, really good and so easy!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for letting us know it works with chicken breasts – thanks Yolanda!
Rachel says
I just made this soup and it is delicious! I added the sweet potatoes (not yams) but honestly even if you just take then out completely I don’t think you would really miss them. My husband even loved it.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Glad you and your husband enjoyed this soup Rachel – thanks for taking the time to let me know! :)
Joshua says
I’m attempting to cut my carbs for my diet. This recipe seems very interesting. Would you be able to expand on how you would modify the recipe to include cauliflower? Thanks in advance.