When I got a request for a dairy free clam chowder recipe, my first thought was ‘I don’t know about this, that may well be beyond my abilities!’. But I shouldn’t have worried it wasn’t possible, because here we are with the tastiest clam chowder. It’s perfectly creamy, and just the right amount of thickness you’d expect from a chowder. My main concern in creating a dairy free chowder was how to make it super creamy. If you add too much of the usual ingredients, (like cashew cream or coconut cream) they just take over with their strong flavor. But I finally settled on a super easy trick that solved everything! From there this creamy mixture is poured back into the clam chowder, and that’s where the magic happens! The other bonus with blending up part of the potatoes is they also thicken the chowder. This means this recipe is gluten free as well as dairy free – so really it’s a win win all around!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Bacon – I believe every good chowder starts with a bit of sautéed bacon. And I know you’ll love the flavor it adds to the mix here! Onions, garlic, & celery – These 3 make up your chowder soup base and provide a lot of flavor. Thyme & bay leaf – A bit of thyme really adds a lot here, and if you have fresh definitely use it. The bay leaf is a classic and adds a touch of flavor you don’t want to miss. Clams – I don’t want to get into any super intense arguments about fresh vs. canned, (just joking but opinions run strong on this!) but I went with canned. There’s 2 reasons for this, and the first and main reason is canned is so much easier and faster. The second reason is that we live in a land locked state where fresh clams aren’t just hanging around on the regular. If you want to start from scratch great fresh clams, by all means go ahead and do so! I’m always of the belief that starting from scratch always yields better results. But for the purposes of this recipe, we’re keeping it simple. Clam juice & chicken stock or broth – If you don’t have clam juice on hand, you can just add a bit more chicken stock. I also add the reserved clam juice from the canned clams to the chowder. And between the 2 you get pretty great flavor. I like to add the chicken stock because like the bacon, it rounds out these flavors. Potatoes – The potatoes do triple duty here in this chowder. Of course there’s lots of chunks of potatoes like any good chowder. But they’re also are part of the thickener and the creaminess as well! Coconut cream – You can either refrigerate coconut milk and scoop the cream from the top. Or buy cans of coconut cream if you have them available. The coconut cream provides a lot of creaminess in combination with the potatoes. But don’t worry you don’t notice the coconut flavor here. Coconut cream is just 1 ingredients – coconut and shouldn’t be confused with cream of coconut which is a sweetened product for desserts.
Now let’s make this recipe step by step
Step1: The first thing we’re going to do is prep all the ingredients. The ‘hands on’ part of this recipe is quick, then it’s mostly just simmering after that. Step 2: Once the ingredients are prepped, sauté the bacon until it’s crispy, then remove it from the pan. From there you’re going to sauté the onion, celery, and garlic mixture until it’s translucent and soft. Step 3: Then it’s time to add the herbs along with the liquids, potatoes and those bacon bits. Step 4: Next simmer the chowder until the potatoes are soft. Then finally we’re going to spoon out some of the potatoes to blend with the coconut cream. Pour that mixture back into the chowder and stir to combine. Step 5: Once you’ve stirred in the potato/coconut cream mixture, turn off the heat and add the clams. Step 6: And the final step is to season to taste with sea salt and pepper. This is going to vary depending on what ingredients you use. Some chicken stocks and clam juices have more salt than other, so it’s best to season the chowder to taste at the end.
More Dairy Free Soup Recipe Inspiration
Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup Homemade Chicken Zucchini Noodle Soup Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Chicken Soup
Dairy free comfort food recipes
Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken Easy Instant Pot Queso (paleo & vegan)
For even more recipe inspiration, head over to the dairy free section in our recipe index! I sure hope you get a chance to make this Creamy Dairy Free Clam Chowder soon. And if you do, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/star rating below. I always love hearing from you here in the comments. And also over on Instagram where you can tag me at #getinspiredeveryday with your photos!
