REVIEW: Low Carb Chicken Bacon Crockpot Chowder

I love chicken. I LOOOVE bacon. And it's been just cold enough to merit a good soup for dinner. So when I saw the recipe for Chicken Bacon Chowder cropping up all over all of my low carb/paleo FB pages, I decided it would most definitely be a recipe I needed to try.

I found the recipe on Peace, Love, and Low Carb, one of my new favorite websites for yummy recipes. The author's blog is full of beautiful pictures that makes it so simple to follow. Since I didn't have all the ingredients on hand when I suddenly decided to make this soup, I'll show below what I did, but, of course, please see the original post for details. Then see my review at the bottom where I answer the questions: "Was it easy to make?" "How did it taste?" and "Did it make me feel full?"

So here's my "adjusted" recipe. Please go HERE for the original. I will note at the end of the ingredients and steps what I did differently. There is also a * next to ingredients I changed.

Here's my finished product, served with a low carb, almond flour bacon and cheddar scone

Low Carb Chicken Bacon Crockpot Chowder

Ingredients: 

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 lb bacon
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups water, divided *Recipe calls for chicken stock, but seriously shockingly I didn't have any
• 4 Tbsp butter, divided
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 leek
• 6 oz mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp onion powder *Recipe called for 1/2 large onion. The hubs doesn't like onions, but I like the onion taste, so the powder is a compromise for us. 
• 1 Tbsp flat leaf parsley *Recipe calls for a few springs of Italian Flat Leaf Parsely 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Ingredients in recipe that I did not have so I did not add: 1 shallot, 2 ribs of celery

Directions: This is pretty much word for word from the original. Any changes will have a bolded note next to it. 

1. Turn crockpot on lowest setting. 
2. Chop all veggies. Add the veggies, 2 Tbsp butter, 1 cup chicken stock {I used water}, a pinch of salt and pepper to the crockpot, cover and allow vegetables to sweat for an hour. 
3. Chop up your bacon and cook it until it is nice and crispy {and resist urge to eat half of it}. Set aside. 
4. At the same time, pan sear your chicken breast in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter until they are a nice caramel brown on both sides. They will NOT be fully cooked at this stage. 
5. Remove chicken from pan and cut into cubes. De-glaze the chicken pan with the remaining chicken stock {again, water}.
6. Add the chicken stock, heavy cream, cream cheese, and seasoning to the crockpot. Stir until well combined. 
7. Add the chicken and the bacon to the crockpot. Cover and let cook for 6-8 hours. 

She says the entire batch is 38 net carbs. Without the shallot and celery, that might lower that number just a bit. But it ended up being about 10 servings for us, which is roughly 4g carbs per serving. NOT BAD AT ALL. 

Here are some pictures of the soup about 30 minutes into cooking: 

Good and chunky

Nice and creamy

My "Official" Review

Was it easy to make? Yes. It was very easy to make. Putting it together took a little over an hour, and only because you are supposed to let the veggies sweat. That time went by fast, though, by cooking the bacon, cooking the chicken, and then de-glazing the pan. I only had two complaints, but I can't blame the original chef; it's just the way the ingredients cook. 1} I had to scrape the sides of the crock every hour or so because the cream was browning on the sides. and 2}Around the 6th or 7th hour, my chowder suddenly dropped about 1, almost 2 inches in the crock. I was afraid that my entire soup was going to be reduced to creamy veggies and meat before it was supper time, so I added 1 more cup of water and 1 more cup of cream to the soup. Unfortunately, this made my chowder more soup than chowder. So in the future I will either just leave it alone or plan to eat it in 6 hours, not 8. 

How did it taste? SO. GOOD. My house smelled wonderful all day, too. I really, really like this soup. It was very creamy and full of all kinds of yum. My kids loved it, and my husband gave his seal of approval. I honestly think this would be a great meal to make for someone who is sick, has family in the hospital, or brand new parents. 

Did it make me feel full? Yes, surprisingly so. I started to get 2nds {because it's really that good}, but about two bites into it, I realized I was just too full to eat anymore. It may have been that I paired it with a scone that helped with the feeling full part, but either way, I was happy with what I had. Nothing I hate more than having a thick soup that makes me want to take a nap afterwards. And this soup didn't do that. I was just full and happy. Two very good things. 

This recipe is a good one. For sure going on my list of soups for next winter, since spring is starting to peak around the corner.