30 Minute Whole30 Salmon Chowder

Name: Whole30 Salmon Chowder
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided; 1 cup diced carrots (about 3 medium); 1 cup diced celery (about 4 medium); 1 leek, diced (white and light green parts only); 1 pound wild-caught salmon; Zest of 1 lemon; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 4 cups chicken bone broth; 20 ounces full-fat coconut milk (1 1/2 cans); 1 1/2 pounds Yukon potatoes, diced; 3 ounces prosciutto, diced; 1 bay leaf; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley; 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill; Sea salt and pepper, to taste; Lemon, for serving

Appetizers Gluten-Free Healthy Paleo Soup Supper

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This Whole30 Salmon Chowder is delicious, creamy, healthy, and hearty. It’s so comforting that I guarantee you won’t miss the gluten or the dairy.

Chowder, without a doubt, is a comfort food to me.

“Comfort” is such a controversial way to describe a food, isn’t it?

We’re always told that we’re not supposed to get emotional when it comes to food. That it should only be seen as substance.

I don’t believe that.

Is it possible to have an unhealthy relationship with food? Of course. That’s the reason I love doing the Whole30 once a year. It helps me re-access my unhealthy habits, differentiate between cravings and hunger, and reacquaint myself with whole foods.

But I wouldn’t be a professional chef, culinary school graduate, and food writer/blogger without having an emotional relationship with food. Most of my life has been spent thinking about, making, and writing about food.

“Comfort foods” for me are not meals that are necessarily bad for you. Sure, some are, but that’s not what makes them comforting. What makes them comforting is the memories and nostalgia behind them.

Many of my comfort foods revolve around pasta, since I am Italian and grew up in Northern New Jersey with a large Italian family. As I have gotten older, I have found new comfort foods, attached to new memories.

Like salmon chowder, for example.

It was kind of odd how salmon chowder became a comfort food for me, really. I have always liked chowder, sure. But last year I went through a bit of a salmon chowder phase, if you will.

A year and a half ago, before this blog was anywhere close to being successful, my husband and I took this side job together. I had lost my job as a Pastry Chef due to developing severe agoraphobia, a truly horrible thing to both pronounce and to experience.

I couldn’t work outside of the house at that time. I could barely leave the house. So helping my husband with this side job worked well for me, because it got me out of the house to practice my CBT therapy and I was with him. We worked nights for a while making deliveries, and it was actually fun. At least, I thought it was fun. I’m not so sure he did, especially after working his normal full-time job.

It was a horrible time in my life, and that silly grocery delivery job was one of the main reasons I overcame it, honestly. I could interact with people, make income, and I was getting used to being in crowded places again. I had worked full-time for a dozen years straight before that, and I was not used to sitting around the house all day, alone with my own thoughts and overwhelming anxieties.

But one downfall of the job was that we were always starving. We worked busy night shifts without breaks and without having time to eat dinner. One night, we went into my favorite Portland Whole Foods to grab something quick to eat after our shift. I noticed that they had salmon chowder. I hadn’t seen it at any other Whole Foods before, and I’ve been to many considering my husband managed one! That specific Whole Foods was the only one in Portland that made it, and it was delicious. It was seriously incredible. Full of fresh, huge chunks of salmon, so much fresh dill, and a creamy broth that was savory and balanced. I absolutely loved their salmon chowder.

It became kind of a tradition to get it once a week for dinner after working a busy shift, and I always looked forward to it. Shopping for and delivering groceries was a bit labor-intensive, especially when you had a $1,000 Costco order. But it was more emotionally intensive on me than anything, considering I was fighting off panic attacks constantly in crowded places and dealing with intense, high levels of anxiety. I truly looked forward to that comforting, creamy, soul-nourishing bowl of soup. It represented a bit more to me than just a meal. It represented a glimmer of hope, and a path to healing.

So I have tried to recreate it here with this Whole30 Salmon Chowder, a bit healthier but still just as delicious and comforting.

A Whole30 Salmon Chowder means that there’s no gluten and there’s no dairy, two things you will almost always find in a classic chowder. A roux (butter and flour) is the most popular way to thicken a chowder, and I find that most of them have far too much cream.

To make this Whole30 salmon chowder creamy without dairy, we add full-fat coconut milk. That gets combined with rich, savory bone broth and plenty of fresh vegetables. Crispy, salty prosciutto and fresh dill finish the dish.

The most important part here is the salmon itself. I strongly suggest finding a high-quality wild-caught salmon.

I hope that you make and enjoy this Whole30 Salmon Chowder someday soon! What are your favorite comfort foods, and why are they comforting for you? Let me know in the comments below.

And here’s a few things you may need for this recipe:

Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk // Lemon & Rosemary Chicken Bone Broth // Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven // The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom

This post contains affiliate links, but are always products I love & highly recommend.

Whole30 Salmon Chowder

★★★★★ 4.9 from 13 reviews

Author: Tiffany
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 6-8 1x

Print Recipe

Description

This Whole30 Salmon Chowder is delicious, creamy, healthy, and hearty. It’s so comforting that I guarantee you won’t miss the gluten or the dairy.

Ingredients

Scale

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup diced carrots (about 3 medium)
1 cup diced celery (about 4 medium)
1 leek, diced (white and light green parts only)
1 pound wild-caught salmon
Zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken bone broth
20 ounces full-fat coconut milk (1 1/2 cans)
1 1/2 pounds Yukon potatoes, diced
3 ounces prosciutto, diced
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
Lemon, for serving

Instructions

Heat a deep soup pot or dutch oven with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the prosciutto until crisp and browned. Using a slotted spoon, remove the prosciutto and set aside.
To the same pot, add the additional tablespoon of olive oil and the leek, carrots, and celery. Cook the vegetables until they start getting a bit of color. Season with sea salt and pepper. Add in the garlic.
Add in the chicken bone broth, potatoes, lemon zest, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk.
Meanwhile, de-skin the salmon and cut into 1-inch pieces. Add in the salmon and cook until the salmon is just cooked through and flaky, about 3-4 minutes. Check the seasoning, adding additional sea salt and pepper if necessary.
Gently stir in the fresh parsley and dill. Discard the bay leaf and serve the chowder topped with the prosciutto, a sprinkling of herbs, and lemon wedges.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 of 6
Calories: 430
Sugar: 5g
Sodium: 500mg
Fat: 33g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 18g
Fiber: 5g
Protein: 20g
Cholesterol: 36mg

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And here’s a few things you may need for this recipe: