Easy Clam Chowder
by Chungah
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Clam chowder is easier (and much better) to make right at home! So unbelievably creamy, flavorful and chockfull of clams!
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Why you’ll love this easy clam chowder recipe
- Quick, weeknight super hero. Yes, homemade restaurant-quality clam chowder can be made in 30 min or less right at home, an absolute weeknight staple around here!
- Hug-in-a-bowl. This soup just hits right during soup season, perfect for fall and blustery winter nights, or any time you need a soul-warming soothing soup to warm you from the inside out.
- Pantry-friendly recipe. This is also a great budget-friendly recipe using pantry staples like canned clams, adding even more clam flavor goodness (and an abundance of clams!) to your chowder.
What is clam chowder?
Clam chowder is an American soup made with clams, potatoes, onions and broth, often times served with oyster crackers or saltines. There are two regional variations worth mentioning below.
New England Clam Chowder (white)
New England is a thick and creamy white soup, typically made with milk or cream.
Manhattan Clam Chowder (red)
Manhattan is a tomato-rich red soup without milk or cream, and typically includes more vegetables than New England.
How to make clam chowder
- Cook the bacon and aromatics. Cook a few slices of diced bacon in a stockpot or Dutch oven, sautéing the aromatics directly in the rendered bacon fat for all the smoky goodness. Reserve the cooked bacon for topping.
- Create the roux. Whisk in the flour for about 1 minute. This will help thicken the chowder, creating that favorited velvety-rich consistency.
- Stir in liquids and potatoes. Add in milk, vegetable stock, reserved clam juice (from the canned clams), bay leaf and potatoes, simmering until the potatoes are tender. The longer it simmers, the more it will thicken.
- Add half and half (or heavy cream) and clams. Stir in the half and half with the clams until heated through over low heat, working carefully not to boil the dairy (or else it will separate), seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve. Remove the bay leaf and serve warm with the reserved crispy bacon, oyster crackers and cornbread.
why use canned clams in clam chowder?
- Convenience
- Budget-friendly and economical
- Extra clam flavor, especially when using the canned juices
- Abundance of clams
Which potatoes are best for clam chowder?
A lot of recipes recommend waxy potatoes such as Yukon gold or baby red potatoes because they will hold up well in soups. Instead, we opted for russet potatoes here – they are naturally very starchy, ideal for creating a thicker, chowder-like velvety, rich consistency.
what to serve with clam chowder
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Easy Clam Chowder: Frequently Asked Questions
The most popular chowder is New England (white) made with milk or heavy cream and associated with Boston. There is also the Manhattan (red) made with a tomato-based broth and commonly associated with Manhattan.
Absolutely! Substitute 1 – 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh clams along with bottled clam juice to replace the juice from the can. Chopped fresh clams will need additional cook time to cook through.
Yes! Always thaw properly, adding at the end of cooking as they are already precooked.
Overcooking the clams can cause them to be rubbery. Always add the clams (fresh or canned) at the very end, cooking for just a few minutes so they stay tender.
Clam chowder is commonly paired with oyster crackers and cornbread.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Leftover clam chowder can be reheated on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through, adding a splash of milk or stock to thin it out as needed.
We do not recommend freezing this as cream-based soups tend to separate when frozen.
Easy Clam Chowder
Video
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 (6.5-ounce) cans chopped clams, juices reserved
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 cup half and half or heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving 1 tablespoon excess fat in the stockpot.
- Melt butter in the stockpot. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, vegetable stock, clam juice and bay leaf, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes.*
- Reduce heat to low. Stir in half and half and clams until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more half and half as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and parsley, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Start with a smoky base. A good clam chowder starts with a smoky base, beginning with the bacon and sautéing the aromatics (garlic and onion) right in the bacon fat.
- Use the reserved juices. The juices from the canned clams add all the extra, deep clam flavor.
- Russet potatoes serve as a natural thickener. The potatoes will release starch into the broth to create that velvety, restaurant-quality richness.
- Use half and half or heavy cream. Half and half will yield a thinner soup whereas heavy cream will result in more of a rich, velvety, indulgent clam chowder.
- Always add the dairy at the very end. Avoid boiling the half and half or heavy cream, adding it in at the end of cooking time (or else it will curdle).
- Avoid overcooking the clams. Similar to the half and half, add the clams during the last few minutes of cooking. Overcooked clams can be rubbery!
- Simmer, simmer, simmer. The longer it simmers, the more it thickens, making it perfect to cook until the desired consistency is reached.
- Make it clammier. For those wanting extra clam flavor, add an additional can of chopped clams.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread or cornbread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Reheat gently. Leftovers can be reheated gently over low heat, adding a splash of milk, half and half or stock as needed.
Did you make this recipe?
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This recipe worked great with Washington razor clams!
I did add a little Old Bay, and used fresh thyme, but apart from that I stuck to the recipe and doubled it for our family (teen athletes eat a lot).
This is going in our permanent collection (along with your InstantPot chilli that I’ve been making for about a decade.
Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Can you fix this clam chowder in a slow cooker?
Made this several times really good
WOW!!!! I loved it and so did my family! Thank you for sharing!
Just made this and ate it for dinner. Absolute yum! Perfect for a freezing cold January night.
This was so delicious! I put in 3 cans of chopped clams and used 2cans of diced potatoes which made it easy. My husband and I loved it, great flavor. I had two bowls on a snowy Buffalo day and it hit the spot! Thanks for a great and easy recipe!!
Can I use almond milk or evaporated milk instead of milk
Can I add fresh haddock to this?
I served this soup at a family gathering, love soup suppers, and it was a hit with everyone. It is a keeper for sure!
Could you please list in your recipe, how much flour and how much thyme, otherwise the recipe was easy to follow.
I received your Fall Soup newsletter and making my way through every recipe. This one had rave reviews and I wanted to love it. I made minor substitutions like adding an extra can of clams and using clam juice. I love thyme and I used the amount called for but it tasted too thyme-y for our family. I will try it again without the thyme and will add it a pinch at a time at the end to taste.
For gluten free eaters, you can use corn starch (2T corn starch = 1 T flour). As an alternative, I use arrowroot powder, potato starch or tapioca starch. You can also blend some of the cooked potatoes and add it back into the soup.
This was delicious!! I didn’t have thyme so I subbed some spices that I had on hand.
My only advice is to make sure that you dice the potatoes small enough to cook in time .
My family loved it- served with toasted ciabatta bread!
Thanks so much for the recipe
Have made this soup many times. Always enjoy it! I don’t use bacon and still turns out great. I add an extra can of clams to make it hardier. Highly recommend this recipe!!
Truly Damn delicious. This is my go to recipe every time. The only tweak I do (not necessary) is I use an 8oz bottle of clam juice instead of veggie broth. 10/10!!
This is the best clam chowder I’ve ever made!
The clam chowder was easy and amazing
I actually used cauliflower instead of potatoes
Going to try this recipe sounds good
I always add the clams last along with a little bacon as they get tough if cooked too long. They just need to be heated up not cooked to death!!! I also use dried mashed potatoes for thickening instead of flour. Makes for better tasting chowder. It thickens great and not so much regular potatoes. I’ve made it this way for years and family loves it.
This recipe is damn delicious indeed! I had to make some omissions for dietary needs, but it turned out great. I also used seafood stock instead of chicken or veggie and I think that made a huge difference. It had such a great seafood flavor.
It’s definitely not 6 servings though, I only got 3 servings out of it. It could be 6 servings as an appetizer maybe?
For anyone with intolerance of onions and/or garlic — this recipe is delicious even without!
I live at the beach and we dig razor clams so I was a little skeptical about using canned clams but they were great! I didn’t use milk, (didn’t have any) so I subbed 1/2&1/2. I only had one potatoe so I added some cauliflower. Replaced water with clam juice. This recipe is simple, quick and absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for such a simple recipe. Normally I have to get the meat grinder out and grind clams.. its a messy job that I dread. I will make this recipe over and over, my grown sons will love it too. Thank you for the simplicity.