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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Excellent clam chowder but I was wondering can you make this ahead of time?
I added a bit more thyme and garlic…but that’s cause I’m French….perfect chowder…
This is easy and devious. I add a third can of clams and sometimes add chopped carrots as mentioned by another reviewer
Amazing recipe! When do I do with the tblsp. Of bacon grease? And just to note, the bay leaf has to come out before eating…
Just made your recipe for clam chowder…. Unbelievably good .. Thanks so much, will be making this often … Yum !
We love it. As it is written its great. I add more potatoes. I like them. It’s open to free-styling with other ingredient based on what’s in the pantry too
This was very good. The techniques in this recipe make is the most similar to restaurant Clam Chowder that I have tried. We would drive all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf for good clam chowder from our home but this is quite similar to that. Buy yourself a couple of sourdough bread bowls and a bottle of wine and this will take you to Fisherman’s Wharf S.F.! Have that extra glass and you won’t have to worry about driving!!
The recipe doesn’t say what to do with the 1 tbls. reserved bacon fat?
I it sure if this is right but I remove all but a tbsp of the bacon grease and use it to cook the onions and garlic
This is just like my grandmother’s recipe from the Canadian East Coast minus the flour, she uses the potatos to thicken it instead and so do we as we are gluten free. Yummmm! Thanks again for deliciousness.
Thx for that gluten-free tip!!
I was thinking I’d omit the flour or use arrowroot instead to thicken.
But your idea of just using potato to thicken is much better than all that flour!
I’m a engineer, I follow instructions and guidelines, I’m also a cooking want to be (I hate DISHES) and follow instructions in the recipes (mostly). At what point are you supposed to add the BACON back in?
FYI, I did this to the T and added one pound of freshly caught Prince William Sound Shrimp (Alaska) with the Clams. NO One wanted to leave without the recipe.
Thank You.
It says to use it as a garnish.
In the Royal Canadian Navy version, the bacon is sauteed with onions and celery and left in the broth to cook with the potatoes.
Awesome chowder! Used at least a pound of fresh razor clams we dug up yesterday on the Oregon coast…added carrot and celery to the onion..omitted the bay leaf and had to add another cup of broth and milk because it was getting too thick.
This was fantastic. I did add diced celery with the garlic and onion. I also added Old Sack Sherry. A keeper! Thank you!
How much sherry and when did you add it? I’m certain a chowder I tasted recently had sherry and I loved the flavor it adds.
Wow. This chowder is SO good! My 15 year old son loves seafood and is starting to like to cook a bit since it means more food for him to eat :). He wanted to try to make a clam chowder so I searched and this recipe came up first. I’m so glad we tried it. It is delicious that it is even a hit with my daughter who does NOT like seafood. He has made it for us 3 or 4 times now and it comes out perfectly every time. Two times ago he forgot to add the flour and it was still amazing. Last time he left the flour out on purpose for a lighter chowder. Either way, though, amazingly delicious. I would be happy to receive this at a restaurant.
Fairly easy to make. DELICIOUS. I’m a PNW’er and my husband and I just went to the Oregon Coast again and some great clam chowder. This totally rivals all the coastal chowder AND we had make it at home. Wins all around.
Delicious! I doubled the recipe and added one extra can of clams and extra clam juice to taste.
I’ve never been a big fan of this soup and decided to give it a try, it came out really good! Would definitely make it again. Thank you for sharing
Last week, my brother posted about the coming Field of Dreams baseball game between the Yankees vs. White Sox in the Fantasy Baseball league that we’re both in with 18 other team owners. After seeing the ending to the Field of Dreams game, I enthusiastically replied how incredible it was to see since all three of our players hit home runs in the 9th inning of the game! I also indicated that I had dreams of my late Uncle and Dad in the two weekends leading up, so I kind of knew beforehand that I should probably see that game based on that alone. I let him know that I received an invite to get a fried seafood lunch at work the same day and how much that reminded me of my Uncle’s out of the blue trips to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to get the same meal many years ago. My brother replied that he had a dream with another Uncle that week at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and remarked how they had the best Clam Chowder.
I’m the family cook on Saturdays, so I decide to get the ingredients to make your Easy Clam Chowder recipe on Friday. I also pick up a player making his debut as a starter on Saturday named Tyler Gilbert to help with my fantasy baseball team’s pitching stats, namely the strikeout category. I followed your instructions to the T and your Clam Chowder recipe was a big hit the following day, my first time making Clam Chowder that was not already pre-made from a can. We had leftovers, so we had Clam Chowder again for dinner and watched Tyler Gilbert pitch the Diamondbacks vs. Padres game on TV that night. Lo and behold, we find out Tyler is 4th generation electrician from Santa Cruz and his grandfather, watching the game at Chase Field in Phoenix, is a Vietnam War veteran, just like my Uncle who took us to Santa Cruz as kids. It was a magical night as Tyler pitched the first no-hitter by a pitcher making his debut start since Bobo Holloman did it in 1953. Tyler does so well that night, I end up winning 4 more pitching categories that I had no business winning. I find out the following morning that the recipe was written by you, a Korean American, and that the Korean War also ended in 1953! Thank you for your delicious Clam Chowder recipe and for being such a fun part of family (and baseball) history.
Thanks for your very lovely story. I am making the clam chowder later on today–my first, also. Hugs, Gayle Rush
Made it and my whole family loved it, even my kids!
Let me tell you the flavor is on point!! It’s so good. I prefer more clams and clam taste so if you are like me, add a few more cans ans juice. It’s more like a potatoe chowder to be honest. But overall one of the best I’ve made!
Delicious chowder! I also tweaked the recipe by sauteing 3/4 cup of chopped celery in one tablespoon of butter until crisp-tender. I added this along with the other vegetables. I substituted one cup of frozen corn and one half cup of water for the canned corn. No calamari for us. The next time I make this I will steam the carrots and potatoes before adding to the pot. Twenty five minutes was not enough cooking time for them.
Thank you for the best clam chowder recipe!! My dad and I made & loved Snows clam chowder as a kid. You can no longer find it and I have searched & searched trying to find a similar recipe. I wish he was still here to enjoy it.
This is definitely it!!! You truly are the best.
I need to make chowder for 18 people. Can I just triple this recipe? any modifications to spices?
Very quick and easy recipe. Also very delicious. I followed the recipe as written but added a dash Worcestershire sauce and a little extra broth. Thanks for the great recipe.