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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Absolutely delicious.. I used pork salts and bacon fat. Very rich and creamy.
Good but one onion is wayyyy to much. Otherwise texture is spot on.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve tried other recipes but this one hits the spot! The only thing I changed was I used chicken stock instead of vegetable, and I cooked the bacon with the soup rather than using it as a garnish
Best clam chowder recipe! Better then a certain restaurant here in the great PNW. It’s a keeper.
Forgot to mention, my daughter substituted Better Than Garlic roasted garlic base for the veggie broth. So good!
Very good!
So good. I also added scallops, shrimp, and crab to make it a seafood chowder. And then deliciously top it off with Frank’s :p
I made this recipe. Added fresh chucked shrimp, corn, extra bacon
This is a very delicious recipe, but I have a suggestion to make it much easier. Don’t add the flour until after the potatoes are cooked, and then just add a simple roux. I dissolved 2 tablespoons of Wondra flour in a little water and then added that to the soup at the very end. It turned out just as delicious as always. I didn’t like standing over a hot stove stirring it constantly until the potatoes were cooked to prevent sticking. It’s hot here in southern AZ!
Don’t you want the flour to be cooked, or not?
Wondra is pre cooked
Your tone seemed a bit snippy there, so try to be sure we post in as friendly of a manner as possible, as I’m sure you were trying only to be helpful, eh? 🙂
This is a good tip flour will be cooked as long as it’s bubbling for a couple of minutes
This was really good and very easy to make. I ended up using some additional broth because it was creamier than I like. The flavor was outstanding. Both of my young children loved it.
I made the clam chowder tonight.(my first time) it came out good. Thanks for the recipe.
This was delicious. I would recommend doubling if you have a large family or want leftovers. I did substitute clam juice for the vegetable broth.
Came out amazing! Substituted chicken stock for veggie stock and used twice as much. This is my new go to clam chowder recipe.
I made this last night, exactly as it is written and it was fantastic! Can’t wait to make it again, thanks!
This was my second time ever making chowder and it was delicious! It was so easy to make, even for a novice, and still one of the best chowders I’ve ever had. I substituted bacon grease in for the vegetable stock because I’m a glutton. Also, I really love that it had crispy bacon bits as a garnish instead of adding it directly to the chowder. This gives it an added element of texture and a more intense flavour. Thanks for sharing your amazing recipe!
Thank you. This was a real good and easy to make.
Lovely taste to this! I made one addition at the very end- a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to offset the sweetness of the onions. Completely gave it depth and we ate the entire batch of soup in a day!!
Oh, this was so easy and so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly as written. My family loved it!!
I just made this recipe and it is everything I wanted and more. I was craving my Grandmother’s clam chowder, but nothing I found could compare, until I made your recipe! I love this soup and it is such a crowd pleaser; everyone loves it! Thank you for sharing this and helping me get over my fear of making chowder! I did add some corn, but otherwise, it was all you!
Great reference fir build your own chowder
Fantastic, easy lil recipe. Delicious! Thanks!
Made this for lunch today and it was delicious! I did add celery and had to use chicken stock since I didn’t have any veggie stock. So smooth and warming on a cold rainy day!