Easy Clam Chowder
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Clam chowder is easier to make than you think – and the homemade version is unbelievably creamy, flavorful and chockfull of clams!
Featured Comment
why i love homemade clam chowder
- Cozy soup season vibes, perfect for fall and blistery winter nights
- Restaurant-quality, if not even better
- Pantry-friendly recipe using canned clams (more on that below)
- Quick, weeknight hero made in 30 min or less
new england clam chowder vs. manhattan clam chowder
New England Clam Chowder
New England is a thick and creamy white soup, typically made with milk or cream.
Manhattan Clam Chowder
Manhattan is a tomato-rich red soup without milk or cream, and includes more vegetables than New England.
why use canned clams in clam chowder
- Convenience
- Budget-friendly and economical
- Extra flavor, especially when using the 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, I opted for russet potatoes here – they are naturally very starchy, ideal for creating a thicker, chowder-like consistency.
tips and tricks for success
- Use the reserved juices. The juices from the canned clams add all the extra, deep clam flavor.
- 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 for dipping, sopping and dunking!
what to serve with clam chowder
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Easy Clam Chowder: Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
We do not recommend freezing this as cream-based soups tend to separate when frozen.
Easy Clam Chowder
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*
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
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.*
- 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.
Video
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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First clam chowder, turned out quite tasty, but the recipe needs a little tuning.
Recommend some light oiling of pan before bacon. Reserved bacon fat is never used. Allow 45 minutes for potatoes, not 12-15, or better parboil first in water for 30 mins. 2 russets should be medium, not large.
it wouldn’t take that log if you use yellow potatoes or smaller ones
Yes, my biggest complaint was my 2 potatoes (cut in 1/2” cubes) were nowhere near done after 15 minutes, 45 minutes was much more accurate. When cooked longer it was delicious!
I have been making this recipe for two years- I love it.
There is only me, so haOf of the recipe is great for dinner and then lunch in a few days.
I use heavy cream, as I freeze it in muffin tin (exactly 1/2 cup!) for recipes like this, it makes it thicker, too.
I use fresh bay leaves and thyme, as I have them year round.
I also add a bit of shrimp or a bit of fish fillet. But the basic recipe is awesome!
This was my first time making clam chowder. The reviews I had from my family, you would have thought I had made it over the years. Everyone loved it. I am making it again. I might add a little more flour to make it a little thicker but otherwise, the recipe to me is great the way it is!
Not sure what I did wrong but mine turned out quite bland and quite thin. However I added more thyme, oregano and some other spices I had along with some cornstarch + extra clam juice mixture and it turned out great in the end! Good base recipe for sure! I think i needs some more flavour though. I didn’t read the comments below first but I do see lots of people adding different things to theirs and some substitutions. I will read them and try tweaking it a bit next time.
thanks for the recipe!
Can you make this the day before?
Made this tonight. It was excellent. Am I missing something? Was I supposed to add the saved bacon grease? As others said I added some Old Bay seasoning. Will definitely make again. Also my first time making chowder.
Easy. Yummy…delicious!!
I had started with another recipe (for Corn & Potato chowder) and realized I have a can of chopped clams and some clam juice, so I thankfully found your recipe. Since I already chopped some sweet orange and yellow peppers I added them with the onion and garlic. Since I only had 1 can of clams I cooked another 4 slices of bacon and added them at the end with the clams. I added the corn towards the end too. It is thick and creamy. Since it is still a Saturday Morning (I got the urge to cook early today!) I’m letting it sit (off the heat, covered) in the dutch oven on the stove until lunchtime, for the flavors to meld together. My samplings have been delicious… I can’t wait to dig in! 🙂
This is an excellent recipe. I have made it twice, both times using leftover steamers and lobster meat, the first time using a 6.5 oz can of clams along with what I had leftover, and the second time with a total of about 10 oz of leftover lobster and clams combined, and using an additional 1/2 cup of clam juice to make up for not using the reserved juice from two cans of canned clams. BUT, the one big difference for the two times I have made it (so far, because I LOVE this recipe!) is that I use clam broth left over from making steamers instead of vegetable stock. And, I will use bottled clam juice instead of vegetable stock if I make this with no fresh broth on hand. FYI, 12 oz potato, and 4 oz of bacon works well. Thank you for a great basic recipe! It tastes like my Mom’s.
The recipe tasted good, but I agree with a PP about it being too thin.
Usually, I like my dairy-based soups (cream of mushroom, broccoli cheddar, potato, etc.) to have a thicker consistency. This had more of the consistency of a broth-based soup, unfortunately.
Anyways, I plan on making it again, but I will probably leave out some of the milk.
I ran into that problem the first time I made it but I fixed it the second time – make sure to add the milk/stock/clam juice a pour at a time, then whisk and let it thicken for 30-45 seconds. Using the original ingredient amounts I poured/whisked/repeated around 6 times and it got much thicker!
I doubled it and I did add a little Bay seasoning. The flavor was really good but it got a little thin. I should have only added 1 cup of half and half I think. Next time I will add it slower and try to get it thicker. Or possibly add more flour. I have to experiment a bit.
Made this for the first time tonight and it is perfect! Highly recommend serving with sourdough toast. We are transplants to the Seattle area and this is going to be our new Clam Chowder recipe to serve to visitors. Do note that, this recipe didn’t make a huge amount – served my husband and I, with maybe 1.5 bowls leftover. Will want to double or triple for a crowd.
Very good , everyone in my family liked it.
Wonderful! I used coconut cream instead of half and half.
also, to thicken – stead of flour (because I am gluten-free) I have used cooked rice tor potatoes blended with some of the soup then added back to the pot. Works well to thicken instead of flour
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very yummy!! made for dinner tonight and it got rave reviews, thanks for the recipe !!
Very simple recipe to make and over all it was good. I added some more seasonings as I found it a little bland with just salt and pepper. This recipe is the perfect base recipe to then stand adding different ingredients to make it perfect for your taste.
My first time making Clam Chowder. I worked at a seafood restaurant in my early adult years. We all loved the clam chowder there, even my young daughters at the time. With time off from work, I find myself having more time to try new recipes. This Clam Chowder was “Damn Delicious!” my now grown daughters, husband and I loved the taste! The only complaint was, I wish I would of doubled the batch : )
Delicious. Made this for dinner tonight. Only thing I did different was sub clam juice for the vegetable stock because I had bought it already. Turned out great.
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! I made it this afternoon and my husband loved it. We are having it tonight for dinner. I am going to make another batch tomorrow. I am in CA and we are currently on lock down over this COVID crisis. I can’t WAIT to make this for our future family dinner.
This was awesome. One modification, as per some earlier readers’ comments: Before doing anything, I browned six strips of bacon in the large skillet, removed them and let them drain. Then, I added the veggies to the bacon fat and proceeded as described (with clam juice, water, etc.) Crumbled the bacon into the soup after it was all combined. Adds fat, but a huge flavor too. Simply outstanding recipe here — I love the red wine vinegar idea. Thank you!!
I made this recipe two nights ago. I used fresh horse and butter clams that I caught myself. I also used smoked bacon from my local butcher. I didn’t drain off the fat as the recipe said to and instead opted to add all of it to the dish (I like the flavor it adds). Anyhow, it turned out amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this gem of a recipe.
Josh S: What did you mean by “fresh horse”??
Fresh refers to the clams. They mean “horse and butter clams.” What kind of horse and butter clams? Fresh horse and butter clams.