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!
Soup season has come and gone, but a bowl of clam chowder can really be eaten in any kind of weather, especially when it comes to the homemade version.
If you didn’t know, clam chowder is actually a very simple soup to prepare with a few pantry ingredients. Now some recipes call for fresh clams but I actually prefer to use canned clams for several different reasons.
1. It’s certainly easier – all you have to do is open up the can. Done.
2. It’s budget-friendly at $2.99 per can versus $9.99 per pound.
3. Last but not least, it brings in a lot more flavor when you use both the canned clams and juices, not to mention the abundance of clams as well, something you don’t really get when you order out.
Now what I love about this recipe is that you have absolute complete control over the creaminess of the soup. You can make it as thick as you’d like, or a little bit runny if that’s how you prefer your soup. Just be sure to have those oyster crackers ready to go because this soup is guaranteed to disappear from your dinner table!
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
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.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Love it! Added summer savory and used seafood stock instead of vegetable stock. Plus added an extra 2 cups…. came out delicious! Thank you!
Using seafood stock sounds good. Did you add an extra 2 cups of it? That seems like a lot of broth, am I understanding you correctly?
Using seafood stock, great idea, but not sure where to find it or do you make your own? Also, the summer savory sounds good. Mine just needed a little more of some type of seasoning, so I will try that.
Look forward to trying this. Thanks.
If I were to focus on making a chowder as my main dish – what would you recommend as an appropriate starter?
John.
This recipe was delicious, I got a lot of compliments. I also added celery, and I think next time I’ll add more clams.
Excellent recipe! My husband and I loved it. We tweaked a bit due to not having all ingredients in-house. Had only half an onion so added chopped up celery in place of the other half. I also used dried thyme and parsley instead of fresh, and added a bit of Old Bay and onion powder. Next time I’ll try it with fresh herbs. I’ll also try adding extra clam juice, as others have done. I think I’ll make Damn Delicious one of my favorite recipe sites!
Damn Delicious is absolutely my favorite recipe site! Everything I make from her is a huge hit in my house. I have a feeling it will be the same for you. 🙂
Great recipe, it was delicious but you don’t mention what to do with the reserved fat that you put aside after cooking the bacon.
This soup was easy to make and tasted great. I am not a cook, but the directions were easy to follow and the prep was quick.
I have a quick question. I would really like to make this tonight but I would need to double it … is there any special instructions for doing so?
Hi Alissa! I used this method to increase the recipe for 18 people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uyxpBmqmrE. Hope this helps. 🙂
This was the best Clam Chowder I ever ate,loved it,and shared the receipt with my Daughter and they also loved it.
I made this clam chowder for the first and just cook said it was indeed very easy and damn delicious, I did add few more seasonings which made this recipe damn good. I’ll definitely be make this soup more often. Trecia Williams from Philadelphia
I’ve been making this for about a year or so now. It’s delicious, but it never thickens for me. 🙁
Excellent recipe, however, I wish that it had a tip on how to make the chowder thicker.
You can make a roux to thicken the soup. Take 2 Tbsp butter & melt over med heat. Add 1 heaping Tbsp of flour and stir constantly as it thickens. I add some of the milk from ingredient list as it thickens. Then stir into your chowder. Works every time!
I added more flour in a separate bowl with cold milk and mixed til smooth then pour mixture into soup. Also, I didn’t use any fresh vegetables just the dried powder ones and dried parsley. Delicious clam chowder which is my favorite of all soups.
Judy Babcock
Think I let it get too brown {after adding the flour}, because it’s beige lol. Not exactly what I’m used to with clam chowder, but the flavor is wonderful, and the recipe is a lot simpler than my usual recipe.
This recipe is the best. I do sauté 2 celery stalks finely diced along with the onion.
Didn’t have russet potatoes so quartered baby new potatoes. Really great!
we love this recipe. Quick and delicious.
Best clam chowder I’ve ever made! 4 stars!
This is fabulous! Chock full of clams and such a rich flavor!
Best clam chowder recipe I have ever found! We triple the recipe for my family of 6!
Made this tonight, great recipe!
I used 5 slices of bacon, powdered thyme, 3 (5 ounce cans) of clams (with all juice, since I couldn’t find any 6.5 ounce cans), 2% milk, generic yellow potatoes, and skipped on the bay leaf and parsley. I noticed that on step 3 a layer of my flour ended stuck to the bottom of the stock pot I was using even though I was careful to add and stir in very little at a time, but it didn’t end up changing the final product. The only problem I had with my chowder was that the clams themselves seemed to lack flavour, I’m wondering if brining my canned clams after draining them from the clam juice would improve them, or whether I should just look for fresh clams. Here’s a picture: https://imgur.com/a/CSF6LUB
do you add in the clams along with the clam juice? just double checking 🙂 Thanks!
The clam juice is added in step 3 and the clams are added in step 5. 🙂
3. 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.
4. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes.*
5. 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.
The absolute best I’ve ever made. Everyone loved it!
Made this tonight. Rich and hearty, coupled with a sourdough bread ~ muah!