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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The best
How many ounces does this recipe make and how many ounces is each serving?
can I use jarred refrigerated clams instead of canned clams and if so, what is the measurement exchange
How would you make this Clam Chowder recipe gluten free? Thanks.
Hi, I absolutely love all of your recipes! This looks fabulous, but I have a question: Since one of my family members is a pescatarian, can you recommend a substitute for the bacon? Or do you think it will taste “almost” as good omitting it in my case? Thank you in advance for responding!!
When my dad makea clam chowder he never adds bacon, cause he hates it. So i beleive this recipe should be fine without
Try diced ham as a substitute!
how is ham a pescatarian substitute?
So good and soo easy! I make this often for my husband who is from the Cape area to he’s super picky about his clam chowder. He loves this recipe too!
Great recipe. To thicken it, I puréed a few of the potatoes from the chowder and added them back in.
Perfection!
This recipe was awesome, I didn’t even screw it up.
Delicious just as written but for a lower calorie alternative I use half frozen cauliflower and half white potatoes. Cauliflower is as nutritious as a green vegetable and once it’s soaked in this creamy broth is a sneaky way to add good nutrition.
Enjoy
Delicious recipe! A few alterations: I omitted the garlic since my husband is not a fan. I used a bottle of claim juice instead of vegetable stock and I used 3 cans of clams: 2 cans of chopped and 1 can of whole clams with bellies. We both loved it.
Wow! This chowder was Damn Delicious, indeed! This will now be my go-to Clam Chowder recipe. I followed the recipe exactly, and the texture and consistency was perfect.
Made a double batch for 12 on a family trip to the coast. The soup was delicious and everyone loved it, even the picky teenager. Only had chicken stock so subbed that for vegetable stock, otherwise followed the recipe pretty exactly.
I made this last night. Flavor was excellent. I was out of thyme, so I subbed Italian herb mix. There was a glaring issue (not a fault of the recipe) that could have been easily corrected. The particular canned clams (from gourmet grocery) had a fair amount of sand particles. I had a granule in nearly every bite. Next time I will use a coffee filter to strain the juice and rinse the clams well in a sieve.
Very yummy!
I made this for a family birthday get together tonight. Rave reviews. This is probably the 20th time I’ve made this chowder, and it’s consistently wonderful. I like to tweek it on occasion, like tonight I added celery. I also like to add clam juice to make it extra flavorful. Definitely my go-to recipe!!!
Double the base and add 1 Can chopped clam meat plus 1 can crab meat , and shrimp for a rich seafood stew.
This is very good. I used clam juice instead of the broth for added flavor.I didn’t want to mess with ingredients the first time, but I will try to double it next time. Comments regarding portions are correct. If it’s meant to be main course, need to make more.
Was so delicious! This is my go to from now on!
I’ve tried many different clam chowder recipes and the taste were never quite right. This one is perfect with absolutely incredible flavor and texture!! Tasted just like the clam chowder my mother use to made on Christmas Eve.
I love to experiment with “low carbing” great recipes whenever I can, so next time I’ll try substituting cauliflower for the potatoes and adding some zatham gum if it needs thickening, since it won’t have the starch from the potatoes. I’ll let you know how it turns out!!