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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I altered this just a bit. Added Carrots & Celery. Used a whole package (one serving) of bacon. Half of the bacon added with the potatoes and the other half or less as topping.
This was so good! And the leftovers were even better after everything had time to really mesh.
I’ve tried several clam chowder recipes online, and this was my favorite by far. My best friend agreed it was the best she’s tasted, as well highly recommend.
I was wondering if the dried thyme, parsley, and bay leaf is mandatory for the dish or optional, where I’m from these ingredients are sold in large quantities and are expensive.
Send me your address and I will mail you the herbs. No charge. They make all the difference!
Aw Jeff! You’re single and live in SF, right? Because I think I’m in love!
I made this DEFINITELY DELICIOUS & EZ Clam Chowder! It was a hit! Add salad & a crusty bread for a balanced meal! I lived in Oregon for a while. There they added bacon right into the Clam Chowder and lots of it!! I used some leftovers in my recipe I had in my fridge: already cooked bacon and mashed potatoes! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Really good…will make again
I made this for my family tonight and they said it was better than Splash Cafe. If you’re familiar with the Pismo Beach California restaurant, you know that that is a major compliment! I served it in sourdough bread, bowls, and everybody loved it! I will definitely make this again!
Loved the recipe and so easy to make!
Anyone tried clam juice in place of the vegetable stock?
Yes do it all the time!
Based on all the reviews, I’m definitely the odd one out, but I didn’t love this recipe. I followed everything exactly on the recipe, no subs or modifications (aside from using gf flour to make it gluten free). Maybe the onion I used was extra strong and the canned clams were extra mild, but I felt like the onion and thyme flavor overpowered the dish. Aside from the chewy chunks of clams, there was no distinguishing factor between this and a potato soup. Zero seafood flavor which is a huge part of what makes clam chowder so appealing.
Omg this was so damn good! I loved it. Your recipes never fail, forever your supporter
I’ve made this several times over the last few years, but have always forgotten to review it.
I do take some liberties with it. I cut all amounts in half except the bacon (because, bacon!) and I use 1 can minced and and 1 can chopped clams and anywhere from 1/2 to all of the clam juice from both cans, depending on how thick the soup gets. I omit the thyme because it tastes too sweet to me.
I just use dried parsley at the end ‘cos I rarely have fresh on hand. Top with bacon bits and oyster crackers and serve with butter crackers and/or saltines on the side.
We absolutely love this recipe in our home. It’s a huge hit and we add in some mushrooms because it’s our fave!
Simple yet super flavorful thank you for sharing!!
For those who want to make their own clam juice we just boil the fresh clams in water and strain it.
Absolutely delicious thank you again!
Just remember to chop the clams if they’re not already minced. Otherwise, absolutely delicious!!
I made this for a larger group – about 20 adults. Multiplied the quantities by 5 (aiming to have extra for anyone really hungry with 30 servings). I didn’t follow everything to a ‘t’ (having to split between 2 pots and account for some allergies), but overall this recipe as a base was great!
Big note: it makes considerably less than I was shooting for (I was thinking enough for a large bowl per person, and maybe seconds), and I had to improvise to add a good deal more potatoes and roux + half & half. Probably if you’re planning this as a side for a meal rather than the main part of the meal the estimate would be good!
Agreed on the serving size. Everyone please note, if serving this soup as a meal, this recipe actually makes only about 3 servings. My wife and I were pretty disappointed when we realized our pot wasn’t even 1/4 full of delicious clam chowder soup. Plan accordingly! Delicious nonetheless.
This recipe is amazing as are all your other ones!! I’ve made this several times and the family loves it! They ask for it regularly. I double the amount of clams and bacon and I throw in 1/2 the bacon with the clams and 1/2 & 1/2 at the end. So delish with some warm sourdough Thanks again for all of your incredible recipes! I use lots of them and they are always spot on!
Ooh! I forgot to add… my Son and Hubs love to add some Old Bay seasoning to theirs… it’s pretty tasty
Made this for the first time. Hubby gave it a thumbs up. I liked it also. Will def make again.
Sooooooo good
I added an 8 oz jar of Snow’s clam juice with the clam broth drained from the cans. Also, diced up two stalks of celery and put in with potatoes. Finally, I added a generous dash of hot sauce for depth of flavor at the end. This soup was amazing!
Made it and it came out so good. I have a question, I want to increase the serving by double ot triple . How much do I Need to increase the ingredients.
I would suggest doubling or tripling the amount of ingredients is a fair start point…..I may be wrong…