Easy Clam Chowder
by Chungah
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Clam chowder is easier (and much better) to make right at home! So unbelievably creamy, flavorful and chockfull of clams!
Featured Comment
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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I have never in my life cooked completely homemade clam chowder. I remember always being told how hard it is to get just right. This recipe is amazing and very easy to pull off. I think the trickiest part is getting the consistency just right, not too thick but not too thin. I have used this recipe twice now. The first time I used minced dried onions because my husband and I both have sensory issues especially when it comes to textures and I’m not the hugest fan of eating large chunks of onions. It turned out pretty good using dried minced onions but tonight I went ahead and used fresh onions as well as a specially grown garlic from a local farmer (I will have to find out the exact type and update later) but it was very good garlic. But I minced the garlic and onion pretty good using my little ninja and I also went ahead and double the batch tonight and I have to tell you it came out even better this go around. My husband was in heaven he ate 3 bowls of it. Absolutely awesome and easy recipe and some of the best chowder I have ever cooked…..and to top it off I made it!!! 🙂
Outstanding as written! Try this recipe. You will not be disappointed.
Excellent restaurant quality recipe! Easy and delicious. I make it often.
Delicious! I am so happy to have found this recipe. I will be making it often. I added celery. I didn’t have an onion (husband has been cooking a lot) so I used shallot instead. It was a delicious substitute. I also was out of vegetable stock so used chicken instead. Thank you so much! I tried making clam chowder literally decades ago and was very unhappy with the results. I hadn’t tried since. I can’t believe how good this is. Husband agrees. Going in the rotation!
I will make this again, but next time I’ll use half the thyme. It was a bit overpowering. I added celery and some chopped parsley. I also used fat free half n half and it worked beautifully.
I just finished making this delicious version of clam chowder!
And yes, delicious!
The only difference in my version was adding celery and only because I love the taste and rector added to just about any type of soup.
So delicious! Cheap, easy and probably one of the best clam chowders I have had in a while. This recipe is going in my cook book and I will use it every time I want to make clam chowder.
We have made this often over the past few years. I am so glad I came across this simple, delicious recipe. The fewer ingredients the better, for me. Thank you for sharing.
This recipe was very easy to make and also delicious! I think next time I’m going to double it up (my husband LOVES clam chowder). Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Delicious! I used the immersion blender just to thicken it up towards the end, leaving about half of it chunky. This required addition of a lot of salt at the end, so be liberal if you think it’s bland and it turns out perfect.
I wasn’t expecting anyone to ask for seconds, but they did and I only got to enjoy 1 bowl.
It’s that delicious and I’m definitely making this again!
I made the entire recipe in my instant pot so cleanup was a breeze.
My daughter and I love clam chowder and when our local deli didn’t have any this fall we decided to finally make some ourselves. It did not disappoint! Absolutely creamy, chunky and delicious. For ease we used dried parsley and bacon bits still good! Had with a big ole chunk of sourdough. Thank you for the recipe!! Four bowls each yum. Will make again!
Very good taste but honestly you have to had at least 3 cans of clams. I had some celery but next time I will had extra clams for sure!! It tasted more potatoes than clams……
I purchased 3 cans of clams and I’m adding celery. Making this tonight
To die for delicious. I have made this soup time and again and it just keeps getting better each tim….
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! Hands down the BEST clam chowder we have ever had! I have never made clam chowder myself but will never go with any other recipe! So easy to prepare as well. Thank you so much for sharing!
Made this tonight. Omitted 1 potato and added 2 ribs of diced celery. Soooooo good!
this recipe is golden. I cooked this and it was a complete success the second time around when I added a third can of clam chowder and juice and just did one potatoe, since the first time I did it, i could hardly taste the clam. My picky kid ate a whole bowl, and my husband asked for seconds and asked me to cook this again the next day, that says it all.
I added celery, but I think this recipe would fly without it. Very very good!
Great recipe. I add a bit of leak and since I like it hot I also add Thai chile peppers as well. The husband can’t get enough.
Followed recipe exactly and loved it. Husband suggested maybe adding celery next time which I see a couple of others added. Will definitely make again.