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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A definite keeper. Followed recipe, but added two stalks of celery and half of a medium onion. Served it with baguette and Cesar’s salad for my husband and myself. There was about a cup of chowder left. This will go in my soup rotation.
A keeper. I added two stalks of celery and used half of a medium onion. Served with baguette and Cesar’s salad for my husband and myself. Will definitely be added to my soup collection.
This Clam Chowder Soup …. Oh My Gosh! My husband loves this soup. I have made this before. Just didn’t have a chance to rate it. Thank you so much for your recipe. For extra meaty I had 4 cans clams and I buy some fresh clams on shells at the seafood market. Everything else stay the same.
Delicious!!! I added celery and baby potatoes. Perfect!
I agree with you, i did it and oh my God it was delicious. I made enough for 15 people, a lots of clams and I added shrimps and white fish. it was to die for.
now my friends expect to have it in all my invitation. I will be making for sure
I used 6 slices of bacon and kept the grease in the soup. Yum. I also used fresh clams and added a small bottle of clam juice. Absolutely delicious!
6 servings ? Recipe good but def not 6 servings
Very good but I’m only giving four stars because it fed me and my husband only. Had to make something different for my kids. Definitely not 6 serving.
I think they’re going by 1-cup serving size.
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THE RECIPE…NOT EASY TO FIND AS SIMPLE AND EASY AS THIS ONE…GREAT JOB!
Delicious
I made this recipe and it turned out great. I cooked the mirepoix in the leftover bacon fat and then added the flour to that – cooking the flour here is the key to not having the dish taste floury like someone else commented. Then you can add garlic, milk, clam/chicken stock, potatoes etc. Could have added some corn too but it was thick enough already with lots of veggies. Great recipe! Other than chopping vegetables it doesn’t take much time either.
Delicious.
Hi Chungah, thank you for this wonderful recipe. Clam Chowder soup is by far my favorite of all soups. I followed your instructions, though after reading some of the reviews, I decided to add imitation crab, also, I added 1 1/2 Tbs of sugar. It was delicious, tasty and very filling.
Love this recipe. The only change I made was to add a can(drained) of whole kernel corn.
Great directions and very easy recipe to follow.
Thank you for all the recipes you share with us.
Very delicious and easy. I threw in celery, somehow I can not make a soup without celery. Will be making this every Friday for a while because my husband just loved it.
Thank you for a great recipe.
Best clam chowder we ever had my family loved it.
Thanks for your easy to follow recipe.
This is my go to recipe…so easy and delicious!
This recipe is so delicious! It was perfect the first I made it. Now I add fresh imitation crab and use Yukon potatoes instead of russet. I also don’t remove the bacon. That sits in there the WHOLE time and I love it this recipe is one of the first ones I’ve tried that has got me cooking more at home. Thank you so much!
Like mine a little thicker so I added 2 tablespoons more rue. Taste wonderful!
I made this dairy free with extra creamy oat milk, oat and coconut half and half. It was amazing!
Absolutely love this recipe, easy to make and delicious!