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 made it twice. It is fabulous.
Very easy to make but tasty.
I’ll make it often. Thanks for the recipe.
Love this recipe. Tasty. You need to pay attention. Don’t wander off and get distracted.
I absolutely love clam chowder, and I have often toyed with the idea of making at home because it would be so much healthier! This recipe was simple and the chowder tastes absolutely amazing! This is going in my recipe book! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Made this last week! Had to make it again today, it’s delicious
I thought this was a great recipe. Very tasty and easy to make. I used tapioca starch instead of flour and heavy cream instead of half and half. It was very rich and creamy, yum!
This is absolutely delicious, my family loved it. I added a chopped stalk of celery that I sautéed with the onion and a large carrot that I added with the potatoes. Instead of 1/2 and 1/2, I used 2/3 cup of whole milk with 1/3 cup of heavy cream. Also, I did not use any butter, I sautéed in the bacon grease – yum
The best. took a little longer to make. But Well worth it.
This chowder turned out amazing! It was fun to make and fun to eat. My family loved it!
Wonderful. Wonderful.
Thanks so much for an awesome chowder recipe.
Turns out great, every single time I fix it. Big, big… bowls for dinner !
My husband made linguini with clam sauce and we had some fresh clams leftover that I needed to use up. I found this recipe, had all the ingredients needed and thought I’d give it a try. Turned out to be one of the BEST bowls of clam chowder I’ve ever had. Other than adding one stalk of diced celery as others suggested, I followed the recipe as written (okay, I used fresh chopped clams rather than ones bought in a grocery store). Easy to make, didn’t take a long time, and the results were fantastic. My husband and I were licking our bowls clean. This will become a regular at house. YUMMO!
DAMN Right Delicious!
a little cayenne powder….
Did not hurt it…
this was the first time making clam chowder & this recipe was seriously very simple. to my shock there weren’t any potatoes in the supermarket i went to so, i decided to sub for frozen french fries instead. it cuts the cooking time 15 mins lesser & also added in more frozen clams & corn. my mom had seconds & i was so happy she enjoyed it too!
Delicious! Made it as it, except didn’t have bacon but did have a crock of bacon fat, so still got the smoky flavor.
I made this recipe tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Although I didn’t have vegetable stock, I used chicken broth and I added 3 cans of clams and juice. I wanted it a little more seafood tasting so I found a can of crab in my pantry so I added it and got my seafood taste. I didn’t have tyme so I added basil but other than those few tweaks I made it just the way the recipe said. To my Dismay I am out of oyster crackers but regular crackers were just fine. My puppy really loves oyster crackers. LoL dinner was delicious. Thank you for a great recipe.
Great chowder! I used leftover clams, shrimp, scallops and lobster (from our homemade Valentine’s Day dinner) and seafood stock instead of chicken broth (also as a substitute for the clam juice), and it turned out delicious. It was just about perfect tonight, and I can’t wait to see how good the leftovers are tomorrow night after settling and marinating in its own flavors all night.
Less thyme and more bay leaf. Otherwise delicious
Very simple and delicious! Being that I live in New Mexico, I “had” to pull 3 whole frozen mild green chiles out of my freezer, chop ’em up and throw them in with the potatoes. Served with some toasted locally made whole wheat bread. I will definitely keep this in the recipes bookmarks!
Great recipe! Just what I was looking for.
Loved this base recipe but based on the reviews, I changed it just a little…added one minced stalk of celery, used 8 oz clam juice instead of stock and I did only 2% milk, no half and half, a few dashes of hot sauce…and it came out Really good. Kids loved it and asked when I can make it again. Only complaint is I wish this recipe was for a slighter larger batch. We are a family of 4 and it only made 4 small bowls- we added bread and salad to help fill us up. Obviously we could just double the recipe, but I didn’t want That much left over. Overall very good, will make it again!
I made this in fact two or three times very good