Seafood Chowder is a delicious, rich creamy soup that is table ready in about 30 minutes!
Tender shrimp, fish and scallops are combined in a creamy white wine broth with veggies. This flavor packed chowder recipe is a comfort food that can be easily enjoyed at home any day of the week!
A really great New England Clam Chowder is one of our favorite ways to enjoy a bowl of comfort food. There is just something so belly warming about a creamy bowl of seafood goodness! This chowder recipe can be prepared on a weeknight because it cooks really quickly!
What is Chowder?
So what makes a soup a chowder?
A chowder is a type of soup that most often (not always) has a creamy base and is chunky in texture. There are a few variations of chowder: clam chowder, corn chowder, and of course, this seafood chowder!
I start by simmering the veggies in seafood or chicken broth for great flavor and then add in the seafood and cream to cook at the end! Chowders can sometimes be thickened using a roux and in the case of this seafood chowder recipe, the potatoes also provide quite a bit of starch to help it thicken it!
Seafood chowder is a complete meal on its own loaded with shrimp, scallops and fish. We add in a side of Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits or Cheddar Bay Biscuits to sop up any of the creamy goodness at the bottom of the bowl!
When I make seafood chowder recipe, I always add corn for a color and a hint of sweetness. If you have extra vegetables you need to use up, this dish is perfect for it! Mushrooms, peppers, or peas all make great additions to this chowder!
How to Make Chowder
While some chowders take longer to cook (like my fave Slow Cooker Corn Chowder) this easy recipe is table ready in about 30 minutes!
- Cook onion in butter. Add flour.
- Add veggies, broth and wine and cook until tender.
- Stir in cream and seafood and simmer a few minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
You can add any kind of seafood into this chowder recipe; lobster, crab, salmon… just be mindful of cooking time so your seafood doesn’t overcook!
More Creamy Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Baked Potato Soup – Comforting!
- Creamy Sausage & Cabbage Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken Wild Rice Soup – Creamy and delicious!
- Easy Crock Pot Ham and Potato Soup
- Zuppa Toscana – Family favorite!
Creamy Seafood Chowder
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 stalk celery sliced
- 1 carrot sliced
- 1 pound potatoes peeled and cubed
- ½ cup corn
- 5 cups broth seafood or chicken
- ½ cup white wine
- 8 ounces white fish cut into chunks (cod/salmon/tilapia/haddock)
- 8 ounces scallops
- 12 ounces shrimp peeled and deveined
- 6 ½ ounce chopped clams canned, drained
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon parsley
Instructions
- Cook onion in butter until tender. Add flour, Old Bay seasoning and thyme and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Add carrot, celery, potato, corn, broth and wine & bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
- Stir in seafood and cream. Cook until fish is fully cooked and flaky and potatoes are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Soup
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One of our all-time favorites!
What is a good wine to use for this recipe? Or is it just white cooking wine?
Any white wine will work, try using something you would like to drink with it!
Great recipe! Definitely a keeper.
I was looking for a good soup/chowder to use some Dungeness crab stock I recently made, and this fit the bill perfectly! I used turbot (Greenland halibut) for the white fish and coconut milk instead of heavy cream, which worked great. Turbot is a little oilier and flakier/softer, but it doesn’t really matter if your fish is either firm or flaky, as it’ll just blend in with the texture of the soup.
I would suggest putting more stuff in general in it- I used another carrot and stalk of celery, a few extra ounces of shrimp and scallops, and about twice as much fish. The clams and corn both disappear in the soup, so I would add around three times each the next time I make this.
However, this recipe goes to show that you shouldn’t rely too heavily on measurements, but instead rely on what you want and what you have. I had extra of most of the ingredients, so I put more in, and it still turned out fantastic.
I have a very picky eater in my household of 5. This recipe was a big hit!! Taste was delicious and it was easy to prepare. This recipe is a keeper!
This soup is indeed easy, delicious, and versatile! I’ve made it twice now, and will undoubtedly be making it again. Since white wine is not something I generally have, I substitute beer, and it works well. Last time I made it I didn’t have any carrots or celery, so I used bell pepper and broccoli, and it still came out wonderfully. I also like to add mushrooms because I love them. It turns out great even when experimenting with different kinds of seafood, it’s practically fail-proof. Next time I want to try making it with octopus. Thank you so much for one of my new favorite soup recipes!
This was delicious and easy! My husband loved it! I followed the recipe but didn’t have scallops so I increased the amount of the rest of the seafood. I used halibut. Thank you. This is definitely going into the rotation!
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious…..I did the recipe exactly as written. I added a 4oz lobster tail to the seafood mix. Such a filling, satisfying recipe, This made a LOT we will be eating it for a few days. (only 2 of us that will eat seafood in the family)
Delicious!
I love This even though I had to tweek it it it due to supplies. I used flounder (shorter cook time) I added a potato (my husband needs a filler) and I used only one cup or 1/2 & 1/2. I added a can of cream corn along with frozen corn. I also added a 1/2 cup of Sherry along with the wine. I couldn’t get scallops or lobster (l’m in NE for Gods sake) so I added canned smoked oysters and baby clams the Smokey flavor put it over the top! It was beautiful! We both loved it and there is enough for leftovers and a bowl for my dil who love unique recipes. Thanks for sharing a recipe that leaves room for substitutions with no problem!
Ok! So I did a little tweaking! (Sorry) I omitted the carrots and the corn. I added bacon and used clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, and tilapia for the seafood. I diced the celery. I also doubled the amount of Old Bay and added a 1/4 cup of dry sherry with the wine. AMAZING! Thank you for the recipe!
Super recipe – a meal in itself! I would call this a “seafood stew.” I’ve served it to the fam with rave reviews.
However I cook the seafood different. I sauté the whitefish in the butter first, then the onions etc and cook the stew. Also, I poach the seafood (doubling the recipe) in the wine then add the wine stock to the stew. It’s more work but it brings out the seafood flavor more. Thanks for a great plan. It’s been a staple for our family’s menu.
This was amazing. I used a seafood medley that I had in the freezer. I’m going to try it with fish cheeks next time.
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
I made it with a few modifications and it is delicious! It is now going into the family recipe collection. Our sons came for a quick visit and requested back to back fish dinners and I decided to attempt Seafood Chowder for one dinner ! Result was rave reviews. Thanks again.
used lobster instead of fish. was best seafood recipe I’ve ever made. also made in slow cooker after I cooked onions and old bay and flour in separate pan. no need for salt or pepper. if you like seafood. this is great!
is it ok to lightly bbq the shrimp and haddock on a smoker before adding to the soup or will this make them tough?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Greg. If you are precooking then I would watch the soup carefully as to not overcook the fish and I do worry the shrimp will get tough as it cooks so quickly. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I used precooked shrimp in mine, as that was my easiest option for shrimp, and I put them in with the rest of the seafood in the third step. They were just a little bit chewy, but if you’re scared of them being too rubbery then you could just put them in a minute or two before you’re done so they warm up with the soup but don’t cook any longer. Same thing with the fish, if you precook it then you should add it when you are nearing the finish.
I love the seafood chowder but it’s not as thick as I would like. We used bread bowls and they got soggy before we could finish. Also, the carrots we’re not done, next time I might use canned carrots.
I added cornstarch to make it a bit thicker.
I did a little change up. I didn’t have a regular potato, so used a sweet potato. Very tasty. On day two, I added a couple of shakes of cayenne pepper to spice it up….I like it spicy.
Easy recipe…I used Salmon, large pink shrimp and scallops.