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!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 rib celery sliced
- 1 carrot sliced
- 1 pound potatoes peeled and cubed
- ½ cup corn kernels
- 5 cups chicken broth or seafood broth
- ½ cup white wine
- 8 ounces white fish like cod, salmon, tilapia or haddock, cut into chunks
- 8 ounces sea scallops
- 12 ounces medium shrimp peeled and deveined
- 6.5 ounces chopped clams canned, drained
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh 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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Can you do this using Lactaid?
Hi Roberta, I have never tried it with Lactaid but I would be interested to hear how it turns out. Good luck!
Made this last night, it was wonderful.
Made this last night just with cod. Didnt have old bay so I improvised. Was delicious! It will be a staple in this household! Thank you Holly!
So happy your family enjoyed it Dan! You are very welcome.
Made this last night and it was excellent! I used 1.5 lbs of cod. Yummy! It will be a staple in our house. I didnt have old bay so I made my own. Thank you!
So happy to hear that Dan! Glad you enjoyed it.
there,all look good I’m going to try them
They taste delicious too. Enjoy Elizabeth!
I am already planning to make this ..cannot wait – 1 question .is there an alternative for the wine ..or can i eliminate it ?
You can leave it out if you’d prefer.
This recipe is unbelieveable! My entire family is obsessed with it. Dont change a thing and you will LOVE it!
Thank you so much Jeanette! I am glad your family enjoyed the chowder!
Scallops- Bay or Sea?
Bay scallops are just the right size for this recipe. If you have larger scallops, you can certainly cut them. Enjoy!
How would I make this in the slow cooker?
I’ve never tried making this chowder in the slow cooker Meagan. Please let us know if you try it!
I reduced the amount of ingredients by half as it was for two people. It still made four servings. Thank you for this recipe! I had a handful of shrimp, some scallops and one piece of salmon in the freezer. I used leftover corn, two potatoes, a carrot, celery and half an onion. Money is very tight so I was looking for a way to use up what I have on hand. I make my own broth by saving all chicken bones and veggie scraps, just fill ziploc bags in the freezer. I was going to add the wine but I guess we are screw top wine people because we couldn’t find the cork screw to open the bottle of wine!!! The flavor was so good and the chowder is filling. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it Michelle! We have definitely been in that situation too! You should see how creative my husband can get when I “need” wine!
Love your recipes
Thanks MiChelle! :)
This was very tasty. It’s a chowder, so the possibilities are endless for tweaking and making it your own. I would have followed the recipe exactly but I wanted to clean out my freezer so I used whatever seafood I had on hand (a seafood mix, some shrimp and some cod). I accidentally bought half and half instead of heavy cream so I just had to thicken it at the end with a cornstarch slurry. And I only used 4 cups of broth instead of 5 because that’s what comes in the box (I strongly suggest using the seafood broth, if you can find it). It’s not a fussy recipe so you don’t have to get hung up on the details! Just make it your own. All in all, this was just the base that I wanted and had all the flavor I was looking for. I was seriously impressed, it came out exactly as I had envisioned. Thanks!
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Jamie! A seafood mix sounds like a delicious addition to this recipe!
This is a great tasting seafood chowder and a super easy recipe. We’ve made it 3 times now (cod, haddock, mahi-mahi). Something this easy should not taste this good.
But, followed exactly, we find there is too much liquid relative to the solid ingredients. So, for a more “meaty” soup (and closer to what is pictured), here is my suggestion:
– reduce broth to 4 cups
– increase potatoes to 1.5 lb (yukon gold seem to work best)
– increase carrots to 2 medium carrots
– increase corn to 1 cup
– add 1/2 cup chopped green or red pepper (optional)
Also, we’ve found the canned clams don’t add much, so I consider them optional (but add a bit more fish).
It is a bit bland (by design) so you might want to add a bit more spice.
Thank you for your suggestions on making this a meatier chowder Harris. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Do you think the flour in this recipe could be substituted for cornstarch?
Yes, that should work just fine. I’d suggest making a slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) and adding it a little at a time to thicken.
Hi Holly, I’ve a question. Can the water from the canned clams be used as the broth? PS, I’m Aussie and love every chowder I’ve had while visiting the states!
I’ve never tried it, but think that would work, and it’s an interesting idea Darryl! Let us know if you try it with the clam juice.
I always use the juices from canned fish to add flavor to my fish chowders. I think it enhances the flavor.
Lori
Here are my recommendations, or what I did…. I added fish sauce and Knorr Shrimp seasoning at different intervals of the cooking process to bring out the seafood flavors. I could approximate it, however it should be to ones taste. I did not have Old Bay seasoning which was my reason for using each of these things. I also did not use the white wine as it has in the recipe, and just omitted it all together. I believe this is a fantastic recipe the way it is, I just have a way to do things to try and make them different for my family. I will add a frozen bag of peas and carrots as well as 3 dashes of Cholula (Hispanic hot sauce) for more of a spicy flavor, which seems to go great with seafood. I will also use a cube or 2 of dried cilantro… So get to the point…. from start to finish this is what I did. I followed the recipe with the first few steps, sauteing the onions and butter until the onions are soft and tender, I added the flour at this time, then the chicken broth. I added the carrot and celery as well as the potatoes to cook for just a few minutes added fish sauce and Knorr shrimp seasoning, allowed it to cook down for about 10 minutes on low, added the half frozen diced up tilapia. I added 2 more dashes of fish sauce and 1 and a half tablespoons of Knorr. Added my shrimp, scallops and clams and transferred it to a crock pot. I placed it on high for an hour and added 2 more dashes of fish sauce and another tablespoon of Knorr. I hope you find these additions helpful. I look forward to each recipe!
Your additions sound delicious Dianna! Thank you for sharing your ideas!
I made the recipe last and absolutely loved it! I’m gluten free so I didn’t add the flour and I used quality wine. I purchased a medley of seafood already package with several popular options in the frozen section next to the fresh seafood case. I also purchased the onions, carrots and celery pre-chopped in the regular frozen section which save time. All of these items were reasonably priced. It had such a fresh taste. I have freezed some of it to eat at a later date. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome Latifa. Great tips for making it even easier to make!
Hi Holly
Due to a funeral on Friday I need to make my seafood chowder on Thursday for a crock pot contest on saturday. Will the chowder be ok till sat?
Sorry to hear that Sue. I have not made this ahead of time. I’d want to make sure that the seafood didn’t overcook.
I’ve never had any kind of chowder! And I do not recall ever having clams. Would it be ok to leave them out?
Yes, you can leave the clams out.
This chowder is delicious! Even my kids loved it! I followed recipe exactly, using fresh monkfish from my local fishmonger, for the whitefish.
I will definitely be making again
I am so glad you guys loved it! Fresh monkfish sounds delicious!
First attempt at Chowder of any kind. I used chicken broth, I looked for seafood broth but couldn’t find it in my neck of the woods. I used Cod, Shrimp, Baby Clams and Crab meat…Very easy to make, next time I might add corn starch to thicken the base. Love this recipe! Also made the cheddar biscuits. Of course a glass of Pinot Grigio!
So glad to hear that you love this chowder recipe! Thank you for commenting and letting me know!