Clam Chowder is the ultimate comfort food with tender clams, creamy potatoes and of course salty, smoky bacon!
Wonderfully creamy New England Clam Chowder is way easier than you think to make at home and about to become a new family favorite!
This easy clam chowder recipe has rich flavor for the perfect bowl of comfort!
REPIN THIS EASY CHOWDER RECIPE HERE!
While I love the summer months of sandals and jacket-free bike rides, I love the winter because SOUP!
Soup season is my favorite because soups are my favorite. I love how you don’t have to create any extra sides but instead get to curl up with your meal-in-one bowl of warm slurpilicious comfort just like this creamy clam chowder recipe.
If someone is intimidated by cooking, I always tell them to start with soup recipes like Slow Cooker Corn Chowder, Slow Cooker Potato Soup, Cheesy Taco Soup and now this New England Clam Chowder!
What is Clam Chowder?
This cravilicious white creamy clam chowder is bursting with delectable clams, tender potatoes, and salty bacon.
Seeing as San Diego is on the opposite side of the United States from New England and fresh clams can be hard to come by or very expensive, I’ve chosen to make this clam chowder recipe with minced canned clams – and I couldn’t taste a difference!
In fact, many reputable restaurants use canned clams with the addition of clam juice. You will be shocked how restaurant-quality delicious this version tastes and canned clams make it that much easier!
How to Make Clam Chowder
A few notes about this recipe to make it the best ever homemade New England Clam Chowder.
First, use thick, center cut bacon instead of traditional sliced bacon.
Sliced bacon wilts as its simmered whereas thick bacon holds up to the heat so you are left with a wonderful meaty texture that complements the clams.
Next, be sure to use russet potatoes.
Their soft, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture is ideal for chowders. They taste the most “potato-y” as opposed to waxy as you want them practically falling apart in your mouth.
Finally, everyone has their own opinion as to how thick a chowder should be.
For this clam chowder recipe, we use a roux to thicken the chowder then stir in 1 cup heavy cream at the end of cooking.
If you would like a thicker chowder, simmer the soup longer, or for a thinner chowder, stir in additional chicken broth.
To finish the chowder, we pile it with some of the reserved crispy bacon, fresh parsley (optional) and oyster crackers.
Now dig into your better-than-any-restaurant New England Clam Chowder!
New England Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 19.5 oz chopped clams in clam juice 3 x 6.5oz cans
- 8 ounces clam juice
- 6 slices thick cut bacon chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 ribs celery finely chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 ¼ pounds russet potatoes peeled and diced into ½-inch cubes, approx. 3 ½ cups
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Garnishes (Optional)
- Oyster crackers
- chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Drain clam juice from cans into a measuring cup. Add enough bottled clam juice to equal 2 ½ cups. Set aside.
- In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until fat is rendered and slightly brown. Remove half of the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. To the remaining bacon and drippings, melt in 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.
- Increase heat to medium high and add celery and onion. Saute for 5-7 minutes or until onions are soft. Add potatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using) and sauté 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour and cook an additional 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, reserved 2 ½ cups clam juice, chicken bouillon, bay leaves and all seasonings. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
- Stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer to heat through. Discard bay leaves. Remove from heat and stir in clams. Taste and add salt/pepper to taste. (You may or may not need additional salt depending on how salty your clams and bacon are.) For a thinner or less chunky soup stir in additional heavy cream/milk or chicken broth.
- Top individual servings with reserved bacon and oyster crackers and fresh parsley if desired.
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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What are the Different Types of Clam Chowder?
The most common type of clam chowder is New England Clam Chowder! This type of clam chowder is also known as “Boston” clam chowder and features a rich creamy base with potatoes and onions (and no tomatoes).
Manhattan Clam Chowder is quite different as it generally has a clear tomato broth.
Long Island Clam chowder combines the two above to create a delicious creamy tomato base where Rhode Island Clam chowder is simply a clear broth.
Of all varieties, I have to admit, this award winning New England Clam Chowder is definitely at the top of my list!
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Holly, we love this recipe! Also want to congratulate you on your Cookbook. I received mine today! Can’t wait to cook “cover to cover”
Laurie
Thanks, Laurie! Don’t forget to use the hashtag, #everydaycomfort to share all of your creations on instagram! We can’t wait to see what you make first.
Excellent Clam Chowder
Wonderful recipe. thank you
this recipe was awesome, I made it exactly as instructed except for the oregano, next time I think I will use 4 cans of clams and 2 bottles of clam juice instead of the juice from the can only because the canned clams I get are packed with water. But the recipe was still fantastic and the red pepper flake was just right…
This clam chowder recipe is amazing! We moved to Ohio from Cape Cod Massachusetts three years ago. That being said, it’s hard to find fresh seafood here and New England Clam Chowder was one of the things we missed the most. Thank you Holly!
I pre ordered your cookbook can’t wait to get it!
Thank you, Laurie! We are so excited for everyone to have our cookbook in hand too!
Very basic and so good. This is the kind of recipe I grew up with.
Firstly, and I think MOST importantly, I made this exactly as written to the best of my knowledge. I loved almost everything about this – creamy texture, potato flavor, salt level, etc. The only thing that I just didn’t care for was the herbs. I don’t know if it was the oregano or the thyme or the combination but it just stopped me from absolutely loving it. I would make this again but I would so some serious research on the herb mix.
That being said we ate the entire batch.
I stumbled across this recipe a few months ago and was skeptical after having tried NE Clam Chowder in the past and having it come up subpar.
This recipe is LEGIT. It’s amazing – I’ve made it several times now and it’s awesome!
I will have to say I am a devoted follower of your recipes. When I want to make something new, I look first to see if you have published a recipe. You have yet to let me down. This was no exception. I’ve made clam chowder before, but this was absolutely the best! The only thing that I would do differently is to put more clams just because we like clams. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for following along Vicki, you made my day! I’m so glad you loved this recipe as much as we do.
My second time making this recipe. My family just loves it!
This is the BEST Clam Chowder recipe! I changed absolutely nothing. My husband is from Mass so he is a true gourmand of clam chowder and he loved it.
Made this tonight and hubs and I both loved it! Only change I made was to omit the oregano. Used my alligator chopper to cut all the potatoes nice and even. The soup looked and tasted just wonderful. Will be sharing tomorrow with a friend who is recuperating from surgery. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
I plan to make this as an appetizer for Christmas dinner for 10 guests but will have cup size portions. Is the recipe as written enough in your opinion? I have no doubt the recipe is going to be fantastic based on the ingredients, detailed instructions and all the rave reviews. :-)
As written this should make approximately 7 to 8 cups. You can click the print button to increase the servings. Enjoy!
This clam chowder is the best. I’ve made it several times now and it always comes out sooo good . Thank you. I’m from Maine so I know good chowder.
Absolutely delicious. Better than some restaurants.
Great recipe.
I ditched the juice the clams came in for separate bottles of clam juice. It’s a much cleaner taste but adds a little cost.