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
- 3 6.5 oz. cans chopped/minced clams in clam juice
- 8 ounces clam juice
- 6 thick center-cut bacon strips chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 ¼ pounds russet potatoes peeled and diced into ¼-½” cubes, approx. 3 ½ cups
- 3-5 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon each dried parsley dried oregano, salt
- ¼ teaspoon each dried thyme pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
Garnishes (Optional)
- Oyster crackers
- 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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Living in CT, I believe I’m a bit of an expert critic. I made this as written, except I was about a half cup short of clam broth. I used fresh chopped clams in their juices, from the fish dept.
it was wonderful!
So happy you enjoyed it, Lorraine! Thank you for sharing your alterations.
This was so delicious!
Love this recipe! So yummy and has great depth of flavor. I’m making it today and putting it in a crock pot for my husbands work potluck tomorrow. Do you think it will reheat just fine tomorrow in the crockpot? I’m going to try your other soups now because this chowdah is bangin!!
It should be okay reheated in the crockpot. I would reheat it on low if possible to help keep the cream from separating and possibly add a little extra broth or cream if it becomes too thick.
Look relish
The best clam chowder I’ve ever made!!
Don’t let the darker color fool you when you make this SUPER Yummy chowda! The bacon and the bacon grease make the color darker, but the flavor meter is off the chart!! We are going to use this recipe time and time again. SO glad I found this! YUM!! Thank you!
Awesome! Brings me back to Boston!!
Disappointing. To me, New England Clam Chowder is white. This came out kind of beige. I added all the seasonings but it still tasted like flavored chicken broth. I wouldn’t recommend it.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t love this as much as we do Florence.
This recipe was delicious!!! I added more clams, used 4 cups of clams juice, light cream and one chicken bouilon cube that was the perfect amount of liquid
Top notch taste of new England, with a couple simple mods. I recommend doubling the amount of bacon and clams, the latter of which gives you extra clam juice and negates the need for chicken broth, which is not “chowdery.” Omit any herb not called thyme but do add some ground white pepper.
This is a delicious recipe. My husband said it was the best clam chowder he has ever had. The only thing I added was a few sprigs of tarragon along with the bay leaves. Comfort food at its best. Thank you for the recipe Jen. I will definitely make this again.
I’ve made this chowder several times and it’s wonderful. Sometimes I add more potatoes to “extend” the recipe a little bit. I also add chopped mushrooms if I have extra on hand.
Awesome recipe!
It’s my go to !
sounds like a Perfect recipe .. I’m wondering and I see it all the time. I look at the nutrition part of a recipe and it says what it is per serving but never tells you what the serving size is. What is the serving size ?
Hi Jax, a serving is about 1 ½ cups.
Made this Chowder tonight and it was GREAT! Alot of prep involved (chopping potatoes, onions, garlic, etc) so I had my fingers crossed it was all worth it and boy was it ever. This recipe is a keeper, I know I’ll be making it again and again. Thank you!!
Absolutely delicious!!!! Will make many more times! Highly recommend. If you are making for a family I suggest doubling the recipe
I made this and it was easy and delicious! I really liked it even more the second day even more as spices infused longer in it. Would not change a thing. Thank you!
This is a good flavored soup but it is NOT a new england clam chowder. To many herbs involved in this recipe. Doesn’t even come close to the taste of NECC. Very disappointed in it as my first time attempting NECC and this is the recipe I selected and it was a fail. NECC should not have oregano in it and if you add thyme it is a very little amount and maybe fresh parsley for serving purposes. No chicken broth for certain because it takes away from the clams…