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 chopped 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!
Ingredients
- 3 (6.5 ounce each) can chopped clams in clam juice
- 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, 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.
Notes
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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Amazing & delicious! Better than any chowder that I had in Boston, Cape Cod, & anywhere else. So easy to make & tasty!
Very good recipe. Seasonings are just right. Personal preference: I prefer a little thicker chowder so next time I’ll reduce the liquid added by 1/2 cup, either the chicken broth or the clam juice.
I had the best clam chowder recipe that was passed down from my sister, but somehow it’s disappeared. I have tried 4-5 different recipes from online and not one of them came close to hers so I gave up until just now I thought I’d try and find another one and I came across yours. It sounds very close to my sisters recipe so I’m excited to try it tomorrow night and I will be back to let you know what I think. I’m pretty optimistic so fingers crossed. My family will be so happy they were getting ready to trade me in
I sure hope you love it Leanay!
Hello,
Are we supposed to boil the potatoes before adding them cubed to the skillet? I’d imagine the potatoes wouldn’t cook so quickly.
The potatoes are not precooked Angie. They are cut small (¼-½ inch cubes), then simmered, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender.
No, they will get tender in the broth. Throwing them in the pan can add a little color or just start the cooking process. It’s easier than making two steps.
Cook your chowder until the potatoes are to your liking. If it thickens too much before they are to your likeness, just add a bit more broth or clam juice.
I made this tonight for the first time and my husband said if I ever stop making this he wants a divorce LOL! His best friend also tried a bowl, both said it was the best clam chowder they’ve ever had. I’ll definitely be keeping this one in my arsenal!
That’s quite a compliment Casey! So happy everyone loves the clam chowder!
LOVED. I didn’t use canned clams though, I bought raw chopped clams and just threw them in at the end and let it simmer until the clams were cooked. I also upped it to 1.5lbs of clams and it was amazing!
Regarding clam chowder. It was wonderful. My relatives are from Finland, where seafood soup or chowder for breakfast wouldn’t be seen as odd.
There are so many variations of herbs & seasonings you can easily modify the taste for the better or worse. Add in small amounts, you can add, but you can’t take it out. Enjoy your chowder.
I made this last night and OMG. It came out soooooooo darn good!!! The only thing I would change the next time I make this de-lish chowder, is use a lower sodium bacon or just less bacon in general. Only because the one I used was on the salty side to begin with. But hands down, this truly is way better than the restaurant.
Thank you so much for sharing this!
So good!
I adapted this recipe to use nondairy ingredients and was delighted with the results. It has been a long time since I last had clam chowder, but with this recipe I won’t hesitate to indulge by fixing my own occasionally.
Excellent recipe! I added an extra can of clams, otherwise I followed the recipe. Great Christmas Eve dinner. Thanks so much for sharing the deliciousness!
This was delicious! I’m making it for the second time tonight!
Excellent, excellent recipe! I rarely take the time out to review, but this was so delicious that I just had to.say that this is replacing my restaurant recipe. I had company over and they went back for seconds and even my hard to please husband raved about it. I think taking the time to cook the vegetables until starting to brown with the bacon was key to all of the flavor. I did add 2 more cans of clams and had 2 cups of clam juice from all of the cans so only added chicken broth and used half n half Instead of heavy cream, but it didn’t lack anything. Thanks so much for sharing. I’ll definitely make this again.
I’m so glad everyone loved this recipe Lynn!
Does leftover soup freeze well?
I have not tried to freeze this soup however in my experience, soups with dairy don’t tend to freeze well.
What do you find to be the problem? Does the dairy and fat separate or something? Is the taste effected in some way? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
One guess I’d make about dairy based soups not freezing well has to do with the fact that most of them have potatoes in them. The cell wall after boiling them is already structurally compromised and then full of water. Any structure left in the potatoes will be destroyed after freezing as water in it expands. This to me would be the biggest issue if why the soup would got to hell. But that happens in non dairy soups as well after freezing. I just think it throws off a thicker chowder more than it would a thinner broth soup, and also tends to make a chowder more watery after thawing it. I also think the destroyed potatoes at that point make it almost gritty rather than adding to the creaminess.
Those are just my unscientific thoughts.
Yours?
After many years I lost my clam chowder recipe , so went online looking for something similar . I made this today according to the recipe , but it lacked something or maybe had too much . Never should have put in oregano and I think it was was too much garlic . I doctored it up by adding some Old Bay and thickened it up with a slurry . But it still wasn’t that good . Back to trying to find another recipe .
Prep time is way more than 10 minutes by the time all the ingredients are set out and all the slicing and dicing is done. That aside, the soup is great! My husband isn’t a big soup fan, but he instantly praised this recipe and said he’d eat it anytime. I’m glad to add this to my recipe index.
Omg this is the best chowder ever!! So easy to make too!
Super delish and very easy. Only change I made was I used half and half instead of heavy cream since it’s what I had on hand. Soup was still perfectly rich and creamy enough for us. Will make again for sure!
Just tried this recipe out and hands down a winner in my house! Being a New Englander who has lived in Los Angeles for years and misses a good NE chowder I am so beyond satisfied with this recipe!
*added some corn and diced some shrimp into it and it was phenomenal*
So glad you enjoyed it, Max!
You can take this recipe to the Instant Pot. Follow all steps until simmer, in place of that set high pressure for 4 min, natural release for 4-6 min. Then add in cream and clams and hit evenly with sauté function. So delicious! I also added white pepper and a wee bit of truffle oil. 1/3 razors clams, 2/3 sea clams. Dang, should win an award!
Thanks for the tips, Laura! This would be delicious in the Instant Pot!