This easy clam chowder recipe is creamy, savory, and packed with tender baby clams. Sourdough bread bowl not included, but highly encouraged!
Everyone needs a good chowder recipe. Why? There’s nothing like warming up to a bowl of creamy clam chowder on a cold day. When I lived in Seattle, it was a regular part of my wintertime dinner rotation and a go-to comfort food. Oh, and don’t forget to pair it with a crusty, buttered piece of sourdough or a handful of oyster crackers…
If you’ve always loved clam chowder, but have been intimidated to make it homemade – rest assured, it’s actually quite simple! With a little chopping and patience, you’ll be transported all the way to the shores of New England.
How to Make Easy Clam Chowder
Making clam chowder only requires a bit of prep and a handful of simple ingredients. Find a quick overview of the recipe before you dive in:
- Prep the Veggies: Using a sharp knife, dice all the veggies into bite-sized pieces.
- Prep the Bacon Bits: Next, dice the bacon strips into bite-sized pieces. In a soup pot or Dutch oven, brown the bacon until it turns crispy over medium-high heat. Remove the bacon bits from the pot and set them aside. Leave the drippings in the pan – you’re going to cook in them for extra flavor!
- Sauté the Veggies: Reduce the heat to medium and add the diced onions into the pot, cooking them down in the bacon drippings until soft. Next, sauté the carrots, celery, and green onions.
- Prep the Creamy Broth: Add in the chicken broth, cream cheese, and heavy whipping cream. Stir to until well-combined. Next, add the diced potatoes and water.
- Season the Soup: Season the soup to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drain the claims of their juices and add them to the soup. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Garnish the soup with some crispy bacon bits and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Below, find a couple of tips and tricks to help you make the best clam chowder.
- Chop the veggies into even-sized pieces. The more evenly you chop the onions, carrots, and celery, the more evenly they will cook.
- Cook the veggies in the bacon drippings. Whatever you do, don’t toss the bacon drippings or start in a new pan. You’ll lose so much richness and flavor!
- Use Yukon or red potatoes. Instead of using russets, opt for Yukon (gold potatoes) or red potatoes. They have a bit less starch and keep a firmer texture in the soup.
- Use salted pork instead of bacon. If you can get your hands on salted pork (cured pork belly) at the butcher, snag it and swap it for bacon. This is the ultra-authentic way to make New England-style chowder!
- Use chopped clams or fresh clams. If you’re not a fan of the texture of whole clams, feel free to exchanged them for canned chopped clams. Or, if you’re feeling fancy, use fresh clams.
- Add in some of the clam juice. If you’re a big fan of the salty, clam flavor, add in some of the clam juice to your broth.
Salmon Chowder Hack: Love salmon chowder? Simply swap the canned clams for canned salmon. Yum!
Storing Leftover Clam Chowder
If you’re lucky enough to have leftover clam chowder, it makes for some wonderful leftovers. As the soup marinates in itself, the flavors will deepen and develop. Below, find a couple tips on how to properly store it.
- Refrigerator: To keep your chowder fresh for up to 3-5 days, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Freezer: Although tempting, it’s never a good idea to freeze chowder. Neither the cream nor the potatoes thaw well and the texture of the soup will be ruined upon reheating.
Reheating Tip: To reheat leftover chowder, pour it in a saucepan and warm it through over medium heat. You can also zap it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
FAQ
What can I add to clam chowder for more flavor?
You can add a kick of flavor to your chowder by garnishing it with a few cracks of black pepper, hot sauce, or red pepper flakes. You can also add a handful of bay leaves to the broth, just make sure to remove them before serving.
What is New England-style clam chowder?
New England-style clam chowder is always made with cream, clams, bacon, veggies, and potatoes. While some varieties are more brothy, others can be as thick as a gravy.
What is Manhattan-style clam chowder?
Manhattan-style clam chowder consists of a tomato-based broth, clams, veggies, and potatoes.
What makes a chowder a chowder?
A chowder is defined by a base of chicken or seafood broth, celery, carrots, and salt pork or bacon. While most chowders are creamy, some have a tomato base. Most all chowders contain some type of seafood.
How do you make chowder thicker?
Using heavy whipping cream and a bit of cream cheese makes chowder thicker. If it’s still not thick enough for you, add a bit of cornstarch to the soup.
Other Creamy Soup Recipes
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup – Simple chicken and gnocchi soup
- Gnocchi Zuppa Toscana Recipe – Olive Garden copycat with gnocchi
- Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup – Italian stuffed pasta soup
- Vegetarian Borscht – Creamy vegetarian beet soup
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb bacon
- 1 small onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 1/2 bunch celery
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 qt chicken broth
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 20 oz canned whole clams
Instructions
- Dice all the veggies into even-sized pieces.
- Dice bacon into small pieces. In a soup pot or Dutch oven, brown the bacon until it turns crispy. Remove it from the pot and set it aside. Leave the drippings in the pan.
- Add the diced onions into the pot with the bacon drippings and cook them until they soften. Next, add the carrots, celery, and green onions and cook everything together for a few minutes.
- Add chicken broth to the pot, followed by the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream.
- Add the diced potatoes into the soup and 1-2 quarts of boiling water, depending on the consistency and thickness you prefer. Season the soup with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drain the canned clams of their juices and add them to the soup. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- Top each bowl of soup with crispy bacon and enjoy!
Best clam chowder I ever made! The flavors were amazing!
Hi Diana, I am so thrilled that you loved this recipe so much! Thank you for sharing your feedback with me. Enjoy!!
Hello. I made this soup yesterday and it was not creamy/thick as I usually love to enjoy clam chowder at restaurant. What did I do wrong? I added 1 qt of hot water and I also added 2 teaspoons of corn startch while it was boiling at the end and nothing - still runny as watery and other soups. I followed the other steps exactly. Please help so I could adjust to thicker/creamier next time I try this as my husband prefers it thicker! Thank you!
Hi Juliya- To thicken a soup you have to make a "slurry" out of the corn starch first before adding it to the soup. In a small bowl, add about 1 tbsp of the corn starch, and then stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup into that small bowl. Mix it well, and then add it back into the main pot of soup and let it simmer, you'll see it thicken. Enjoy!
Thanks for the recommendation, I tried this today when I made the soup again and it did not thicken it. I did 1 tbsp cornstartch and 3 tbsp soup. I added it when the boiling water was already in there, i added 6 cups of that. What did I do wrong that it did not thicken the soup?
Add a bag of Idahoan instant red potato mashed potatoes. OR jazz it up with garlic mashed instant potatoes.
Hey, if that didn't thicken it you may need to add some more. So instead of 1 tbsp do 1.5 or 2 tbsp corn starch.
How do you go about the real clams, don’t they come raw? You just throw them in and don’t do anything differently than you would with the canned clams? Excited to try this recipe!
Hey Juliya- if using fresh clams it's important that you clean and steam them first. Please follow the instructions for whatever type of clam you use, and then chop them and add at the end of the recipe. We use canned clams because it's the quickest option. Enjoy!
You were right- this was so easy to make! And delicious! I added a little more bacon.
Can't go wrong with extra bacon! I'm glad you found it easy to make 🙂
This is just the recipe I've been looking for! Love how easy it is to make!
Love hearing this, Erin! Thank you!
This turned delicious! So comforting and warm on the cool day that we had here. Thank you!
Love it! Thank you for the feedback, Jessica 😀
Hi,
wasn't looking for Legal Seafood style thick as paste chowda, but I skipped the water addition, added double the cream and it still felt like there was too much chicken broth. I even mashed a few of the potato chunks to add some additional body. Also, being a New Englander, I skipped the carrots and celery (never had a chowder with a sofrito). Onions only. Did taste better the second day after the flavors married.
Thank you for your feedback, Ed. I'm glad you still enjoyed the recipe on the second day!
попробую приготовить (: выгледит вкусно! Спасибо за рецепт!
у меня вопрос, какие лутше Canned Clams покупать?
I found really good once from Trader Joes. But I am sure any canned clams would work.
спасибо!