Homemade clam chowder is an easy hearty soup that warms you up on a cold day, but it’s also so light and satisfying. My New England-style clam chowder recipe is loaded with tender clams, silky potatoes, and crunchy bacon.
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Clam Chowder Video
Watch my video tutorial to see how easy it is to make Creamy New England-style clam Chowder. Note that since filming this video, I’ve updated this recipe to increase the clams and also found that adding clams at the end ensures they are more tender. You’ll see these changes reflected in the recipe card below.
The Best Clam Chowder Recipe
Creamy soups are such a treat. I fell in love with them on our honeymoon over 20 years ago, where we enjoyed 5-star dining for the first time in our lives. Since then, we’ve been making a variety of creamy soup recipes, from Creamy Carrot Soup to Butternut Squash Soup.
Nearly every bite of this New England-style Clam Chowder has clams in it, which is awesome because what you get at seafood restaurants is very little clams and veggies, but ultra-rich with a ton of cream. I find that our homemade clam chowder recipe is far more enjoyable than dining out, and it’s much easier to make than you might think.
This recipe rivals the best steamy bowls of chowder I’ve tried at the famous chowder houses on Seattle’s piers, and I’m so happy to be able to re-create it at home whenever I crave it.
Clam Chowder Ingredients
You can make the best clam chowder recipe from what’s tucked away in your pantry then you can just add some canned clams to your grocery list.
- Bacon – Traditional New England clam chowder uses salt pork, but bacon is easier to find.
- Carrots, celery, and onions – finely chopped, this combination of veggies used at the base of many soups is called mirepoix.
- Flour – thickens the soup. You can also use a gluten-free flour or a slurry of cornstarch and water.
- Chicken stock (I use low-sodium), or substitute vegetable stock.
- Clams – 3 cans of clams – drain the clams, but keep the juice. If using fresh, see our tips below.
- Worcestershire, Tabasco, soy sauce – adds great depth of flavor – look for gluten free if needed. The hot sauce is optional but so good!
- Bay Leaf, Thyme – Flavors the broth and add salt to taste since the sodium will change depending on your clams. You can replace thyme with dill, fresh parsley, or Old Bay seasoning.
- Potatoes – waxy potatoes like Yukon gold or red potatoes are a great choice, but russets also work.
- Milk and Cream – adds a rich creaminess. You can sub cream for half and half.
Can I use fresh clams?
To use fresh clams, buy about 7 lbs of Quahog (littleneck or cherrystone) clams to get 1.5 generous cups for this recipe, and use about 8 oz of clam juice (to replace the juice from the can).
Clean the clams well, and then steam them until they just open up. Remove the meat and chop finely so they don’t become rubbery. Here’s a tutorial on how to steam fresh clams.
How to Make Clam Chowder
It’s quick and easy to make New England Clam Chowder following these few simple steps.
- Brown the bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven until browned and crisp. Then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Sauté the vegetables (carrots, onion, and celery) in the same pot with the bacon drippings. Add more oil if needed and stir occasionally until soft and golden. Sprinkle with flour and stir another minute until you can’t smell the raw flour.
- Add the chicken broth, clam juice, 1 bay leaf, Worcestershire, Tabasco sauce, thyme, 1 tsp salt, and pepper. Bring to a light boil.
- Add the chopped potatoes to the pot, and then stir in the milk and whipping cream. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped clams, and return the pot to a light boil. Then remove from the heat so the clams don’t get overcooked and tough. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and garnish with the cilantro if desired, and cooked bacon. The soup thickens as it cools. If needed, you can thin it out by adding more milk or chicken broth and bringing it to a boil once more.
Don’t skip the garnish! When you’re all done making your soup, serve it garnished with cilantro. I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this! I tried this combination at a nice restaurant and it was amazing! It’s just a little bit of freshness that makes it taste elevated.
What to Serve with Clam Chowder?
This soup is hearty enough to serve as a full meal, but pairs well with these sides:
- Crackers – Oyster crackers, saltines, or Sourdough Crackers
- Bread – No-Knead Bread, Crusty French Bread, or sourdough bread bowls (boules).
- Side salad – Caesar Salad, Wedge Salad, Beet Salad, or Broccoli Corn Salad
- Sandwiches – BLT, Grilled Cheese, or Open-faced Eggplant and Tomato Sandwich
It’s so fun to recreate restaurant-quality dishes at home like our Zuppa Toscana Recipe, hearty Chicken Wild Rice Soup, and our wildly popular Chicken Tortilla Soup. If you’re a fan of hearty, cozy soups that reheat well, you may want to add this to your regular rotation. It’s that good.
Clam Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 slices lean bacon, cut into 1/2" strips
- 2 medium carrots, sliced into thin rings or half rings
- 2 celery ribs, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour, or GF flour
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, or stock
- 1 1/2 cups canned chopped clams, drained with juices reserved, from 3 (6.5 oz) cans
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1 1/2 lbs 6 medium potatoes (Yukon gold or russet), peeled
- 2 cups milk, any kind
- 1 cup whipping cream or heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro, optional for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over med/high heat and add the chopped bacon. Sauté, stirring occasionally until browned and crisp then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Keep 3 Tbsp of bacon grease in the pot (discard excess if desired).
- Add veggies – toss in chopped carrots, onion, and celery and continue cooking over med/high heat, stirring occasionally until soft and golden (7-8 min). Sprinkle in flour and saute another minute, stirring constantly.
- Build Broth – Add chicken broth, reserved clam juice, bay leaf, Worcestershire, Tabasco sauce, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Bring the soup to a light boil.
- Add Potatoes – While the soup is heating up, chop potatoes into bite-sized pieces about 1/4" thick. Add potatoes to pot, then stir in milk and whipping cream. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and lightly boil until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (about 20 min).
- Add Clams – When potatoes are tender, add chopped clams, return to a light boil, and remove from heat. Don't overcook clams or they will get tough*. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, garnish with cooked bacon and fresh cilantro if desired.
Notes
- The soup will thicken more as it cools. If needed, you can thin it out by adding more milk or chicken broth and bringing it to a boil once more.
- Add the clams at the end and be sure you just bring to a boil then remove the soup from the heat. Overcooking the clams will make them chewy and rubbery.
- Don’t skip the bacon. That little bit of bacon adds so much flavor, both in the soup and as a topping, and makes every bite completely irresistible.
- To Make this Gluten-free, make sure the Tabasco and Worcestershire are FG, then replace the flour with GF flour or create a cornstarch slurry with 2 Tbsp cornstarch and 1/4 cup broth. Add slurry with the clams.
- To use fresh clams, you’ll need 7 pounds of clams. Be sure to clean them very well and steam them until they open. Then chop the meat. See more tips in the post above.
- Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Freezing is not recommended because the texture changes when frozen.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Classic Soup Recipes
If you love this Clam Chowder Recipe, then you won’t want to miss these other classic soup recipes.
- Vegetable Soup
- Potato Soup
- Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Corn Chowder
- Classic Borscht
- Beef Stew or Lamb Stew
- Roasted Tomato Soup
I made clam chowder for the very first time using this recipe. It was wonderful! My family absolutely want me to make again. It was even more delicious the next day! I did freeze some but haven’t tried it yet. I’ll report back!
Last night 4 of us sat down to large bowls of your chowder, as our entree. After her first spoon of this fantastic chowder, one guest’s first words were: “It’s medicine”. Just the most comforting meal in a bowl ever. I made the soup early in the day, but added the clam meat that night after bringing the soup back to a simmer and removing from heat. Wonderful addition to my compendium! Thank you Natasha.
Delicious, even without the bacon! I’m a pescatarian so I substituted 3 tablespoons of butter for the bacon grease and in place of the chicken broth, I used vegetable broth, made with Better Than Bouillon. It was rich and flavorful! It’s now my new clam chowder recipe.
I enjoyed making and eating this chowder. I had to make a few modifications, omit the cream but used whole mild, chopped up a small chili pepper from a pickle jar, and added Old Bay. This made I nice hot meal on a cold day.
Any recipe from Natasha will turn out fantastic!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, Brian! I’m glad you’re enjoying my recipes.
I did not give this any stars because I have not made it yet but I have no doubt that it will be 5*. I love the idea of adding flour to the veggies (way quicker than the way I do it). I also use leeks rather than onions, and a dash of cayenne, thyme and Old Bay seasoning. I will make Natasha’s version and rate it then. I will make only change and that is I will use leeks rather than onions.
Oh mah gawd girl this recipe is sooooo perfect !! I love all of your recipes literally all THE best. Thank you so much !! 🫶🏼
Should I use heavy whipping cream or regular whipping cream? Is either one ok for making this a lighter version of a clam chowder?
For a lighter version, regular whipping cream is the better choice over heavy whipping cream but either should be fine.
Absolutely fantastic! I followed the recipe exactly, step by step, with the exact ingredients. No additions or deletions…and it’s just what I was hoping for! Made it for a soup bar for Christmas Eve tomorrow, with the family. I KNOW it’s going to disappear quickly! Hubby and I just sampled it and we are both delighted. Definitely the best! Merry Christmas and thank you for sharing your recipe! 🎄
This recipe is the best , simple
But full of flavour , might I suggest to cut a baguette and fry it until golden brown and add when topping with cilantro. Making it tonight mmmmm good
That sounds delicious! I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Michele!
Thank you for this recipe. I made this the other night. It’s so simple to make and totally delicious.
I didn’t have any fresh cilantro but I have some Knorr chicken bullion from Mexico that has cilantro in it. (Excellent stuff, wish it was available in Canada) Other than that everything else was the same.
Can I use frozen clams for this recipe? If so how much would I need and how much clam juice?
That will be fine. You would need about 2 cups of chopped clams. If using frozen, that’s about 1 pound of frozen clams.As for clam juice, you can use about 1 to 2 cups. Just make sure to thaw the clams before adding them to the chowder!
Just made this AGAIN, for the umpteenth time. It’s a regular in our house. Sooo good!!
I’m beyond happy to hear that, Cynthia! Thank you for your awesome review!
A medium, 5.3 ounce potato with the skin contains 26 grams of carbohydrate.
How can this be listed a 0 carbs??????
Hi Lucinda, per the nutrition label, there is 26 grams of carbs in 1 serving of soup. The entire pot has 8 servings and the nutrition label is for 1 serving.
I’ve made quite a few of your recipes, but my husband said this clam chowder was outstanding! Thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear that, Teri!
👍👍absolutely delicious, our family loves your recipes.
This clam chowder looks DIVINE! I love the creamy texture, the option of using fresh clams and the lower fat content in your version. I haven’t yet tried this recipe, but I will as soon as I can get my hands on fresh clams. I’ve never used fresh clams in a recipe before, so I’ll go to your “tips” note to learn more about their preparation.
Question: How would this soup taste if a bit of dill was added near the end when the clams are added? I may try reserving a cup or so to try with dill added just to see how it tastes. I don’t know how I came up with adding dill, or if it would overpower the delicate flavour of this clam chowder recipe. What about adding minced garlic? I may try adding garlic as a food recipe experiment. Please let me know your thoughts on these additions.
Thank you for sharing your recipes with your audience. Your enthusiastic presentation makes each recipe you prepare look utterly delicious and irresistible!
Hi Chris! You’re very welcome for the recipes. I haven’t tried those additions so I can’t say.
This Clam Chowder recipe really is amazing just as is, I hope you get to try the original version. Keeping some extra on the side to add dill and even garlic would be a good way to experiment without changing the flavor of the rest of the soup. Let us know if you experiment.
The clam juice and thyme made this taste like real clam chowder!! Seriously, the taste profile, salt content and soup thickness were all absolutely perfect. It didn’t hurt that the soup took me 25 minutes to make either. This recipe is a keeper!
First time making clam chowder. Great recipe, and easy. I cut the recipe in half (just 2 of us) but didn’t halve the amount of clams :). Delish. Plenty for 4 persons. Thank you.
You’re welcome and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I roast my potatoes in the oven first, it gives them a nice texture and they resist falling apart in the broth when reheated.
Hi Chris. Just wondering? Could you please tell me how you roast the potatoes and do you cut them first. I would like to try them your way. Thanks in advance.
Thought I’d try a new clam chowder recipe to warm us up on this cold and snowy Colorado day. My wife recommended this one and we are very glad she did. This chowder is fantastic, looks beautiful, and is quite easy to make. Even our notoriously picky son loved it and asked for seconds. The only change we made was using a fourth can of clams. Another great recipe from Natasha!
That’s so great to hear, Don! Thank you for sharing.