Discover the secrets to perfect New England Clam Chowder! This recipe is creamy, delicious, and easy to make at home.
Keith makes a mean chowder ("chow-dah"). He learned the secrets to making the best clam chowder during his time cooking in restaurants. Those secrets include heavy cream, plenty of potatoes, crispy bacon, and good chopped clams. Like our Potato Corn Chowder, it's a comforting, satisfying meal.
If you like Linguine alle Vongole, you're going to love this dish!
Pro tip: it's not necessary to use fresh clams for this recipe. Canned clams provide just the right amount of flavor.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- BACON: thick, center cut bacon works best
- CELERY: fresh celery1, chopped
- CARROTS: fresh carrots, chopped
- ONION: white onion, Spanish onion, or Vidalia onion, chopped
- BUTTER: salted butter or unsalted butter
- FLOUR: AP Flour (all purpose flour)
- CLAMS: clams from can (canned clams), chopped
- CLAM JUICE: clam juice from the canned clams or bottled clam juice
- CHICKEN STOCK (CHICKEN BROTH): 1 ½ cups
- HEAVY CREAM: heavy cream or whipping cream
- POTATOES: (chopped) we like russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes
*see recipe card for quantities.
🔪Top tip
Don't forget to save the clam juice from the can (or use bottled clam juice) for optimum seafood flavor.
Instructions
- Make the Roux: In a large sauce pot, melt butter. Add celery, onion and carrots. Chop bacon and add to pot. Cook over medium-high heat until bacon is cooked and vegetables are translucent (about 7-8 minutes)
- Add Flour: stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add Broth: Pour in broth and cream. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add potatoes, clams (with clam juice from can) and continue to cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add more stock if soup gets too thick.
- Remove from heat. Add chopped parsley and stir.
- Serve: Garnish with chopped chives and serve with oyster crackers.
Substitutions & Variations
- Seafood Chowder: add small shrimp, scallops, and/or white fish to the recipe (add them to the when adding the clams)
- For extra clam flavor (and a pretty presentation), try adding a few fresh clams in the shell. Put the whole clams in the pot at the end, and when the shells are open, the soup is ready to serve.
- Substitute salt pork, pancetta, or ham for bacon if you prefer.
- Vegetarian Clam Chowder: Omit the bacon all together, or try our Potato Corn Chowder
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Serving Suggestions
- Traditional New England Clam Chowder is always served with oyster crackers. Saltines work in a pinch.
- A simple Radicchio Salad, Spinach Salad, or Lemon Kale Salad complements this chowder for a satisfying meal.
- A cup of clam chowder + a half Turkey Sandwich is a great lunch idea.
- A glass of Mer Soleil Chardonnay is the perfect pairing for this chowder.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheat in a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave.
- We don't recommend freezing this chowder because the cream may separate.
FAQ
New England Clam Chowder is a creamy soup made with clams, potatoes, onions, and often bacon or salt pork, all simmered in a milk or cream base.
Unlike Manhattan clam chowder, which has a tomato base, or Rhode Island clam chowder, which is clear, New England clam chowder is characterized by its rich, creamy consistency.
Yes! While you can use fresh clams, canned clams provide just the right amount of flavor. It's also easier!
We recommend creating a roux by cooking flour with butter, then adding it to the chowder. Additionally, some of the potatoes can be mashed to release their starches, further thickening the soup.
We don't recommend freezing this New England Clam Chowder because the cream may separate.
Related recipes
🍅 Making this recipe?
- Please feel free to reach out with questions. We're happy to help.
- If you enjoyed it, please leave us a comment with ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
New England Clam Chowder recipe
Discover the secrets to perfect New England Clam Chowder! This recipe is creamy, delicious, and easy to make at home.
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon
- ½ C chopped celery
- ½ C chopped carrot
- ½ C chopped onion
- 2 tbsp butter
- ⅓ C flour
- 2- 10 ounce cans chopped clams
- 1 ½ C chicken stock
- 2 C heavy cream
- 2 C chopped russet potatoes
Instructions
- In a large sauce pot, melt butter. Add celery, onion and carrots. Chop bacon and add to pot. Cook over medium-high heat until bacon is cooked and vegetables are translucent (about 7-8 minutes)
- Add flour, stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in broth and cream. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add potatoes, clams (with clam juice from can) and continue to cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add more stock if soup gets too thick.
- Remove from heat. Add chopped parsley and stir.
- Serve with chopped chives and oyster crackers.
Notes
- It's not necessary to use fresh clams for this recipe. Canned clams provide just the right amount of flavor.
- Don't forget to save the clam juice from the can (or use bottled clam juice) for optimum seafood flavor.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Category: soups
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 ounces
- Calories: 423
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 381.8 mg
- Fat: 34 g
- Carbohydrates: 20.6 g
- Protein: 9.5 g
- Cholesterol: 82.1 mg
Courtney L. says
This is my 2nd time making this recipe and it’s delicious!! I upped the recipe since I was making for my family so I used 8 cans of clams, 6 potato’s, extra clam juice and doubled the bacon, heavy cream and chicken stock. I cooked it for about an hour to make it super thick and creamy. I’ve already added it to my recipe book! 10/10
Jackie says
Hooray! We are so happy you like this recipe Courtney, and we understand why. It is one of our family favorites too!
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your feedback. It means a lot to us!!
Barbara says
What a special treat this chowder is! Yummy!