Best Clam Chowder Recipe (VIDEO)
Best Clam Chowder is easy to make “from scratch,” with creamy soup flavors that mingle together with bacon, clams–for the very best chowder!
I love the magic of soup season—-the comfort and ease of gathering ’round the table with family and friends! And BEST Clam Chowder always brings a little magic to the table! You’ve got to try my similar Best Seafood Chowder recipe, or a “tomato” spin, my Manhattan Clam Chowder soup.
Best Clam Chowder
Chowder is easy to make – a “by scratch” version that is creamy, flavorful with bacon, and chockfull of clams! Watch the video!
What do you add to clam chowder to make it better?
If it’s the condensed kind, add heavy cream and whole milk in equal parts. And then of course we say bacon and butter! But grab the printable recipe below!
Simple ingredients for chowder soup:
- Bacon + butter
- Celery + leeks + onions + garlic
- Red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes
- Broth (or stock)
- Salt, white pepper, thyme
- Flour
- Half-and-half
- Chopped clams
- Bay leaf
- Chopped fresh chives
- OPTIONAL to add clam juice (for a more clam flavor)
What do you serve with Clam Chowder?
Planning a soup meal is quite simple, especially serving my yummy chowder as the main dish, with a side of hot bread and a basic green salad with Best Thousand Island Dressing! Here’s a list of what to serve with a hot bowl of chowder.
- Bacon
- Oyster Crackers
- Salad
- Shrimp cocktail
- Bread
- Corn on the cob
- French fries
Make chowder from scratch
In the past, I’ve been intimidated to make this homemade soup, because I was afraid it wouldn’t be as tasty as a bowl that might be served at the beach, or at a really good restaurant. But this recipe is one of my favorites, and is one of the top easy recipes on my RE! Yay! :)
Oh, and we did make a few changes to the recipe, but don’t worry. Add more clam juice (optional) for a more intense clam flavor if you choose to.
How do you serve clam chowder?
You can also serve it on a big board, like below! Here’s the link to Epic Clam Chowder Dinner Board! Or, grab the link below to buy THE BIG BOARD (at the bottom). We love to set out the pot of soup in a braiser pan (low-line big pot).
What is the difference between Boston and New England clam chowder?
Well, New England and Boston Clam Chowder are really the same dish. What makes a chowder “different” is the broth that is used. For example, Rhode Island broth is clear, and Manhattan Style Clam Chowder has a red tomato broth. Boston is thick and creamy!
Is chowder better the next day?
Yes, it’s just as good the next day, if not better. So YES, you can make ahead of time for easy entertaining.
The flavors of this soup mingle together to make the tastiest leftovers. It will thicken as it stands overnight in the refrigerator so just whisk in a little milk or half-and-half before reheating.
How do you make Homemade Clam Chowder
Whatever the flavors, I say homemade is the best!
- In a Dutch oven, you cook bacon (for amazing flavor!) over medium heat until crisp.
- Then you saute celery, leek, and onion until tender, adding garlic. Eventually stirring in potatoes, broth, clam juice, salt, pepper and thyme.
- Boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.
- Make the creamy sauce (soooo good).
- Stir in the clams and crispy bacon!
- Optional to add in more clam juice (a couple bottles) if you choose to.
It’s comforting, filling, and delicious, and it’s also the perfect “light” holiday meal.
The Big Board®
Friends, The Big Board® is here! Yes, I’ve partnered with JK Adams, the premier woodmaking company in Vermont, with my own line of RE boards!
- 20-inch round, maple
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- A board with a lip (or raised edged) so the food doesn’t fall off
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More Chowder recipes to try:
Manhattan Clam Chowder (Simply Recipes) Slow Cooker New England Clam Chowder (Baked by Rachel). And friends, have you bought my new cookbook? Buy Big Boards for Families today! It’s “editor’s pick” on Amazon this month!
Get the Recipe:
Best Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 8 bacon strips, divided
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 leek, finely chopped (or 1 shallot)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3-4 small unpeeled potatoes (red potatoes or Yukon gold), cubed into 1/2-inch pieces (optional to peel)
- 2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half, divided
- 3 cans 6-1/2 ounces each of chopped clams, undrained
- Bay leaf
- clam juice, optional, for more intense flavor
- Chopped fresh chives or green onions, for garnish
Equipment
- Dutch Oven (I like this enameled version from Lodge)
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain; set aside. Add butter to the drippings (you can spoon out some of the drippings if you don’t want to ues that much); saute celery, leek, and onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the potatoes, broth, salt, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
- In a small bowl, combine flour and 1 cup half-and-half until smooth. Gradually stir into the soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
- Stir in clams and juice and remaining half-and-half; heat through (do not boil). Turn down to low heat; add the bay leaf. Cook for additional 2-3 minutes on low heat. Add in 4 strips of crumbled bacon.TIP: Optional to add in more clam juice in this step, if you choose a more clam flavor.
- Crumble the reserved 4 strips of bacon. Garnish chowder with crumbled bacon and fresh chopped chives or green onions thinly sliced.
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
This clam chowder is the best I’ve ever had/made; really delicious!
THIS IS EXCELLENT!!! My husband isn’t a very big clam chowder guy. After reading this recipe over I decided to go ahead and make it thinking I could coax him into liking it. 😉 the aroma while simmering on the stove called him in. He absolutely LOVED it! He now asks me to make it often! It’s especially good ( and pretty) with chopped green onions and crumbled bacon on top. This recipe is a WINNER!!! Thank-you!!!
I’ve made this several times and we love it. I do add Old Bay seasoning.
Awesome recipe! Just FYI, I used gluten-free flour (my daughter has an allergy) and it came out perfectly creamy, 10/10!!
Just curious in the picture, what is the shrimp dish in small cups you have on your board ?
Click over to the “clam chowder board” and it has all the ingredients!
This really is the best clam chowder recipe and I have been making it for several years. I thought I was loosing my mind when I was thinking that this recipe called for a bottle of clam juice but I noticed other people have said the same thing. Any reason why it was removed from the original recipe? Have any of the other ingredients changed? For example , if I add a bottle of clam juice, do I now drain the clams or add less chicken broth? Just don’t want to mess with a tried and true recipe :) Thank you so much!
You can totally add in more clam juice. You don’t really need it, but it is optional. We did adjust the recipe slightly, but it’s still the basic BEST clam chowder. ENJOY!
This is by far the BEST clam or seafood chowder recipe I’ve tried, and I’ve made many. It has just the right flavors and thickeners to be rich and delicious. I hold back the crumbled bacon to let each person add to their bowl at serving time, and my fish-eating vegetarian family and friends can pass on the bacon (leaving more for me:), although I still use some of the bacon fat. Excellent recipe!
It’s a beautiful cool but sunny spring afternoon here in Canada. My goal was to organize my pantry today. To my delight 2 cans of clams were looking for the soup pot. Your recipe is yum and the perfect warm-me-up comfort food. Thank you.
Delicious and easy!
Awesome.. I made a few tweaks. I added flour and spices to the leeks onions and celery prior to adding the chicken broth. To remove any raw flour taste which may or may not be the case. I added 3.5-4 cups chicken broth with the potatoes and then approx 2/3 cup heavy cream. I did not have any half and half.
For a Mid westerner, transplanted in Colorado 50+ years ago, I think I got an A on my rendition of your clam chowder recipe. The only things I did differently were to put a pound of mushrooms, chopped, into the sauté part, and some chopped, sliced carrots. I cannot resist mushroom in anything, The carrots added a little bit of color and extra vitamins. I basically doubled the recipe as I needed a large batch. Thank you so much for the love photos to accompany the recipe.
The original recipe used clam juice- is this not part of the recipe now? I have made this recipe for years and love it!
you can totally add clam juice!
Wondering the same thing! Did it used to be one or two bottles of clam juice? It’s always a hit when I follow the original recipe!
You can totally add clam juice! :)
Didn’t this recipe originally contain clam juice? Like separate from the canned clams? I’d like to use fresh clams and want to know how much juice to add
You can add 1-2 bottles of clam juice. Totally optional!
Hi,
I have made this recipe as written for years now (at least 3+) and it’s a HIT every time. Thank you!! We are going to try to make this a seafood chowder this year and add lobster or crab, I am hoping it goes well!
This chowder was phenomenal. The only changes I made was to do three 10 oz. cans of clams and a tablespoon of Old Bay seasoning. I ate two large bowls and need to return to my coma.
Before I do though, I have to mention that I reviewed your page about you and your family. Unreal… just beautiful.
Kind regards,
Nick
This was amazing!!!!
Really was the best I’ve made yet.
Fantastic recipe! This is now our go-to clam chowder recipe.
Omg, I make good chowder…..this is better. 1/2 the flour, 1/2 to 3/4 cup extra broth, 1 extra (4 total)can of clams …plus juice…gone in 1 /2 hour… we r doing a repeat day after tomorrow, double batch. U know how thick u like things, but from there, this is awesome…home tested by a 15, a 17, a 2o, a 21, and a 48 yr old….it is great…thanku!! We loved it
I’ve made clam chowder for years, my old recipe (40+ years old) called for milk. It was good but your recipe is absolutely delicious!
I followed it exactly except for adding a little chopped Italian parsley along with the chives. My husband, my son and I ate almost the entire pot. I will definitely make this again and again!
This was very good. I only had two cans of clams and I’d say it definitely needs three. The only change I made was to substitute dried dill for the thyme. Will definitely make again with extra clams.
Love!!!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Delicious! I added extra chicken broth because it was very thick. I also used 4 cans of clams and kept the juice in 2. It came out perfect! Also didn’t have thyme, so I used dried parsley.
This was such a good base recipe!! The only modifications I made were for our taste preferences, I doubled just about everything except the celery, leek, and potatoes. I used the 3 cans of clams and added 1 pack of salad shrimp and 6oz of crabmeat bc I wanted a seafood chowder instead of just clams. Finished off with Old Bay seasoning for zip. I believe this still would have been delicious as is, though.
This is an excellent recipe. I did add twice the garlic and an extra leek (cause I had It) Used an extra cup of chicken broth (was too thick) and added some sherry at the end. Served in a bread bowl. My husband who isn’t a fan of the soup, loved it!!! Will be making over and over!!!
This sounds like the chowder we made at the Cape – didn’t know the exact ingredients, but it was good. The leeks I believe make it that much savory.
I agree, we LOVE the leeks!