Clam chowder is perfect whether you're looking for a relaxed lunch menu or a sophisticated start to your Christmas Eve dinner. Our New England clam chowder easily comes together with little minimal effort.
If you love to eat soups and stews with seafood, you'll enjoy checking out our best cream of crab soup and our chicken, sausage and shrimp gumbo.
Why This Recipe Works
- It starts with a mirepoix (onions, celery and carrots) sauteed in bacon grease to build the first layer of flavor.
- It's thickened with a roux, starch of the potatoes, and heavy cream.
- To continue building the layers of flavor, the pot is deglazed with clam juice.
- The clams are added during the last 5 minutes so they won't be overcooked.
- Crumbled bacon is added at the end for color, flavor, and texture.
Ingredients
Our New England clam chowder takes a lot of pantry staples. Let's talk about the key ingredients.
- Bacon: We used bacon for flavor, color, and added crunch. If you're trying to stay away from pork, it can be omitted.
- Liquids: We used bottled clam juice, but you can also use the juice from the canned clams or you can add both.
- Seasonings: We used bay leaf, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Seafood: During the last 5 minutes, we added whole or chopped baby clams.
- Dairy: We used heavy cream and evaporated milk, but you can also use whole milk or half and half.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Want this gluten free? Omit the flour and add mashed potatoes to thicken the soup.
- Need this dairy free? Omit the butter, whole milk, and heavy cream. Increase the bacon fat and use full fat coconut milk.
- Want this spicy? Add Tabasco or red pepper flakes.
How to Make New England Clam Chowder
Gather all the ingredients for our New England clam chowder. Chop up the onion, celery, and carrot, then measure out the spices and dairy. (Adding carrots is more common in Manhattan chowder.)
- Cook the bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium low heat until it's crisp and the fat is rendered. Transfer to a plate and blot off the excess grease, then cut into bite-sized pieces. (Image 1)
- In 3 tablespoons of bacon fat, saute the mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot) over medium heat until it's soft, roughly 8 minutes. (Image 2)
- Sprinkle on flour to get the roux started. Cook the flour for a minute or two over medium heat, while constantly stirring. (Image 3)
- Deglaze the pot with a little bit of clam juice by using a wooden turner to scrap off any brown bits from the roux. Pour in the rest of the clam juice and filtered water. (Image 4)
- Add the potatoes and the spices (bay leaves, fresh thyme, salt, and black pepper). Stir, then cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom. (Image 5)
- Remove the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs and reduce the heat to medium low. Add the baby clams and the evaporated milk. (Image 6)
- Add the heavy cream and stir, then heat through, about 5 minutes. (Image 7)
- Serve the New England clam chowder warm and garnish with a generous serving of bacon, fresh parsley, and oyster crackers. (Image 8)
Recipe FAQs
They both have a creamy white base, but Boston clam chowder tends to be thicker. Two other popular chowders made in the Northeast are Manhattan clam chowder, which has a red tomato broth and more vegetables (green peppers and carrots), and Rhode Island clam chowder, which has a clear broth with a thin consistency and uses quahog clams.
Clam chowder became popular in New England, especially in Massachusetts and Maine in the 17th century, but food historians believe it originated in Canada and was introduced to the New England area by French Canadian and Acadian settlers.
The obvious choice is oyster crackers, but bread and crumbled bacon are excellent too. To round out your meal, serve a salad and roasted vegetables with the chowder.
We don't recommend freezing this chowder unless you do it before adding the dairy. Dairy based chowders don't have the same consistency when thawed and reheated.
Serve
Serve New England clam chowder with something lighter or a contrasting flavors and textures. Popular choices are dinner rolls, a simple green salad, oyster crackers, steamed vegetables, or a side of coleslaw.
If you're looking for other tasty seafood recipes, make sure to try our recipes for cream of crab soup, New Orleans gumbo, salmon croquettes, and seafood stock.
Expert Tips
- Need to make this ahead? Make up to two days ahead of your event. Reheat on medium low on the stovetop.
- Want tender clams? Add them during the last 5 minutes of cooking when using the stovetop method. If you are planning on using fresh clams, look for littlenecks or cherrystone, as they will be more tender than quahogs.
- Need the broth thicker? Increase the flour, or add mashed potatoes, and let it simmer uncovered.
- Want a lighter version? Use olive oil and evaporated milk, and omit the bacon.
- Need this dairy free? Omit the butter, whole milk, and heavy cream. Increase the bacon fat and use full fat coconut milk.
More Soup Recipes You'll Love
Recipe
New England Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, crumbled
- 2 cups yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 ¼ cups celery, finely diced
- 1 ¼ cups carrots, finely diced (optional)
- 4 ½ cups yellow or red potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 3 tablespoon bacon grease, reserved from frying the bacon
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups clam juice, Bar Harbor brand
- 2 cups filtered water
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 10-ounce cans whole baby clams
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 cup oyster crackers
Equipment
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Fry the bacon in a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat, turning the slices once or twice with a fork. This should take 10 minutes. Drain the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate, and keep 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease. Let the bacon cool, then break into smaller pieces.
- In a 6-quart Dutch oven set over medium high heat, saute the carrots, onion, and celery in the bacon grease for roughly 8 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, then cook the mixture for 2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Gradually add the clam juice, stirring continuously, then pour in the water, potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine.
- Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so the potatoes won't stick to the bottom of the pot. The chowder will start to thicken from the potato starch.
- Reduce the heat to low, remove the bay leaf and thyme, then add the cream, milk, and whole baby clams. Stir gently and let the the milk and clams heat through, roughly 5 minutes. Be careful not to boil the chowder.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the crumbled bacon. Reserve some for a garnish. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Serve the New England clam chowder warm with fresh parsley and oyster crackers.
Crock Pot Instructions
- Follow steps 1-2 from the stovetop instructions.
- In a large crock pot, add half of the bacon, the sautéed mirepoix, water, diced potatoes, and spices. Stir and cover, then cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
- During the last hour, whisk 4 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 cup of whole milk to make a slurry. Also remove some of the diced potatoes and mash them. The addition of these two things will help thicken the broth. Mix in the slurry, mashed potatoes, whole milk (1 ½ cups), heavy cream, and the clams.
- Cook until the diced potatoes are done and the broth has thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and thyme before serving.
- Serve the New England clam chowder warm with a garnish of bacon, parsley, and oyster crackers.
Video
Notes
- Need to make this ahead? Make up to two days ahead of your event. Reheat on medium low on the stovetop.
- Want tender clams? Add them during the last 5 minutes of cooking when using the stovetop method. If you are planning on using fresh clams, look for littlenecks or cherrystone, as they will be more tender than quahogs.
- Need the broth thicker? Increase the flour, or add mashed potatoes, and let it simmer uncovered.
- Want a lighter version? Use olive oil, evaporated milk and omit the bacon.
- Need this dairy free? Omit the butter, whole milk, and heavy cream. Increase the bacon fat and use full fat coconut milk.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Epignathus
Really great recipe. For a little zing, I added 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Emma
Glad you enjoyed it, Epignathus!
Alex
The broth is creamy, and the bacon is chewy. The oyster crackers add a nice crunch to the stew.
Emma
The veggies add a nice flavor to the broth for this clam chowder.
Beth
This creamy and colorful seafood soup is scrumptious with crunchy bacon bits and yummy clams. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time.
Emma
I agree, Beth. The clams really make this soup extra nice!