Creamy New England-Style Clam Chowder

It’s the middle of Winter in the Midwest, which means it’s perfect soup weather!

Clam chowder is an all-time favorite of mine… so creamy, flavorful, yet it still tastes fresh. Usually I’m not a huge fan of seafood, but I am alllllways in the mood for some rich clam chowder!

This isn’t a new recipe for the website, in fact it’s been around since 2014.

But I thought it was ready for a refreshed look, and some updated (and more clear) instructions.

Originally, this recipe called for steaming fresh clams, which while delicious, isn’t super practical for a lot of people. So I’ve updated it to use canned clams, but don’t worry… those fresh clams instructions are still available, just check below the recipe in the “chef tips” section.

How to make New England-style clam chowder?

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Cook bacon. Once bacon is cooked until crispy, remove with a slotted spoon to a plate, and keep the bacon drippings in the pot.
2. Cook veggies. In this recipe, that’s the onion, celery, and leeks. Cook until softened.
3. Add flour. This will form the base of the roux that will thicken the chowder. Stir and cook for a minute.
4. Add soup ingredients and simmer. This is the potatoes, chicken broth, clam juice, seasonings, and tabasco sauce. Simmer, covered, until potatoes are fork tender.
5. Add dairy and clams. Stir and cook several minutes, until hot throughout and thickened as much as you’d like.

How to steam fresh clams (if you want to use them in this recipe)?

1. Clean. First things first, make sure you give the clams a good scrub to remove as much grit as possible.
2. Bring to simmer. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but there’s water, chicken broth, and garlic cloves in that saucepan.
3. Add clams. Make sure to cover the pan with a lid, and simmer/steam for 6-7 minutes.
4. Discard some. If any clams don’t open up after being steamed, go ahead and discard those, they’re not good to eat.
5. Chop. Scoop out the clam meat, and chop!

Variations of this recipe

• Fresh clams – if you’d like to try your hand at steaming some fresh clams for this recipe, you’re in luck! Check the “chef tips” section right below the recipe instructions for all the details.
• No leeks – we love the flavor of leeks in this soup, but if you’d rather not use them, feel free to add an additional 1/2 cup of minced onion in place of the leeks.
• Different potatoes – this recipe will work well with red potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, or russet potatoes. For the russets and yukon golds I do recommend peeling them first though.
• Thicker/Thinner – everyone has their own idea of how thick a chowder should be. As written, this is the way we like it. However you can easily adapt the recipe to make your chowder thicker or thinner than as written. Check the “chef tips” section right below the recipe instructions for all the details.
• Other dairy – instead of half and half, feel free to use whole milk, or a mixture of whole milk and heavy cream. You just need to have 4 total cups of dairy.
• Other cooking methods – while I’m sure this recipe could be adapted to be made in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, I haven’t tested this to be sure of what would need to change.

Making clam chowder ahead of time

Not only can you make the whole soup ahead of time (in fact, the flavors get even better!), you can also prep a lot of the ingredients ahead of time to really cut down on the prep time.

How to prep ahead for this recipe:

• Bacon – the bacon can be diced and kept refrigerated for a few days.
• Veggies – the onion, celery, and leeks can be diced and kept refrigerated for a few days.
• Spices – the salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaves can be combined and covered at room temperature until ready to use.
• Clams – if you’re steaming fresh clams, they can be steamed, the meat scooped out, and chopped, then kept refrigerated for a day or so.

Storage

Leftover chowder should be refrigerate in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-4 days.

Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of chicken broth or half and half (or your preferred dairy) to thin it out. Sometimes the potatoes can soak up some of that extra liquid during storage.

Freezing

Due to the dairy and potatoes in the recipe, I don’t recommend freezing this soup. Dairy can separate during the freezing and thawing process, and the texture of the potatoes isn’t all that pleasant.

To me, no soup is complete without some great toppings and dippers.  So below are my favorite ways to top the chowder, as well as what to serve alongside.

• Top with oyster crackers – traditional, but it’s a classic topping for a reason… it’s tasty!
• Top with croutons – this may sound weird, but try it… it’s like a SUPER flavorful oyster cracker!
• Top with more bacon – because more bacon is always a good thing.
• Top with fresh green – I like to top rich dishes with a pop of something fresh like sliced green onion.
• Serve with a big piece of crusty bread – perfect for dunking!
• Serve clam chowder IN a bread bowl – doesn’t get much better than that!

Recipe originally published in 2014 and has been updated with new photos, a more approachable method, and updated instructions.