If you are looking for a truly authentic, delicious, restaurant quality New England Clam Chowder recipe, then you’ve come to the right place. This easy clam chowder recipe was created in Massachusetts after interviewing a lot of New Englanders about the way they make their chowder. It’s rich, creamy and delicious! Along the way, I made countless versions of clam chowder, sampled clam chowder at many restaurants and talked to the chefs there too about their clam chowder secrets!
New England Clam Chowder vs. Manhattan Clam Chowder
Every chowder begins with a base of salt pork or bacon, and a mix of vegetables such as onions, celery and potatoes. New England Clam Chowder is a thick and creamy white soup prepared with milk or cream plus clams. Manhattan Clam Chowder is a soup with a thinner consistency. It has a tomato base and more vegetables added in.
Ingredients Needed for New England Clam Chowder:
- Center Cut Bacon: Salt pork is what is truly authentic for making New England Clam Chowder, but if you don’t have access to that then it is fine to use bacon. I like to use center cut bacon for this recipe to maximize the amount of meaty bacon that you’ll yield from using center cut instead of regular strips. Make extra bacon if you’d like to add extra on top of individual servings (recommended!)
- Onion: I like to use sweet yellow onion. It should be chopped finely (or at least in smaller chunks).
- Celery: Celery should also be chopped finely or in smaller chunks.
- Potatoes: The best potatoes to use for clam chowder are red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes. They’ll keep their shape best when cooking. Russet potatoes may be used as well, but they may get more tender than the two that I’m recommending.
- Thyme: Use 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme. It’s also nice to have a little bit of extra fresh thyme to sprinkle on top of individual servings.
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper: This is to taste, so use a little or a lot!
- Finely Chopped Clams: The options for clams are shared below (I like to use canned since I don’t have access to fresh seafood). Just make sure they are finely chopped, or you might end up with larger chewy pieces of clam.
- Clam Juice: Cans of clams will have clam juice in them. You will squeeze the clam juice out of the can and save it. Then you’ll add a bottle of clam juice too. Bottles of clam juice can be found near the clams in your market.
- Salted Butter: Since the recipe doesn’t call for using any salt (because clams and bacon are both inherently salty), use salted butter.
- All Purpose Flour: This is used for the roux. You can use sweet rice flour to make the roux if you need the recipe to be gluten-free.
- Cream: This is and authentic recipe, not a low fat recipe. Use heavy cream! That’s what the good restaurants use. That’s why their New England Clam Chowder so good!
- Salt: to taste, if you need it.
What clams are best to use for clam chowder?
- Canned Clams: Canned, chopped clams are a good option for clam chowder, and they taste very good in New England Clam Chowder. They’re sold near the canned tuna in your market. You’ll need 4 cans of chopped clams for this recipe.
- Shelled Clams: If you are located in an area where there is good fresh seafood, you may be able to locate fresh, shelled clams to use for this recipe. You’ll need about 4 cups of shelled clams. They need to be chopped finely for the chowder.
- Fresh Clams: Another option is to steam and cook fresh clams in their shells. If you do this, opt for quahog, cherrystone or littleneck clams. You would need about 6 pounds of clams in their shells for this recipe. Rinse the clams thoroughly under cold water and scrub with a brush to remove any sand or debris. To steam clams, place them in a pot with a small amount of liquid like white wine, chicken broth, or water, cover, and cook over medium heat until most of the clams open, typically within 5 to 7 minutes; discard any clams that don’t open (they may not be fresh). Then they should be chopped finely for the clam chowder.
How to make New England Clam Chowder:
Grab a large pot that you want to make your chowder in. Saute the bacon in the pot until it’s translucent. Leave the bacon fat in there! Then add the onions and celery and saute some more. Pour in all of the clam juice, red potatoes and spices. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. And then add the clams.
Next, you’ll make the roux (the thickening agent for the chowder). In a separate pan, melt the butter, and whisk in the flour. Cook it for a few minutes while whisking, and then you have your roux. Stir the roux into the clam chowder base and simmer while you heat the cream. Then stir in the heated cream.
Recipe Tips
- The longer the simmer time, the thicker your chowder will be. It will also thicken upon standing while cooling.
- If you end up with a thick chowder but you prefer a thinner consistency, just add a cup of water to the chowder and stir. That will thin things out nicely for you.
- If you have any leftover clams, make clam linguine, clam dip or clam crostini!
What makes clam chowder taste better?
Upon interviewing one chef at a local Cape Cod restaurant, I learned that his key to making clam chowder better is to include lots and lots of butter in the recipe! He suggested serving it with a pat of butter on top too, so we suggest that as an option with this recipe too. My answer to that question would be to add a little crispy bacon on top as well.
How to store clam chowder:
Store clam chowder in a covered container for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It’s not recommended to freeze because of the cream in the recipe.
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In a large pot, saute the bacon until translucent.
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Add the onions and celery, and saute for 5 minutes. Pour in the juice from all of the clams (setting the clams aside). Pour in the bottle of clam juice too. Add the potatoes, thyme and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer; simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 10 minutes).
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In a separate small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is bubbling, whisk in the flour to make a roux (your thickening agent for the chowder). Turn down the heat a bit, and continue to stir and cook the butter/flour for about 3 minutes.
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When the potatoes are tender, add the chopped clams and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the roux, and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.
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In a separate saucepan (or in the microwave), heat the cream until just before boiling. Stir the hot cream into the chowder base. Remove from heat, and let sit for a bit to cool down some. Taste to see if you would like any added salt.
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Serve individual portions with oyster crackers, sourdough bread and maybe even a pat of butter on top. Sprinkle crispy bacon on top too.
- If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, substitute sweet rice flour for the all purpose flour when making the roux.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 709kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 65g, Saturated Fat: 40g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 17g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 195mg, Sodium: 280mg, Potassium: 579mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 2538IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 125mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.