Nothing beats a quick and easy bowl of clam chowder. Unlike some soups, a delicious clam chowder can be put together in no time at all. This creamy New England-style recipe features everything you love about authentic clam chowders: red potatoes, real cream, clam broth, and crispy bacon. Your guests will think you spent hours in the kitchen capturing authentic beach shack flavors, but this recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare from scratch!
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What Makes This Recipe Taste So Good?
Who can say “no” to a creamy New England-style clam chowder, especially when it has everything you love about authentic clam chowders, like red potatoes, real cream, clam broth, and bacon?
Prepare a pot of this chowder for your next gathering, and your guests will think you spent hours in the kitchen capturing the authentic flavors of a beach shack. Let it be your little secret that this recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare from scratch!
Why You Should Try This Creamy Clam Chowder Recipe
Clam chowder is delicious, but canned clam chowder is dreadful! This recipe for homemade clam chowder is inexpensive and quick to make, and it’s a whole lot better than anything you’ll find on supermarket shelves.
The secret is using a clam broth made from real clam juice, not skimping on the heavy cream, and choosing top-quality, thick-cut smoked bacon.
New England clam chowder is supposed to be luxurious, so don’t be afraid to skip the low-fat versions for this recipe!
Ingredients For Clam Chowder With Bacon
To make this recipe, you’ll need:
- Thick-cut bacon – Provides rich, smoky flavor and creates a fat base for cooking
- White onions – Add a sweet, aromatic foundation that complements the seafood
- All-purpose flour – Creates the roux that thickens the chowder to a perfect consistency
- Canned minced clams – Provide the star ingredient with tender clam meat
- Clam juice – Intensifies the ocean flavor and creates the broth base
- Red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes – Add hearty texture and classic chowder appeal
- Bay leaf – Contributes subtle herbal depth to the broth
- Dried thyme leaves – Add an earthy, aromatic flavor that enhances seafood
- Heavy cream – Creates the signature rich, luxurious texture
- Fresh parsley – Provides bright color and fresh herb finish
- Salt – Enhances all flavors and balances the richness
- Fresh ground black pepper – Adds gentle heat and aromatic spice
For the clam juice and minced clams, the brand Doxsee is a good choice. It tastes good and doesn’t contain any MSG, unlike other brands.
How To Make Clam Chowder Soup
To prepare this easy clam chowder recipe:
- Mince the bacon and add it to a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-low heat. Continue to cook until the bacon is crispy and all the fat has rendered out. It can take up to ten minutes for the bacon to get crispy, but it is best to be patient to ensure the best-tasting chowder.
- Add the diced white onions to the soup pot and saute them in the bacon drippings. Cook the onions until they become translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the flour evenly across the top of the onions and bacon. Stir the pot and cook for about a minute.
- Combine the reserved clam liquid, clam juice, and water in a pitcher. Slowly pour the clam juice mixture into the soup pot while whisking.
- Quarter the red potatoes and add them to the soup pot along with the bay leaf and thyme.
- Bring the chowder to a boil and reduce it to a simmer.
- Simmer on low until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped clams, heavy cream, and parsley. Season the chowder with salt and ground pepper.
- Cook the chowder until the clams are hot. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
What To Serve With Homemade Clam Chowder
A cup of New England Clam Chowder makes an excellent first course for any seafood-based dinner. For a light lunch, consider serving a bowl of chowder with oyster crackers and extra bacon bits.
How To Store Leftovers
You can store extra chowder as long as you do it correctly.
- Cool the chowder as quickly as possible in an ice bath. To do this, fill a large mixing bowl halfway with ice and water. Place a smaller mixing bowl in the ice bath and pour the chowder into it. Stir until chilled.
- Transfer the chowder to an airtight container and put it in the fridge or freezer.
Heavy cream does not freeze very well. Therefore, if you have extra chowder with heavy creams, it will keep the best in the fridge.
However, if you want to freeze an entire batch of this recipe, you can prepare everything as above and leave out the heavy cream before freezing. Add the heavy cream to the recipe when you reheat the clam chowder to serve.
How Long Does It Last?
Clam chowder will last approximately three days in the refrigerator and up to two months in the freezer.
What’s the Best Way to Reheat It
The best way to reheat clam chowder is over low heat on the stove. Stir the chowder continuously and add a little heavy cream or milk to thin it out if necessary.
Favorite Soup Recipes
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Corn Chowder
- Crab Bisque
- Crawfish Bisque
- Cream of Celery Soup
- Creamy Vegetable Soup
- Old-Fashioned Potato Soup
- Panera Tomato Soup
- Sausage and Lentil Soup
- Seafood Bisque
Popular Seafood Recipes
Check out more of my delicious and easy soup recipes and the best seafood recipes on CopyKat!
This recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Perfect Recipe. I have used this cookbook many times in adapting recipes for CopyKat.
Easy Homemade Clam Chowder with Bacon Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 slices thick-cut bacon minced
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 6 1/2–ounce cans minced clams (preferably Doxsee brand), clams and juice separated
- 16 ounces bottled clam juice (preferably Doxsee brand)
- 3 medium waxy red boiling potatoes
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Fry the minced bacon in a large pot over medium heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, about 5 minutes.
- Add the onion to the bacon and drippings, and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir until the flour takes on a little color, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in the canned and bottled clam juices (do not add the clams yet) and 3 cups water.
- Add the potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the clams, cream, and parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Bring the pot to a simmer to heat through. Then remove from the heat and serve.
Really great tasting chowder, set up ingredients for 12 servings BUT made more than that! Hearty & satisfying. Prep time longer than stated (due to opening 12-cans & 6 bottles). Recommend shopping around for Ingredients, wide variety in prices for clams & clam juice. Great recipe – thanks. Shared with many who had a taste!!
How many servings does this recipe make?
1-many servings. You can adjust # of servings to automatically adjust ingredients / shopping list.