Easy New England Fish Chowder
This creamy New England fish chowder recipe can be made with cod or any firm white fish for a light, flavorful, and simple weeknight dinner that takes only 15 minutes of prep time.
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I grew up in a family of commercial fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, and this simple New England style fish chowder is an old fisherman's wife's recipe. It can be adapted using any kind of firm, white fish, or even salmon as my mom often did.
This fish chowder recipe is easily one of my favorite comfort foods because it reminds me so much of my Mom. She always kept it really simple, and honestly, it's better that way.
I've tried adding bacon, leeks, carrots, clam juice, and other liquids - like in my creamy, five star rated New England clam chowder recipe - but all of them took away from this recipe's perfect simplicity.
If you've ever felt intimidated by fish chowder recipes, then this is the one for you! It only uses 7 ingredients and takes 15 minutes of hands-on time. It's beginner friendly and uses basic ingredients that are easy to find.
This fish chowder isn't thick and heavy like many cream-based New England varieties tend to be. It's light yet incredibly satisfying, and the flavor of the fish really shines through.
If you like this recipe, make sure you add my lobster rolls and lobster corn chowder to your menu - all New England style favorites!
For more seafood recipes, try my fish ceviche with corn and tomatoes, flounder française or cream of crab soup.
Why This Recipe Works
- Any sustainably caught firm white fish will work for this recipe, so use your favorite!
- Simple and light, perfectly highlighting the delicate seafood flavor.
- Authentic New England fish chowder recipe, passed down from generations to my mom to me, and now you!
- Beginner friendly with just 7 simple ingredients, and ready in 30 minutes!
Potatoes - For this soup, you'll want to use a waxy variety of potatoes like red-skinned potatoes or fingerling potatoes. Waxy potatoes will hold their form when boiled for a creamy bite. If you use a starchy potato, like russet or Yukon gold, the soup will be grainy as the potatoes break down.
Firm white fish - I often use cod for this recipe, but you can use any firm, white-fleshed fish, preferably one that's been sustainably caught. Halibut, grouper, pollock, haddock, and even salmon or sea bass are all excellent choices for this fish chowder. Avoid tuna, swordfish, and light flaky fish like flounder and snapper.
Heavy cream - The cream is what makes this soup "New England Style". Heavy cream is ideal for the thickest and creamiest texture, but you can also use half and half. Low fat dairy and non-dairy alternatives will not work.
*Find the full ingredient list in the recipe card below!
Helpful Equipment
How to Make New England fish chowder
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Sauté the onion and celery with a pinch of salt for about 10 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the potatoes to the pot, toss to coat, then add the water, salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Pro Tip: Season generously. Simple ingredients like water and potatoes requires more salt than you might think. I find 2 tablespoons of Diamond brand Kosher salt provides the perfect seasoning, but different types of salt will vary.
- Add the fish, cover, and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Stir in the heavy cream and fresh parsley, and more salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve immediately with lots of crusty bread for dipping.
Tips for Success
- Avoid cooking the fish too long. Ten minutes is more than enough time for the fish to cook through. The longer it cooks, the more it will flake apart and melt into the soup.
- If you want a thicker soup, mix together ¼ cup of flour with ¼ cup of water, add it to the soup and let it boil for 2-3 minutes before adding the fish.
- This soup is even better after it sits overnight. Be sure to make enough for leftovers!
Storage Tips
One of the best things about this recipe is how good it tastes the next day! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Because of the heavy cream, this recipe won't freeze well.
To reheat your fish chowder soup, pour it into a small pot and heat it on the stove over low. Avoid boiling, and remove it from the heat once it's warmed through.
Serving Suggestions
I like serving this soup with a few slices of crusty bread. Dinner rolls or oyster crackers will also pair really well with this creamy soup.
You can also serve this soup with a kale Caesar salad, garlic rapini or a simple arugula salad.
FAQs
While this recipe is creamy, it's not exactly thick. For a thicker texture, make a simple slurry by mixing together ¼ cup of flour with ¼ cup of water, add it to the soup and let it boil for 2-3 minutes before adding the fish. You can also make a cornstarch slurry to keep it gluten free by mixing two tablespoons of cornstarch with four tablespoons of cold water.
You can, but you'll want to use the slurry method mentioned above to thicken the soup, as milk won't add the same thickness as heavy cream.
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Best Fish Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large yellow or sweet onion peeled and diced
- 8 ribs celery diced
- 1 lb waxy potatoes not russet, cut into large cubes
- 6 cups water
- salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste *see note
- 1 pound sustainably caught firm white fish such as cod, halibut or haddock, cut into large cubes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley minced, loosely packed
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot and sauté the onion and celery with a pinch of salt until translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add in the potatoes, toss to coat, then add the water, salt and pepper. Bring the liquid up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add in the fish, cover, and simmer for another 10 minutes or util the fish is cooked through.
- Stir in the heavy cream and fresh parsley. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Serve immediately with lots of crusty bread for dipping.
Notes
- Season generously. Simple ingredients like water and potatoes requires more salt than you might think. I find 2 tablespoons of Diamond brand Kosher salt provides the perfect seasoning, but different types of salt will vary.
- Avoid cooking the fish too long. Ten minutes is more than enough time for the fish to cook through. The longer it cooks, the more it will flake apart and melt into the soup.
- If you want a thicker soup, mix together ¼ cup of flour with ¼ cup of water, add it to the soup and let it boil for 2-3 minutes before adding the fish.
- This soup is even better after it sits overnight. Be sure to make enough for leftovers!
I was looking for a lighter fish chowder recipe, something comparable to Destino's haddock chowder special on Friday's (sorry, if you're from Gloucester then you'll know what I'm talking about). This recipe is better, less buttery.
I've made this recipe a few times, using haddock, flounder, and monk fish tails. You can double it no problem. I would recommend putting more than one pound of fish though, closer to two will do.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I bet the monk fish tails added great flavor. See you at the Fiesta 😉
What a great recipe for a quick and comforting weeknight dinner! I tend to use soups and chowders to use up some of the things in my veggie drawer and with this one I added carrots, a parsnip and Trader Joe's frozen creamed corn. Dipping the crusty bread was sheer bliss!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your additions - they sound fantastic!
From Gloucester too!
Delicious chowder
I'm making it again for Christmas day!
That's awesome!! So glad you loved the recipe. 🙂 Know any Genoveses or Curcurus??
Haven't tried it yet but it does sound delicious. One idea I do have (since I hate to chop, dice and slice) is using mirepoix (a mixture of chopped onion, carrots and celery and easily found at Walmart's cold vegetable area). Looking forward to trying this easy-peasy recipe.
That sounds like a great idea! Thank you for sharing! Hope you love the recipe. 🙂
I am sure this recipe is delicious. But technically, once you add anything other than potatoes, onions, cream, some form of fat (traditionally salt pork), and some form of protein (in this case fish and no protein is technically required)...it becomes a SOUP. Chowders originated in France and Brittany and were traditionally cooked in huge cauldrons on the shores where returning fishermen added their daily catches.
Traditional New England Chowder only had salt pork, potatoes, onions, and fish. Cream and butter were added after cooking when available. (The term Chowder comes from the French for 'cauldron' not from what went into the pot.) No old time fishwife in New England had access to celery or parsley in the winter, nor did chowder 'originally' include potatoes which did not become common until the late 1700s, and it never included any red potatoes which were developed much later through selective breeding. Fish chowder would have had only root vegetables ... potatoes and onions and was in New England was most often eaten in the winter when fish were still easily caught but only root vegetables were still available...kept in root cellars. Butter and cream were premium ingredients usually obtained through bartering fish for dairy products so were only added to the broth at the end just before serving. Salt pork was used to not only cook the onions but to provide added flavor and render important fat-based nutrition for fishermen who were still working cold waters in the winter. So 'simple' or 'traditional' would not include herbs of any kind and would have been boiled before adding cream or butter if any were available.
Finally, on a personal note, I find the addition of the term 'chowdah' unnecessary and somewhat offensive (not to mention technically incorrect since technically this recipe is not 'chowder'). Traditional New England accents derive directly from the English and Norman coasts from which original New England fisherman came. To use them in a comical way is to denigrate the beginnings of the hearty people who did (and still do) work fishing boats for a living and put fresh fish on the table of people who are well-off enough to have such delicacies read round. All regions in our beautiful country have unique accents, and all of them sound strange to those of us who do not live in that region. Not sure why gratuitously calling it out added anything to the recipe.
Truth in 'advertising'....My ancestors came to New England in the early 1600s, and again...I am sure this recipe is delicious. But I will stick with the simplicity of the way fishermen's wives made it back in the 1700s. I have travelled all over the US and a good deal of the world and enjoyed many foods that were foreign to my way of cooking and certainly to my way of speaking. My career has probably made me somewhat politically correct ... but I have never found it necessary to accentuate how the name of a lovely dish of food was locally pronounced.
...Are you ok?
What a tool Mel Sawyer is.... I don't think he's OK... obviously has some kind of chip on his shoulder and doesn't realize that recipes can grow or change like people do...
I would start out with either bacon or Canadian bacon (less fat) before adding the onion and the celery ... but pretty much do the rest of it your way. It will give the CHOWDAH a bit more oomph...
I'm a native New Englander myself (Mass., Maine and NH) for the 1st 17 years of my life.
Heheh, some people just need a space to vent I suppose. 🙂 A little bit of bacon never hurt anyone. I hope you enjoy the recipe!!
Mine came over during the same time... Get over yourself...she isn't claiming to be a food historian. She's making chowder. Are you still grinding corn/maize by hand to make flour? I very much doubt it.
I liked this soup. I used Walleye for the fish. I did add a can of whole kernel sweet corn. I was going to add some mushrooms but forgot them when making the soup. I will add them to the leftovers when I heat some up. I also added some sour cream on the top of the soup when it was in a bowl. Next time I will use less salt. Maybe 1 1/2 Tbs? The salt was not overpowering but I do not use salt on a regular basis so I tend to use less than other people. I will make this again. It is a good way to use up my walleye in the freezer from Lake Erie.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for leaving such a detailed review!
Delicious!
Used all Lactaid instead of water.
Love, love, love it!
I'm so glad you loved it!! Thanks for sharing your modifications for others! 🙂
The fish chowder is simple and easy to make, I did add carrots and peas to make it like a fish stew, great recipe, Thanks
I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Your additions sound great. Appreciate the review 🙂
I love that it is a simple yet delicious fish chowder, and not a recipe trying to make a 'clammy' chowder using clam juice.
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I left a great one for YOU ! What happened ? Your recipe but used red potatoes with skins, salmon, Albacore, can clams & jumbo shrimp…I can’t type this without loosing your page ? Problem!?
I'm sorry you're having trouble with my page. I will look into it and get it fixed. Glad you liked the recipe! Thanks for leaving a review!
Just like Mom used to
Make! Yummy and simple .
Aww, I love that your mom made a soup like this too. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving a comment!
Do you rinse and pat dry fish?
I don't rinse the fish unless it needs to be, like if it's covered in scales. Patting it dry is never a bad idea, but since it's going into soup it doesn't really matter. Hope this helps!
Awesome chowder. I was looking for an old style recipe and found it. The only adjustment was I used one and a half lbs of haddock. I cooked the potatoes a little more than I should have. I'll watch that next time.
Im so glad you love the recipe! Sometimes simple is best, right! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
I appreciated the simplicity of the ingredients and how you blended them all together into a tasteful delight. Thank you!
I'm so glad you liked the recipe and appreciated its simplicity! Sometimes less is more. 🙂
I enjoyed the chowder but feel the suggested amount of salt was too much. Next time I'll cut that in half and give that a try.
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad you liked the recipe and sorry it was too salty -this is why I have the note in there. The type of salt can really make a difference, along with personal preference. Always add a little, taste, and adjust as needed. I appreciate you leaving a comment!
It turned out very good and was delicious
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review 🙂
I'm from Boston area also, thanks for the recipe!!!!
Glad you can appreciate it! Thanks for leaving a review!
Since I have found this easy delicious recipe I make it approx once a week (and I am not a soup person) the only change I made was instead of celery I use one large carrot the sweetness of the carrot play off the fish perfectly and just melts into the background instead of it being so celery forward. I use a nice cod for this recipe.
I'm so glad you love the recipe! That warms my heart! Thanks for adding your adjustments - I love the celery flavor but happy to see you adjust to your taste. Thanks for leaving a review!
I'm making it right now, let you know.
Please do. I hope you love it!
Great recipe! I altered it into a seafood chowder. I added oysters, clams and crab along with cod. I added the juice from the cans and used whole milk instead of water and heavy whipping cream as your recipe calls for... I used butter and flower to thicken the broth and followed the rest of your recipe. Wow, was it great. Thanks for your tip on the potatoes. I used red potatoes and they were just right! Thank you! My seafood chowder was a success. My wife had two bowels!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!