The Best New England Clam Chowder Recipe
This classic, creamy homemade New England Clam Chowder recipe is the real deal! Packed with tender clams, crispy bacon, and perfectly cooked potatoes in a rich, creamy broth, it's the kind of comfort food that'll make you want to lick the bowl clean. It's a knock out recipe that's easy to make with either canned or fresh clams and tastes even better than a restaurant!
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"I made this chowder for myself, husband and brother this last week. We absolutely loved it so much that my husband requested it again! I made another batch two days later! The best and easiest New England Clam Chowder recipe!! I can say that I know how to make a really tasty chowder. Thank you so very much!!"
- Penny N.
I have strong roots in New England (shout out Gloucester, Mass!) and this 5 star restaurant-worthy clam chowder recipe has been in our family for decades.
Just like this Fish Chowder recipe, my recipe for clam chowder has been passed down through multiple generations of fisherman's wives, aka my mom and grandma! This warm and cozy comfort food always reminds me of home.
It's made in the traditional New England style, with tender clams and a creamy broth that’s rich and savory. I use bacon instead of the traditional salt pork since it's easier to find, but I also like the smoky flavor of bacon better.
Not only is this a great make-ahead meal (it's even better the next day!), it's a crowd pleaser that's just as good on a cold winter night as it is on a rainy summer day!
Manhattan vs New England Chowder
Manhattan clam chowder has a red tomato based broth, while New England style chowder is thicker and finished with heavy cream.
There's also the less commonly found Rhode Island clam chowder, which has a clear broth, and also a Long Island version, which has a creamy tomato broth.
Are fresh or canned clams better for chowder?
Both! The best part about this recipe is that it can be made with either fresh clams OR canned clams!
Tinned fish, like canned clams, are pantry powerhouses that I always have on hand to make recipes like this chowder or linguine alla vongole without having to run to the fishmonger.
We always have access to fresh clams where we live, but truthfully, sometimes I just used canned because it's easier, less expensive and it turns out just as good!
Love clams? Try these baked, stuffed Italian clams oreganata, or toss them in a rustic seafood stew like cioppino!
Why This Recipe Works
- Better than restaurant quality!
- Made with fresh or canned clams.
- Can be made ahead of time.
Clams - This recipe is great with both fresh clams and canned clams!
To use fresh clams, look for cherrystones, top necks or little neck clams. You can also use large chowder clams since they will be chopped into small pieces! You'll need about 6 lbs of whole fresh clams to get 1 ½ cups of clam meat.
To use canned clams, you will need three 6.5-ounce cans, but feel free to add more if you want! Don't forget to also use the flavorful juice from the cans!
Clam Juice - Use either bottled clam juice or the leftover clam broth if steaming fresh clams. Just be sure to strain out any sand or grit before using. You can also substitute chicken stock in a pinch!
Bacon - Salt pork is the more traditional pork fat used in an authentic New England clam chowder recipe, but bacon is easier to find and I actually like it better. Use whichever you prefer!
Flour - To thicken the soup. My version is not super thick and gloppy, but if you prefer an extra creamy soup, you can double the flour or thicken it further wither either a flour or cornstarch slurry.
Potatoes - The best potatoes for chowder are red skinned potatoes since they hold their shape the best in soups. Yukon Gold potatoes have a nice, creamy texture and also work well. Russet potatoes are starchier and more prone to disintegrating in the broth, but they can still work. I leave the skins on, but feel free to peel yours if you want!
Heavy cream - Heavy whipping cream is essential for this recipe! Don't substitute for a lighter cream or whole milk - it makes a difference.
Herbs - We'll use fresh thyme, fresh parsley, chives and bay leaves, but you can substitute dried herbs in a pinch.
*Find the full ingredient list in the recipe card below!
Helpful Equipment
- Large stock pot or Dutch oven
- Slotted spoon or Tongs (for fresh clams)
- Fine mesh strainer (for fresh clams)
- Ladle
How to make clam chowder with fresh or canned clams
- Add the bacon to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook for about 10 minutes or until crispy.
- Transfer the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon and discard most of the fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
- Add the chopped onions and celery and cook for 8 minutes or until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in the flour for an additional minute.
Pro Tip: This chowder is creamy, but not super thick. If you prefer a thicker broth, double the amount of flour at this step!
- Add the clam juice, water, thyme, bay leaf, and potatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Season with black pepper, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the clams (see below for fresh clams), heavy cream, and chives or parsley. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
How to Prepare Fresh Clams For Chowder
- Choose cherrystone or littleneck clams that smell fresh (not fishy) and are tightly closed.
- Make sure to scrub them very well to remove as much sand as possible. You can also opt to purge the clams in water with a sprinkle of flour or corn starch.
- Bring 2 cups of water (or a combination of water and white wine) up to a boil in a large pot.
- Add the clams and cover. After about 5 minutes, carefully remove the lid and use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer any open clams to a bowl so they don't overcook. Continue cooking until all the clams have opened, and discard any that do not.
Pro Tip: Some clams may be stubborn and need several more minutes to open - give them some time and they will usually open, but if they don't, throw them away.
- Remove the clams from their shells and finely chop.
- Strain the remaining liquid to remove any sediment and reserve. You will need four cups of clam juice. If there isn't enough, supplement with bottled clam juice or water.
Tips for Success
- To avoid rubbery clams, make sure they're finely chopped and don't add them until the very end of cooking.
- Clams are very salty, but they can vary. Give your soup a taste before adding any salt.
- Warm your bowls in a low oven or microwave before serving for a restaurant quality presentation!
What to Serve with Clam Chowder
A loaf of crusty bread is absolutely essential for soaking up all of that delicious broth!
Another great option is these homemade cheddar cheese biscuits - yum! You can also opt for oyster crackers, saltines or butter crackers instead.
Grab a round loaf of sourdough and make a bread bowl like they do in San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest!
On its own, this soup is rich and satisfying, so I like to serve it alongside a simple green salad, or something more robust like a kale Cesar salad, this warm spinach salad, or this grilled Romaine wedge salad.
How to store and reheat leftovers
This soup makes great leftovers, as the flavors really meld together as it sits!
To store, cool completely, then pour into an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat or microwave for 60-90 seconds or until heated through, stirring halfway.
I don’t recommend freezing this soup because the cream will separate and the potatoes will fall apart.
FAQ'S
Quahog clams are ideal for chowder. Depending on their size, they can be called different names, such as cherrystone, top neck, middle neck or littleneck clams. If you can’t get fresh clams, canned clams and clam juice work just as well!
Overcooking clams makes them chewy. To avoid this, make sure they're finely minced and only add them at the very end of cooking after you’ve lowered or turned off the heat.
Store them in a colander or perforated bowl set over top of another bowl in the refrigerator with ice over top. Do not cover. Drain the water out of the bowl and replace the ice every day for optimal results.
If any clams are open, give them a firm tap - if they close, they are still alive, but if not, it means they are dead. Discard any dead clams before cooking.
Clams can keep in the refrigerator for several days (sometimes up to a week) if you store them properly.
I prefer my clam chowder on the lighter side of creamy, but it's easy to thicken up to your preference.
For a thicker chowder, whisk together 2 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl until no lumps remain. Then, whisk it into the soup until thoroughly incorporated and boil for an additional 3-4 minutes until the soup has thickened.
Repeat until you achieve your desired thickness.
Yes! Simply replace the all purpose flour with a gluten-free 1:1 replacement.
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New England Clam Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bacon diced (use salt pork for more traditional flavor)
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 6 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 4 cups clam juice from 4 8-oz bottles or reserved from steaming clams (instructions below)
- 2 cups water
- 1 large sprig thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 pounds red skin potatoes diced
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ cups clams, finely chopped from 3 6.5 ounce cans or about 6 lbs of fresh clams in-shell
- 2 cups heavy cream
- fresh chives or parsley minced, optional
- kosher salt only as needed
- crusty bread optional, for serving
Instructions
Make the Chowder (with fresh or canned clams)
- Add the bacon to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook for about 10 minutes or until done and crispy.
- Transfer the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon and discard most of the fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pot.
- Add the chopped onions and celery and cook for 8 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Stir in the flour for an additional minute. For a thicker chowder, double the amount of flour at this step.
- Add the clam juice, water, thyme, bay leaf, and potatoes.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer. Season with black pepper, cover, and cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Remove from the heat, then stir in the clams, bacon (reserve a little on the side for garnish), heavy cream and chives or parsley.
- Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprig (if desired), then taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon and more fresh herbs if desired. Serve hot with crusty bread on the side!
How to Prepare Fresh Clams for Chowder
- Choose cherrystone or littleneck clams that smell fresh (not fishy) and are tightly closed.
- Make sure to scrub them very well to remove as much sand as possible. You can also opt to purge the clams in water with a sprinkle of flour or corn starch.
- Bring 2 cups of water (or a combination of water and white wine) up to a boil in a large pot.
- Add the clams and cover. After about 5 minutes, carefully remove the lid and use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer any open clams to a bowl so they don't overcook.
- Continue cooking until all the clams have opened, and discard any that do not. Some clams may be stubborn and need several more minutes to open - give them some time and they will usually open.
- Once cool, remove the clams from their shells and finely chop.
- Strain the remaining liquid to remove any sediment and reserve for the chowder. You will need four cups of clam juice. If there isn't enough, supplement with bottled clam juice, water or chicken stock.
Notes
- To avoid rubbery clams, make sure they're finely chopped and don't add them until the very end of cooking.
- Clams are very salty, but it can vary. Give your soup a taste before adding any salt. Too salty? Add more water or cream to balance it out.
- Warm your bowls in a low oven or microwave before serving for a restaurant quality presentation!
Very good recipe! Will use it again for sure! Thank you!
So glad you liked the recipe!
Absolutely the best I've ever made- loved the recipe and the tips from the site as well!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for leaving a review!
This chowder recipe is outstanding. Truly the best I've ever had! Served with my daughter's homemade sourdough and it was a perfect summer meal. I was wondering if you can freeze the leftovers ??
I'm so glad you loved it! I do not recommend freezing the leftovers, as the cream will separate during reheating. To freeze in the future, you can leave the cream out, then add it when reheating. Hope this helps!
This had the perfect consistency for us. I hate when chowder is thick like glue. Used wild caught little necks and it did not need any extra salt as they were quite salty. Great recipe.
SO happy you loved the recipe! Thanks for leaving a review. 🙂
Great recipe. I used canned clams but will try fresh next time. thx
So glad you enjoyed the chowder!
I can see how some would want this thicker but I loved the consistency. It was light and easy to eat but still really creamy and rich. It's well balanced! We all enjoyed it, thanks for the recipe
I agree, I love how light the broth is while still tasting rich. It's a personal preference, but glad you're on the same page. Thanks for the review!
Excellent recipe! Made this two nights ago, served with sourdough garlic bread, and everyone loved it! Possibly the only thing I would do differently is allow mixture to reduce more before adding in the cream and/or add the flour slurry to thicken. I will definitely be making this chowder again!
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the review!
Great recipe. I can confirm that if you do go the canned clam route you will need to add enough salt to reach the flavor you’d like. I also added some extra potato, garlic, and carrot to the mix to add some extra heartiness to the soup! Picked up a nice crispy baguette to go with the soup. Definitely recommend you all try this!! I might add extra clams next time!
SO glad you enjoyed the recipe and thank you for your tip about using canned clams! The saltiness of canned clams and bottled clam juice can vary as well so it's always good to taste before adding any salt. Once it's too salty there's not much you can do! 🙂
If using canned clams, do you drain them first?
Thanks in advance
No! The liquid adds lots of flavor to the broth. Hope this helps! 🙂
Was a big hit with the family last night. Followed recipe, but next time will add 1 cup less water, as we like it thick and creamy and less celery. Great flavor!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
This was a wonderful recipe. The only thing I did different is that I cubed red and petite Yukon potatoes. I boiled them in salted water for 10 minutes and drained them immediately, tossed them with olive oil and large sprigs of rosemary, thyme and crack pepper and roasted the potatoes for 15 minutes in a 300° oven. This just added a different dimension to the potatoes which my family really enjoyed. I will make it this way always!
The roasted potatoes sound amazing, I will have to give that a try! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Loved it. I’ve made a lot of different chowder recipes. This was the best. Thank you! It’s my new go-to chowder recipe.
SO glad you enjoyed it!
This was great. I added a little paprika and used a cornstarch slurry to thicken instead of flour(just personal preference...nothing wrong with using flour). I also omitted the bacon since we were making it for lent and just used stored bacon fat instead. I'm sure with the bacon it's even better. 10/10 would make again 🙂
SO glad you enjoyed it!
Okay, please don't make fun of me or blacklist me! Here goes: I used Campbell's chunky New England clam chowder as a BASE. I followed the recipe by cooking the bacon, and saute'ing chopped celery and onions. Added the garlic and flour per the recipe, white wine added as the flour started thickening, and the drained clam juice from a can of baby clams, and drained juice from a can of chopped clams. Added about 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme and a small bay leaf. Chopped and added the bacon, and added 3 cans of Campbell's clam chowder. Stirred over medium heat, tasted & added some sea salt and a bit of heavy cream to get the consistency I was after. Added the baby clams and the chopped clams. Served with a mixed greens salad and French bread. Actually it was pretty yummy, and I will do it again. Can I still come back? 🙂
Of course you're always welcome here, even if you use a can of soup to doctor up the recipe. 😉 Thank you for sharing your experience - you may have just inspired someone else to do the same! I'm glad it worked out for you and you enjoyed the chowder.
DELICIOUS 😋. THANK YOU, SO VERY MUCH!
GOD BLESS.
Thank you for reviewing!
The recipe is beyond delicious. A perfect blend of ingredients cooked to absolute perfection. I used the parsley, canned minced clams, red skin-on potatoes and we are totally satisfied.
But there is frustration. If anyone can wash celery & finely chop 6 stems, then finely chop two small or one large onion, measure out ⅓ cup of flour, mince two cloves of garlic, open 4 cans of minced clams, drain and measure clam juice, chop fresh parsley and dice two pounds of potatoes in just ten minutes, it's just not true. Take your time, get everything right, adjust your recipe to your own taste and plan on 90 minutes.
Note that my sourdough bread was done crispy in the oven the exact moment my soup was ready to serve. I'm a stickler on time.
Hey Jim - I appreciate your comment. I agree with you about the prep time and have adjusted it to 30 minutes, which believe is a reasonable time to accomplish the work. Prep time is subjective, so it can be difficult to calculate, but I'm always happy to take this kind of feedback and make adjustments where needed. Thanks for your input and I'm glad you enjoyed the soup!
Great recipe everyone loved it. One question, the recipe calls for 6oz of bacon. Is that a precooked or cooked amount of bacon?
Thanks
Tom
Thanks Tom! That is the measurement for uncooked raw bacon.
Easy to make and delicious..I used the heavy cream which was so very creamy and just the right thickness . I cooked a little extra bacon for my family loves bacon for garnish, chopped fine. Thank you for sharing your recipe 😋❣️
SL glad you enjoyed it Margie! 🙂
Hey, Coley. I will be attempting this recipe tomorrow night for a recovery house on L.I.. There are 16 of us living in the house so I hope I adjust the for the serving size correctly. All of us are from different parts of the country and have different pallets. Will let you know how it comes out
Hey Dennis - I love that you're making this for your recovery house! Homemade food is so nourishing for the soul. I hope it turns out great! Let me know if you have any questions or run into any issues. 🙂
Thanks Coley, this was a hit with all the guys. We share cooking responsibilities every night and are always looking for ideas. We have huge pantry, freezer and cooking space with access to all ingredients. Would you be able to help us out with more recipes? We will be sure to post comments on our cooking journey. Thanks L.I. recovery house
I'm so glad to hear the recipe was a hit! I would be more than happy to help with more recipes. Feel free to peruse my website and reach out with any questions!
I just made this and it's delicious! I made the gluten free version. I would highly recommend this. The bacon grease and heavy whipping cream really make this the best I've had. It tastes reminds me of the clam chowder I've had in the Hamptons. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe
SO glad you loved the recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a detailed review!
Made this last night using canned clams. It was delicious! The broth was so flavorful and creamy. I halved the recipe but still used 3 cans of clams. Next time I’ll probably use 4 cans. Just so good! Thanks!
No such thing as too many clams! Thanks for leaving a review!
I just made this following your steps with canned clams and dry spices. Came out great I will be making this for our next Boy Scout outing.
Fantastic! So glad you loved it and will be sharing it with the scouts!
The best clam chowder recipe I've found!! Delicious! We eat lots of fresh steamers, so most of the time we use leftover steamers (unchopped) for our clam chowder. But will also use this recipe for other types of clams, including canned ones. Also, thick chowder is good--but I like this consistency much better. Well done Coley Cooks!!
SO glad you love the recipe! It will work with any type of clam. Thanks for reviewing!