This homemade Clam Chowder recipe is thick and creamy and loaded with delicious clams, veggies and potatoes. Pair it with a bread bowls and it’s easily one of my favorite soups!
Looking for more soup recipes? Try my Chicken Noodle Soup, Corn Chowder, or Creamy Zuppa Toscana!
What I love about this chowder:
- Restaurant Quality: I kid-not that this Clam Chowder is better than I’ve had at most restaurants, and it’s much healthier and less expensive made from home.
- Comfort Meal: It’s the coziest meal on a cold day, especially served with a slice of artisan bread, or inside a bread bowl.
- Make Ahead – I love that I can make the entire thing in the morning and heat it up for dinnertime. It makes great leftovers, too.
How to make Clam Chowder:
Drain Clams, adding juice from the cans to a large stock pot. Set clams aside.
Cook Potatoes: Add chicken broth and diced potatoes to the pot. Bring to a simmer, add bay leaf, and cook until the potatoes are barely fork tender, about 5-6 minutes.
Sauté Veggies: In a separate skillet, heat butter and olive oil over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
Thicken: Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds. Gradually stir in milk and half and half, whisking as you add them to break up any clumps of flour. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until the thickened, about 5 minutes.
Combine creamy mixture into the potatoes. Stir in the salt, pepper, vinegar, and reserved clams. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Serve this easy clam chowder recipe in a homemade bread bowl or with a slice of artisan bread and a fresh salad. Enjoy!
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The vegetables can all be chopped ahead of time to make dinner time even quicker, or make the entire creamy clam chowder ahead of time and store in refrigerator until ready to eat.
To Freeze: I generally do not freeze soups with potatoes in them because the potatoes can get soft and mushy (however, some people don’t mind). Creamy soups can also have a slightly different texture once thawed.
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Recipe
Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 6.5 ounce cans chopped clams
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes , peeled and diced (about 3 medium potatoes)
- 3 bay leaves
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 3 ribs celery (about 1 cup), diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper , diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Drain the clams, adding the juice from the cans to a large stock pot. Set the clams aside.
- Add chicken broth and diced potatoes to the pot (the liquid should just barely cover the potatoes). Bring to a simmer, add the bay leaf, and cook until the potatoes are barely fork tender, about 5-6 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, in a second pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the onions, celery, bell peppers and garlic and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 30 seconds. Gradually stir in the milk and half and half, whisking as you add them to break up any clumps of flour. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until the thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir the creamy mixture into the potatoes. Stir in the salt, pepper, vinegar, and reserved clams. Cook for 5 more minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe November 2018. Updated October 2021 and October 2023.
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Delicious!!! I Added 5 strips of bacon at the beginning of pot 2, so much flavour
This was so good and so easy! I made a HUGE substitution, though, and did it as a seafood chowder with thawed shrimp and scallops (added to the potatoes to cook). So for anyone wanting a delicious chowder with something other than clams, this works really well.
This. Is. So. Yummy! I had never had clam chowder before and neither did my family. We all loved this! Whenever I make a recipe from this site, it comes out amazing! My (adult) kids are starting to say that my cooking tastes like something from a restaurant. Thank you for making such great recipes!
My family loved this comforting clam chowder. Thank you for the recipe. We love the clam chowder on the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and this one didn’t disappoint!!
This is going to hurt. But, it will save someone time and money. I should start by saying, because you add clams doesn’t mean you can call it a “clam chowder”. This recipe is definitely original. If you have never tried a true clam chowder this will taste great. The chicken broth, bell peppers, lack of heavy cream, lack of buttermilk, lack of clam juice (if your using canned clams, fresh clams will have more flavor), lack of spices, why the red wine vinegar. Annnnd you don’t need a roux if you use heavier creams. and how can i forget…wheres the bacon?