Our Clam Chowder Recipe is going to be on your dinner menu all year long! A creamy chowder loaded with potatoes, bacon and chopped clams!
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 cups diced russet potatoes (about 2 large or 3 medium sized potatoes)
- 1-2 tablespoons garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup flour
- 8 ounces clam juice (see note)
- 1 cup chicken stock (can substitute seafood stock if you like)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups heavy cream (start with 1 cup and then add more if desired)
- 3 cans (6.5 ounce each) chopped clams, rinsed and drained (see note)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- Parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large soup pot until crisp. Add the onions, potatoes and garlic to the pot, stirring with the bacon and drippings. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste, then add the thyme. Cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
- Sprinkle the flour into the pot and stir to combine. Cook for 30 seconds to make sure the flour is absorbed.
- Pour the chicken broth and clam juice into the pot, scraping up the bottom of the pot as you stir. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the milk, cream, clams and clam juice.
- Bring the chowder to a simmer and cook partially covered for 20 minutes. Stir the chowder often so that the potatoes don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Pierce a couple of the potatoes with a fork to make sure they are tender. If the potatoes need a bit more time, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Uncover the chowder and simmer for another 5 minutes to thicken. The chowder will thicken more as it cools slightly.
- Serve with fresh, chopped parsley for garnish and crackers on the side.
Recipe Notes
Since clam juice and bacon are both salty ingredients, you can skip the salt until the end if you like and then season as needed.
When using canned clams and clam juice, there’s often grit or fine sand that’s settled on the bottom, so we like to rinse and drain canned clams before adding them to this chowder. When using the clam juice, you can see the sediment that’s settled on the bottom, so leave that behind when pouring out the juice.
Storing: Store leftover chowder in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing chowder because the cream tends to separate upon defrosting.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
