Clam chowder recipe: creamy New England bowl ready in 45 minutes

Name: Clam chowder recipe: creamy New England bowl ready in 45 minutes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 bowls
Ingredients: 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 large yellow onion, diced; 2 celery stalks, diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1/3 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves; 1 bay leaf; 3 cans (6.5 oz each) chopped clams, drained with juice reserved; 2 cups bottled clam juice; 1 1/2 lb (680g) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 1 1/2 cups whole milk; 1 cup heavy cream; 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste; 1/2 tsp white pepper; Chopped chives or parsley; Oyster crackers; A few dashes of hot sauce

Nov 7

3 min read

Updated: 4 minutes ago

Bowl of creamy New England clam chowder with potatoes, bacon pieces and oyster crackers

Explore the Seafood Cookbook

Smoky bacon, tender potatoes, 45 minutes in one pot

Proper chowder is not thickened with a pound of flour — it is thickened by the potatoes themselves. Russets release enough starch as they simmer to give the broth real body, and the roux is just there to hold it together. Bacon fat at the start and canned clam juice in the base do the rest.

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Why this one works

Canned clams are genuinely the right call here, and the juice in the can is half the flavour.
Russet potatoes break down at the edges and thicken the pot in a way waxy potatoes never will.
Adding the clams in the last two minutes is the difference between tender and rubbery.

At a glance

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 bowls
Protein: 23g per serving
Calories: 486 per serving

Ingredients

Base

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6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf

The pot

3 cans (6.5 oz each) chopped clams, drained with juice reserved
2 cups bottled clam juice
1 1/2 lb (680g) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp white pepper

To serve

Chopped chives or parsley
Oyster crackers
A few dashes of hot sauce

Instructions

Render the bacon. Cook the chopped bacon in a heavy pot over medium heat for 8 minutes, until crisp and the fat has rendered out. Lift the bacon onto paper towel and leave the fat in the pot.
Soften the aromatics. Add the butter to the bacon fat, then the onion and celery. Cook 6 to 7 minutes until translucent and soft but not coloured. Add the garlic for one more minute.
Make the roux. Sprinkle over the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. It should smell biscuity and coat the vegetables in a pale paste. Cooking out the raw flour here is what stops the chowder tasting pasty.
Add the liquid gradually. Pour in the reserved clam juice from the cans and the bottled clam juice a little at a time, whisking after each addition so no lumps form. Add the thyme and bay leaf.
Simmer the potatoes. Add the potato cubes, bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, until a knife slides into a cube with no resistance and the edges have started to soften into the broth.
Add the dairy. Stir in the milk and cream, the salt and the white pepper. Bring it back to a bare simmer — never a boil, or the dairy will curdle and the texture is gone.
Clams last. Add the drained clams and cook 2 minutes only, just to heat them through. Fish out the bay leaf. Taste and adjust the salt; it usually wants more than you expect.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with the crisp bacon, chives and crackers, with hot sauce on the table.

Notes and swaps

For a thicker chowder, mash a few of the potato cubes against the side of the pot before the dairy goes in.
It keeps 3 days in the fridge and thickens considerably. Loosen with milk, reheating gently.
Chowder does not freeze well — the dairy splits and the potatoes go grainy.