New England Clam Chowder is a true American Classic that’s hardly ever made at home these days.
Clams were abundant in the North East area of the United States and clam chowders and stews could be found cooking on the stoves in many New England households.
But with the advent of canned soups, America stopped making homemade soups and most seafood soups became an extravagance we only got to enjoy on those special occasions when we would dine out.
And the truth is New England Clam Chowder is not difficult to make or time consuming. You only need a few ingredients you won’t already find in your kitchen.
Clams of course is one of those items. These days most supermarkets carry fresh clams regularly and some even carry frozen clam meat. Both of which make excellent soups.
Although with the frozen clams you’ll also need to buy clam juice.
What Kind of Clams should I buy?
Little Neck clams are most often the type of clams you’ll find in supermarkets. This size clam is generally used in pasta dishes such as clams and spaghetti. And that’s because the larger the clam gets, the tougher and chewier it will be.,
A lot of supermarkets also carry Middle Necks (pictured above), Top Necks or Cherrystone.
- Pasta Necks (or Spaghetti clams) – smaller than Little Necks, they are tender and easy to digest. Their delicate flavor goes well in light sauces, pasta or rice dishes.
- Little Neck – small and tender they are usually steamed open or eaten on the half shell. Also good for pasta dishes.
- Middle Neck – rich, firm-textured meat has a salty and slightly sweet flavor. Great for steaming in a garlic sauce and for soups.
- Top Neck – typically eaten raw on the half shell, grilled open or as a baked clam appetizer such as clams casino or deviled clams.
- Cherrystone – eaten raw or most often used for baked clam appetizers such as clams casino or deviled clams.
- Chowder – the largest and toughest hard clams, usually winding up in chowders.
If you don’t see them ask the seafood person if the larger clams can be ordered.
What Ingredients do I need to make New England Clam Chowder?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make New England Clam Chowder. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How do I make New England Clam Chowder?
The first step is steaming the clams you’ll be using for the soup. Add one cup of water to a large pot over medium heat. Add the clams and cover. Steam the clams for 8-10 minutes or until they steam open.
**Don’t let the clams cook longer than it takes to steam open.
Once the clams have steamed open, remove them from the stove and allow to cool until you can safely handle the clams.
When the clams have sufficiently cooled, remove the meat from the shells. Don’t remove the little mussel that holds the clam to the shell, it will be tough and chewy.
**Discard the shells but make sure to save all the juice from the steamed clams.
Chops the clams into small pieces and refrigerate until needed.
In a 4- 6 quart soup pot cook the bacon until almost done. Add the onions, celery and carrots and continue cooking for 5-6 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and add the flour to the pot to make a roux. This will thicken the soup.
Allow the roux to cook over low heat for 5- 7 minutes, but don’t let the roux get dark or burn.
Heat the stock in a saucepan while the roux is cooking. Add the hot stock to the roux and mix well using a wire whisk.
Add the potatoes and fresh thyme into the pot at this time stirring them into the soup.
Now add the milk and if you’re feeling decadent, the heavy cream. Allow the soup to simmer over low heat for about an hour.
**If the soup gets to thick, add water to pot. I wouldn’t add any more dairy at this point, just water.
Before serving the chowder, add in the chopped clams and simmer for 5 additional minutes to bring the soup back to temperature. Serve with crackers, oyster crackers or fresh crusty bread and enjoy!
*Some folks enjoy hot sauce with their chowder.
Can you freeze New England Clam Chowder?
Yes you can. You may need to add a little water to the soup when reheating,
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New England Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 36 large clams steamed and chopped
- 2 -3 cups clam juice from steamed clams
- 4 strips bacon
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large onion
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves chopped
- 2 medium potatoes cut into ¼-inch cubes
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- The first step in making New England Clam Chowder is steaming open the clams. Add one cup of water to a large pot over medium heat. Add the clams and cover. Steam the clams for 8-10 minutes or until they steam open.
- When the clams have steamed open, remove from the heat and allow to cool. When the clams are cool, remove the clam meat from the shell (leaving the muscle that attaches the clam to the shell). Chops the clams into small pieces and refrigerate until needed.Discard the Shells but Save the Clam Broth in the bottom of the pot. You will heat this up and use it to make the soup.
- Set a 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp. About 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the butter, onion, celery, and thyme to the pot. Continue to cook the mixture for 4-6 minutes. Stirring the mixture as needed.
- Reduce the heat to low and add in the flour, making the roux that will thicken the soup. Allow the roux to cook over low heat for 5- 7 minutes, but don’t let the roux get dark or burn.
- Heat the stock in a saucepan while the roux is cooking. Add the hot stock to the roux and mix well using a wire whisk.
- Add the potatoes and fresh thyme into the pot at this time stirring them into the soup.
- Add the milk and heavy cream to the soup and let the soup simmer over low heat for about an hour.**If the soup gets to thick, add water to pot. I wouldn't add any more dairy at this point, just water.
- Before serving the chowder, add in the chopped clams and simmer for 5 additional minutes to bring the soup back to temperature.
- Serve the Chowder with crackers, bread and a bottle of hot sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Natalie
This looks absolutely delicious. Creamy and flavorful. Such a lovely family dinner option perfect for colder days that are coming. I will definitely save this recipe and give it a try.
Larry
Great taste.
I can’t get fresh clams, so I use canned chopped clams.
recipe is easy, and it’s flavor is better than any restaurant clam chowder… I’ve even learned that some restaurans serve Campbell’s clam chowder as their own! look at how much of it is potatoes. very thin soup. hardly any clam flavor.
I love this soup… but then, I can eat a very good clam chowder on 3 or more consecutive days…
Sam
Yum! This clam chowder looks so creamy and delicious! I love how easy it is to make too. Sounds perfect for dinner tomorrow.
Debra
You are such a wealth of information….I honestly had no idea there were so many types of clams! Thank you for that education….and wow…I never thought it would be so easy to make homemade chowder.
Tara
Love clam chowder and this recipe did not disappoint! Mine turned out so smooth and creamy. This chowder is perfect for the cooler weather coming up!
Jacqueline Debono
Living in Italy, means we mostly use fresh clams with pasta or ‘sautéed’. But, I have always wanted to make clam chowder so am going to bookmark this recipe for later.
Kushigalu
This restaurant style chowder looks so delicious and creamy. I would love to try this soon. Thanks for sharing
Swathi
This Resutruant style New England Clam Chowder looks delicious creamy and delicous
Monica Y
I have never tried to make one, but it looks easy enough and looks delicious, need to get cooking this recipe soon
Jenny
New England clam chowder is one of our favorite soups in our house. I never make it because I am too intimidated by it. Your recipe is a gift, I will gather all ingredients and make it this weekend. I love all your recipes Chef Dennis, they are well explained and detailed and I am confident I can pull off this fabulous soup. Thank you so much!
Swathi
Looks delicious Perfect meal. as weather is getting colder.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
My mouth is watering. I have to make this soup tonight!
Ana
Your New England Clam Chowder looks incredibly delicious. Thanks, Chef Dennis for sharing the recipe with us. I’d love to give it a shot!
natalia voche
Ohh wow! Such a yummy clam chowder and looks an easy recipe,
Rose Ann Sales
This looks so great. I like that it has a lot of veggies in it. So healthy.
Beth
My daughter and mom love clam chowder. I’ve never made it before, but maybe I’ll try making this recipe the next time both of them are here. It looks really good!
Heather
This clam chowder is so delicious! Made it for my mom and she loved it!
Nikki Wayne
I love eating clam chowder,I usually just order it on my favorite restaurant, thanks for sharing
Gervin Khan
I will definitely give this recipe a 5 star rating, it’s delicious and a healthy. A kind of comfort food that I would love to have today.
Lynndee
Oh, yum! I love a good clam chowder. The perfect chowder to have during the cold months.
Sharon
I love making my favorite restaurant recipes at home and this New England clam chowder is spot on!
Jennifer Van Haitsma
I am a big clam chowder fan but haven’t had it in ages! My husband doesn’t eat much seafood these days except “FISH fish” but I would love to try this.
Catalina
I love seafood dishes! This clam chowder seems to be so flavorful! Yum!
Tasheena
Clam chowder used to be a favorite of mine. Looking forward to making this for my family.
Terri Oliver Steffes
I love a good homemade clam chowder. It’s so creamy and rich. This looks delicious.
Sue
I love clam chowder! Can’t wait to try this!
Amy
Love a good clam chowder! this recipe was really good and easy to follow. Thanks!
Kerri
This is one of our favorite soups~ I’m excited to try your version Chef!
Emily Flint
I saw this on your Instagram and I need to make this ASAP! Living in the PNW we have access to fresh clams and I’ve been looking for a good clam chowder recipe. Thank you!!
Kay
Such a fabulous chowder, enjoyed every spoonful
Audrey
Another fantastic recipe by chef Dennis!
Eva
I very much enjoyed reading about this recipe and all the different clam types. This is one of those classic American dishes that you can’t really find in Europe, so it’s always cool to get to have a deeper insight on a recipe you’ve always heard of in books or movies but never actually tried.
Sarah Bailey
I have never had clam chowder, I should really give it a go though as it always sounds delicious and quite a soothing dish.
Shelley King
I will be honest! I haven’t tried clam chowder at home because I see it as intimidating! This recipe makes me want to try!
Gloria
With not going out to eat at restaurants, this is the perfect recipe. I love a good clam chowder. You make it look easy and doable.
melissa chapman
Clam chowder is one of my favorite foods. This was a great tutorial on clams and maybe someday I will try this recipe.
Rena McDaniel
I haven’t had clam chowder in years! I can’t wait to fix this for my husband. I love clam chowder and there’s nothing better on a chilly Oct day!
Amber Myers
This looks delicious! I always love to make soups when it’s chilly out, so the chowder is perfect. I bet my family will gobble it up!
Pam Wattenbarger
Clam chowder is one of my favorite soups. I can’t wait to try your recipe. It looks delicious!
Meesha
This sounds really good!!