Easy New England Clam Chowder Recipe With Canned Clams - Explore Cook Eat (2024)

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Clam chowder lovers rejoice! If you are a fan of New England Clam Chowder, you have come to the right place.

Here you will find an easy recipe for a restaurant-worthy clam chowder which you will fall head over heels for!

What Is New England Clam Chowder?

New England Clam Chowder, also known as Boston Clam Chowder, is a chowder with a creamy broth usually made with whole milk or cream (source: Wikipedia).

It typically contains potatoes, salt pork, onion, and clams.

This dish is one of the most recognizable dishes in the United States, and is often served with oyster crackers.

Why You Will LOVE This Recipe!

You will love this New England Clam Chowder recipe because:

• It's delicious! This chowder has great flavor, and you'll love the tender clams and tender potatoes in every mouthful!
• I've created this to make it easy for you to create in your kitchen. Using canned clams helps to keep this simple.
• You'll have this crave worthy chowder ready for your family to enjoy in about 45 minutes (including prep time)!

The Inspiration For This Clam Chowder

October 2017 we had the privilege of visiting New England in the fall. Wow! The colors were AMAZING! Our main destination was Maine, and we drove from Boston through New Hampshire into Maine and traveled along coastal Maine through crisp fall weather and gazing at beautiful fall foliage.

En route to Maine we stopped at the Hayseed Restaurant (accompanies the Smuttynose Brewing Company) in New Hampshire. The Hayseed is where I had my first ever New England Clam Chowder while in New Hampshire.

Prior to even leaving for Maine, I had been anticipating eating my first clam chowder in New England. As I have always loved clam chowder, I couldn't wait to have my first bowl! This chowder did not disappoint!

Here you'll find my recipe that tries to recreate this creamy clam chowder. I hope you'll agree that this clam chowder provides a taste of New England!!

🥘 Ingredients

So here are the simple ingredients that you will need to make this creamy New England Clam Chowder:

• Bacon - choose fatty slices for this recipe
• Onion
• Garlic
• Celery
• Russet potatoes
• Bay leaf
• Chopped Clams (fresh clams are great! however I used Snow's Chopped Wild Caught canned clams to keep things simple)
• Chicken broth or chicken stock
• Heavy cream
• Green onions (for garnish) - other great garnishes include fresh parsley or fresh thyme
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Chicken bouillon seasoning
• Corn starch (optional to thicken if desired)
• Oyster crackers - I'll say these are optional, but your New England Clam Chowder experience is not the same unless you include these crackers! They can be used as a garnish, or crush them up and use as a thickener if you want

So now allow me to take you step by step through this easy clam chowder recipe, inspired by the New Hampshire Clam Chowder I enjoyed during my travels.

🔪 Instructions

Cut bacon into bite sized pieces and brown in a large pot or Dutch oven. Drain cooked bacon on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Cook the onion and garlic in the bacon drippings on medium heat for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the celery and cook another 2 minutes.

Add potatoes, bay leaf, 1.5 cup chicken broth, 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules, salt, and pepper and bring to the boil on medium-high heat.

Turn down heat to med low, cover and simmer for around 15 minutes (until potatoes are tender).

Now add 1 cup of heavy cream and all the clams (with all their juices) and stir to combine.

If at this point the chowder is too thin for your liking, add some cornstarch slurry (follow directions on your corn starch container as to how to add the corn starch). You could also mix in some crushed up oyster crackers to thicken if desired.

Season with additional salt and pepper to taste if desired. (Go easy on the salt as the chowder will likely be salty due to the bacon and other ingredients).

Garnish with bacon bits and chopped green onions, and enjoy!

Suggestions For Serving

This delicious and hearty soup is perfect served alongside some crusty bread and with a side salad. And if you like spicy food, a few drops of your favorite hot sauce would be divine.

If you want to go really fancy, enjoy your creamy soup in a bread bowl!

There's nothing better to warm you up on a chilly day. Oh, and don't forget the oyster crackers!

You can find the printable recipe card below. I hope you will enjoy this homemade clam chowder recipe!

FAQ

1,000 Foods to Eat Project

New England Clam Chowder is one of the foods listed in the book 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die, by Mimi Sheraton. It became #19 in my quest to try each and every one of the foods in the book.

Please follow along with me on this quest to try the1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die,from the book by Mimi Sheraton! Join me in this journey and discover new foods, experiences, and cuisines which I hope will add inspiration, fun, and joy to your life! For a list of the foods tried so far visit the1,000 Foods to Eat Projectpage.

Other Great Soup Recipes!

If you love soup you may also love these soup recipes!

• West African Soupe Gumbo
• The BEST Spicy Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
• Delaware Chicken and Slippery Dumplings

Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!

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I'd love your feedback! Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Cheers! Grace