Creamy, delicious, homemade New England Clam Chowder made in only 15 minutes. Better than from a can and almost as quick!
Soup that tastes amazing doesn’t have to take a ton of time. Today’s New England Clam Chowder is creamy and delicious thanks to the addition of milk and pieces of salty bacon. And it only takes about 15 minutes to cook!
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Is Clam Chowder?
A chowder is a rich and creamy style of soup. Seafood chowders like this clam chowder are popular in the Northeast US. In the Southwest, you are more likely to find corn and potato chowders.
While many chowders are have a creamy base with milk or heavy cream, you also have Manhattan Clam Chowder which has a tomato base instead of cream. But in general, chowders are soups where the ingredients are left in chunks instead of being pureed smooth.
Ingredients
The main ingredients for clam chowder are clams of course, but also potatoes and bacon. I usually use Russet potatoes, but if you wanted to use Yukon gold or red potatoes instead, you can.
For this quick chowder recipe, the clams come from a can because they’re already shucked and canned clams versus fresh clams saves a lot of time. The rest of the ingredients to make this soup are fresh.
In particular, it’s the fresh aromatics used in the soup that give it such great flavor. Even when I am making these quick 15 minute soups, I never skimp on starting with an aromatic base. In this case it’s onions, celery, and garlic. Without those flavors in the background the soup would lack real homemade flavor. It’s also seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme.
The base of the soup is made with clam juice, chicken broth, and half and half for that creamy taste.
Making Quicker Clam Chowder
I have a trick to have you spending less time at the stove so that you can enjoy your delicious bowl of soup in less time.
I like to pre-cook the potatoes in the microwave so that they don’t have to simmer on the stove as long. Use a fork to prick the potatoes in several places. Put them on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power for 3 minutes. Then flip them over and microwave until fork tender, 2-3 more minutes.
When the potatoes are fork tender, wear oven mitts to protect your hands from the heat and chop them into ½ inch cubes. Add the potatoes once the chicken broth has come to a boil and continue making the soup.
If you’d prefer not to give the potatoes a head start in the microwave, that’s fine but the soup will take longer to cook.
More Great Soup Recipes
Want another creamy chowder? Try this Salmon Chowder recipe or my Shrimp Chowder.
You can also browse the full collection of all of my 15 minute soup recipes.
Podcast Episode: Making Clam Chowder Quickly
Listen to learn how to make this recipe, along with some great tips from Christine:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
PrintNew England Clam Chowder Recipe
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
The secret to all the amazing flavor in this soup is to start with fresh aromatics like onions, celery and garlic. You can absolutely start a soup with these ingredients and still be finished in 15 minutes.
Try serving with oyster crackers on top. Yield: 10 cups
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. grape seed or vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 medium potatoes
- 6 sliced pre-cooked bacon
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 (8 oz.) bottles of clam juice
- 1 cup low or no-sodium chicken broth
- 3 (6.5 oz.) can chopped clams
- 2 cups half and half
Instructions
- Put a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the oil. Cut the butter into pieces and add it to the oil. Add the celery and increase heat to medium. Add in the onion and stir.
- Use a fork to prick the potatoes in several places each. Put them on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power for 3 minutes. Flip and microwave until fork tender, 2-3 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, chop up the bacon and add it to the celery and onions. Add in the garlic, pepper, thyme, and salt. Stir. Sprinkle with the flour and stir.
- Drizzle in one half of one of the bottles of clam juice. Stir well and then add the rest of the bottle. Repeat with the remaining two bottles, adding half a bottle at a time before stirring and continuing.
- Add the chicken broth. Increase heat to medium-high and bring up to a simmer while stirring often.
- When the potatoes are fork tender, wear oven mitts to protect your hands from the heat and chop them into ½ inch cubes. Add the potatoes to the soup.
- Add the cans of chopped clams, along with their juice, to the soup. Stir and allow to cook for a minute.
- Stir in the half and half and heat through before serving.
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This post originally appeared in May 2015 and was revised and republished in March 2024.