This delicious New England Clam Chowder recipe is lightened up a bit with a few simple tweaks, yet still just as creamy, hearty and delicious as ever!
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New England Clam Chowder Recipe | 1-Minute Video
New England Clam Chowder Ingredients
Here are a few brief notes about the ingredients you will need to make this New England clam chowder recipe:
- Bacon: I like using traditional bacon for this recipe, but you’re welcome to sub in turkey bacon instead.
- Veggies: Onion, celery and garlic will season our broth.
- Flour: Which we will use to make a roux and thicken the soup. Or you’re welcome to leave out the flour and just thicken the soup by mashing or pureeing some of the potatoes instead.
- Clam juice: One bottle, to help add extra clam-y flavor to the broth.
- Milk: I traditionally use 2% cow’s milk for this recipe, but any plain milk will do.
- Potatoes: Either Yukon gold or red potatoes.
- Seasonings: Bay leaf, Old Bay seasoning, dried thyme, salt and pepper
- Clams: 2 cans of minced clams
Plus whatever toppings you love. I like adding in some fresh chives or green onions, a dash of hot sauce, or some oyster crackers. That said, a nice slice of crusty bread (or a bread bowl) is also delicious with clam chowder.
How To Make Clam Chowder
To make this healthy clam chowder recipe, simply:
- Cook the bacon. Dice the bacon, then fry it in a large stockpot until cooked. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a separate plate, and reserve about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan (discarding any extra).
- Sauté the veggies. Use the bacon grease to sauté the onion, carrots and garlic until softened.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Then add the clam juice, followed by the milk, potatoes and seasonings.
- Simmer until cooked. Bring the soup to a simmer (not a boil). Then reduce the heat to medium-low to continue the simmer, and let the soup cook until the potatoes have softened. You will need to stir the soup every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn.
- Add in the clams and season. Discard the bay leaf and add in the clams (with their juices) and half of the bacon. Then give the soup a good stir, taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm. Garnished with the remaining bacon bits and any other toppings you’d like.
Clam Chowder Variations
If you would like to make some changes to this clam chowder soup, feel free to:
- Omit the bacon. If you would like to keep this recipe pescetarian, feel free to skip the bacon. You will need to add in some extra butter or oil to sauté the veggies. And I would also recommend adding in a bit of extra Old Bay seasoning for flavor.
- Make it gluten-free. Just skip adding the flour, and instead, mash (or puree) half of the potatoes in the soup to help thicken it.
- Make it spicy. If you would like to give your soup more of a kick, feel free to add in some hot sauce.
- Use different seasoning. If Old Bay seasoning isn’t available at your grocery store, you can substitute Cajun or Creole seasoning. Or if you prefer, feel free to just use Italian seasoning instead.
More Creamy Soup Recipes To Enjoy
Looking for more creamy soup recipes to try this season? Here are a few of our favorites:
- Three Potato Soup
- Lemony Orzo Chickpea Soup
- Creamy White Chicken Chili
- Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup
- Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat)
Lighter New England Clam Chowder
This delicious New England Clam Chowder recipe is lightened up a bit with a few simple tweaks, yet still just as creamy, hearty and delicious as ever!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, ends trimmed and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 (8 ounce) bottle clam juice
- 4 cups plain milk (I use 2% milk)
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold or red potatoes, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 (7-ounce) cans minced clams (not drained, keep the juice)
- sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
- optional garnish: chopped fresh chives or green onions, dash of hot sauce
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a separate plate using a slotted spoon, reserving about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the stockpot. (Discard any extra grease, or you can substitute butter in place of the 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.)
- Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add celery and garlic, and sauté for an additional minute, stirring occasionally. Add flour* and stir until combined. Sauté for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally. Add in the clam juice and stir until combined. Add in the milk, potatoes, bay leaf, Old Bay, thyme, half of the bacon bits and stir until combined. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, stirring every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn.
- Once the potatoes have softened, stir in the clams and half of the cooked bacon. Remove the bay leaf. Taste the soup, and then season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm, garnished with the remaining bacon bits and any other desired toppings. Or store in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
*Feel free to omit the flour and 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease if you would like to lighten this soup up a bit. And instead, to thicken the soup, simply mash or puree some of the potatoes before adding in the clams.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was just fantastic. Added a splash of white wine and used fresh thyme instead of dried, and used turkey bacon because that’s what I had on hand. Did not miss the cream at all, flavours were great!
Such a fabulous lighter version! I didn’t miss the cream at all. The flour made this nice and thick, especially with the potatoes. I didn’t add the bacon to save some calories, but wow! This was super delicious for a rainy fall day.
Good recipe! Soup was very tasty. I used 2 cups of 1% milk and 2 cups fat free half and half. I also used chopped clams, instead of minced and added a couple of more cans. It was delicious!
Great recipe. I omitted the bacon because we are pescatarian. Used 2 tablespoons of butter instead of the bacon fat and that worked great. I added more potatoes (about 2 lbs) for some reason and I regretted it, the recipe amount would have been perfect. I also added more clams (4 cans total) because I’m a New Englander and love my clams. That worked out well. Lastly, I added chopped fresh parsley at the end. This is a super solid chowder recipe and I will definitely make it again!
Can I make this in my foodie blender?
This is just the recipe I am looking for. I got some fresh organic corn on the cob and I want to make a corn and clam chowder…I think adding some corn would be good!
I just made a batch of this. It tastes wonderful! The only changes I made were to use onion powder instead of onions because I have someone in my family who hates onions. I didn’t see any need to add bacon because to me, that is all it ends up tasting like. I also transferred it to my slow cooker once the potatoes were just about done. That way, I don’t have to “mind the stove” and check to make sure it’s not sticking on the bottom.
This is was exactly what I was looking for in a chowder recipe! Really delish. If you can get them, I’d recommend Bar Harbor canned clams, they have wonderful flavor and texture. With some oyster crackers on top? Irresistible. Can’t wait to have this all week. Thanks Ali!
Hi Ali ! I tried your recipe yesterday night and both my husband and I really loved the taste of it, reminding us of the clam chowder we had in Boston (it was so good, especially with that cold weather we are having in the Midwest !). The only problem is that I put the flour and bacon grease in the soup, as advised in the recipe, but I unfortunately did not get the thickness expected. I made a reversed roux to fix that and increased the heat as well to thicken it, which definitely made it thicker but not quite as thick as I had hope. Maybe I will try the trick of the mashed potatoes in the soup then next time? Or I will increase the heat before I add the clams in the soup. Thanks for the recipe though ! I keep it in my bookmarks :)
Got this recipe in the email this morning and my husband LOVES clam chowder. I had never made it though. Made it tonight and his words, “Best clam chowder I believe I’ve ever had!” It was delicious! The only thing we added was cayenne, because we like a kick to it. Thanks for the recipe!