This made from scratch creamy New England style clam chowder is the perfect soup to add to your dinner menu this week! We love the combination of a flavorful broth, bacon bits, and veggies like celery, caramelized onions, celery and potatoes.
When I was testing this soup, my husband suggested adding corn. I loved the idea! This soup tastes like a combination of corn chowder, potato soup and clam chowder. I hope you love this comfort-food dish like we do.
Simple ingredients for Creamy New England Style Clam Chowder:
- Sweet Onion Chopped
- Salted Butter
- Half and half
- Celery stalks Chopped
- Frozen corn
- Russet Potatoes
- Clam Juice
- Bacon bits (I like Hormel brand)
- Minced Garlic
- Liquid smoke
- Salt
- Bay leaf
- Chopped Clams
- Green onions or parsley
- Oyster crackers
- Heavy cream
- Corn starch
Toppings to garnish your soup:
We love topping this soup with extra bacon bits, green onions or parsley, oyster crackers or even some spices like creole, seasoning salt, freshly ground pepper or old bay.
Tips for making the best Creamy New England Style Clam Chowder
- The BEST tip I can give you to make this soup extra special and delicious is to caramelize the onions! Taking a few extra minutes to sauté the onions on low heat makes all the difference. It takes between 10-15 minutes to caramelize the onions and they will completely transform to a sweet and flavorful addition to this soup! I love to allow them to sauté while I am chopping up the rest of the vegetables.
- The broth in this soup is creamy and flavorful. You can decide if you want to leave it more on the brothy side or thicken it so it’s more like New England style chowder. Using corn starch will allow you to thicken the soup to your desired consistency.
- I like to use bacon bits in this recipe to keep things simple and easy! The clams and bacon bits are close to the same size and texture. You can totally fry and crumble your own bacon for this soup if you want to!
Creamy New England Style Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 Sweet Onion Chopped
- 3 Tablespoons Salted Butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 Celery stalks Chopped
- 2/3 Cup Frozen corn
- 3 Russet Potatoes Cubed
- 3 8 oz cans Clam Juice Snow's brand
- 1/2 Cup Bacon bits (I like Hormel brand)
- 2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic
- 1/8 Teaspoon Liquid smoke
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 4 6.5 oz cans Chopped Clams Snow's brand
- 1 1/2 Cups Half and half
- 1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
- 2 Tablespoons Corn starch
Instructions
- Add 3 tablespoons butter to a pan and sauté chopped onion on med-low until it is caramelized. Add in celery, potatoes and garlic. Sauté together for 5-7 minutes. Add clam juice, salt, bay leaf, corn and chopped clams (including liquid).Simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Add in 1 cup of the half and half, bacon bits and liquid smoke. Bring mixture to a boil. Make a slurry with corn starch and remaining 1/2 cup half and half. Add mixture into the soup to thicken. Once soup has thickened, turn heat to low/warm. It will continue to thicken a little more as it sits. Stir in 1/3 cup heavy cream to make the soup extra creamy! Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve soup warm with a side of bread, breadsticks or cornbread if desired.
What can I serve with this soup?
This delicious soup would pair well with a green or Caesar salad, and you could also serve it with a side of bread or honey cornbread! We love making this artisan bread to serve with our soup, or these quick and easy homemade breadsticks.
Can this soup be made ahead and stored?
Yes! You can make this soup ahead and keep it warm in the crockpot on low heat. You can also make it a day ahead and reheat it. I have also stored this soup in these deli containers and put them into the freezer. I would suggest using it within 2-3 months.
Making this soup and putting it in the deli containers makes it the perfect way to share. These containers are so convenient for giving the soup away to elderly people to reheat, or drop to a new mom who needs a little pick me up meal!
