This is a perfectly creamy New England Clam Chowder with a twist, made with crispy pancetta to highlight the fresh, briny clams and let their flavor shine through. With flavors of thyme, celery, and onion, this is a perfectly balanced chowder topped with chives and oyster crackers.
Enjoy classic soups? Try our Classic Pasta Fagioli or our Creamy Potato and Onion Soup!
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New England or Manhattan Clam Chowder?
Choosing between New England Clam Chowder and Manhattan Clam Chowder is an extremely personal decision, and not one to be taken lightly. Marriages and families can be split over this simple argument, with a soup choice as divisive as these clam chowders.
New England Clam Chowder has that very classic creamy chowder flavor and texture. It is deliciously savory and salty, but it is definitely the heavier of the two soups, being a cream-based soup. New England Clam Chowder predates its step-sister soup by at least a century, making it the original clam chowder.
Through many polls, we've noticed that most people prefer New England Clam Chowder, but plenty still do prefer the lighter brothy soup to its predecessor. While you can prefer one over the other, they are still both absolutely delicious!
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Topneck Clams. 12-18 topneck clams are perfect for this dish. They are a bit meatier than little neck clams, which are more tender. You can substitute little neck clams, but just increase the number of clams to two dozen!
- Pancetta. Bacon is the classic pork used in New England clam chowder, but most smoked bacon can really overpower the whole soup. Maybe it's just the Italian in me, but pancetta has a more delicate flavor, and still adds savoriness to the dish.
- Heavy Cream. Substitute with coconut milk if you have a dairy intolerance.
- Clam Sauce. I like to add extra clams to the soup, and I love to use white clam sauce from Cento. They're flavorful and give the soup a more substantial texture.
- Russet Potatoes. I use peeled russet potatoes because they are starchy and make the soup extra creamy. Using a waxy potato like gold or red potatoes won't add as much starch, and you would need more heavy cream to get the classic texture of New England Clam Chowder.
- White wine. I always go with a Sauvignon Blanc for cooking. It's crisp and light without too much sweetness.
- Chicken stock. Homemade chicken stock is always best because chicken stock doesn't have extra salt, which you definitely don't want extra of in this seafood dish!
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make New England Clam Chowder
Follow the numbered steps below and use the images as your guide.
Step 1: Add the chopped pancetta to the large pot. Raise the heat to medium and fry the pancetta until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside.
Step 2: Stir the celery and onions into the oil from the pancetta. Sauté until the celery and onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes.
Step 3: Stir in the garlic and sauté for 1-2 more minutes, until fragrant.
Step 4: Stir in the flour and combine well with the vegetables until the celery and onion are completely coated. The vegetables should look crystallized with the flour as shown above.
Step 5: Add ½ cup white wine and bring to a simmer. Deglaze the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon to scrape the brown bits.
Tip: The flour and wine should combine with the vegetables to look like a paste (shown above).
Step 6-8 should be completed at the same time as steps 1-5.
Step 6: Scrub and rinse the clams. Purge if they are wild-caught. *See pro-tips for purging.
Step 7a: In a medium pot, add 1 cup of water, ½ cup of white wine, and juice from a lemon over medium-high heat. Add the clams to the pot, cover, and steam until they open.
Step 7b: Remove the clams as they begin to open.
Step 8: Remove the clams from their shells, chop them, and set them aside.
Step 9: Strain the liquid from the pot into a measuring cup and save it for the soup. You need to strain it through a small mesh strainer so that it can remove any sediment from the clams, especially if they're wild-caught.
Step 10: Then add the chicken stock, 2 cups of stock from the clams, thyme, and a parmesan rind, and bring the soup to a boil.
Step 11: Add the potatoes once the soup comes to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Step 12: Use an immersion blender to gently blend the soup for about 5-10 seconds. You just want to break up the potatoes slightly, but not completely. Add 1 can of white clam sauce and the chopped clams. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. *You can also remove ⅓ of the soup and place it in a blender if you don't have an immersion blender.
Step 13: Remove the thyme and parmesan rind. Stir in the heavy cream. Serve with oyster crackers and chopped chives. In place of the oyster crackers, you can use our Homemade Italian Parmesan Croutons.
Serve New England Clam Chowder with a light sandwich like our Cold Shrimp Salad on a baguette, or with a simple salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette, or a Traditional Panzanella Salad
Pro-Tips
- Purge your clams if they are wild caught. You can place them in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes, then empty the bowl, rinse them and repeat once more.
- Always fry pancetta starting from a cold pan. This will let the fat begin to render first so that the meat in the pancetta doesn't burn.
- Use russet potatoes in New England clam chowder because they're starchy and will naturally make the soup creamy.
- Salt is necessary in any recipe, but in a soup like this with multiple salty flavors like pancetta and briny clams, be careful with adding extra salt or using store-bought chicken broth.
- Don't add the clams until the last few minutes of cooking the soup. They will get rubbery if you simmer them for 20 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Russet potatoes are best because they're starchy and will add starch to the soup, making it naturally creamy to help develop the classic New England chowder texture.
First, not using store-bought chicken broth. Chicken stock is a good alternative because it has way less salt. Homemade chicken stock is best because it has no added salt. Potatoes also help absorb some of the salt as well so using a russet potato is a great way to help manage salt. Taste as you go.
Yes, in order to give the soup a classic chowder texture, you'll need to create a roux with the flour and fats from the pancetta.
More Delicious Creamy Soups
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New England Clam Chowder
Equipment
- 2 large pots
- 1 strainer or sieve
Ingredients
- 18 topneck clams
- ¼ lb pancetta, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ¼ flour
- 1 can white clam sauce
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 russet potatoes
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 parmesan rind
- 1 cup oyster crackers
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup chives, chopped
Instructions
Chowder
- Add the chopped pancetta to the large pot. Raise the heat to medium and fry the pancetta until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside.
- Stir the celery and onions into the oil from the pancetta. Saute until the celery and onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute for 1-2 more minutes.
- Stir in the flour and combine well with the vegetables. Add ½ cup white wine and bring to a simmer. Deglaze the bottom of the pan, using a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits. Then add the chicken stock, 2 cups of stock from the clams, thyme, and a parmesan rind, and bring the soup to a boil.
- Add the potatoes once the soup comes to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Use an immersion blender to gently blend the soup for about 5-10 seconds. You just want to break up the potatoes slightly, but not completely. Add 1 can of white clam sauce and the chopped clams. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove the thyme and parmesan rind. Stir in the heavy cream. Serve with oyster crackers and chopped chives.
Steaming clams
- Scrub and rinse the clams.
- In a medium pot, add 1 cup of water, ½ cup of white wine, and juice from a lemon over medium-high heat. Add the clams to the pot and steam until they open. Remove the clams as they begin to open and set them aside.
- Strain the liquid from the pot into a measuring cup and save it for the soup. You need to strain it through a small mesh strainer so that it can remove any sediment from the clams, especially if they're wild-caught.
Notes
- Always fry pancetta starting from a cold pan. This will let the fat begin to render first so that the meat in the pancetta doesn't burn.
- Use russet potatoes in clam chowder because they're starchy and will naturally make the soup creamy.
- Salt is necessary in any recipe, but in a soup like this with multiple salty flavors like pancetta and briny clams, be careful with adding extra salt or using store-bought chicken broth.
- Don't add the clams until the last few minutes of cooking the soup. They will get rubbery if you simmer them for 20 minutes.
Vinny says
A favorite classic. New England Clam Chowder is my family's favorite and it's great when you use fresh clams! Leave a review if you try it.