Seafood Chowder Recipe (2024)

Seafood in Chowder

In this chowder recipe, we are using three types of seafood: cod, shrimp, and clams. You can make seafood chowder with any combination. The key is to cut them into small pieces and use baby clams so that you don’t have big chunks in your soup.

We add them in a certain order to allow each to cook properly without overcooking.

• Cod: Cut this white fish into small pieces.
• Shrimp: You can use fresh or frozen shrimp that has been thawed, deveined, and has the tails removed. See more on buying shrimp below.
• Clams: We are using canned baby clams which don’t need to be cooked, are more affordable, easier to keep on hand, and easier to eat.

How to Make Seafood Chowder

Here is a brief overview of how to seafood chowder. For the full recipe including all measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Cook the bacon. In a large stock pot, cook the bacon until it is nice and crisp. It is key to cook the bacon as the first step. The fat rendered here will be used to make the roux.
• Add the onion and celery. Cook until they are translucent, about five minutes.
• Make the roux. Stir in all-purpose flour. This will make the roux (learn more about this in the section below). Now slowly stir in seafood stock.
• Add the potatoes. Stir in some dried thyme and two bay leaves. Bring everything to a simmer and cook over low heat for twenty minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
• Add the seafood. First, add the cod and cook for five minutes. Then stir in the shrimp.
• Add the cream and clams. Let them heat through for a minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh parsley. Taste the soup and add kosher salt and black pepper.

Seafood Stock

Seafood Stock gives Seafood Chowder its classic taste. It is perfect in this recipe!

Making a Roux

The roux in this recipe starts out with bacon grease. A roux is a mixture of fat and flour to create a thickening agent. Oftentimes that fat is butter, like in myChicken Noodle Casserole, but in this seafood chowder, it is bacon fat. The bacon fat works perfectly to make a nice creamy base for this soup while adding tons of flavor, making this the best seafood chowder recipe.

If you would like to make this recipe without bacon, you can start the recipe by melting three tablespoons of butter. Then proceed with the recipe as written.

The key to this recipe working well is to add the stock really slowly, like two tablespoons at a time when you first start adding it. You want the liquid to be fully absorbed each time before you add in more.

Buying Shrimp

Most of the time when I need shrimp for a recipe, I buy frozen shrimp. I wish I lived somewhere where fresh shrimp was inexpensive, but that is not my life. Frozen shrimp is a great convenient way to keep it on hand so you can make this and othershrimp recipesall the time. It is easy to buy a bag of frozen shrimp that is already cooked and deveined so all you have to do is thaw it.

To use frozen shrimp in this chowder recipe, thaw the shrimp in the refrigerator overnight. Otherwise, you can run the shrimp under cold water until thawed. Please note that it is always best to follow the instructions on the shrimp package for how to thaw.

What is a substitute for heavy cream in seafood chowder?

If you are looking to cut back on fat, use half and half in this recipe. Half and half is known as half cream in the UK and is essentially half whole milk and half heavy cream. I do not recommend using milk or another substitute for the heavy cream in this chowder recipe. It is important to get the creamy texture that makes it so delicious!

Can I leave out one of the kinds of seafood?

Yes! If you don’t like one of the seafood ingredients or don’t have them on hand, leave them out. You can replace it with more of another seafood or more potatoes.

Can this recipe be frozen?

Yes, the key will be to thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and to reheat it over low heat stirring often. This will prevent it from separating.

Is this recipe gluten free?

It is not gluten-free if you use flour, but you can swap the flour for cornstarch. I share how to do this above.

5 from 7 votes

Serves: 6 servings

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