We are pretty lucky to live close to the ocean. By car it’s only one hour away. One of our favorite things to do is eat lunch at an oceanside restaurant and order a bowl of clam chowder. Sometimes you can get it in a bread bowl. The taste of the chowder can vary quite a bit from restaurant to restaurant. They also vary in terms of how much clams you get versus other ingredients like potatoes.

Today I will be making clam chowder since I have been craving it. Clam chowder is easy to make at home and in my opinion tastes better than what you get eating out. The restaurant versions often seem to have more potatoes than clams. I put more clam in my chowder than they do. The homemade version also costs less and you may have leftovers for another day.

I use a combination of canned and frozen cooked whole clams in my recipe. I think it is easier to use canned and already cooked clams since it is budget friendly and most of the prep is done for you! This speeds up the cooking process. You may use fresh clams if you prefer.

This soup is creamy, flavorful, and chock full of clam goodness. If you want to make it extra special, serve it in a bread bowl. You can make this by hollowing out a small round loaf of bread.

Ingredients

• 8 slices or 1 cup bacon, dice
• 1 cup yellow onion, small dice
• 1/2 cup celery, med. dice
• 1 tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tbsp. chicken base
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 cup peeled Yukon gold potatoes, large dice
• 1 oz. bottle clam juice
• 2 (3.5) oz. can chopped clam
• 3 cups milk
• 1 16 oz. pkg. cooked white clam in butter and garlic sauce (comes in frozen, but needs to be thawed)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat.

Add bacon, then cook until the bacon is brown and crispy. This will take around 5-8 minutes. Once the bacon is cooked, use a slotted spoon and transfer it to a paper towel lined bowl, leaving the bacon fat in the pot. Set the cooked bacon aside.

Add onion, celery, and garlic to the bacon fat and cook stirring frequently until the onions are soft. This will take about 2-3 minutes. Add thyme, bay leaves, chicken base, salt, and pepper to the onion and cook for 30 seconds.

Next, add the potatoes, stir well, and cook covered in medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring few times. Then, add the canned clams along with it’s juices, bottled clam juice, and milk.

Bring to a gentle boil, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender for about 20 minutes. Add the packaged clam along with it juices, making sure there are no broken shells. Cook for 3 minutes, then add heavy cream, and stir well. Place cornstarch and water in a small bowl and whisk well.

Add this mixture to the chowder and cook for a few minutes until the chowder reaches your desired thickness. Stir in half of the bacon, half chives, and half parsley. Taste for seasoning.

Serve with some nice bread or crackers of your choice, garnish with rest of the bacon, parsley, and chives!

Serves 6-8

Did you make this dish? I’d love to know how it turns out! Feel free to like this post and comment or use the hashtag #globaldinein on Instagram. If you would to be notified of upcoming posts, please consider subscribing to my blog!