Our New England Seafood Chowder recipe is everything you want in a soup. Fresh, creamy, with a slight smokiness; and, of course, overflowing with your favorite seafood!
If you’re looking for a quick seafood bisque recipe, this is the one for you! This flavorful and easy fish chowder comes together in just 45 minutes. It’s the best seafood chowder recipe you’ll ever try!
This New England seafood chowder recipe may be my new favorite seafood dish. You will not believe how creamy and thick this chowder turns out! It’s pretty much like a hug in a cup, and you’re going to love it!
I love seafood chowder, but I feel like it’s one of those recipes that I always forget I can make. And then when I do remember to make it, I always tell myself I should make it again because it’s SO good!
Seriously, this is one of my favorite seafood recipes and it’s definitely my favorite recipe for seafood chowder.
What is chowder?
Chowder is a type of thick and creamy soup recipe containing milk or cream, seafood, vegetables, and most often potatoes, onions, and corn. You can add whatever else you like!
Seriously, there is something so cozy and comforting about a bowl of creamy seafood soup with all your favorite ingredients! And the best thing is, this chowder is totally customizable!
Don’t like shrimp? Swap it out for mussels, clams or more fish! Don’t like white fish? Salmon works perfectly! It is really up to you how you want to put together this fish chowder, and that’s what makes it so great.
Seafood Chowder Recipe Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 3 medium white potatoes diced and peeled
- 1/4 cup all-purpose plain flour
- 4 cups of milk
- 1 cup firm white fish
- 1/2 pound shellfish: shrimp, prawns, mussels, or clams
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
How to Make Seafood Chowder
- Sauté bacon in a large soup pot over medium-high heat until crispy, 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the pot and place it on a plate.
- Drain all but 1 Tbsp bacon grease from the pot. If there is not 1 Tbsp, then don’t worry about draining the bacon fat.
- Add diced onions and celery to the bacon grease in the pot. Sauté over medium heat until soft, 3-4 minutes.
- Add potatoes. Saute 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
- Add the flour and stir, cooking until the flour is completely moistened.
- Add the milk and increase the heat to medium.
- Heat the soup until it is steaming, but just before it starts to boil, stirring often.
- Keep the soup at this point until the potatoes are nearly tender, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes. (Reduce the heat if the milk starts to foam.) The soup should start to thicken to a nice consistency.
- Add the fish, shellfish, corn, and bacon.
- Continue to heat, just below boiling for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
- Add salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve with the fresh parsley, crackers or good quality bread.
Tips for New England Seafood Chowder Recipe
- Use whatever seafood you like! I love using firm white fish like Pacific cod or tilapia. I find it holds its shape really easily and cooks well. You can make this a shrimp chowder by using more shrimp, or a clam chowder by using more clam, and so on.
- Make sure to evenly chop your fish. To ensure consistent cooking time, try to make sure your fish is cut into similar sizes. If a few pieces are larger or smaller, the fish won’t cook at the same time.
- There is a fine line between simmering and boiling! When adding the milk, you want to avoid boiling the milk. Instead, you want to keep it at a consistent temperature to allow it to thicken.
- Your choice of bacon will determine how much bacon fat you need to saute the onion and celery. We use smoky bacon without a lot of fat on it. Therefore we kept all our bacon fat for frying and didn’t need to remove any or add any additional oil.
- Don’t overcook your seafood! I found 5 to 7 minutes was an adequate cook time for my shrimp and fish. Shrimp will turn a beautiful orange color when cooked. The fish should be soft and cooked all the way through, if the pieces are consistent it should take the same amount of time as the shrimp.
This seafood soup recipe is honestly so easy to make, and tastes absolutely delicious! We found it enough for four servings. In a smaller house, you may even have enough for leftovers!
This tasty fish chowder recipe can be served with fresh bread and butter, or traditional soup crackers. Always garnish with fresh parsley or chives for extra flavor and a little green!
Side Dishes for Seafood
Want more seafood & fish recipes?
- Steamed Crab Legs
- Elegant seafood appetizers
- Salmon Burgers with wasabi mayo
- Chinese Prawns Recipe
- Foil pack salmon
📌 Pin this seafood chowder recipe to save for later!
New England Seafood Chowder
🥘 Ingredients
- 2 slices bacon
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 3 medium white potatoes diced and peeled
- 1/4 cup all purpose plain flour
- 4 cups milk
- 1 cup firm white fish
- 1/2 pound shellfish shrimp, prawns, mussels, or clams
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
🔪 Instructions
- Sauté bacon in a large soup pot over medium-high heat until crispy, 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the pot and place on a plate.
- Drain all but 1 Tbsp bacon grease from the pot. If there is not 1 Tbsp, then don’t worrya bout draining the bacon fat.
- Add diced onions and celery to the bacon grease in the pot. Sauté over medium heat until soft, 3-4 minutes.
- Add potatoes. Saute 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
- Add the flour and stir, cooking until the flour is completely moistened.
- Add the milk and increase the heat to medium.
- Heat the soup until it is steaming, but just before it starts to boil, stirring often.
- Keep the soup at this point until the potatoes are nearly tender, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes. (Reduce the heat if the milk starts to foam.) The soup should start to thicken to a nice consistency.
- Add the fish, shellfish, corn and bacon.
- Continue to heat, just below boiling for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
- Add salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Serve with the fresh parsley, crackers or good quality bread.
Notes
- Use whatever seafood you’d like! I love using firm white fish like Pacific cod or tilapia. I find it holds its shape really easily and cooks well.
- Make sure your fish is chopped up evenly. To ensure consistent cooking time, try to make sure your fish is cut into similar sizes. If a few pieces are larger or smaller, the fish won’t cook at the same time.
- There is a fine line between simmering and boiling! When adding the milk, you want to avoid boiling the milk, instead, you want to keep it at a consistent temperature to allow it to thicken.
- Your choice of bacon will determine how much bacon fat is required to saute the onion and celery. We used smoky bacon that did not have a lot of fat on it. Therefore we kept all our bacon fat for frying and didn’t need to remove any or add any additional oil.
- Don’t overcook your seafood! I found 5 to 7 minutes was an adequate cook time for my shrimp and fish. Shrimp will turn a beautiful orange color when cooked. The fish should be soft and cooked all the way through, if the pieces are consistent it should take the same amount of time as the shrimp.
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