Creamy Seafood Chowder with Clams, Shrimp, and Scallops

Here in Rhode Island, hot soups aren’t just for chilly winter nights.  We’re fond of spending summer afternoons at clam shacks, both big and small, to get things like clamcakes or small, styrofoam bowls of chowder (pronounced “chowdah” around these parts).  It doesn’t matter the temperature outside, no summer is complete for our family without one trip to the beach to get something chock full of calories.  We’re also fiercely loyal to our preferred type of chowder.

Main Types of Chowdah Around Here

• New England style:  the traditional potatoes, onion, and chopped clams in a broth with a base of heavy cream
• Manhattan:  thinner than New England chowder, with a cream and tomato base
• Rhode Island style:  usually a clear broth with chopped clams, potatoes, onion, and bacon, but can also be made with a clear tomato broth.  Adding cream to it at the time it’s served is optional.

We both prefer the creamy style over the clear broth (sorry, Mom!).  I’m talking about a chowder thick enough that your plastic spoon will stand up in it.  It’s pure comfort food for all seasons.

Why seafood chowder?

As a native to the area, I’ve grown up eating seafood of all sorts.  The Beard grew up in the Great White North, in a spot where seafood comes at a hefty price.  Because of this, I try to get him to try all the various seafood that I can.  He’ll eat pretty much any fish put in front of him, but draws the line at clams of any sort.  Unless they’re deep fried, or in the case of this chowder, as long as they’re swimming in a vat of cream, he won’t touch them.

Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to make a chowder that we’d both really, really enjoy.  I wanted that thick, rich chowder, but I wanted more.  I wanted that bowl to be filled with as much seafood as I could stuff into it.

And with this chowder recipe, I got it.  It’s got everything: potatoes, bacon, scallops, clams, and shrimp.  There’s that amazingly rich base, ready to surround everything in your bowl with creamy goodness.  The addition of crackers just adds another layer of texture and flavor to everything.

Pure comfort food, from my house to yours.  As always, leave a comment with some feedback if you’ve tried and enjoyed it, or your favorite type of chowder, and share with anyone you think might like this one!

5 from 5 votes

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Creamy Seafood Chowder

Rich, creamy broth, clams, scallops, and shrimp make up this wonderfully rich seafood chowder.  Perfect with some warm, thick-cut bread, and some crackers.

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American, Seafood

Keyword chowder, clams, New England clam chowder, scallops, shrimp

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp butter divided
• 1 cup yellow or white onion minced
• 1 cup celery (about 2 stalks) chopped
• 1 russet potato, large cut into roughly 1" cubes
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp blaclk pepper
• 2 cups clam juice
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup half and half or light cream
• 1 can whole baby clams 10 oz will do
• 1/2 lb bay scallops
• 12 oz peeled shrimp uncooked

Instructions

1. In medium saucepan, boil the cut potatoes until they are fork tender and then drain them.

2. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large stock pot, then add the onion and cook until they're translucent.  Add the celery, cooked potatoes, basil, and pepper to the stock pot, then saute for another 10 minutes.  Now, add the clam juice to the pot, bring to a boil, and simmer, uncovered for another 15 minutes.  Add your shrimp and scallops to the broth and continue to simmer.

3. When the broth has been simmering for about 10 minutes, begin to make your roux by melting the remaining butter in a small saucepan.  Whisk in the flour then cook over low heat until it browns, stirring constantly, about 2-3 minutes.

4. Ladle some of the simmering broth into the roux and whisk them together until smooth.  Add this mixture to the chowder broth and allow it to simmer for a few minutes until the broth has thickened.

5. Add the clams and your half and half or cream to the stockpot and simmer for a few more minutes, until the chowder is heated through and the clams are cooked.  Salt to taste.

Recipe Notes

If your shrimp are on the larger side, you can cut them in half to make them a more manageable size.

The Tart

The Tart likes to eat, cook, and bake things.  She eats to work out, and she works out to be able to eat.