Recipe Roundup

31 Best Clam Chowder Recipes (and More Recipes to Make With Clams)

Clams get the star treatment in these grilled, steamed, boiled, and chowdah'd recipes.
Looking for Feast of the Seven Fishes dishes This clam toast with pancetta is a great Italian seafood recipe to include...
Photo by Laura Murray

It's hard to pick a favorite clam chowder recipe. Maybe you're partial to a creamy bowl with lots of thyme, or a tomato-based option, or a mixed-seafood chowder made with clams and cod. Bacon? Sure. Oyster crackers on top? Up to you. Still, you're missing out if you only use clams in chowder: clams are a great sustainable seafood choice that goes way beyond that classic. Below, you'll find clam chowder recipes galore, plus foolproof clams casino, a grilled clambake, epic clam-topped toast, easy pasta with clams, perfect fried clams, garlicky clam pizza, and many more. So pick up a few pounds at your local seafood market (or get digging!) and read on below.

  • Spaghetti alle vongole with chopped parsley in white wine sauce in a skillet.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Stevie Stewart
    1/51

    Spaghetti Alle Vongole (Pasta With Clams)

    The briny juices from the clams help to flavor this brothy pasta sauce. Do note, the fresher the clams, the better the dish. The salinity of your clams will vary depending on their variety and provenance, so be sure to salt the pasta cooking water lightly.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Food Dish Meal Plant and Breakfast
    2/51

    New England Clam Chowder

    This classic clam chowder recipe starts with cherrystone clams, plus garlic, potatoes, bacon, celery, onion, and heavy cream. Fresh clams are ideal, but if you can't find any, you can make this with two 10-ounce cans of baby clams and 6 cups of bottled clam juice.

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  • Castiron skillet filled with clams and red chiles in a red sauce
    Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    3/51

    Clams With Spicy Tomato Broth and Garlic Mayo

    If you don't have a grill, just heat the cast-iron skillet over medium on your stovetop. Inside or out, you’ll still have buttery clams to enjoy.

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  • Image may contain Bowl Dish Food Meal Animal Invertebrate Clam Sea Life Seashell and Soup Bowl
    Photo by Romulo Yanes
    4/51

    Clam and Corn Chowder

    Full of sweet corn, smoky bacon, and delightfully briny clams, this light summer chowder is like having a whole New England clambake in a bowl.

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  • Looking for Feast of the Seven Fishes dishes This clam toast with pancetta is a great Italian seafood recipe to include...
    Photo by Laura Murray
    7/51

    Clam Toasts with Pancetta

    Shellfish and pork are a power duo. The backbone of this clam toast is a salty-sweet pancetta soffritto with onions, fennel, and lemon zest, which add a sweet, bright flavor.

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  • Image may contain Human and Person
    Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    8/51

    Clam and Cod Chowder

    Satisfyingly meaty pieces of cod add heartiness to this chowder. If you can't find it, any firm white fish can be used in its place.

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  • Skillet cod clams and corn on a white plate on a marble countertop.
    Photo By Alex Lau, Food Styling By Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling By Emily Eisen
    9/51

    Skillet Cod, Clams, and Corn With Parsley

    You don’t need pasta to enjoy clam sauce. Here it mingles with fresh corn to top delicate pan-seared cod fillets.

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  • Clams shrimp and corn in a big bowl on a newspapercovered table.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kate Schmidt
    10/51

    Grilled Clambake With Miso-Lime Butter

    In this festive feast, all the best components of a classic clambake—potatoes, shrimp, corn on the cob—get an extra layer of flavor via gingery miso butter.

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  • Image may contain Animal Sea Life Seashell Invertebrate Clam Fruit Food Banana Plant Cutlery Spoon and Furniture
    Photo by Cedric Angeles
    13/51

    Grilled Clams With Herb Butter

    When spooned over smoky, just-off-the-grill clams, the herb-flecked butter melts into the briny juices to create a delicious, effortless sauce.

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  • Image may contain Animal Invertebrate Sea Life Seashell Clam Food and Oyster
    Photo by Diana Yen
    14/51

    Seafood Chowder with Bacon and Thyme

    It's a classic for a reason: Yukon gold potatoes, bacon, leeks, haddock (or cod), and a few pounds of clams. Dosed with cream, it's comfort food extraordinaire. 

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Following stints at StarChefs and Saveur, Joe joined Epicurious in 2016 where he’s written about how to make the very best biscuits, the singularity of third-culture cooking, and the ultimate cream cheese frosting. Currently, he works across both BA and Epi as the senior SEO editor for cooking stories, which ... Read More
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