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.

May 24, 2020

Looking for Feast of the Seven Fishes dishes This clam toast with pancetta is a great Italian seafood recipe to include...

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.

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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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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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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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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Christina Holmes
5/51
Linguine and Clams with Almonds and Herbs
Almonds are the new breadcrumbs. Their toasty flavor and crunch add just the right contrast to pasta in this clam recipe.
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Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Liza Jernow
6/51
Clams Casino With Bacon and Bell Pepper
A vinegary red bell pepper mixture cuts through the richness of this classic Italian-American appetizer for a bite that's salty, smoky, and sweet.
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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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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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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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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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Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Kendra Smoot
11/51
Brothy Steamed Clams with Corn
Clams, potatoes, shrimp, and corn on the cob get an extra layer of flavor when grilled and brushed with gingery miso butter in this summery recipe.
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Photo by Peden + Munk
12/51
Chile-Lime Clams with Tomatoes and Grilled Bread
Don't waste time indoors! Throw a cast-iron pan right on the grill to make this saucy clam and chickpea dish.
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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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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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