Our 18 Favorite Chowder Recipes From Clam to Corn

Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something about a chowder that feels unintuitive. A hot…chunky…milk soup? Yet it is a dish I return to again and again: a perfectly creamy salmon stew overlooking the Baltic Sea on a long summer evening in Helsinki; my millionth bowl of never-not-scrumptious seafood chowder with requisite hunk of brown bread on my drives up and down the west coast of Ireland; the corn chowder made with peak season farmers market sweet corn in my own kitchen. There are few dishes as nourishing, as satisfying, as full-belly delicious. Here are just a few of our favorite chowder recipes, from Peru to New England and Manhattan to Ecuador.

Corn, Crab, and Shrimp Chowder

Cara Cormack

Cream, butter, crabmeat, and shrimp — what’s not to like? But the game-changing ingredient of this rich chowder from Andrew Zimmern is an easy homemade stock using existing ingredients (cobs from the corn and shells from the shrimp) that only takes 30 minutes.

Seafood-and-Seaweed Chowder

Caitlin Bensel

Seaweed brings a subtle salinity to this mussel, clam, and cod–based chowder. Source dried kelp or kombu in the international foods aisle at your local grocery store, or find it online.

Corn Chowder

Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Who says chowder is a wintertime-only treat? A bowl of this creamy, slightly sweet corn chowder tastes like sunshine and summer. It’s best during peak sweet corn season, but it can be made year-round with fresh or even frozen corn.

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Move over New England. This Manhattan clam chowder’s tomato-based broth is spiked with white wine, laced with bacon fat, and ready to do battle in the regional chowder wars. It gets delicious heft from gently mashed baby Yukon gold potatoes and chopped clam meat.

Shrimp and Corn Chowder

Greg DuPree

This Ecuadoran shrimp-and-corn chowder from chef, culinary historian, and author Maricel Presilla was included among Food & Wine’s 40 best recipes in 2018. Key to its success is its creamy texture, which comes from grated unripe plaintain.

Creamy Shrimp, Corn, and Tomato Chowder

Fredrika Stjärne

Carla Hall’s take on shrimp, corn, and tomato chowder is as packed with flavor as it is ingredients: fresh herbs, just-white shrimp, tender potatoes, and — surprise! — a can of creamed corn. This thickens and sweetens the broth without having to overrely on heavy cream.

Corn Chowder with Bacon and Sea Scallops

Ericka McConnell

Seared scallops and crispy bacon lardons bring smoky sweetness to this corn chowder. This recipe calls for frozen corn — it’s designed to be made year-round.

Smoky Oyster Chowder with Bacon, Rosemary, and Fennel

Marcus Nilsson

Chef Dylan Fultineer starts with high-quality bacon: He gets his from Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Tennessee. It delivers this dish’s incredible smoky flavor. Celery, onion, and fennel are cooked in rendered bacon, and crisp bacon pieces are incorporated later alongside freshly shucked oysters.

Curry-Coconut Clam Chowder, Papi-Style

Chris Court

2010 F&W Best New Chef Roy Choi made New England clam chowder every Friday at one of his first chef jobs at a Los Angeles. country club. This is his spin on the old classic, which incorporates green curry paste, lime juice, and coconut milk.

Peruvian Shrimp-and-Corn Chowder

Raymond Hom

Chupe de camarones, a shrimp-and-corn chowder from Peru, is filled with local potatoes, squash, corn (traditionally still on the cob), and shrimp (traditionally still in the shell). The shrimp shells — alongside cayenne, paprika, cumin, and a dash of Tabasco — infuse the broth with intense flavor.

Smoked-Trout Chowder

Frances Janisch

Smoked fish like trout, haddock, or whitefish offer a shortcut to deliciousness and on time. (After all, they’re already cooked and intensly flavorful.) This chowder is ready to eat in just about a half hour.

Clam Chowder

David Malosh

Emeril Lagasse conjured up the rich, nourishing flavors of his Fall River, Massachusetts, childhood in this creamy chowder. Seasoned with a touch of cayenne, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Old Bay seasoning, this recipe is a classic take on the New England icon.

Southwest Seafood Chowder

David Malosh

Though a native New Englander, chef Steve Sicinski prefers his chowder with a Southwestern slant — ancho chiles lend this recipe a complex, satisfying heat. Pair it with a round, full-bodied Viognier.

Whitefish, Leek, and Celery Chowder with White Beans

Marcus Nilsson

F&W’s Justin Chapple swaps the traditional potatoes for beans and smoked whitefish for bacon in this light and fresh take on chowder.

Corn and Cod Chowder

Ben Dearnley

Few things satisfy like a rich, creamy bowl of chowder. This silky corn chowder, filled with chunks of tender cod, needs only a slice of good crusty bread to complete the meal.

Corn and Shrimp Chowder with Mashed Potatoes

Lucy Schaeffer

Why cube potatoes when you could mash them? A mound of creamy mashed potatoes is the center of this corn and shrimp chowder, which gets added flavor from dill seeds simmered in broth.

Fish-and-Shellfish Chowder

Quentin Bacon

Chef Wade Murphy goes all in on this fish-and-shellfish chowder, incorporating the briny cooking liquid from two dozen mussels and 16 littleneck clams alongside their coarsely chopped meat. He waits till the end to add the fish — cubed salmon and monkfish — so it doesn’t overcook.