Manhattan Clam Chowder
For being a relatively picky eater when I was a kid, I was surprisingly not turned off by fish. In fact, New England clam chowder was one of my favorite soups, right behind cream of mushroom. I’m certainly not going to claim that I had some sort of advanced palate (far from it); if you put any sort of creamy soup in front of me, I would drink it right up. My grandma always had cans of both New England and Manhattan clam chowder in her pantry. If I was offered Manhattan clam chowder, I would run for the hills, screaming my picky little head off. Fish wasn’t an issue, but oh boy, do not try to serve me soup with chunks of tomato in it. Sure, I loved tomato soup, but it was smooth. I didn’t want chunks of tomato. Feeding kids is awesome, huh? I’m pretty sure karma is going to eat me alive.
A couple of weeks ago, my Chief Culinary Consultant mentioned that I hadn’t made soup in awhile, so I asked him for some ideas, and one of them was Manhattan clam chowder. Every part of me wanted to scream, “Nooooo! No chunky tomatoes in soup!”… but, I acted like a grown-up and happily made the pot of soup, thinking that perhaps my aversion could have corrected itself in the last 25 years. Turns out, it had, because I was totally stunned when I took my first spoonful. It was amazing, and so flavorful! In fact, now I think I might actually like this better than the New England version. Crazy!
I’ve found that for most soups to develop a real depth of flavor, they require quite a bit of cooking time. Not so in this case. I was surprised that this could be prepped, cooked, and ready to eat in just over an hour. Most of that time was spent chopping up the vegetables, so if you did that ahead of time and stored them in the fridge, you could have this on the table in well under an hour, which makes it a fantastic weeknight meal option.
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Not only am I thrilled that I found a new recipe for a fantastic pot of soup, but I feel like a bonafide adult for not picking out the chunks of tomato.
Score!
One year ago: Peanut Butter-Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Oreo Cheesecake Bars
Two years ago: Fig Cookie Bars and Cherry Coke Float Cupcakes
Three years ago: Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream
Six years ago: Chewy Chocolate-White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Manhattan Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) thick-cut bacon, about 3 slices, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, diced small
- 1 small red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced small
- 1 medium carrot, diced small
- 1 stalk celery, diced small
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup (120 ml) dry white wine
- 24 ounces (680.39 ml) bottled clam juice
- 5 (6.5-ounce) (184.27 g) cans chopped clams, juice drained and reserved
- 1½ pounds (680.39 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
- 1 bay leaf
- 28 ounce (793.79 g) can diced tomatoes
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot or 7¼-quart Dutch oven, fry the bacon over medium-low heat until the fat renders and the bacon crisps, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, carrot and celery, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add the wine and increase the heat to high. Boil the wine until it reduces by half, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 3 bottles of clam juice, the reserved canned clam juices, the potatoes, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, smash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot, then simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes (along with their juice), bring back to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, stir in the canned clams and season with salt and pepper to taste; discard the bay leaf. (Chowder can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Warm over low heat until hot.) Stir in parsley and serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Great Recipe, Second time I changed it up, not that yours is any less delish.
I used jarred red peppers, added smoked paprika, chopped in celery leaves, used roasted Romas from my garden, a tiny bit of cayenne and stirred in some leftover Walleye pieces. Super Delish as it stands but love my additions too Thank you for this recipe.
Probably the best Manhattan Clam Chowder recipe I have found and made in years….and I’m old!!
I finally found THE best Manhattan Clam Chowder Recipe!! I’ve tried several lately, this one is the WINNER! I’m making another batch tomorrow and bringing it to ceramics group!
Absolutely wonderful Manhattan Style Clam Chowder. I’ve made this recipe many times. Always a huge hit – even for Boston Chowdah lovers. Follow the recipe as is. Delicious!! @thebrowneyedbaker
I made this minus the green pepper. Loved it. Got some feedback my son the chef and referred to my dad’s old recipe. Made it again. Used two cans whole tomatoes, one less bottle of clam juice and added thyme…still no peppers. Loved it even more.
Just want to tell you that I have never made clam chowder and Manhattan was never my choice. But, I must say that this is by far the best Manhattan Clam Chowder I have ever had. Just love it!!! Thank you so much!
I love your Manhattan clam chowder soup thank you very much for posting the recipe. I did however make one at addition to it because I’m trying to eat more vegetables, I added in chopped kale, and it was just as yummy as your version.
Your nutritional information states based on one serving, however you do not state anywhere what size a serving is, i.e. 1 cup or 1.5 cups etc.
I took a chance…and I love it! I usually use salt pork and I never added cream before, but it is a great addition. I added one envelope of St. Ours Clam Broth instead of bottled juice and one large can of SeaWatch(sams club)chopped clams. a pinch of bay leaf powder. great chowder!
I modified to MEATLESS and added a couple of things but LOVED this dish. I made it yesterday and had to take out the bacon for Lent so I used olive oil in the beginning since I didn’t have the bacon fat to sit with the softening vegetables. I added more of the vegetables (because I am a huge vegetable person), added a bay leaf and took out the white wine. I paired it with a rosemary and sea salt bread from Fresh Market which was amazing. Awesome meal, highly recommend!!!
First time making Manhattan style and it did not disappoint. Super tasty. Looking forward to the leftovers! Admittedly, I was hesitant to use that many potatoes and clams, but I stuck with it and it’s the perfect amount.
This sounds dee-lish. Can this chowder be cooked in a crock pot?
Hi Monique, Since there aren’t any long simmering periods in this recipe, I’m not sure at which point you would want to add the ingredients to the crock pot.
i made this last month. it was good but honestly not a go to recipe for manhatten clam chowder . was good but not amazing.
Was amazing 🍜 soup……you you for sharing
Are we missing Step 3?
Sorry, the step numbers were mislabeled… nothing missing.
Do you have to use pork bacon? Or can you omit bacon? I am no longer eating pork do to health reason.
Hi Lois, You can omit it. Enjoy the soup!
Thanks for the great recipe. I just tried this over the weekend and all guests like it.
I made this today! It was wonderful. Thank you for sharing this!
Perfect for the winter!