Creamy, hearty, and delicious seafood chowder. This soup is a delightful blend of shrimp, mussels, clams and fish, swimming in a smooth and creamy base. In around 30 minutes, you can have a piping hot bowl of this comfort food, ready to warm your soul. The best features of this recipe are its simplicity and versatility, which allow you to experiment with your choice of seafood.
You might remember our recipe for the comforting corn chowder. If you're looking for more hearty soups try this roasted tomato soup or this thick and creamy baked potato soup.
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⭐️ Why You'll Love This Easy Chowder Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare, an ideal choice for a weeknight dinner.
- It's incredibly versatile and customizable with different types of seafood.
- A great way to enjoy a hearty meal brimming with nutritious seafood.
- The creaminess is soul-soothing, a true comfort food.
- It's fantastic for entertaining guests - a sure crowd-pleaser.
🧾 Ingredients
- Seafood - This chowder uses a medley of shrimp, scallops, and fish. These not only add a variety of textures but also impart a rich flavour to the soup.
- Potatoes - They provide body and thickness to the soup, adding a heartiness.
- Cream - Essential for creating that luxurious, smooth texture we all love in a chowder.
- Onion and Garlic - The aromatic base that gives the soup depth of flavour.
- White Wine - Adds a sophisticated flavour note that complements the seafood wonderfully. *This is completely optional.
- Butter and Flour - For making the roux which will thicken our chowder.
See recipe card for quantities.
📖 Substitutions & Variations
- Feel free to swap out the seafood for whatever you prefer or have on hand. Cod, crab meat, and lobster would all be fantastic substitutes or additions.
- Vegetables can also be varied according to preference. Corn, mushrooms, peppers, or peas can be used for extra colour and a hint of sweetness.
👩🏻🍳 Step By Step
- Sauté the onion and garlic in butter - Heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once melted, add your finely chopped onion and minced garlic. Cook until the onion becomes translucent, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Create the roux - Sprinkle the flour over the sautéed onion and garlic. Stir until the flour is fully incorporated into the butter and cook for about 2 minutes. This mixture of fat and flour, known as a roux, will help to thicken your chowder.
- Deglaze the pot with wine - Pour in the white wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any tasty bits stuck to it. Let the wine simmer for a few minutes until it reduces slightly.
- Add the broth and potatoes - Next, add in your broth and chopped potatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer until the potatoes are tender. This should take around 15 minutes.
- Add the seafood - Now it's time to add your seafood. Keep in mind that different seafood has different cooking times. Add the pieces of fish first, as they'll take longer to cook. After a couple of minutes, add the shrimp and scallops.
- Finish with cream - Once the seafood is cooked, stir in the cream. Let the chowder simmer for a few minutes more, but be careful not to let it boil.
- Season and serve - Finally, season your chowder with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley if you like.
💡 Top Tips
- If you are using a mix of seafood, add them according to their cooking times. Start with the ones that take longer to cook.
- Cut your fish into similar-sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly.
- Be careful not to let your soup boil after adding the seafood; gentle simmering is key.
🍯 Storage
- Fridge: Your seafood chowder can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze the chowder for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheat: When reheating, do so over a low flame to prevent the dairy from curdling.
💡 Top Tips
- For an extra flavour punch, you could sauté the fish and shrimp separately before adding them to the soup.
- Try experimenting with different herbs and seasonings to adjust the flavour profile to your liking.
❓FAQ
The potatoes should provide enough starch to thicken the chowder. However, if you prefer it even thicker, you can create a roux by mixing equal parts of butter and flour, then add it to the chowder.
Absolutely, this recipe is very adaptable. You can use cod, halibut, haddock, or any other firm white fish.
Seafood chowder is quite a hearty meal in itself, but it pairs beautifully with a our homemade dinner rolls, our easy homemade bread loaf, or our recipe for bacon cheddar scones.
Pairing
These are my favourite homemade bread recipes to serve with this seafood chowder:
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Looking for other soup recipes like this? Try these:
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Thick and Creamy Seafood Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g (6 oz) diced bacon or pancetta
- 1 (1) large onion, finely chopped
- 2 (2) celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves (2 cloves) of garlic, minced
- 1 kg (4 cups) mixed seafood, shrimp, salmon, white fish
- 2 (2) large potatoes, diced
- 3 tablespoons (3 tablespoons) flour
- 1.5 liters (6 cups) of seafood or chicken broth
- 200 ml (¾ cups) white wine, optional
- 500 ml (2 cups) heavy cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) thyme, optional
Instructions
Prepare the bacon and vegetables:
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook the diced bacon or pancetta until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pot. In the same pot, add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, and sauté until the onions are translucent and softened.
Make the roux:
- Sprinkle the flour over the sautéed vegetables, stir well, and cook for 1-2 minutes until the flour is well combined.
Add the broth:
- Gradually whisk in the broth, ensuring no flour lumps remain. Add the white wine if using.
Cook the potatoes:
- Add the diced potatoes to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the seafood:
- Add the mixed seafood to the pot and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the seafood is cooked through.
Finish the chowder and serve:
- Stir in the heavy cream, salt, pepper, parsley, and thyme if using. Continue to cook until everything is heated through.
- Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with the crispy bacon or pancetta. Enjoy your creamy seafood chowder!
Notes
- If you don’t have fresh seafood, frozen will work just as well. Just be sure to thaw it thoroughly before adding it to the pot.
- This chowder is rich and creamy, but if you want a lighter version, you can substitute half the cream with milk.
- If you're not a fan of thyme, feel free to leave it out or replace it with another herb like dill or tarragon. Adjust the amount to your preference.
- If you're making this for guests, you can prepare everything up to step 4 ahead of time, then finish the rest of the recipe just before serving. This ensures the seafood will be perfectly cooked and not overdone.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, gently simmer on the stove until warmed through.
Betty
Just cooked seafood chowder it was delicious thank you
Deborah Rainford
So happy you loved it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's so appreciated. 🙂
Amanda Bond
Do I add the fish mix frozen or do I need to defrost?
Deborah Rainford
Hi Amanda, Just adding it in frozen is absolutely fine. So much quicker and easier. Let the chowder simmer until the fish is hot all the way through! It just makes it so much quicker and easier that way. 🙂
Amanda Bond
Thank you. It was absolutely lovely and will be made a lot in my house.
Ken
And would it be nice to add some prawns and purées the soup before adding the seafood?
Deborah Rainford
Absolutely you can add some prawns to this chowder. That would be amazing. And if you prefer a very thick chowder then you can certainly puree a little of the soup. But I wouldn't blend too much probably about 100ml and go from there. It will give you a thicker texture, just don't want to take it too far. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Ken
Thank you so much Deborah for reply 😁
I certainly will let you know how it turns out 😋
Deborah Rainford
Amazing. Can't wait for you to try it! 🙂
Ken
Hi how much Pancetta do I need to use
Deborah Rainford
It's 85g pancetta or smoked bacon. I've updated the recipe card now. Sorry I missed that. 🙂
Sheena
This chowder is thick and creamy and absolutely loaded with fish. I loved it. Thank you!
Deborah Rainford
Thank you so much! And thanks for leaving a comment and a rating. It's so appreciated! 🙂
Kim
What is fish pie mix?
Deborah Rainford
It's in the frozen food section, and it's just a mix of fish pieces. Usually including cod, salmon and haddock. Just chunks of each fish that are perfect in chowders and fish pies. If you don't have access to fish pie mix then a fillet of cod and salmon cut into chunks will work really well. Hope that helps. You have any other questions just let me know. 🙂