Ivars Clam Chowder Recipe (SO Good!)
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Ivar’s Clam Chowder Recipe (SO Good!)
If you love Ivars Clam Chowder, and want to try making it at home, we have the official Ivar’s Clam Chowder recipe, and it was easier to make then I anticipated. And it tasted as good as the stuff you get in the restaurant! My husband is a huge fan of the thick and creamy Ivars Clam Chowder, so we recently tried our hands at this Ivars Clam Chowder Recipe. We loved it, and it will be a go to recipe for chowder moving forward!
Here is the Ivars Clam Chowder Recipe (slightly adapted) as shown in Ivar’s Seafood Cookbook!
Ingredients
3 thick strips bacon, coarsely chopped
½ cup finely chopped onion (¼-inch dice)
½ cup finely chopped celery (¼-inch dice)
½ cup finely chopped potatoes (¼-inch dice)
1 (6½-ounce) can minced clams, drained, clams and juice reserved
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half, warmed
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1. Cook the bacon until browned in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, until cooked, but not crispy.
2. Drain the juice from the clams into a separate bowl, and set the clams aside (you will need the clam juice for the next step).
3. In the same pot that you browned your bacon, stir in the onion, celery, and potato, and add the reserved juice from the clams.
Add just enough water to cover the vegetables (as shown in picture above), set the pan over high heat, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to med low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are fork-tender.
4. Next, melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
5. Whisk in the warm half-and-half, and continue whisking and cooking for about 5 minutes over medium low heat until the flour is cooked, and mixture is thickening and smooth (note – you can substitute milk here, but will lose some of the richness of this recipe).
6. Once you have the half and half base down add all of the cooked vegetables AND their cooking liquids to the base.
7. Add the clams you set aside.
8. Lastly, season with salt, and pepper and parsley.
We love to serve it with some great sourdough bread, but its perfect on its own too! Its also great refrigerated and reheated for a couple of days after making, or freeze in single serve sides for easy lunches!
This makes 4-5 servings.
And, if you want the 100% authentic Ivars Clam Chowder recipe, then check out the Ivar’s Seafood Cookbook.
Printable Recipe for Ivar’s Clam Chowder:
Ivars Clam Chowder Recipe (SO Good!)
- Yield: 4-5 servings 1x
Description
Warm yourself up with this deliciously creamy Ivar’s Clam Chowder!
Ingredients
3 thick strips bacon, coarsely chopped
½ cup finely chopped onion (¼-inch dice)
½ cup finely chopped celery (¼-inch dice)
½ cup finely chopped potatoes (¼-inch dice)
1 (6½-ounce) can minced clams, drained, clams and juice reserved
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half, warmed
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
Cook the bacon until browned in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, until cooked, but not crispy. Drain the juice from the clams into a separate bowl, and set the clams aside (you will need the clam juice for the next step). In the same pot that you browned your bacon, stir in the onion, celery, and potato, and add the reserved juice from the clams. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables (as shown in picture above), set the pan over high heat, and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to med low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are fork-tender. Next, melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Whisk in the warm half-and-half, and continue whisking and cooking for about 5 minutes over medium low heat until the flour is cooked, and mixture is thickening and smooth (note – you can substitute milk here, but will lose some of the richness of this recipe). Once you have the half and half base down add all of the cooked vegetables AND their cooking liquids to the base. Add the clams you set aside. Lastly, season with salt, and pepper and parsley.
I’ve made this several times, and it’s a family favorite!! My husband and I go to Ivar’s whenever we are in Seattle. We are big fans! Thank you for your outstanding recipe!
That’s awesome – so glad you guys are liking it!
I made it yesterday and it’s so good. Best clam chowder recipe ever.
Yay – that’s awesome – so glad you liked it!
I’m making this tomorrow. I’m originally from Seattle and raised there. What about their tartar sauce? I will let you know how if came out. I also miss Taco Time. How many servings if I do 2x.
Best recipe out there, absolutely perfect every time!
Oh it’s so good, isn’t it? Glad you love it too!
How many servings per recipe?
From the pacific northwest, made this today with fresh razor clams that my husband dug at Ocean shores this morning. Looks and tastes delicious!
That sounds amazing! Yum!
How many servings does this make and what is the serving size? Looks really good and trying to understand how much I can make – thank you!
How many servings in 1x batch? We want to make this for the holidays and not sure how much we will need.
Thank you!
How many servings are in this recipe. I want to make it for Christmas eve ad I have 11 people coming
Did you drain the bacon fat?
This is my favorite clam chowder recipe!
excellent
Made this last night & I wouldn’t change a thing. It was excellent.
Please do add how many servings it makes. Had no idea how much it would make.
Nice recipe; can’t wait to try it. I love Ivar’s. But people have been asking for months about how many servings it makes. How hard is it to answer those questions???? That’s very disappointing.
We apologize we missed those questions – it’s 4-5 servings