Instant Pot Clam Chowder

Making clam chowder from scratch is easier than you think! This Instant Pot Clam Chowder recipe is a restaurant-quality soup that you can make at home with basic pantry ingredients. It's one of the best chowder recipes ever! Serve it with homemade baguette croutons or oyster crackers, so scrumptious!

This Instant Pot Clam Chowder only requires 4 minutes of cooking time at high pressure. It's quick and easy to prepare but is still so flavorful! This recipe works with any electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi.

Jump to:

• Creamy Chowder without Cornstarch or Flour:
• Ingredients Used in this New England Clam Chowder Recipe:
• How to Make Clam Chowder in an Instant Pot
• Storing leftover soup:
• 📖 Recipe
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If you are looking for the best instant pot soup recipes to add to your collection, this is it! It's definitely the best instant pot soup recipe that gives a great taste yet will help you get a quick dinner on your table. Anyone in your family will love this comforting soup!

Creamy Chowder without Cornstarch or Flour:

It's also a creamy Instant Pot Clam chowder that is thickened without flour or cornstarch.

Now, let's talk more about the ingredients and how to make this Instant Pot Clam Chowder.

Ingredients Used in this New England Clam Chowder Recipe:

To make this clam chowder, you will need bacon, chopped clams, Yukon gold potatoes, celery, thyme, garlic, onion, bay leaf, heavy cream, butter, and black pepper.

Clams. I used canned chopped clams with juice. If you have access to fresh clams, such as littleneck or cherrystone clams, feel free to use them instead!

If you decide to use fresh clams, here's how to make your own clam juice:

Cream. I used heavy cream to add creaminess to the soup. You can also use half n half or milk or a combination of both as a replacement ingredient if you wish.

• Bring 8 pounds of scrubbed clams and 4 cups of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Then cook the clams until they are just open, for about 8-10 minutes.
• Once the clams are cooked, transfer the clams to a flat surface such as a baking sheet to let them cool slightly before pulling the meat out from shells.
• Discard the shells and unopened clams.
• Chop clams into bite-size pieces and set aside.
• Strain the clam juice through a fine-mesh. You only need about 500 ml to make this recipe.

How to Make Clam Chowder in an Instant Pot

The preparation and cooking process is pretty simple. It's a flavorful, and easy dump-and-go meal with just a handful of ingredients and minimal effort involved.

Preparation:

• First, you need to separate the clam meat from the juice (we are going to use the juice to make a delicious broth along with the other ingredients in an instant pot). Next, add the meat only after we finish cooking the broth at high pressure.

• Second, dice the celery and onions, and cube the potatoes. You can peel the Yukon gold potatoes or leave them unpeeled. If you want to use Russets, I highly recommend peeling them.

Cooking:

• Make the soup base! This is a very important process to add flavors to the soup. First, you need to turn on the "Saute" button then cook the bacon for about 5 minutes. After that, sweat the onion for 4 minutes. Add celery and continue cooking for 4 minutes, then add garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
• Cook at high pressure. Now it's time to add the other ingredients, except the heavy cream and chopped clams, and set it to "4 minutes" on manual.
• Once the cooking process is completed, wait for about 4 minutes, then do a quick release (please follow the user manual to do this safely).
• Press the "saute" button and adjust to a low setting, stir in the heavy cream and chopped clam. Adjust seasoning with additional salt/pepper if needed and according to your liking.

Canned clams are fully cooked, should only be heated briefly, just before they are served to be eaten to avoid developing that dreaded rubbery texture. 

Please remember that clam chowder will thicken as it stands. Therefore, adding a thickening agent such as cornstarch may not be needed.

Storing leftover soup:

Properly stored cooked clam chowder will last for 3-4 days in the fridge. Just be sure to let the soup cool completely and put in an airtight container before you transfer it to a fridge.

Soup with cream and potatoes doesn't hold well in the freezer. They tend to take on a grainy texture and separate when defrosted and reheated. However, if you can't finish and must freeze the soup, try this tip: Split the soup into batches and only add cream before serving.

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