Instant Pot Clam Chowder
Rika
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!
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 375 kcal
Pre-Cook the Soup Base:
Press the “Sauté” function key. Select a temperature with the “Adjust” key for “Normal”. When Instant Pot reaches the given working temperature, it displays “Hot” and you can start sautéing.Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Add butter, and onion. Cook for 4 minutes, be sure to keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking and burning.
Add celery and continue cooking for 4 minutes. Keep stirring and scraping.
Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Keep stirring and scraping. Press "Keep Warm/Cancel" to stop cooking or follow the manufacturer's guide for turning off.
Cook at High Pressure:
Add thyme, black pepper, potatoes, bay leaf, clam juice (500 ml), and salt (optional, you can always add salt later if needed). Keep scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent sticking and burning. Put the lid on, sealed, and set to manual for "4 minutes". *please see notes*After the cooking cycle finished, wait for 4 minutes then carefully move the Venting Knob from Sealing Position to Venting Position to quickly release the pressure.
Add Heavy Cream and Chopped Clams:
For softer potatoes, you can set to manual for "5 minutes" instead of 4 minutes then after the cooking cycle is finished, you can do a quick release.
You can purchase canned clams at any grocer. In this recipe, I used Bumble Bee Snow's Chopped Clams, 6.5 oz can, around $1.67 each at Walmart or Amazon Fresh, $1.79 at Target, or about $3.29 at Ralph's.
Bacon and clam juice contain sodium, so if you're not sure how salty you want it to be or are watching your sodium intake you can always add salt later. In my opinion, it's better to start with less salt as you can always adjust it later.
Calories: 375kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 4gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 266mgPotassium: 480mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1301IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 1mg