Manhattan Clam Chowder With Bacon

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My Manhattan Clam Chowder features smoky bacon, tender clams, and a flavorful broth. It's comfort food without the cream and I crave it year round. 

As soon as the weather gets cooler, I start craving soups like my easy buffalo chicken soup or my instant pot taco soup. Another one I make often is this Manhattan Clam chowder with bacon. Unlike the cream based new england clam chowder this soup has a tomato broth. It's loaded with clams and chunks of veggies and will warm you up without weighing you down.

Why This Recipe Works: A Sprinkle of Food Science

• Bacon Fat: Rendering bacon fat and using it to cook your veggies is a game changer. It builds flavor into every single bite.
• Deglazing With White Wine: This helps loosen those tasty brown bits and adds flavor and acidity.
• Use Clam Juice Not Broth: It is salty, flavorful, and easy to use too.

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

• Clams: Bar Harbor canned clams are our favorite. Chicken of the Sea is not quite as good but more budget friendly.
• Bacon: I used thick cut bacon. It renders lots of fat and doesn't disappear in the soup.
• Clam Juice: Look for it near the canned fish/tuna at the grocery store. You can also substitute broth for a portion of the clam juice if desired.
• Potatoes: I used Yukon gold. They hold their shape and won't turn to mush in your soup.
• White Wine: Use a dry white wine. I used Sauvignon Blanc. You could also use broth to deglaze if you're avoiding alcohol.

Krystle's Tips: Steal My Culinary School Secrets

1. Don't Skip Deglazing: When you pour in the wine scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Those brown bits add so much flavor.
2. Potatoes Before Tomatoes: Add tomatoes later as the acid will slow down the cooking process of the potatoes.
3. Season at the End: We're using a lot of salty ingredients like bacon and clam juice. Taste just before serving and add salt only if needed.
4. Don't Overcook the Clams: Canned clams are already fully cooked so they just need to be warmed through. Overcooking or bringing to a boil can make them rubbery.

More Soups To Try

Crab Chowder

Potato Soup

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

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📖 Recipe

Manhattan Clam Chowder With Bacon

Tender clams and hearty vegetables in a flavorful tomato broth. This easy soup is comforting and lighter than its New England counterpart.

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 Servings

Calories: 185kcal

Author: Krystle Smith

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 Slices Thick Cut Bacon Chopped into ~¼ Inch Pieces
• ▢ 1 Sweet Onion Diced
• ▢ 1 Red Bell Pepper Diced
• ▢ 1 Carrot Diced
• ▢ 1 Stalk Celery Diced
• ▢ 4 Cloves of Garlic Minced
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon Oregano Dried
• ▢ ½ Cup Dry White Wine
• ▢ 3 8-ounce Bottles Clam Juice
• ▢ 5 6½-ounce Cans Chopped Clams, Drained Juice Reserved
• ▢ 1½ Pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes Peeled and Diced in ~¼ Inch Pieces
• ▢ 1 Bay Leaf
• ▢ 1 28 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley Roughly Chopped

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Instructions

• In a large Dutch Oven, fry bacon until crispy (~7 minutes).
• Add onion, pepper, carrot, and celery to bacon grease. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until softened. Add in garlic and oregano and cook for 1 more minute.
• Pour in wine. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil. Continue until it reduces by about half (~2-3 minutes). Pour in clam juice, reserved clam juices, potatoes, and bay leaf.
• Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Simmer for ~8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
• Pour in diced tomatoes, cook for ~5 more minutes.
• Discard bayleaf. Remove from heat and stir in clams. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with parsley if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 218mg | Potassium: 611mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1891IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg

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