Sarra Ina Garten’s clam chowder is a thick, hearty soup made with fresh chowder clams, butter, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, clam juice, and milk, thickened with a classic roux. It’s closer to a clam stew than a thin brothy soup because of all the diced vegetables packed into every bowl. It serves 6 to 8 and takes about an hour from start to finish.
This recipe comes from Barefoot Contessa Family Style, where Ina adapted it from the original Loaves and Fishes Cookbook by her friends Devon Fredericks and Susan Costner. She describes it as a better version of the usual clam chowder: “instead of the usual bland cream and clams, this one is like a clam stew with lots of vegetables and just a bit of milk to finish.” The milk instead of heavy cream keeps it lighter than most New England chowders without losing any richness.
The roux is what gives this chowder its body, so don’t skip that step. You melt 8 tablespoons of butter separately, whisk in flour, cook it for 3 full minutes, then temper it with a cup of hot broth before stirring it back into the pot. Rush the roux or dump it straight in and you get lumps that no amount of stirring will fix
Ina Garten’s Clam Chowder
Course: SoupsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings15
minutes50
minutes380
kcalIna’s take on New England clam chowder from Barefoot Contessa Family Style, loaded with vegetables and thickened with a proper roux instead of drowning in cream. She finishes it with just milk for a lighter bowl that still tastes rich and satisfying. Make it a day ahead and the flavor gets even better.
Ingredients
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12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks / 170g) unsalted butter, divided
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2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
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2 cups medium-diced celery (4 stalks)
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2 cups medium-diced carrots (6 carrots)
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4 cups peeled medium-diced boiling potatoes (8 potatoes)
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1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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1 quart (960ml) clam juice
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1/2 cup (60g) all-purpose flour
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2 cups (480ml) whole milk
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3 cups chopped fresh chowder clams (1 1/2 lb / 680g shucked clams)
Directions
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Sauté the onions: Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
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Cook the vegetables: Add the celery, carrots, potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. Sauté for 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften.
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Simmer in clam juice: Pour in the clam juice, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife.
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Build the roux: While the vegetables simmer, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter in a small pot. Whisk in the flour and cook over very low heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn’t brown. Whisk in a cup of the hot broth from the chowder pot to temper the roux, then pour this mixture back into the pot with the vegetables. Simmer for a few minutes until the broth thickens noticeably.
- Finish with milk and clams: Add the milk and chopped clams and heat gently for a few minutes to cook the clams through. Do not let it boil or the clams will toughen. Taste for salt and pepper and serve hot.
FAQs
Why does Ina call this East Hampton Clam Chowder?
Ina named this recipe after East Hampton, the town on Long Island where she ran the Barefoot Contessa specialty food store for over 20 years. She adapted it from the Loaves and Fishes Cookbook by Devon Fredericks and Susan Costner, who ran another beloved food shop in nearby Sagaponack.
The name reflects where the recipe comes from, not a different style of chowder. It’s a New England-style clam chowder with Ina’s signature twist: more vegetables and milk instead of heavy cream. If you’ve seen it listed as “East Hampton Clam Chowder” on Food Network, it’s the same recipe from Barefoot Contessa Family Style.
Is this a New England or Manhattan clam chowder?
This is a New England-style clam chowder, meaning the base is milk and butter, not tomatoes. The broth is white and creamy, thickened with a roux, and loaded with potatoes and clams. That’s the New England tradition.
Manhattan clam chowder uses a tomato-based broth and skips the dairy entirely. Ina has never published a Manhattan clam chowder in any of her 12 cookbooks or on Food Network. If you’ve seen one online attributed to her, it’s a fabricated recipe from a copycat site. This New England version from Family Style is her only clam chowder.
Can you use canned clams instead of fresh?
You can, but the texture and flavor change. Fresh chowder clams are meatier, sweeter, and hold up better in the hot broth without turning rubbery. Canned clams are softer and have a slightly tinny taste that the milk won’t fully mask.
If fresh clams aren’t available, use two 10 oz cans of whole baby clams, drained, and add them at the very end just to heat through. Save the liquid from the cans and use it in place of some of the bottled clam juice for extra flavor. Don’t let the soup boil after adding canned clams or they turn tough and chewy fast.
What makes Ina’s chowder different from a typical New England clam chowder?
Most New England clam chowders are heavy, with a thick cream base that coats the spoon. Ina uses milk instead of cream and packs the pot with carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes so the vegetables carry the soup, not the dairy.
She describes it as more of “a clam stew” than a traditional chowder, and that’s accurate. There’s enough diced vegetable in every spoonful that it feels hearty and substantial without relying on heavy cream to do the work. The roux gives it body, but the overall feel is lighter and more balanced than the classic version.
Can you make clam chowder ahead of time?
Ina says you can make it a day in advance and reheat it slowly before dinner. The flavors meld together overnight and the potatoes absorb more of the clam broth, so the reheated version is actually better than the fresh pot.
Reheat gently over low heat and don’t let it boil, because the clams toughen quickly if they overheat. The chowder thickens in the fridge, so add a splash of milk when reheating to bring the consistency back. Freezing isn’t ideal because the potatoes get grainy and the milk base can separate when thawed.
