Mum’s Clam Chowder (using canned clams)

To make clam chowder, simmer diced potatoes and onion in water until tender, then add evaporated milk, whole milk, and canned baby clams with their juice. Heat everything gently so the clams stay tender, then season with salt and black pepper and finish with pats of butter. This recipe contains no bacon, no salt pork, no flour, and no cream.

This recipe belongs to Gail, my mother. In fact, I have her original recipe card. She stored it in her recipe box, which I kept after she died suddenly in 2019. I can still picture it in its home on top of our fridge throughout my childhood. I now keep the box on a shelf next to her ashes.

The card itself is aged. Yellow and splattered from her cooking. She typed it out on a typewriter, probably while she was working at the old Infirmary Hospital on Queen Street in Halifax in the 1970s. The title, “Clam Chowder,” was typed in all caps using a red ribbon. The rest of the card is in black.

To me, the card carries multiple meanings. It’s proof that my mother existed. It’s also a treasured heirloom I will pass on to my own daughter. And it’s a damn delicious soup. I’ve reordered the ingredients and expanded the instructions to streamline the process, but the recipe itself is 100% intact. I think my Mum would be thrilled to know others are making this recipe more than 50 years after she typed it out to keep.

Ingredients for Clam Chowder

Ingredient Notes

• Butter (Salted): I use salted butter for all of my recipes.
• Clams (Whole, Baby): Look for 142 g cans of whole baby clams packed in water, and keep the juice for the chowder.
• Milk (Evaporated): Use evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed milk.
• Milk (Whole): I use whole milk for all of my recipes.
• Onion: Yellow or white onion both work well here.
• Pepper (Black): I use pre-ground pepper here but you can use freshly cracked black pepper if you like.
• Potatoes: Choose medium potatoes that are firm and free from green spots or sprouting. I usually buy Russet or yellow potatoes.
• Salt (Table): I use table salt for all of my recipes.
• Water: Regular tap water is fine.

It’s important to note that when making substitutions in recipes, the texture and flavour may be slightly different. However, these substitutes are the best options for changing the original recipe.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Butter: Unsalted butter or margarine can be used in the same amount.
• Milk (Whole): You can substitute 2% milk or 10% cream, which we call “blend” here in Nova Scotia.
• Pepper (Black): Freshly cracked black pepper would be the best substitute, followed by ground white pepper.

Recipe Variations for Clam Chowder

Try any of the following for a twist on my Mum’s easy clam chowder recipe:

• Bacon: 4 slices, cooked crisp and crumbled, sprinkled over each bowl before serving. You can also chop 4 slices of bacon and cook it in the pot, adding the potatoes, onion, and water directly to it once the bacon is crisp.
• Basil (Fresh): 2 tablespoons, finely chopped, stirred in just before serving
• Bay Leaf: 1 bay leaf, added with the potatoes and onion and removed before serving
• Bread Bowl: 4 small round loaves of white, whole wheat, or sourdough bread, tops removed and centres hollowed out. Fill with hot clam chowder just before serving. Tear the removed bread into pieces for dipping, then eat the chowder while pulling pieces from the inside edge of the “bowl” as you go. Eat some or all of the bread bowl at the end.
• Corn: My Aunt Sharon sometimes makes her clam chowder with canned corn (341 ml can) or canned cream style corn (398 ml can). Stir in with the milk and heat gently until hot.
• Haddock: 1 ½ cups (225 g), skinless haddock fillet cut into bite-sized pieces, added after the milk and simmered gently until just cooked through before adding the clams. My Dad says this is a good way to add more flavour.
• Lemon Zest: 1 teaspoon, finely grated, stirred into the chowder with the salt and pepper
• Lobster Paste: Stir in one 70 g can after adding the clams and heat gently until warmed through. I’ve found lobster paste inside the lighthouse at Masstown Market, and The Fish Lady also lists it on her product list.
• Salt Pork: 75 g finely diced salt pork, cooked in the pot until lightly browned, then add the potatoes, onion, and water directly to the same pot and continue with the recipe
• Smoked Paprika: ¼ teaspoon, stirred in with the salt and pepper

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of this post, or scroll to the bottom to see the PRINTABLE recipe card with ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

How To Make Clam Chowder

STEP 1. Add the potatoes, onion, and water to a medium saucepan and simmer gently until the potatoes are tender.

STEP 2. Pour in the evaporated milk and whole milk, then heat gently until steaming.

STEP 3. Add the whole baby clams and all of their juice. Stir and gently heat through.

STEP 4. Add the salt and pepper. Stir well. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Scatter pieces of butter over top of the chowder until melted. Sprinkle a bit more pepper over the top. Ladle into bowls and serve hot with buttered crackers, rolls, or bread.

Recipe Notes

• For detailed ingredient notes, substitution tips, variations, and step-by-step photos, scroll through the full recipe post.
• Use a digital kitchen scale for precise ingredient measurements.
• To switch to gram measurements, click “Metric grams” in the ingredients section of the recipe card.
• The potatoes and onion may look crowded in the pot, but 1 cup of water is enough. 
• Whole baby clams are already cooked, so they only need to be heated through. Cooking them too hard, or for too long, can make them chewy (rubbery).

Storage

• Store leftover clam chowder in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheat it gently in a saucepan over low to medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, and don’t let it boil.
• I don’t recommend freezing this chowder because the potatoes and milk can change texture after thawing.