This Healthier Instant Pot Clam Chowder is so thick, creamy and delicious – it’s made easy with canned clams, bacon and potatoes!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Bacon – turkey bacon is a great healthy alternative here.
- Olive oil – or any other neutral cooking oil like avocado, canola or grapeseed oil.
- Yellow onion – white onions or shallots would also be good.
- Celery – feel free to leave this out altogether or swap out for some carrots.
- Garlic – freshly-minced garlic is best but garlic powder would work in a pinch.
- Cans of chopped clams – you can use fresh clams, but they’re pricier and won’t be as flavourful without the juice. If you use fresh clams, add a splash of clam juice.
- Yukon gold potatoes – swap out for another potato variety of your choice like russet or Inca gold potatoes.
- Low-sodium vegetable broth – chicken broth will work just as well, just make sure it’s low-sodium or your soup will be too salty.
- Fresh thyme – you could also try using dried thyme or oregano for a similar flavour.
- Milk – substitute for a dairy-free alternative like almond or soy milk (although the taste will be slightly different).
- Heavy cream – use half-and-half for a lower-calorie option.
- Cornstarch – potato starch or arrowroot would also help thicken up this soup.
- Parsley – try garnishing with some fresh chervil instead or leave this off altogether.
- Cracked black pepper – ground pepper would also work.
- Oyster crackers – another kind of cracker like low-sodium saltines would be delicious.
How to make clam chowder in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Prep your ingredients.
Step 2: Cook the bacon.
Turn your Instant Pot on to saute mode. Once heated, add bacon and cook until browned and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the bacon and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Discard any excess bacon grease remaining in the Instant Pot.
Step 3: Sauté the onion, garlic and celery.
Add olive oil. Once heated and shimmering, add onion, celery, and garlic to the Instant Pot. Cook until the onion is slightly softened and translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Cook on high pressure.
Add clams and clam juice, potatoes, broth, thyme, and salt. Stir to combine and close the Instant Pot lid. Cook at high pressure on manual mode for 5 minutes. Allow to naturally release for an additional 5 minutes, then open the vent to release any additional pressure.
Step 5: Stir in the cream.
Turn on saute mode. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, and cornstarch. Add to the Instant Pot and stir to combine. Stir occasionally until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Top with bacon, parsley, black pepper, and oyster crackers. Serve immediately.
What to serve on the side
I love serving my Instant Pot clam chowder with oyster crackers – they add the perfect amount of crunch to your soup. If you can’t find any oyster crackers, feel free to swap them out for another kind of unsalted cracker. You could also serve your soup with a nice piece of crusty bread or cut down on the serving size and enjoy it as a side soup with a sandwich or salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clam chowder is a thick soup typically made of clams, diced potatoes, onion and bacon. There are three different varieties of clam chowder: Manhattan clam chowder, which has a tomato base; Rhode Island clam chowder, which has a clear base; and New England clam chowder, which has a cream base. This clam chowder Instant Pot recipe is a spin on the New England version and is made way easier in the pressure cooker.
There are two ways you can thicken your soup. You can use a cornstarch slurry by mixing together equal parts cornstarch and water and adding it to your soup, or you can blend one cup of soup at a time until smooth and then stir it all together. Either option works great, but if you follow the original recipe steps, you should end up with a pretty thick clam chowder recipe already!
Clam chowder is definitely an indulgent dish, but this Instant Pot clam chowder recipe is fairly healthy thanks to the low-sodium broth and use of milk instead of all cream. It only has 228 calories per bowl; in comparison, a bowl of New England Clam Chowder from Red Lobster has 470 calories per bowl. If you want to make this clam chowder even healthier, swap out the heavy cream for half-and-half and use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon.
Storing and reheating
This Instant Pot clam chowder is so good, I doubt you’ll have any leftovers – but if you do, you can store them in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in airtight glass containers. I do suggest storing the garnishes including the bacon and parsley separately, then adding them on fresh right before eating.
When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat your soup in a pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through or microwave it for 30-second increments until hot. Top with your bacon and fresh parsley and dig in!
Can you freeze clam chowder?
Unfortunately, like most cream-based soups, this clam chowder Instant Pot recipe doesn’t freeze very well. The potatoes tend to get mushy and the creamy soup curdles when you try and reheat it. That being said, it’s super simple to make in the Instant Pot, so you can easily whip up a fresh batch!
More Instant Pot soup recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60 is the version I use in this recipe.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning clam chowder into your weekly lunches.
Healthier Instant Pot Clam Chowder {Thick & Creamy}
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped,
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3 6.5 oz cans chopped clams, juices reserved
- 1 1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes, cubed
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- chopped parsley (for garnish)
- cracked black pepper (for garnish)
- oyster crackers (for serving)
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot on to saute mode. Once heated, add bacon and cook until browned and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the bacon and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate. Discard any excess bacon grease remaining in the Instant Pot.
- Add olive oil. Once heated and shimmering, add onion, celery, and garlic to the Instant Pot. Cook until the onion is slightly softened and translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add clams and clam juice, potatoes, broth, thyme, and salt. Stir to combine and close the Instant Pot lid. Cook at high pressure on manual mode for 5 minutes. Allow to naturally release for an additional 5 minutes, then open the vent to release any additional pressure.
- Turn on saute mode. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, and cornstarch. Add to the Instant Pot and stir to combine. Stir occasionally until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Top with bacon, parsley, black pepper, and oyster crackers. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Add more cornstarch: add a slurry of cornstarch whisked with equal parts water
- Blend: add 1 cup of soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir back into the soup.
