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Looking for the best seafood chowder recipe? This creamy, hearty chowder is loaded with shrimp, white fish, and tender vegetables. Perfect for seafood lovers!
A Rich and Creamy Chowder Packed with Flavor
This is the best seafood chowder recipe! It is my absolute favorite. It’s even better than the seafood chowders I’ve had at fancy seaside restaurants. The broth is seasoned with garlic, onions, hot sauce, thyme, and more flavorful ingredients. You can add tender red potatoes, cod, crab meat, lobster, scallops, or any seafood you like.
Our creamy seafood chowder recipe is packed with protein, calcium, and essential nutrients, making it a well-rounded meal for seafood lovers. It shares similarities with our Clam Chowder recipe, but this one is even easier to make and offers more versatility. To complete the perfect seafood feast, serve this chowder with biscuits, hot and cheesy garlic bread, or easy cornbread.
Ingredients in Seafood Chowder
- Butter
- Celery
- Onions
- Leeks
- Minced garlic
- Chicken broth
- Clam juice
- Red potatoes
- Carrots
- Salt and pepper
- Thyme
- Bay leaves
- Tabasco sauce
- Old Bay seasoning
- Shrimp
- Cod, halibut, or haddock
- Half & half
- All-purpose flour
- Milk
What Kind of Fish is Best for Chowder?
- I love a firm, white cod for this seafood chowder, but you can use chunks of halibut or haddock too. Any kind of good, white fish will work. But if you’re unsure of what to use, you can ask for suggestions at your local meat counter.
- Shellfish is also so delicious in this scrumptious soup. Look for shrimp that is raw but peeled and de-veined. Again, you can find it at the meat counter, or you can find bags of frozen shrimp in the grocery store.
- This recipe is technically considered a fish chowder but you can add crab meat, too. That would be delicious!
Suggestions for the Best Seafood Chowder
- Sometimes I sauté the fish and shrimp in some butter to get a little crust around each piece, and then add it to the soup. This adds another step, but the buttery crust is so delicious!
- You can add other favorite chowder ingredients like corn and bacon to this recipe as well.
- I add extra Tabasco sauce when I’m making this chowder just for me and my husband because we like the extra heat. But you can vary the hot sauce as you need to for your family.
- Dice red potatoes into bite-sized pieces for even cooking. Also, try Yukon golds or any other waxy potato that will hold its shape during cooking.
- I’m all about watching calories, but please do not leave out the half and half in this recipe! You’ll need it to make this chowder extra creamy and rich. Moderation in all things, right?
Frequently Asked Questions
Chowder is a cream based soup that usually has seafood and vegetables.
They are very similar, but instead of clams, this recipe’s main ingredients are shrimp and white fish.
There are many types of chowder, but these are the most common:
New England Clam Chowder
Bermuda fish chowder
Clam chowder
Corn chowder
Fish chowder
Smoked salmon chowder
Southern Illinois chowder
Seafood chowder
Spiced haddock chowder
Potato Chowder
Bacon Chowder
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Seafood chowder can also be frozen. Store it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw frozen soup in the fridge prior to reheating on the stove-top.
READ NEXT: Easy Crockpot Soup Recipes: Cozy Meals for Cold Days
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Like this seafood chowder? Then you’ll love these other hearty soup and chowder recipes:
Chicken and Rice Soup
Pasta e Fagioli
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
Clam Chowder
Corn Chowder with Bacon
Ham and Bean Soup
How to Make Seafood Chowder
Seafood Chowder
Video
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup celery finely diced
- 1 cup onions finely diced
- 1 cup leeks finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup clam juice
- 4 red potatoes diced (Yukon potatoes work great too)
- 1 cup carrots finely diced
- ¾ tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1½ tablespoons Kosher salt
- ¾ tablespoon thyme
- 6 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- Old Bay seasoning to taste
- 1 pound shrimp uncooked, peeled, de-veined
- 2 pounds cod or halibut or haddock, cut into 1/2-inch cubed
- 2 quarts half & half
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter and add celery, onions, leeks and garlic over medium heat.
- When vegetables have softened, add chicken broth, clam juice, potatoes, carrots, black pepper, salt, thyme, bay leaves, and Tabasco sauce.
- Bring to a boil and reduce to medium-low heat to simmer. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until potatoes are almost fork-tender.
- Season shrimp and cod with Old Bay seasoning.
- Add shrimp and cod to the stock pot and simmer another 7-8 minutes or until fish flakes easily and shrimp turns pink.
- Add half and half. Combine flour and milk until flour is dissolved.
- Slowly stir into the chowder until you reach your desired thickness (you may not need all of it). Stir until thickened and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove bay leaves and serve with crusty bread or oyster crackers.
Notes
- Don’t like the veggies or fish in this recipe? Swap them out for your favorites!
- To prep ahead, wash and cut vegetables, cut and prepare fish, and remove shells and tails from shrimp.
- To store, keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to one month.
I made this recipe with my own choice of seafood which included: flounder, shrimp, calamari rings, scallops and mussels! Came out amazing! Very flavorful!
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing this!
Absolutely delicious!!!
This is my go to for Seafood Chowder. I usually make it with extra prawns (shrimp) and ALWAYS add skinned salmon (for a really reach chowder). I also add calamari rings (sometimes scallops are not available). I add mussels too. Delicious. It’s always a BIG hit in our family and I’m making it right now for Good Friday lunch. Thanks.
Oh I love your add-in ideas. That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!