Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder
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Rich and creamy Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder, made with canned minced clams, potatoes, and thick-cut bacon, right in your pressure cooker. So comforting and delicious!
This New England Clam Chowder recipe was my first attempt at making clam chowder at home. I loved it from the moment I tasted it! Don’t you love it when a recipe rocks on the first try? That’s what happened here, first try, and it was a keeper.
Easy New England Clam Chowder in the Pressure Cooker
Back in 2018, when I first made this recipe, I had vowed to use my Instant Pot more often. These days, I have gotten comfortable with it, and I love the simplicity of it. This homemade clam “chowda” turns out perfectly every time. Makes me think back to the time I had Boudin’s New England Clam Chowder in San Francisco. If only I could DoorDash one of their sourdough bread bowls!
If you love a good seafood soup, you have to check out my recipe for Classic Oyster Stew and this Creamy Tomato Seafood Bisque!
Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder
Returning to our Instant Pot clam chowder, I wanted to incorporate elements I enjoy in restaurant versions. Key additions include pork belly (or high-quality thick-cut bacon when pork belly isn’t available), potatoes for a creamy texture, celery for a bit of bite, and the essential richness of heavy cream.
Ingredients in Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder
You will find the complete ingredients and instructions at the bottom of this post in the printable recipe card.
- canned minced clams + juice and water
- good quality thick bacon OR pork belly
- potatoes, onion, celery, fresh oregano, garlic
- salt and pepper
- butter and heavy cream
Tip: Prep all of your ingredients before you start. It makes it so much easier to grab them and have them ready when you need to dump them in your instapot.
How to Make New England Clam Chowder in an Instant Pot
My clam chowder recipe comes together quickly and easily, and in no time, you will be enjoying a bowl.
Turn your pressure cooker on the sauté setting. Cook your bacon until the fat is rendered out, but the bacon isn’t crispy.
Then add in the butter, fresh chopped oregano, onion, celery, and garlic, and continue sautéing until the onion is translucent. Stir often.
Add in potatoes. I bought the little yellow potatoes and quartered them, and left the skins on. Next, add in the clam juice and water, then the salt and freshly cracked pepper.
Lock the lid on your Instant Pot. Turn the steam release to seal. Change the setting from sauté to Cook/Manual, and set the timer for 5 minutes. When it’s done, let the pot rest for 3 minutes, undisturbed. Then use the quick-release feature to let out the steam. When pressure is gone, release the lid and use a potato masher to mash your veggies/potatoes up to your desired consistency.
Turn the warming feature on and add the minced clams and heavy cream. Stir and heat through. Serve with freshly chopped chives and bacon bits on top. Don’t forget the oyster crackers!
How to Store Leftover New England Clam Chowder
You can store any leftover clam chowder in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. You can freeze it, but know that with the cream base, the texture will change once it’s thawed.
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Excited to find this recipe for making New England Clam Chowder in your Instant Pot? Make sure that you can find it when you are ready to make it yourself. Pin it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest before you go!
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes to Love
Soup in the instapot is so simple!! You get the deep flavors like you cooked it all day, in just minutes!
- Instant Pot Ham & Bean Soup (pictured above)
- Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Cream of Celery Soup in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Chicken & Rice Soup
- Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
- Pressure Cooker Beer Cheese Soup with Kraut & Kielbasa
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Thai Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
See all of my Instant Pot Recipes Here
Belly up to a piping hot bowl of New England Clam Chowder soon. It’s cold outside!
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Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound good quality thick sliced bacon or pork belly chopped
- 3 6.5 ounce cans minced clams juice reserved
- Reserved Clam juice to measure 2 cups (add water if what comes from the can isn’t enough)
- 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
- 4 stalks celery chopped
- 1 medium sized onion chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds yellow potatoes skins left on, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
For Serving:
- Freshly chopped chives and bacon bits
Instructions
- Turn your pressure cooker on the sauté setting. Cook your bacon until the fat is rendered out, but the bacon isn’t crispy.
- Then add in the butter, fresh chopped oregano, onion and celery, and garlic, continue sautéing until the onion is translucent. Stir often.
- Add in potatoes. I bought the yellow potatoes from the Little Potato Company. I quartered them, and left the skins on.
- Next, add in the 2 cups of clam juice, salt and freshly cracked pepper.
- Lock the lid on your Instant Pot. Turn steam release to seal. Change setting from sauté to Cook/Manual, and set the timer for 5 minutes. When it’s done, let pot rest for 3 minutes, undisturbed. Then use the quick release feature to let out the steam. When pressure is gone, release the lid and using a potato masher, mash your veggies/potatoes up to your desired consistency.
- Turn the warming feature on and add in the minced clams and heavy cream. Stir and heat through.
- Serve with freshly chopped chives and bacon bits on top. Don’t forget the oyster crackers!
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on December 9, 2018. It has been updated to improve user experience and reshared on January 21, 2025.
I’ve been craving a good chowder recipe for a long time now. Really happy I’ve stumbled upon yours – it looks just the way I would like my chowder to be!
Clam chowder is one American soup that I totally fell in love with, and it’s so great that I can make this easily in an IP from now on. 🙂
Nothing like some good ole NE clam chowdah! My family is going to LOVE this! Thanks for sharing.
When do you add in the clams?
Step 6. 🙂
I been cooking this recipe for a few years now. It turns out perfectly each time. I always make a double batch.
Guests love it… Serve with salad and crusty French bread…
Hi, Denise! Thank you so much for circling back to let me know that you enjoy the recipe! So happy it’s in your regular rotation. 🙂
I have 6 Qt instant duo crisp and it does not have a manual setting. Also I am a Bigner (80yo and times would be helpful (how long does it take onion to turn translucent). Gotta be very basic for me.
Hi, Roger! The onion process will take about 5-10 minutes. I googled your question about the manual setting and on that model you have it would be the “Pressure Cook” button. Hope this helps and that you like the soup!