Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder

Rich and creamy Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder, made with canned minced clams, potatoes and thick cut bacon in your pressure cooker.

Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder – my first attempt at making clam chowder at home.  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.  

Recently, I vowed to use my Instant Pot more frequently.  I’m not sure why I didn’t before, bcause I  love the simplicity of it! I have been threatening to make homemade clam “chowda” for years, and I’m not sure why I never did before? It really is quite simple.  I guess I just got to where if I wanted it, I would go out for it.  Plank Seafood Provisions in the Old Market area of Omaha, has in my opinion, the best New England Clam Chowder I have ever eaten.  Even better than Boudin’s in San Fransisco! 

Of course, at Boudin’s they have their amazing sourdough bread! — this instapot clam chowder would be AMAZING served in a bread bowl!

 view of the sourdough bread at Boudin’s, Fisherman’s Wharf SFC, CA.

SOME OF THE ITEMS BELOW CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS; I AM A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR US TO EARN FEES BY LINKING TO AMAZON.COM AND AFFILIATED SITES. I AM ALSO AN AFFILIATE FOR OTHER BRANDS. HOWEVER, I ONLY PROMOTE THINGS THAT I LOVE AND THINK YOU WILL LOVE, TOO.  FOR MY ENTIRE DISCLOSURE POLICY PLEASE CLICK HERE.

^LOVE IT? PIN IT!^

I digress … we were talking about making this Instant Pot version of clam chowder.  I knew when I set out to make it, I had to have some components that I love when I eat clam chowder in a restaurant.    First, I love it when it has pork belly in it.  I was unable to find it when I was making this, so I bought some good quality thick cut bacon instead.  If you can use the pork belly — definitely try it.  Secondly, I knew I wanted potatoes and celery in it.  I love the thickness the potatoes give, and the texture the celery gives. I like my soup with lots of texture.  Aside from that … you gotta have heavy cream.  Sure, you can make this and lighten it up if need be, but I really wanted to use the cream.

Ingredients for Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder:

• 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

The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.

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.  

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 clam juice and water, then the salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Lock the lid on your Instant Pot.  Turn steam release to seal.  Change the 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!

Just look at that deliciousness! 

You might be saying — this is all fine and dandy — but I don’t have an Instant Pot! Well, guess what?  I am giving one away!

Giveaway Has Ended

Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas Instant Pot Giveaway!

One lucky person is going to win an awesome 6-Quart Instant Pot Ultra. If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you’re missing out. This device is 10 appliances in one.

What can the Instant Pot Ultra Do?

• Pressure Cooker
• Slow Cooker
• Rice Cooker
• Cake Maker
• Yogurt Maker
• Egg Cooker
• Steamer
• Warmer
• Sauté
• Sterilizer

The 6-Quart Instant Pot Ultra set includes a steam rack, recipe booklet, serving spoon, soup spoon and measuring cup. Here are some of the new features:

• altitude adjustment
• cooking indicator
• steam release reset button

Soup in the instapot is so simple!! You get the deep flavors like you cooked it all day, in just minutes!

Other Instant Pot Soup Favorites:

• Instant Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup (pictured above)
• Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
• Pressure Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup
• Instant Pot Thai Butternut Squash Soup
• Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

What is the first thing you would make in a brand new instant pot pressure cooker?

Happy eating!

LIKE THIS RECIPE?
Don’t forget to give it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and
leave a comment below the recipe!

4.75 from 39 votes

Print Recipe

Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder

Rich and creamy Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder, made with canned minced clams, potatoes and thick cut bacon.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Instant Pot New England Clam Chowder, make clam chowder in the pressure cooker

Servings: 6 -8

Calories: 826kcal

Author: Michaela Kenkel

Equipment

• Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound good quality thick sliced bacon or pork belly chopped
• 3 6.5 ounce cans of 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 of butter 4 Tablespoons
• 4 stalks of celery chopped
• 1 medium sized onion chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds of yellow potatoes skins left on, cut into bite sized pieces
• 2 sprigs of fresh oregano roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon salt freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Freshly chopped chives and bacon bits for serving

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

If the chowder isn't thick enough, you can always add a bit of corn starch and water. Start with 1 Tablespoon of corn starch mixed in 1 Tablespoon of water, add to hot chowder and stir to thicken.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 826kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 185mg | Sodium: 1994mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g