A 30-minute Seafood Chowder Recipe + My Chowder Blueprint for Making All Types of Chowders
My dear hubby first concocted this seafood chowder when he altered a recipe in one of my favorite Door County Wisconsin cookbooks. I vividly remember the first time he made it because of how wonderful the house smelled when I opened the door to walk in after a long day at work. Seafood scents mingled with simple veggies in a creamy, silky chowder base to fill the air with an intoxicating, savory aroma. The delicious sensory symphony it created was too good to ignore.
Lively Talk and Dreaming
Coincidently, my co-workers and I had been dreaming about warmer weather and sunny, laid-back coastal trips over lunch. Lively talk flourished around the breakroom table about gorging ourselves with seafood while enjoying the sights and sounds of imaginary waters splashing upon docks and the squawks of gulls flying overhead. So, this recipe was a perfect punctuation point after my lunch of dreaming at the end of my day.
Similar Yet Different
Some people will debate about what makes a soup a chowder- or if chowder is a type of soup at all or if it’s its own thing. In my earlier years, whenever I came across someone who might talk recipes, I would have argued that a chowder must have seafood- but then there’s potato chowder and corn chowder- and probably others if I were to think about it longer.
No matter what kind you’re making, friends around this neck of the woods will claim that chowder must have a white base. Still, others from out east will cast their votes for a tomato veggie base for traditional Manhattan clam chowder.
Scroll to the recipe card below to print, email, or save to your favorites.
Please let me know in the comments below if you have questions or if you tweak the recipe. I’d love to hear from you!
Regardless of your feelings, you may think this recipe for chowder is just another rendition of my previous rustic creamy ham and potato soup, which features chunks of tender potatoes and ham simmered in a flavorful cream broth. While there are similarities, I would tell you there are a lot of subcategories of soup (even those that you can serve cold – though you’d never serve chowder that way). But I also consider that soup rustic because the chunky ingredients are less than the creamy base, making it slightly thinner, lighter, and less filling, depending on how much you put in your bowl. You might deem it a stew if it were the other way around.
All that aside, this creamy and satisfying recipe is undoubtedly classified as a chowder.
So, while soups can be thinner and lighter, chowder stands out for its rich and thick consistency. Similar to stew, you’ll make this seafood chowder with sizeable pieces of seafood and vegetables, most notably potatoes.
Live Fully Nourished @GfreeDeliciously
Delicious, Gluten-Free, and Healthy Meet!
I promise not to spam you. Pinkie swear!
Picture the recipe step-by-step
The photos below summarize the easy step-by-step process of creating our version of Seafood Chowder. Use the photos as a visual guide to help you along the way.
Picture the recipe step-by-step from combining the starch, base veggies, and aromatics to scalding the milk, thickening the chowder, and adding the seafood; each step will ensure your chowder turns out super delicious!
Please read the footnotes in the recipe card Kitchen Notes, highlighted with [1] and [2] in the captions for my additional comments.
Do not drain!
🤩Hey, This looks delicious! 😋Such a simple, flavorful gluten-free dish. 🍴Definitely will be adding this recipe to my meal rotation! 🥣🌟 #glutenfree #recipe #CookingGfreeDeliciously
💭 Before you get started...
I hope you’ll love this recipe for Seafood chowder as much as we do!
For a quick primer on chowder in general, you can read the extended version of this post sent by email to all eNews subscribers. While you’re there, you can download my Chowder Blueprint (the ultimate quick reference for making all types of chowders) for free when you become a paid subscriber, or if you can’t swing the paid membership right now, pay what you can to get the chowder blueprint right away. Either way, you can also find the extended post in my Substack archives.
But if you’re more of a “Just the facts, Ma’am” type of person, please scroll down to the basic seafood chowder recipe below. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by. Have a delicious time dreaming and eating this coastal chowder favorite.
The Blueprint for Making Chowder!
Digital preview is partially hidden to keep everyone honest. 😊
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below to print, email, or save it.
Looking for more soups? Here are a few more recipes you might like…
P.S. If you create a delicious twist on this recipe, or if you have a question or comment, please let me know. I’d love to hear!
Leave a comment below, share it, and rate it – it’s super helpful for other readers and us. Just click the blue-green comment bubble on the bottom right of your screen to jump to the comment area below.
Want to read more about these recipes?
Check out the “Live Fully Nourished” Substack, where you’ll get fun extensions of many of our standard blog posts and extras you won’t find anywhere else!
Favorite Gadgets & Tools for making this recipe…
– AFFILIATE LINKS –
#1 - Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven, 6.75 qt.
#2 - John Boos Maple Edge-Grain Reversible Cutting Board
#3 - Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, Set of 4
#4 - Standard Round Measuring Spoons, Set of 6
Recommended Resources
NO Need to Look for Your Calculator:
Adjusting the serving size of recipes is easier than you may think.
To change the number of portions that a recipe makes go to the “Servings” quantity in the recipe section below. Hover over the servings amount and a slider box will appear above the amount. Slide the toggle to adjust the desired number of portions you want to make. Please note that the ingredient measures will change to decimal equivalents when the serving amount is adjusted.
Need more help with cooking and recipe conversions? Head to the Good Cooking’s Recipe Conversions Guide for their online collection of helpful links!
Seafood Chowder
@ GfreeDeliciously
EQUIPMENT
- 1 Large Dutch Oven or Heavy Pot
- 1 Medium Saucepan
- 1 Large Glass Measuring Cup
- 1 Cutting Board
- Utensils (Cooks Knife, Measuring Cups and Spoons, Large Spoon, Soup Ladle)
INGREDIENTS
Starch
- 4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes or substitute Red, Russets, or new potatoes, remove any bad spots or eyes, chunked into ½ pieces
Base Veggies
- 1 cup Carrot grated
- 1 cup frozen Peas
- ½ cup Onion chopped
Aromatics
- 1 tablespoon dried Parsley flakes
- 4 teaspoons Chicken Boullion Base [1]
- 1 teaspoon table Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Broth / Liquid
- 4 cups water [1]
- 6 cups Milk scalded
Protein
- 1 pound Seafood We typically use ½ pound of thawded precooked shrimp and a thawed 8-ounce package of imitation crab or lobster.
Thickener
Fat
- 4 tablespoons unsalted Butter
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large Dutch Oven or heavy pot, combine the starch (potatoes), base veggies, and aromatics; add enough broth/liquid (this recipe uses about 4 cups water [1]) to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes become fork-tender. Do not drain.4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, 1 cup Carrot, 1 cup frozen Peas, ½ cup Onion, 1 tablespoon dried Parsley flakes, 4 teaspoons Chicken Boullion Base [1], 1 teaspoon table Salt, ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, 4 cups water [1]
- Meanwhile, using a medium saucepan, scald the milk by heating it slowly to 180°F or until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Scalding will take about 15 minutes (+/-) on medium-high heat. Watch closely so as not to boil.6 cups Milk
- Ladle 1 ½ cups of the scalded milk into a large glass measuring cup. Add the butter to the cup with the milk.4 tablespoons unsalted Butter
- Slowly whisk the flour into the butter and milk a little at a time until it's fully incorporated.½ cup gluten-free All-Purpose Flour
- Pour the butter, flour, and milk mixture into the undrained vegetable mixture, flooding it into the liquid, then whisking it briskly to avoid clumps. Once combined, heat to boiling, continually whisking until it thickens. Immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the seafood. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.1 pound Seafood
- Serve hot with crusty bread or gluten-free table crackers if desired [2]. Additionally, you can top it with fresh parsley, bacon bits, grated cheddar cheese, or scallions.
YOUR OWN NOTES
KITCHEN NOTES
Nutrition
Recipe Card powered by WP Recipe Maker
(Nutritional values are an approximation. Actual nutritional values may vary due to preparation techniques, variations related to suppliers, regional and seasonal differences, or rounding.)
Copyright © 2017-2025 Kymberley Pekrul | GfreeDeliciously | gfreedeliciously.com | All content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. However, copying and/or pasting full recipes on social media is strictly prohibited. Please read my Photo Use Policy for detailed guidelines and further clarification.
RECIPE TAGS:
Share the L♥VE
When you make our recipes, snap a photo, post it, and tag it with #CookingGfreeDeliciously on Instagram. Enjoy, xo!
