15 Ingredients to Elevate Your Canned Clam Chowder

Whether you prefer New England or Manhattan clam chowder, making it from scratch is a labor of love. Even if you find a way to streamline the process it still takes quite a bit of time and effort. When this isn’t possible, canned clam chowder is ready to fill in. However, it often needs a few tweaks to make it truly shine. That’s okay though, because you can easily turn around a can of Manhattan or New England clam chowder that is bland, too thick, or overly thin with a quick trick or two.

To find the best ingredient upgrades for canned clam chowder I combed through chef recommendations, Reddit, and food blog tips. What I found led me to 15 super tasty ways to elevate both Manhattan and New England versions of the soup. Keep reading to find out what they are — and the next time you open a can you’ll have all the details needed to turn up flavor and transform it into a tasty chowder anyone could love.

They say bacon makes everything better for a reason — it truly does, and guess what? This applies to canned clam chowder too. Just a couple of slices of extra crispy bacon, ideally crumbled and sprinkled over the top of a piping hot bowl, enriches flavor and texture in drool-worthy ways. Actually, bacon is a super common garnish for clam chowder, so there’s a good chance you’ve experienced this delightful duo before. Maybe in a restaurant? Oh yeah, it’s a typical ingredient in New England clam chowder too. Take some of that gourmet flavor home by using bacon as a garnish on your canned clam chowder and you’ll be glad you did.

For more of the rich bacon-y flavor people love, you can also add a touch of bacon grease to your canned clam chowder. Just like how it utterly transforms caramelized onions and other dishes, bacon grease has what it takes to elevate either Manhattan or New England clam chowder. Besides, you wouldn’t want to waste that yummy fat after making bacon to go on top, would you? Absolutely not.

Whether you are looking to enhance canned New England or Manhattan clam chowder, you can’t go wrong with adding more of the same ingredients that already go into the recipe. Two of the main flavors in both styles of chowder are onions and celery, so tossing more into the mix is a surefire way to take your next bland can of chowder to new heights. Instead of altering the inherent flavors of the chowder, it amplifies what’s already there while giving the overall taste a fresh appeal.

To pull this upgrade off you’ll want to dice and sauté the onions and celery before adding them to your chowder. This gives them time to soften and release more flavor, two things that will serve you and your chowder well. This canned clam chowder hack is a bit more labor-intensive than many of the other recommendations in this article, but it’s more than worth the additional effort. Give it a try and it may become the new standard.

Unlike bisque, chowder is supposed to be chunky, not smooth. This not only gives you tons of texture in each bite but also makes adding ingredient upgrades incredibly easy. Quite a few veggies are just what a bland or runny canned clam chowder needs to improve bulk, increase nutrition, and enrich flavor all in one fell swoop.

Complementary veggies like carrots, green onions, and corn are all shoo-ins for clam chowder. In fact, many recipes already include them in the ingredients. So, similar to onions and celery, adding more is a no-brainer. Even if the canned clam chowder you have on hand doesn’t feature the above veggies on its list of ingredients, they still fit in perfectly. Green beans are also a good choice.

If you use frozen veggies, this hack couldn’t be simpler. Just add your vegetable or vegetables of choice and heat the whole thing up. You could also add fresh shredded carrots without cooking them first. You don’t have to cook fresh diced green onions either. Just sprinkle a few on top as a garnish and you’re all set.

Adding a touch of acid in the form of vinegar or lemon is one of the best ways to upgrade just about any canned soup, and this includes both New England and Manhattan clam chowders. If you’re unfamiliar with how a touch of something acidic improves the flavor of dishes, you’re in for a treat. It’s actually quite surprising how much a squeeze of lemon or dash of vinegar brightens the flavor. They also enhance complexity and give clam chowder a homemade edge — perfect!

Stirring a small amount of lemon juice or vinegar into a can of clam chowder while it heats up, either Manhattan or New England, is incredibly simple. Just start slow and taste test as you go. While acid is perfect for brightening flavor, you don’t want it to overpower the salty and savory elements. Balance is key.

Another sneaky way to infuse canned New England or Manhattan clam chowder with more flavor involves good old fashioned spices, some of which you may already have. For starters, a sprinkle of black or white pepper is perfect for adding a potent edge to your chowder. But hey, a bit of pepper tastes good on just about any savory dish, right?

Old Bay Seasoning is also a fantastic flavor booster for canned clam chowder. It packs lots of cajun flavor and gives chowder an instant upgrade in the complexity department. Garlic is another one of those spices that lends itself well to an endless list of savory dishes, including chowder. The umami flavor is perfect for adding depth to your bowl. Lastly, paprika is a surefire way to add richness with a hint of smoke. Basically, whatever flavor your canned clam chowder is lacking, there’s a spice to fill in. Best of all, adding a dash of one or more seasonings couldn’t be simpler or quicker.

Whether you are the type of person who puts hot sauce on everything or not, adding a dash or two to a can of clam chowder should be on your radar. It warms up a bowl in delicious ways, and I’m not talking about the temperature. In addition to heat, hot sauces pack lots of complex flavors, and they all elevate canned New England and Manhattan clam chowders. Most hot sauces are made with vinegar too, and as we now know, a bit of acid helps turn around bland canned chowders. So really, hot sauce is a win-win. Well, maybe not if you don’t like spicy foods, but for everyone else it’s a no-brainer.

Along the same lines, spicy peppers like green chiles, jalapeños, chili flakes, and more are outstanding additions to canned clam chowder. Unlike hot sauce, they also have a bit of texture, especially if you add them raw. Just dice them up super fine or grate them into your bowl and stir — it’s that easy and the payoff is huge.

If you’ve ever popped open a can of clam chowder and found there weren’t many of the namesake ingredient inside — you know, clams — this next tip is just what you need to change that for good. If you haven’t guessed already, you can easily add more clams to your canned chowder to enhance texture and make it healthier and tastier overall. If you opt to cook up some fresh clams yourself, it might even be hard to tell that it started as a humble canned chowder. I mean, talk about homemade flair.

If cooking fresh clams seems like a lot for canned clam chowder, we wouldn’t blame you. Don’t worry though, canned clams make a fantastic alternative. They are readily available at grocery stores and have a much longer shelf life than fresh ones, obviously. Keep one in the pantry and it’ll be ready whenever you are. Plus, using canned clams eliminates extra prep work. Just open the tin when you open the chowder and toss a few into the container you plan on heating it up in. Done and done.

One of the best things about New England clam chowder is its creamy, rich base. However, some canned versions can be lacking in this department. While they still look white and creamy, much of the flavor gets lost in the preservation process. There is no need to fret, this can be remedied by adding a touch of fresh cream. Thick creams like half-and-half or heavy whipping cream are all your canned soup needs to restore it to the ideal velvety texture and taste. Yum!

In order to prevent your cream from splitting in the broth of your canned clam chowder, wait until it is already heated up and almost ready to enjoy before stirring a couple of spoonfuls in. You want to pop it back in the microwave for a few seconds more after adding or keep it on the stove a minute longer to ensure the whole bowl is piping hot, but nothing more. Before you get any ideas, this upgrade isn’t for Manhattan clam chowder, so don’t mess up a can of it by trying.

We already talked about the myriad of dried seasonings you can add to canned New England or Manhattan clam chowder to improve the taste, but fresh herbs and spices take this same concept and turn it up a notch. Not only do fresh herbs pack way more flavor into every morsel, but they also make a canned chowder taste, well, fresh. Since that’s what we all want, incorporating fresh herbs and spices into your canned clam chowder just makes sense.

To determine which fresh herbs and spices you want to add to canned clam chowder, take a peek at its list of ingredients. If you spot any you like, go for those. That way, you can be 100% sure it won’t alter the overall flavor too much. Instead, it will just amplify it. Thyme and parsley are two likely culprits you’ll find on the label but keep your eye out for others and feel free to experiment as well. Just dice your herbs finely, add them slowly, and you’ll do great.

Some canned clam chowders, particularly New England-style ones, come out of the tin in a nearly solid glob. When they heat up they typically thin out a bit, but some are just too thick. If you come across a can like this, there are a few ingredient additions ready to come to the rescue. The first is stock. Whether homemade or store-bought, stocks are packed with flavor, so they successfully thin out overly thick chowders without diluting the taste.

Milk is another excellent option for remedying a gelatinous canned clam chowder. Milk doesn’t contain a burst of flavor like broth, but it has a fairly neutral taste that complements the creamy base of New England clam chowders. Chances are good you already have some in your fridge too. The final recommended liquid for thinning out canned chowder is clam juice. You can buy a small jar, of say, Bar Harbor Clam Juice or, better yet, use the stuff that comes in a tin of canned clams. You know that briny liquid they come in? It’s solid gold when it comes to clam chowder, canned or not. Plus, you can toss the clams in too. So delicious!

Just like bacon, butter makes everything better. It’s rich, creamy, and overflowing with fatty goodness — all things that canned clam chowder can benefit from. Don’t believe me? Well, some chowder recipes already include butter, so you be the judge. Plus, a pat or two of butter is great for enhancing flavor in store-bought alfredo and tomato sauces, so why wouldn’t it do the same for chowder?

Another benefit of this canned clam chowder hack is that most of us have butter on hand at all times. You don’t have anything to lose when it comes to trying out this ingredient upgrade. Actually, you have everything to gain. Next time you’re heating up a can of New England or Manhattan clam chowder, toss a pat or two (depending on how decadent you’re feeling) of butter in and stir. When you take your first bite you’ll instantly notice how much a simple addition like this can make a canned chowder shine.

As noted, the consistency of canned clam chowder isn’t always ideal. Just how it can be too thick for a pleasurable eating experience, it can also be too thin. If you open a can and find your clam chowder is watery or runny, bulking it up with extra potatoes, roux, or cornstarch will serve you well.

Roux is a tried and true thickening agent, and guess what? It has butter or bacon fat mixed in with the flour too, so it also turns up flavor. In fact, both bacon fat and butter are featured on this list as valuable ingredient upgrades for canned clam chowder. So roux gives you the best of both worlds. If you have some cornstarch on hand, it’ll do the trick too, just not with the added benefit of flavor. Still, its thickening power is undeniable. Lastly, potatoes will easily do the trick. Many recipes already include them as an ingredient, so they mix in perfectly. They also have a high starch content which helps thicken the broth in addition to filling it out.

Boosting umami flavor in canned clam chowder is always a good idea. Umami is one of the five basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are the others) and it is an essential flavor when it comes to creating delicious dishes of all kinds. You guessed it — this includes clam chowder. Sometimes, the umami goodness of a particular recipe gets a bit lost in translation during the canning process, so it’s up to you to give it a helping hand. Lucky us, we can easily revitalize this primary taste with a dash of Worcestershire or fish sauce.

Worcestershire sauce is known for its complex, umami flavor and just a touch of it will quickly take your typical canned clam chowder from good to excellent. The same can be said for fish sauce. It may not be as complex as Worcestershire sauce, but there’s no doubt that it is overflowing with umami goodness. It’s incredibly salty though, so use it sparingly. For reference, an entire batch of homemade clam chowder only calls for 2 teaspoons of fish sauce. That’s not much and since you’re likely only heating up a can, or maybe two, a few drops should suffice.

Cooking with white wine or sherry (fortified Spanish wine) typically comes to mind when cooking meats and pasta sauces. However, they also have the ability to add a burst of flavor to both New England and Manhattan clam chowders. Sherry is a bit warmer on the flavor spectrum than wine, but they both give canned chowder a much-needed flavor infusion with a gourmet edge.

Whether you decide to reach for the sherry or white wine, avoid sweeter bottles. Drier, more acidic picks are your friend. The last thing you want is a sweet clam chowder. Also, when picking a cooking wine or sherry, remember to always select a bottle you would drink. You may only be cooking with it, but you still want it to taste good. Otherwise, what’s the point? Oh yeah, avoid red wine too. Even if you’re tweaking a canned Manhattan clam chowder, red wine will overpower the other flavors with its rich intensity.

Crunchy ingredients like crackers are the perfect addition to any kind of soup, stew, or chowder. Oyster crackers in particular are a given when you order clam chowder at a restaurant, so doing the same at home makes perfect sense. You don’t have to stick with the typical oyster or soda cracker either. Crackers infused with savory spices like black pepper or rosemary not only improve texture but give the flavor a boost too. Crunchy ingredients such as croutons and potato chips are also on the table. They enhance the taste and keep things interesting — no more boring clam chowder for you!

If you want to go the extra mile, you could make a bread bowl to pour your clam chowder into. It won’t add any crunch, but it will improve aesthetic — and let’s face it, bread bowls are downright delicious. They also ensure you don’t waste a single drop, something you’ll be glad of after you employ a couple of the upgrades on this list.