• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • meet the team
  • blogger resources
  • Contact Me
My Account
Member Dashboard
40 Aprons Premium (Ad Free!)

40 Aprons

Delicious, Healthy-ish Meals for the Whole Family

  • All Recipes
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Cooking Basics
    • Breakfast
    • Condiments
    • Dessert
    • Main Course
    • Meal Prep
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Method
    • Air Fryer
    • Baking
    • Crockpot
    • Grilling
    • Instant Pot
    • Sous Vide
  • Dietary Needs
    • Dairy Free
    • Gluten Free
    • Keto
    • Low Carb
    • Paleo
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
    • Whole30
  • Cuisine
    • American
    • Asian
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Mediterranean
    • Mexican & Latin
    • Southern
Home Blog Cooking Method Instant Pot

Instant Pot Clam Chowder

Cheryl Malik
Cheryl Malik Posted: 12/13/22 Updated: 12/22/22
Leave a Comment
Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This incredibly delicious Instant Pot clam chowder is creamy, comforting and everything you’d hope for! Packed with a ton of flavor, this classic favorite soup is filled with clams, bacon, tender potatoes and veggies. Super easy to make, and ready to eat in just 30 minutes, this method is the way to go!

Overhead view of Instant Pot clam chowder on a wooden table top with saltine crackers and a neutral cloth napkin.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • This Instant Pot clam chowder is ridiculously delicious! It’s so cozy, filling, comforting and the perfect winter soup. Rich and creamy, it has everything you love about a clam chowder: minced clams, potatoes, celery, onion and savory bacon. The layers of flavor and texture are simply irresistible!
  • It’s a one single pot recipe. Easy cooking, and super easy clean-up! Nothing better than delicious recipes made simple without having to do a ton of dishes in the end!
  • This is such a fun recipe to make for a dinner party! Or just a quick weeknight dinner too! The pressure cooker cooks it fast, and you’ll get a restaurant-quality meal. And I guarantee you everyone will rave about how amazing it tastes! Serve it with sliced baguette, or crushed oyster crackers and fresh chopped chives for a perfect finish.

Don’t Miss These Instant Pot Recipes

Instant Pot Vegetable Soup

Instant Pot Pork Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, and Gravy

Extra Cheesy Instant Pot Egg Bites

Instant Pot Lasagna

Chef’s Tips

  • When cooking the bacon, don’t cook it until crispy. You’ll want to get just cooked enough that its fat has rendered in the Instant Pot. Then you’ll add the veggies, and cook then in the bacon fat for optimal results. And don’t afraid to scrap all the brown bits at the bottom of the pot, they’ll add a ton of flavor.
  • Don’t go too heavy on the salt until the clam chowder is fully cooked. Keep in mind that clams and bacon are both salty, so give your soup a taste at the very end, and adjust the seasoning if needed.
  • After adding the half and half to the clam chowder, it’s important to avoid letting the soup come to a boil, as the half and half could break and curdle. Keep the Instant Pot on sauté mode, and stir the chowder with a wooden spoon very frequently while the soup thickens, without boiling.
Angled overhead view of Instant Pot clam chowder in two rustic serving bowls on a wooden table with saltines.

More Delicious Seafood Recipes To Try

  • Seafood Soup
  • Garlic Butter Cod
  • Blackened Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Salsa and Cilantro-Lime Rice
  • Pan-Seared Salmon in a Creamy Red Pepper Parmesan Sauce
  • Seafood Chili

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Overhead view of Instant Pot clam chowder on a wooden table top with saltine crackers and a neutral cloth napkin.

Instant Pot Clam Chowder

Prep:15 minutes
Cook:25 minutes
Total:40 minutes
This classic favorite soup is made fast and easy thanks to the Instant Pot.
Print Save Saved! Click Here to Remove Ads
6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 slices bacon chopped
  • 3 6.5-ounce cans minced clams drained, juice reserved
  • 8 ounces bottle clam juice
  • ¼ cup butter
  • 1 cup onion minced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic minced
  • 1 cup celery diced
  • 2 cups Yukon gold potatoes diced
  • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1 ½ teaspoon salt divided
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar optional
  • fresh chives finely chopped

Optional Toppings

  • oyster crackers
  • baguette torn into pieces
  • saltine crackers

Equipment

  • Instant Pot
  • Wooden spoon
  • Medium bowl

Instructions 

  • Set Instant Pot to sauté, then add chopped bacon. Stirring occasionally, cook bacon until fat has rendered but not until bacon is crispy, about 3-4 minutes.
  • Once bacon is just cooked, add butter, onion, and celery. Cook until onion is soft and start to turn translucent, about 5-6 minutes, making sure to stir often and scrape up any browned bits that may be stuck to bottom of pot.
    Instant Pot clam chowder ingredients in an Instant Pot insert.
  • Add garlic, one large pinch salt, and black pepper. Cook for 1 additional minutes, stirring often.
  • Add potatoes and clam juice both from bottle and reserved juice from cans to mixture, and stir. Cancel Instant Pot sauté mode, add lid to pot and lock in place. Turn steam release knob to sealing position.
  • Set Instant Pot to manual high pressure for 4 minutes. Once time is up, let natural release for 5 minutes, then finish with quick mode until steam is fully evaporated.
  • In medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour and half and half until smooth. Open pot and stir in mixture into soup. Set Instant Pot back to sauté mode, and continue cooking soup uncovered, stirring often, until thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Add in minced clams, heat through for few minutes without bringing chowder to boil. Add in salt and black pepper, and vinegar if desired. Sprinkle with fresh chopped chives, and serve warm with oyster crackers or baguette.

Notes

  • Make it gluten free: use gluten free all-purpose flour blend. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 353kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Sodium: 945mg, Potassium: 597mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 663IU, Vitamin C: 21mg, Calcium: 117mg, Iron: 1mg, Net Carbs: 27g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @40aprons on social and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!

Rate Recipe Tag Me on Instagram
Cheryl Malik

Meet Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She's been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.

Read more...

You may also like...

  • 20 Keto Instant Pot Recipes
    20 Keto Instant Pot Recipes
  • Instant Pot Thanksgiving recipes
    19 Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes
  • 4 photo graphic highlighting the best vegetarian instant pot recipes
    Top 25 Vegetarian Instant Pot Recipes

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

What’s Popular?

Reusable meal prep trays with sweet potato, scrambled eggs, and sausage for a whole30 breakfast

Whole30 Breakfast Meal Prep

Crispy, golden air fryer tater tots in a large white serving bowl next to a small ramekin of bright red ketchup.

Air Fryer Tater Tots

Overhead view of marry me chicken in a cast iron skillet

Marry Me Chicken (Chicken in a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce)

Instant pot chicken and rice in a bowl

Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

In Season

Whole30 In-n-Out burgers close up

Whole30 Burgers – Burger Joint Style (Paleo, Low Carb)

Overhead photo of keto chicken tortilla soup in a rustic bowl

Keto Chicken Tortilla Soup (Low Carb, Gluten Free)

Air fryer chicken wings on a platter with sauce

Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings in Buffalo Sauce

Instant pot frozen chicken breast - easy chicken recipes for dinners with few ingredients

Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast

As seen on:

More Goodies + NO Ads!

Become a 40 Aprons Premium Member!

All the 40 Aprons content you love - now even better.

  • Member-Exclusive Recipes
  • Meal Plans & Grocery Lists
  • eBooks
  • NO ADS!
Join now

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

Disclaimers

Contact

© 2023 40 Aprons
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
Back to Top
39 shares