This Creamy Seafood Chowder recipe is filled with salmon, halibut, shrimp, and baby clams to satisfy your seafood craving!
If you are in the mood for some delicious seafood then look no further than my Creamy Seafood Chowder!
Last summer when we were in Alaska we were able to eat some great Alaska seafood. One night we had dinner in Anchorage at the 49th State Brewing Company. My husband ordered the highly recommended: KING CRABBY GRILLED CHEESE, which was delicious. This grilled cheese sandwich was made with grilled sourdough bread, crab meat blend, Swiss and cream cheeses, served with brewpub fries and our famous Alaskan seafood chowder for dipping. It was awesome and the Alaskan Seafood Chowder on this side was really, really good. See photo below.
I was determined to make this at home, and I have to say, that mine is The Best Seafood Chowder recipe, but I’m a little biased, and I added shrimp!
How to Make Seafood Chowder
First, assemble the ingredients and chop the vegetables.
Cut the salmon and halibut into ½ inch chunks.
Peel, de-vein and remove the tail of the shrimps. You can keep them whole or cut them into bite-sized pieces.
In a small saucepan, boil the diced red potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.
While the potatoes are boiling, use a 4-quart pot to cook the onion, celery and carrots in the butter over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
Stir in the flour to make the roux and then cook for 5 minutes.
Add the water, fish base, salmon and halibut chunks and the clam juice (saving the clams for later).
Add the potatoes, white pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, thyme, and garlic, cook on medium heat, stirring often until fish is cooked. Please note that this will be a thick paste and that is okay, you can add more water if needed, but do not add too much because the 3 cups of heavy cream added in the next step will lighten the thickness to make it a thick chowder.
Add heavy cream, shrimp, and clam meat, cook 10 minutes, stirring often.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Serving note: If you want to serve this amazing seafood chowder in a bread bowl, buy small cannon ball French breads, scoop out most of the inside, and fill with the chowder.
Trust me, it tastes as good as it looks!
Creamy Seafood Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups onion - diced into ½ inch pieces
- ¾ cup celery - diced into ½ inch pieces
- ½ cup carrots - diced into ½ inch pieces
- 2/3 cup salted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons fish base
- 3 cups water
- 10 oz. salmon
- 10 oz. halibut
- 10 oz. canned baby clams shucked with clam juice
- 10 oz. red potatoes - diced into ¾ inch pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons basil dried - or 3 teaspoons fresh
- 1 ½ teaspoons thyme dried - or 3 teaspoons fresh
- 1 ½ teaspoons chopped garlic
- 12 oz cocktail shrimp peeled - deveined and the tails removed. (Left whole or chopped into ½ inch chunks.)
- 3 cups heavy cream
- Optional: Fresh parsley for garnish
- Optional: Small cannon ball French breads for a bread bowl
Instructions
- Cut the salmon and halibut into ½ inch chunks.
- In a small saucepan, boil the diced red potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.
- While the potatoes are boiling, use a 4-quart pot to cook the onion, celery and carrots in the butter over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in the flour to make the roux and then cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the water, fish base, salmon and halibut chunks and the clam juice (saving the clams for later).
- Add the potatoes, white pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, thyme, and garlic, cook on medium heat, stirring often until fish is cooked. Please note that this will be a thick paste and that is okay, you can add more water if needed, but do not add too much because the 3 cups of heavy cream added in the next step will lighten the thickness to make it a thick chowder.
- Add heavy cream, shrimp, and clam meat, cook 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
- Serving note: If you want to serve this amazing seafood chowder in a bread bowl, buy small cannon ball French breads, scoop out most of the inside, and fill with the chowder.
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NOTES
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This was delicious!
Great recipe. I added shrimp and scallops to the clams to make a seafood chowder. I also added a 1/2 cup of white wine. Everyone loved it and said it was amazing.
Hi Jamie, this recipe is one of our favorites! Thanks for the 5 star review and for sharing your changes! Glad everyone loved it.
I just came back from Alaska and had the infamous Seafood Chowder at 49th Street Brewery. My 11-year-old daughter and soup connoisseur said it was the best soup she ever ate. I wanted to try to recreate it but didn’t know where to start…THANK YOU for posting this recipe! I can’t wait to try it (may swap the shrimp for salmon) and add some leeks and dill. THANK YOU!!!
Hi Allison, after you make it and LOVE IT, please share a review and perhaps a 5 star rating! That is certainly what I think about this recipe! – Linda
Do you use raw shrimp?
Hi Suellen, yes, you use raw shrimp in this recipe. If you buy them frozen, just thaw them before putting them into the chowder.
I love chowder any time of the year! Even the summertime. This recipe looks fantastic, I can’t wait to try it out. Thank you for sharing!
Brittany,
It is fantastic!!!
– Linda