Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Seafood Chowder Recipe
Right here’s a fantastic Seafood Chowder brimming with combined seafood, tender potato, carrot, and candy corn. The creamy soup broth is infused with seafood flavour, and the recipe is designed to be straightforward in your time and your pockets. It’s simply beautiful!
Seafood chowder
I really feel like seafood soups usually get dismissed as a type of meals that aren’t any good until made with a selfmade fish inventory and recent seafood. However who has time for that on a Wednesday night time??
Seems you can also make a terrific Seafood Chowder with out all of the fuss – honestly, I wasn’t positive till we tasked ourselves to invent this! Utilizing recent seafood will after all provide the finest outcomes, however seafood marinara mixes are a handy, good-value various you can get from grocery shops (deli counter or freezer part).
I additionally use chicken inventory as a substitute of fish inventory – mass produced carton fish inventory is, frankly, simply terrible, in my view. Chicken inventory is impartial, and the seafood juices provides beautiful flavour because the soup simmers away.
And my ultimate contact is a cheeky sprint of fish sauce to softly increase the fishy style and umami!
Substances in Seafood Chowder
The baseline for this Seafood Chowder was to make it nice even utilizing frozen marinara combine which is round $16/kg at grocery shops. Even recent marinara mixes from fishmongers sometimes don’t run greater than $25/kg, and you may after all choose your personal seafood combine!
At $16/kg, it really works out at simply $10 value of seafood to feed 4 or 5. Who mentioned you possibly can’t take pleasure in seafood throughout a value of residing disaster? 🙂
1. The seafood and greens
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Seafood marinara combine – Discover it at deli counters and the freezer part of grocery shops, or on the fish markets and fish mongers (they use leftover fish that didn’t promote so it’s normally recent). Marinara mixes could be a little fish-heavy nonetheless, so you possibly can at all times purchase some additional prawns and many others to stability it out. There isn’t a disgrace in asking for simply 8 uncooked prawns!! 🙂
Select your personal recent seafood – Get a mixture of fish, squid, small prawns/shrimp, and a handful of mussels. Peel the prawns. Have the fishmonger clear your squid. Slice head into rings and divide tentacles into 3 or 4. Soak and scrub the mussels per this recipe, then put the uncooked mussels within the shell into the broth, then you possibly can both choose the meat out and discard the mussels, or serve the soup with the mussels shells (nice visible affect!)
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Bacon – A chowder favorite! This goes a good distance so as to add flavour into the broth particularly in the event you make this with frozen marinara. I like a great smoky bacon for my chowder, however any bacon is ok.
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Potatoes – One other chowder basic! Any selection works superb right here, starchy or waxy.
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Corn and carrots – Nice for color, and vegetable sweetness and freshness, additionally generally utilized in chowders.
No onion or celery? These are sometimes utilized in chowders however I made a decision to skip them as a result of they don’t enhance broth flavour (so nothing misplaced by excluding them), and I needed this chowder to be seafood moderately than vegetable ahead. In case you add them, the chowder could be very,,,,cluttered. 🙂 Stew-like! Nonetheless scrumptious although, so be happy to extend the greens on this, I’ll pop some concepts and steerage within the FAQs.
2. broth
Right here’s what you want for the seafood soup broth. Secret ingredient – fish sauce! 🙂 (See rantings above about store-bought fish inventory)
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Chicken inventory or selfmade fish inventory – If you’re fortunate sufficient to have some selfmade fish inventory available, that is undoubtedly the best choice! However retailer purchased chicken inventory does a fantastic job right here and this recipe was designed to style nice utilizing that. Chicken inventory is approach most well-liked over retailer purchased fish inventory which is Terrible with a capital A (the mass produced stuff, that’s, in case your fish monger sells selfmade fish inventory I’m positive that’s terrific!).
The chowder broth doesn’t style chicken-y, it has beautiful seafood flavour from the seafood we poach within the broth. (Notice: I’m referring to liquid chicken inventory right here, not powder reconstituted with water which is extra synthetic tasting).
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Fish sauce (secret trick!) – My little trick to pack in a bit of additional umami and seafoody-ness (is that even a phrase?!), taking the place of flavourless salt. You can’t style it in any respect, and the fish sauce features as a background seasoning. Extra delicate than utilizing anchovies which I additionally thought of. Completely optionally available, simply use salt in the event you don’t have it or don’t need to use it.
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Cream – I like cream for this recipe as a result of it provides the creaminess with out diluting the broth, not like milk. If you’re calorie-conscious, be happy to make use of milk as a substitute, or cut back the cream although I might not go any decrease than half a cup (125ml).
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Butter – Be happy to substitute with a impartial vegetable oil, however butter has extra flavour.
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White wine – This provides a contact of additional depth of flavour into the broth. Ideally use chardonnay, or one other dry white. Don’t use something too candy or too woody. In case you can’t drink alcohol, depart it out, it’s not a deal breaker on this recipe.
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Flour – This thickens the broth. Some chowders don’t use flour so the broth could be very watery. I don’t suppose I can get my head round that!
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White moderately than black pepper – To maintain the soup a fantastic unblemished white color and keep away from little black spots. However I promise you received’t destroy your chowder in the event you use black pepper as a substitute!
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Chives or parsley – Elective garnish. It is good to have one thing recent and inexperienced on an in any other case very white soup. 🙂
make Seafood Chowder
There’s a handful of “flip range up” “flip range down!” instructions, however I do know you possibly can deal with it – flip the knob a method, then the opposite. You bought this! 🥰 Aside from range power modifications, that is very straight ahead. 🙂
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Put together marinara combine – Separate the uncooked and cooked seafood (normally mussels, generally prawns/shrimp). They’ll go into the soup at totally different occasions. Then minimize giant fish items into ~2.5cm/1″ items.
💡Notice: Not like some seafood dishes, I really feel like chowder is extra forgiving so that you don’t must be overly meticulous in regards to the measurement of the seafood items and cooking them for the precise time required so they’re completely cooked. Chill out. 🙂 This recipe is meant to be straightforward!
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Bacon first – Prepare dinner the bacon within the butter till mild golden, then take away with a slotted spoon so you permit the butter and bacon fats within the pot. We’re not losing a scrap of flavour!
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Deglaze – Give the garlic a fast sauté within the butter, then simmer the wine quickly on excessive warmth till largely evaporated which is able to prepare dinner out the alcohol and simply depart behind the tasty flavour that may add depth to your broth. Because it simmers, scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any bacon golden bits so it dissolves into the wine (it’s known as fond and it’s free flavour!).
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Roux – Subsequent, prepare dinner the flour for 1 minute. Will probably be a pastry sludge. That is known as a roux, and this flour combination is what thickens the soup broth.
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Broth – Then, whereas stirring, slowly pour about 1 cup of the inventory in. Maintain stirring vigorously till the roux dissolves into the inventory – it would grow to be fairly thick. Add the remainder of the inventory and blend till it’s lump free – use a whisk if wanted (I do, fast swish is all that’s wanted).
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Simmer – Put the potatoes and carrots in, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once in a while so the bottom doesn’t catch, till the carrots and potatoes are nearly executed. They’ll solely prepare dinner slightly extra within the subsequent steps, so examine them.
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Uncooked seafood 3 minutes solely! – Put the uncooked seafood in together with the cream, fish sauce, pepper and corn. Let it simmer for simply 3 minutes – seafood cooks quick, and no person needs rubbery bits of calamari of their chowder!
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Cooked seafood – Then stir within the cooked seafood. No have to prepare dinner it, it would heat up within the time it will get you to take the pot off the range and serve.
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Serving – Ladle into bowls and prime with a sprinkle of one thing inexperienced. (Chives could be very basic which is what I opted for. Parsley is frequent, dill would even be beautiful, even inexperienced onion is nice).
Soup dunkers!
I really feel like serving chowder with one thing crusty for dunking is a compulsory chowder consuming rule! I’m fairly positive I’ve ranted about this up to now, together with anti-carton-fish-stock rants and different issues. 🙂
Listed here are some choices – select the one which works finest for you!
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Fast and Soiled Focaccia – The SOS model of focaccia I describe as 93% nearly as good for 30% of the hassle of conventional focaccia. Very nicely obtained by readers!
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The notorious Straightforward Artisan, NO KNEAD crusty bread – or the Cheese model (gasp!)
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Herb and garlic fast bread loaf – the muffin batter type, so it’s a lot quicker to make than yeast-based breads. The buttery herby garlic flavour in that is all the things! The Cheese muffin model can be wonderful, and quicker to make. 🙂
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GARLIC BREAD – I’m placing this in caps within the secret hope that it catches your consideration that that is the one you select!
Like to know what you suppose in the event you do that! And in the event you use your personal seafood combine, inform me what you employ! – Johnsat x
Watch easy methods to make it
Ingredients
- 650g/ 1.3lb seafood marinara mix or mixed fresh seafood – fish , squid, prawns, cooked mussel meat (Note 1)
- 50g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 100g/ 4oz streaky bacon , chopped into 1.5cm / 1/2″ squares
- 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 1/2 cup chardonnay or other dry white wine (can skip)
- 1/3 cup flour , plain/all-purpose (Note 3 for gluten-free)
- 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock/broth, low sodium OR homemade fish stock (avoid store-bought fish stock) (Note 2)
- 2 medium carrots , peeled, cut into 7mm / 1/3" pieces (~1 1/2 cups)
- 2 large potatoes (any type fine), peeled, cut into 1cm / 0.2" cubes (~2 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup thickened cream / heavy cream (sub milk for lighter option)
- 1 cup corn (frozen or canned, drained)
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- Pinch white pepper (substitute black pepper)
- 3 tbsp chives or parsley , finely chopped, for garnish
- Crusty bread or better yet, garlic bread!
Instructions
- Cook bacon in butter, remove. Sauté garlic, deglaze with white wine, make roux. Add stock, simmer potato, carrots and bacon 10 min. Add cream, corn, fish sauce, pepper, raw seafood – simmer 3 min. Stir in cooked seafood, taste for salt. Serve!
- Marinara mix – Separate cooked seafood (usually mussels, sometimes prawns/shrimp) from raw seafood. We put them in at different times.
- Cut any large pieces of fish into 2.5cm / 1" cubes.
- Bacon – In a heavy-based pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add bacon and cook for 3 – 4 minutes until the edges are light golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove into bowl, leaving fat in the pot.
- Deglaze – Add the garlic and cook for 10 seconds (don't let it brown). Add the wine, simmer rapidly on high for 3 minutes, scraping the base to loosen any golden bacon bits, until the wine is mostly evaporated.
- Roux – Reduce heat down to medium, add the flour and mix for 1 minute ("roux").
- Broth – While stirring, pour in about 1 cup of the stock and mix to dissolve the roux – it will thicken into a paste. Add the remaining stock and stir well until lump free (use a whisk if needed).
- Simmer 10 minutes – Increase heat to high, bring to the boil, add the carrots, potatoes and bacon. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 – 12 minutes, or until the carrots are just about done.
- Simmer raw seafood 3 minutes – Add the cream, fish sauce, pepper, corn and raw seafood. Simmer for 3 minutes until the fish is just cooked (test – flesh should flake).
- Cooked seafood – Stir in cooked seafood, taste and add more salt if needed (I don't).
- Serve – Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with chives. Serve with warm crusty bread for dunking!
Notes
1. Seafood mix – This recipe is designed to be easy to make using a store-bought seafood marinara mix, sold at the deli of most large grocery stores and in the freezer section. Usually contains a white fish, salmon, squid rings (calamari), prawns (sometimes cooked, sometimes raw), cooked mussels. If frozen, thaw thoroughly in a strainer set over a bowl, overnight in the fridge.
Fresh seafood mix – choose your own! Anything goes here. 🙂
2. Chicken stock?? Yes, chicken stock! I have very, very strong views about store bought fish stock – it’s just awful. (The mass produced stuff, that is, if your fish monger sells homemade fish stock I am sure that is terrific!). Chicken stock (liquid form, not powder) makes a much nicer broth and yes, you will have lovely seafood flavour and no, it will not taste chicken-y!
3. Gluten-free option – Follow recipe but skip the flour step. Mix 2.5 tbsp each cornflour/cornstarch and water, then mix into cream, proceed with recipe as written.
Leftovers – 3 days in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer (thaw overnight in the fridge then gently reheat on the stove). Also a really good one to make ahead and gently reheat to serve later in the day (just be careful not to overcook the seafood when reheating, so use low heat and minimum reheating time!)
Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings.
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