This creamy fish chowder recipe is special because it is roux free! It isn’t often you can have a gluten free New England style chowder. And a special bonus, this soup is also lactose-free!
Grab a spoon and appetite because you are going to want seconds of this delicious fish chowder. I also include a video below so you can watch every step of making this easy chowder recipe! If you love hot soup as much as we do, you may want to check out all of my delicious gluten free soup recipes.
(*This post was sponsored by Clover Sonoma. All opinions and happiness about their Lactose-Free milk are my own.)
When is the last time you had chowder? Our family loved eating chowder before going gluten free. When I say loved, the chowder was the best form of comfort food for my son.
My son went into mourning when he could no longer eat his favorite soup. When I made this fish chowder, I texted him a picture of it cooking so he knew he would have a treat when he got home.
He came home hungry, two bowls of this soup devoured…he seems to be in a perpetual growing phase.
Most New England style chowders are made with a roux. Roux is a flour paste, made out of wheat flour. This paste is used to thicken the chowder.
I am really excited to share this recipe with you because it is completely possible to get that amazing creamy clam chowder flavor without lactose and without gluten!
Lactose-Free Milk
One of the reasons I am making this soup for my family is because I can now make it lactose-free with Clover Sonoma’s new Lactose-Free milk. Their lactose-free milk comes in nonfat, low fat, reduced fat, and whole milk so there is an option for everyone.
Our family doesn’t react well to lactose, so this milk is perfect so we don’t feel bloated.
I have been buying Clover milk for years. For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know how much I love companies that give back. Both to their community, and the environment.
What I love most about Clover Dairy:
- Clover has remained conscious and careful about what goes into their products (and what doesn’t) for three generations. This means you can feel good about serving Clover Sonoma’s milk to your family!
- Clover has had a sustained commitment to natural dairy products including non-GMO and organic lines sourced from small, local farms.
- Their community giveback program, Clover Cares, gives at least 5% of their annual profits to support what’s dear to them: Elevating Dairy, Empowering Future Generations, and Supporting their Community. (Coming from a non-profit background, this is huge for me!)
Clover’s milk comes from 29 small family farms in Northern California, primarily in Marin and Sonoma counties. (This is up in the beautiful North Bay Area, where we love to hike and spend a lot of time.) Clover ensures that the dairy farms they work with meet their standards of quality (bacteria, coliform, and somatic cell counts), animal welfare and environmental stewardship standards.
Shopping List:
- Milk
- Bacon
- Cod fillets
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Garlic
- Thyme, salt, pepper
- Cornstarch
Are you ready to make this creamy cod chowder?
In a soup pot, add your oil, onion, and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add in the potatoes and bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the seasonings and cook 10 minutes until the potatoes are slightly softened.
Next, add the corn starch, cod fillets, milk. Turn the heat to medium, cover the pot and allow it to come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer another 20-30 minutes. Enjoy!!
This wholesome chowder has whole real food ingredients.”
Can you freeze fish chowder?
You can easily freeze this fish chowder recipe. Use a freezer-safe container and make sure it is sealed completely. To defrost the fish chowder, put into a soup pot, cover and warm on medium-low. Stir every few minutes until the soup is defrosted.
What can you serve with fish chowder?
Ways to customize this chowder recipe:
- Change the seafood from Cod to clams, shrimp, or any of your favorite fish.
- Mix it up by using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes. This will add a little more sweetness, which would taste great with the fresh sage!
How to Make New England Fish Chowder Recipe:
New England Style Fish Chowder
A simple, creamy lactose free and gluten free New England style fish chowder recipe.
Ingredients
- 6 cups Clover Lactose Free Whole Milk
- 3 cod filets
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 cups potatoes, diced
- 5 slices bacon, cooked, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, (use 1 teaspoon if using dried sage)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, ( use 1 teaspoon if using dried)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- In a skillet, add oil and onion. Sauté until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Add potatoes and cooked bacon. Mix well.
- Add seasonings and cornstarch and cook for 10 minutes.
- Next, add the milk and cod filets. (You can add the cod filets whole because they will break up when they are cooked. You can also put the fish in frozen if your fish is not defrosted.)
- Cover and bring to a boil, on medium heat and allow to gently boil for 10 minutes.
- Turn temperature to simmer and allow to cook another 20 minutes until done.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 234 Total Fat: 9g Saturated Fat: 4g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 50mg Sodium: 418mg Carbohydrates: 18g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 9g Protein: 20g
Dana
I love this! It’s so important to create classics that people with dietary restrictions can enjoy. I avoided clam chowder for a long time after going pescetarian because of the bacon, but recently came up with a pescetarian-friendly recipe that uses smoked kipper fillets instead. Same smokey and salty flavor, and still just as scrumptious! This looks fabulous. I’m sure people who can’t have gluten or lactose are singing your praises right now.
Sandi Gaertner
I love your bacon free recipe. It would be great for those who don’t eat pork.
Haley D Williams
Well this sounds like just what I have been craving! Cannot want to have a big bowl!
Sandi Gaertner
Glad to help Haley 🙂
Marjory
Big chowder fans and I can’t wait to try this. It sounds fantatic. We try to avoid gluten as much as possible and this sounds perfect!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you are going to try it Marjory. Let me know what you think 🙂
Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C
This is genius! So many people have a sensitivity to gluten and/or lactose, and now they can enjoy clam chowder too. I never would have noticed anything different if you didn’t mention it.
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Andrea…I can’t tell you how much we missed chowder.
Danielle
I haven’t had chowder since I was in Maine about 12 years ago. This recipe has me craving it now.
Sandi Gaertner
Wow, I feel honored that you get to try this. 12 years is a long time!
Christina
This is perfect for Lent! The layers of flavor are incredible!
Sandi Gaertner
Thank you so much Christina 🙂
Joyce
This is fantastic as I am also lactose intolerant too but love my creamy soups. I had no idea that lactose free milk even came in whole, I usually find it only in 1% or 2% so this makes me a very happy girl. 🙂
Sandi Gaertner
I am really glad to have found this lactose free whole milk too Joyce :-).
Dawn Parker
In the recipe, it says “5 slices cooked, chopped”. What is it?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Dawn, you would chop up 5 slices of cooked bacon. I hope that clarifies.