This creamy New England fish chowder recipe, adapted from Maine’s beloved Moody’s Diner, tastes surprisingly light, and is full of fresh, flaky fish and satisfying potatoes. Best of all? This authentic Maine haddock chowder is easy to make in under an hour. Stop fishing for the perfect fish chowder. It’s this.
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My grandfather is a native Mainer, from a small town in the midcoast, not too far from Rockland. Every year growing up (and now), we would drive north on Coastal Route 1 to visit his hometown, always stopping along the way at Moody’s Diner in Nobleboro. Every time we stopped, there was only one possible order: the New England fish chowder — milky, savory, and filled with fish and potato chunks — and a big, fluffy buttermilk biscuit.
This is the exact haddock chowder I’ve enjoyed in Maine for decades at Moody’s Diner. We can make this authentic Maine fish chowder recipe at home thanks to the Moody’s cookbook, What’s Cooking at Moody’s. And it is, quite simply, the perfect fish chowder.
All chowders have a special homey, satisfying quality, but this easy, creamy New England fish chowder recipe is particularly delicious in its simplicity. It’s surprisingly light, and full of chunky fresh fish, potatoes, and a delicate, satisfying flavor. Bonus: It takes only an hour to make.
You’ll also like: Coconut Fish Chowder With Greens and Herby French Potato Salad. And be sure to check out the Unpeeled Journal dining guides to Where to Eat in Midcoast Maine and the Best Restaurants in Portland, Maine.
Why This Recipe Works
Here’s what you need to know about this easy fish chowder recipe:
- It’s a true New England style fish chowder. This is a milky and brothy chowder, not thick and gloopy like a flour-thickened style you often see in clam chowder or various and sundry tourist traps. This is an authentic, fresh coastal Maine chowder, from Moody’s Diner’s own published recipe.
- Only a few simple ingredients. Many fish chowder recipes build a broth with clam juice or fish stock. This one does not. The simple combination of potatoes, onion, fresh fish, and evaporated milk is enough to make a flavorful chowder. You also do not need bacon.
- It’s genuinely fast and easy to make. This choder takes about 15 minutes of hands-on prep and roughly an hour total, most of which is hands-off simmering.
- It’s naturally gluten-free, with no flour, stock cubes, or hidden thickeners
What Goes Into This Recipe
Here are the ingredients you need to make your fish chowder. Note that this does not require any fish or clam stock or bacon — it’s just nice and simple, but nonetheless very flavorful.
- Haddock: this fish is the classic choice; cod is the best substitute. Avoid oily fish (salmon) or delicate fish (such as sole or flounder), which won’t hold together.
- Yukon gold potatoes: their starch lightly thickens the broth, and they will hold together and not turn into mashed potatoes when cooked
- Yellow onion: diced small
- Evaporated milk and cream (or half-and-half): These can be used interchangeably. Do not, however, substitute plain milk, which will be too thin. You need the richness and body of the cream and evaporated milk to balance the water.
- Butter: added in two stages
- Bay leaf, salt, and pepper: for seasoning
Substitutions and Additions
- Cod is the best substitute for haddock since it’s another chunky white fish that holds together well.
- Bacon: You can add a couple diced strips of bacon and cook with the onion for a smokier version
- Thyme: a sprig alongside the bay leaf adds an additional aromatic
- Clam juice or fish stock instead of water: you can, but it will change the flavor profile a bit
- Gluten-free: yes, as written
Want another simple, authentic Maine recipe? Make yourself these New England Crab Rolls.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the onion and potatoes. Soften the onion in half the butter with the bay leaf, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and enough water to just cover everything. Cover and boil gently until fork-tender, about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Add the fish and dairy. Lay the fish fillets whole on top. Pour in the evaporated milk and cream. Do not stir (the fish will break apart). Cover and simmer gently, undisturbed, for about 15 minutes, checking that the liquid never reaches a full boil. This is the step that matters most: evaporated milk and cream can curdle if boiled.
Step 3: Finish the soup. Once the fish flakes easily, stir in the remaining butter, salt, and pepper, breaking the fish into big flakes as you go. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve with chives and oyster crackers or buttermilk biscuits.
Storage and Reheating
This fish chowder will keep in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat over gentle heat until it reaches a full simmer. Do not over-stir or boil.
I do not recommend freezing this soup. The fish and potatoes will develop a grainy texture due to realignment of the protein and starch molecules. (Food chemistry, alas. What can you do.)
How to Serve This Fish Chowder
Oyster crackers make the most authentic accompaniment to this fish chowder recipe. But warm buttermilk biscuits straight from the oven are often served with chowder as well, and taste even better.
Wine Pairings
If you want a wine pairing (and why wouldn’t you?) for your chowder, choose an un-oaked white that tastes crisp, ideally with some bright lemon notes. I love a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio for this, and Champagne is always the right choice with just about anything, including this chowder.
F.A.Q.s and Helpful Tips
Maine- or New England-style chowders (clam chowder, fish chowder, lobster stew) have a milk or cream base. Manhattan chowders, on the other hand, contain no cream. Instead, these soups use a tomato broth, and usually have vegetables like carrots and celery, seasoned with herbs like parsley and thyme.
The pot got too hot. Keep it at a bare simmer, both while cooking and when reheating.
Not well, and I do not recommend doing this. The dairy separates when frozen and thawed, and the proteins and starches in the fish and potatoes can turn grainy in texture. Refrigerate leftovers instead for up to 2 days, and reheat low and slow on the stovetop.
Use very fresh, meaty white fish for the best fish chowder recipe. Haddock would be the top choice for this fish chowder recipe. Cod also works very well. Make sure the bones and skin have been completely removed. You want a meaty, lean white fish. Oily, strong-tasting fish like salmon, swordfish, tuna, and the like are bad fish choices for fish chowder. Likewise, delicate white fish like sole or flounder is not substantial enough and will break apart.
What thickens an authentic New England fish chowder? Not much. This and other authentic fish chowder recipes do not use any thickeners like flour or cornstarch. Traditionally, Maine-style fish chowder is not thick and gloopy, but rather milky and broth like. The chowder will thicken slightly, however, thanks to the starch in the potatoes. This fish chowder with potatoes and milk yields a haddock chowder recipe that is creamy but not thick, brothy but not watery.
For Us Food History Nerds: When Was Fish Chowder Invented?
The generally-accepted wisdom is that creamy New England chowders became popular in the early 1800s, when it was served at Boston’s (still-famous) Union Oyster House, the oldest continually-operated restaurant in America. The style of soup, already well known regionally, spread throughout New England from there.
Meanwhile, down the coast, Rhode Island’s Portuguese immigrant fishing communities traveled back and forth from New York City’s Fulton Fish Market in the mid-1800s, bringing with them their Mediterranean-style tomato and vegetable fish soup. Allegedly. The history of this exact fish chowder recipe is less clear.
And if you love a creamy fish recipe, try this creamy smoked salmon pasta. It’s rich, lightened with lemon, and is ready in 20 minutes.
If you loved this recipe, you’ll also enjoy:
- Senate Ham + Bean Soup
- Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Dining Guide: Midcoast Maine
- Easy Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
New England Fish Chowder
Essential Equipment
- 4- to 5-quart heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut to a medium dice
- Cold water
- 1 pound fresh haddock or cod fillets, picked over for bones
- 1 12-ounce can of evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste I prefer Diamond Crystal brand
- Fresh minced chives and oyster crackers, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Dice the potatoes and onions. PRO TIP: If you're not making the soup right away, you can keep cut potatoes from discoloring by covering them in cold water until ready for use.
- Cook the onions in butter. In a soup pot, melt half the butter (3 tablespoons) over medium-low heat. Add the diced onions and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and water. Add the diced potatoes and enough water to the pot to fully cover the potatoes and onions. Cover and gently boil until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the fish and dairy. Lay the whole fish fillets on top of the potatoes and onion. Add the evaporated milk and the half-and-half or cream. Do not stir. Cover and cook at a simmer, without stirring, for about 15 minutes. Check the pot once or twice to make sure the liquid does not boil.
- Finish cooking the chowder. Check to make sure that the potatoes have fully softened, and the fish is cooked and flakes apart easily. Add the rest of the butter, the salt, and a good dose of fresh black pepper. Stir gently to combine and break the fish apart a bit. Taste for seasoning and discard the bay leaf.
- Serve. Top your fish chowder with fresh minced chives and serve with oyster crackers or hot biscuits.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
96 comments
Melissa
Ayuh, that’s a mighty wicked good chowdah.
And yes I’m from Maine!!
Melissa
Lisa Ruland
Fantastic! I’m so happy it earned a “wicked good” review from a Mainer–what a nice testament to the recipe’s authenticity. So glad you enjoyed.
Betty
so yummy, this time I added can oysters along withe haddock! yummy!!
Lisa Ruland
Oh what a good idea! I’m so glad you liked it, and thanks for the nice note.
Jordan
Being born and raised in Maine, and raising our children here as well this is our go to recipe for Chowdah! We also add bacon!
Lisa Ruland
I’m so glad you love it! Thanks for the note and great call: bacon is always a good decision. Enjoy.
Cynthia
Mother from Boston always started fish chowder with frying up diced salt pork til crispy, removing to paper towels to reserve for toppings, then frying the onions in the reserved smokey fat and using only half and half or whole milk. Otherwise spot on.
Lisa Ruland
Yum…bacon or salt pork does add such a phenomenal flavor. This is closer to a Maine-style, but bacon would be a wonderful addition!
Nancy
I love this recipe! Living on the Ma/Ri coast all my life, I’ve become very picky about chowdah. Sometimes, I use half a pound of white fish and add shrimp, scallops and little neck clams to it. Comes out great. Thank you for sharing this recipe….a keepah for shuah!
Lisa Ruland
I’m so glad you liked the chowdah, and I take this as high praise coming from a true New Englander!
Sammy K.
This is very authentic and tasted so good, not too thick but more like a chowder broth, which is the Maine style. I am going to Maine again his fall and will try to eat at Moody’s to compare! Thanks!
Cynthia
My mother was from Boston and ALWAYS started her fish chowder with fried minced salt pork removed to towels and sprinkled on these crunchies to garnish. Fat drained as needed but the not washed. Thick bacon would be a possible alternative. Blissful smokiness.
Lisa Ruland
This sounds so fantastic. I love the idea of a little salty crunch on top! I’m going to do that next time. Thanks for this note!
Betty Frost
I am interested in making this but I have a couple of questions.
1) The introductions said it is made simply with milk. The recipe shows half/half or cream. So?
2) Although it references nutritional value none are shown. The full nutritional disclaimer is but not the nutritional information for the chowder.
Thanks, Betty
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Betty. Thanks for writing. Good catch. I should have been more accurate; while the main dairy ingredient is a can of evaporated milk, there is a touch of cream or hald-and-half for a little something extra. As to the nutrition facts, I have updated the recipe to include them. Thanks so much!
Kate
Can you make this in the crockpot?
Unpeeled
Hi, Kate. Good question. I have been thinking about this because a crock pot is so convenient, but honestly do not know if I could recommend that. I think you really risk overcooking the fish, and letting the dairy cook for so long could make the broth texture a little off over time. The good news is that the chowder does come together quickly in a pot over the stove! I hope this helps (even though it may not be the answer we hoped for). Either way, I hope you enjoy!
Kate
Oddly enough, today I got all the ingredients to make one of my childhood favorites. I thought I’d see if anyone knew the authentic Maine Fish Chowdah recipe, like Moody’s makes it, and published it on the web. I was delighted to see it on your site! Thank you for sharing this with a wide audience to enjoy and pass down the generations!
Unpeeled
Hi, Kate! That’s wo wonderful to hear. It’s so great that you also know how good the Moody’s chowdah is! I’ve tried a lot of chowders in Maine, and Moody’s Diner is the best I’ve found. Thanks for trying the recipe and all the best.
Colleen
So close to how my mom’s tasted! Thanks for posting.
Lisa Ruland
Aww, I love hearing this! I am so glad you were able to enjoy it and have this connection with your mom. My mom makes this soup as well–that’s how I know the recipe!
andi
I made this exactly as written with just one substitution; halibut instead of cod. I had some halibut I’d purchased on sale a few weeks ago in my freezer and rather than make a trip to the grocery decided this was a great way to use it. I’ve never had this type of fish stew (but have made clam chowder many times) and am now a convert! This was truly excellent-as are all the recipes I’ve made from your site. The only change I might make next time is to add another 1/3 to 1/2 lb. fish just because I love fish. I also didn’t feel that peeling the potatoes was necessary. Thanks for a very tasty recipe and great way to start ’24!
Unpeeled
So glad you enjoyed this and thanks for the nice note. Happy New Year!