Irish Seafood Chowder
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Irish Seafood Chowder is delicious and filling comfort food and is common fare in Irish pubs and restaurants. Serve with Irish Soda Bread for an authentic and tasty meal in 30 minutes or less!
Prefer chicken to seafood? My Chicken Potato Chowder is perfect for weeknights.
If you're longing for simple, fresh, delicious Irish Pub food, or a cozy bowl of Irish comfort food, you've found one of my favorites!
Deliciously simple to make, and packed with seafood the Emerald Isle is known for, this Irish Seafood Chowder highlights everything delicious about this beautiful country.
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Key Ingredients
Specific ingredient measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Butter for sauteing
- Aromatics: onion, potatoes, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper
- Flour for thickening the chowder
- Cooking liquid: seafood stock or vegetable stock, plus milk, cream, or half and half
- Seafood: Use smoked fish if you can for the best flavor imaginable. I'm using a combination of cod (or any white fish), smoked salmon, frozen prawns, and mussels, but bay scallops, clams, or crab meat is delicious too!
- Fresh parsley for serving
How to Make Irish Fish Chowder
Like most soup recipes, this seafood chowder is easy to prepare. While step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below, here's a brief overview with photos.
- Step 1: Melt the butter in a large pot.
- Step 2: Sauté onion and celery over medium heat until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Step 3: Add the flour and stir until the aroma is nutty, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 4: Add stock, potato, bay leaf, and milk to the pot.
- Step 5: Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-high and simmer until the potato is soft, about 10 minutes.
- Step 6: Cook until the shrimp is pink and the shellfish (if using) have opened, and the fish flakes easily. Stir gently to prevent scorching. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with Irish Soda Bread. I baked a fresh batch of Mini Irish Soda Bread for individual servings!
Best Fish Chowder Tips
- Smoked Fish: Use smoked fish whenever possible. It's what gives this chowder its amazing flavor.
- Seafood Stock: I love to use seafood stock in this chowder recipe. While vegetable stocks work fine in a pinch, the seafood stock takes it to the next level!
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Irish Seafood Chowder
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 celery rib chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups seafood stock or vegetable stock
- 1 russet potato peeled and diced small
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups milk
- 1 ½ lbs fish use smoked if you can. I like a combination of white fish and salmon cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces prawns peeled, deveined and tails removed
- ¼ lb. bay scallops or clams or crab meat
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, melt the butter and cook onion and celery over medium heat until softened; about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the flour and stir until the aroma is nutty; 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add stock, potato, bay leaf, milk and smoked fish to the pot; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium high and simmer until potato is soft, about 10 min.
- Then add the remaining seafood and bring the chowder back to a simmer. Cook until the shrimp is pink and the clams have opened if using, and the fish flakes easily, stirring gently to prevent scorching.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve with Irish Soda Bread.
Video
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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