Mom's Nova Scotia Seafood Chowder Recipe

Wow, and more wow. I only made half, but this has to be one of the best chowders I ever tasted and made. Next time though, I will add more salmon for the simple reason I like salmon.

This is very similar to the recipe my mother makes (also east-coaster). She doesn't use crab but essentially subsitutes the amount of crab for more lobster. She also only uses haddock not cod and salmon and only uses 10% cream. Additionally, she uses cold water shrimp and puts them in with the veggies to cook. Finally, she adds a pinch or two of curry powder!

This is an amazing recipe as is, everyone in my house loved it (including a very picky 9 year old). I'm making it for the 3rd time today. I now alter the recipe slightly: use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water to boil up the onions and potatoes. Use only just enough to cover them so that there is not too much liquid making the chowder thin. To thicken, I peel a white potatoe and puree it in the blender till smooth. Add the potatoe puree to the soup and it'll thicken up beautifully without altering the taste (use more than 1 potatoe if making a large amount). Generally, I add: haddock, scallops, lobster, crab, shrimp and canned baby clams to my seafood chowder.

Similar to mine (also from the East-coast) but with the following revisions: I start with bacon - cube and cook it in the pot, add onions and then seafood stock and white wine - just enough to barely cover the potatoes and carrots. Once the potatoes and carrots are 2/3 cooked add seafood according to cook time so that nothing is over cooked. Lobster, clams, mussels, white fish (I find salmon far too over powering), shrimp, sea scallops, snow or King crab - whatever seafood you like. When seafood is just about done add heavy cream, butter, salt & pepper to taste and some fresh thyme and curry powder. Fold in and reduce heat to low. Enjoy with buttermilk biscuits. Finish off with strawberry shortcake.

This was the best soup! I used catfish that my husband had caught instead of the tilapia (you could really use anything) I also added some Cajun seasoning and some old bay. I put the veggies and potatoes in a pot with 1 carton of chicken broth instead of the water and cooked until soft. So I just kept all of the chicken broth instead of dumping out half a pan of water, then added the rest.

First time I made this I halved the recipe, but we loved it so much that the second time I made this I made the full recipe and froze the leftovers so we can have this whenever the urge hits. The original recipe, while good was too bland for our taste, so the second time I added several ribs of thinly sliced celery with the onions and carrots and added 3 heaping tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning with the seafood. Fabulous. Thanks, Mom!

Very delicious. I tweaked it a bit to my liking using less water and adding clam juice. I also removed the veggies before adding the seafood and puree'd them with the heavy cream and half & half because I love a more smooth and creamy texture. My family really enjoyed it. Will definitely make again very soon!

This was delicious! Similar to what we’ve had at the Rope Loft in Chester, NS (This is high praise.) A very slight modification: Before adding the cream, I drained and saved almost all the broth, added the cream mixture and then added a little broth back in. That way, I was sure it wouldn’t be too watery.

Outstanding! I use 2 lbs of of all the seafood plus 2 qt of heavy cream and 2 qt of half & half in a 16 qt stock pot. I make this every Christmas Eve for our family. Let it sit overnight in the fridge and it is so so delicious the next day. Thank goodness I live in Maine on the ocean where seafood is cheap...lol

Delicious! I did lighten it up considerably by using Almond Milk instead of all the heavy cream and half & half. I also added some Old Bay seasoning and only half the butter called for. This is just due to my personal preference. And I know chowder purists would disagree, but personally, I would much rather sacrifice a bit of richness to save all the fat and calories. Due to using the Almond Milk, I did need to thicken it a bit with corn starch, but it truly was scrumptious and a real keeper!! Next time, I think I will throw in some corn and some celery - yum!!

This is a good recipe for reference. I make chowder once in a long while so I look up a recipe to see if I'm missing anything important. My family call it one of those clean out the fridge recipes. Whatever vegetables getting old in the fridge end up in the pot! I always include a few scallops and often a bit of salmon. Not a lot . A little will put some flavour in the entire pot and whatever fish is available. Never lobster , crab mussels or clams for me.(I like them but not in chowder.). Instead of heavy cream I use whatever milk I have on had thickened with a bit of butter and flour ( A roux, heat equal parts butter and flour, Cook until it's gluey then thin slowly with milk) Halifax, Nova Scotia

What a seafood extravaganza, this recipe is delicious. I loved that you get all sorts of different textures and flavors with all the various proteins and vegetables. It’s also a pretty forgiving recipe, you can always adjust the seasonings even after it’s fully cooked. You can also get creative and use other seafoods as well, gotta keep your fishing rod handy.

Obsessed with the flavors! 😱

I've lived in NS for a few years now and this is almost exactly how we all make it. No carrots for us and we don't drain our clams. Best comfort food ever!

It reminded me of my grandmothers seafood chowder my friends will be asking for more

I just made it, a half-recipe, to serve to my book club tonight. Our book was set in Halifax during WWI. I didn't have scallops, so added a little more shrimp. I also added a little onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. It smells so good,. I can't wait to taste it!

incredibly good chowder. I think the prep time is grossly understated; it takes a whole season of fishing to catch everything in the recipe! Otherwise easy to follow even for a guy.

My son found this recipe and wanted me to make it for him. I had all the ingredients except for the lobster, which I used fresh Pacific Northwest halibut which held up well in this stew. I cook a lot and made a couple of minor changes. I cooked the vegetables in 1/2 the water and added a tablespoon or so of Better than Bouillon chicken base with a little salt and pepper. And thickened it with just a tiny bit of corn starch slurry. This chowder has a nice deep flavor and along with all the seafood, this was the tastiest ever!

I’m married to a maritimer(Nova Scotian) and it’s my first time to make this. It’s now our family’s new top favourite meal! Added lots of scallops since we all love scallops.

Bro, I can’t believe I made this myself.