9 Store-Bought New England Clam Chowders, Ranked

One of the most beautiful aspects of American cuisine is its regional delicacies. Whether it be Louisiana gumbo, Nashville hot chicken, or a tangy Key Lime pie, the U.S. has a rich culinary history that doesn't get enough credit. New England's claim to fame is its clam chowder. The indulgent, comforting soup is a must-try at the countless seafood shacks and historic establishments dotted along the coastline.

However, if you can't find your way to New England, or your favorite clam chowder spot is closed for the season, store-bought options are an accessible way to satisfy the craving. There are a variety of store-bought New England clam chowders on the market, including those from corporate giants like Campbell's and Progresso and ones from New England manufacturers like Bar Harbor Foods and Blount Fine Foods. When I go to the grocery store, I've found that an abundance of options can make it even more difficult to decide which brand to buy.

I decided to test out several different New England clam chowders to help make those in-store decisions just a little bit easier. I ranked these chowders based on three major categories: texture, flavor, and consistency. Using this criterion, I narrowed down which clam chowders tasted the best and which were better off skipped altogether. 

The official soup sponsor of the NFL, Campbell's Chunky soup is no stranger to collaborations. In 2022, the soup line collaborated with Old Bay, releasing the Campbell's Chunky Old Bay-Seasoned Clam Chowder. Originally used as a seasoning blend for shrimp and crabs, there are tons of unexpected ways to use Old Bay seasoning. However, the blend is truly at its best when paired with seafood. This is why I had high hopes for Campbell's Chunky Old Bay-Seasoned Clam Chowder Soup. 

Visually, the chowder had a light orange hue with small pieces of herbs speckled throughout. The chowder was very thick, even when heated, and the contents were dominated by large chunks of potatoes. The predominant flavor was the Old Bay. There was a slight clam flavor from the stock, but it only came through on the back end of each bite and was overwhelmed by the iconic spice blend. Each bite started with a subtle sweetness, followed by a hint of saltiness, and then a slight kick of spice. The actual heat level was pretty mellow, which would please folks who are spice-averse. However, this soup wasn't clam-forward enough to feel like a true clam chowder. 

Overall, I was disappointed by this collaboration. It felt more like a spiced potato soup than a clam chowder. If you are a fan of Old Bay seasoning, it might be better to opt for a traditional clam chowder and add the seasoning yourself.

One of Amazon's top best sellers for packaged chowders at the time of writing, Campbell's Chunky New England Clam Chowder Soup is a widely popular store-bought chowder option. The chowder, which comes in an 18.8-ounce can with the branding, "soup that eats like a meal," definitely hits that mark. For under $2 a can, the chowder is an affordable option for a quick, filling meal. Although it's a solid, budget-friendly pick, if you want that authentic New England clam chowder experience, this Campbell's chowder falls flat. 

The consistency was the same as the Old Bay-seasoned version. Its thickness was more reminiscent of a stew than a chowder. The contents, again, were filled mostly with big pieces of potatoes. In each spoonful, I tasted at least three chunks of potatoes and a few small bits of clams. As for the flavor, I preferred this over the other Campbell's Chunky variety. The clam flavor was subtle, with hints of celery coming through. There was another aftertaste I couldn't quite pinpoint, but it came across as slightly artificial and unpleasant. This chowder wasn't terrible by any means, and if you want a bite on a budget, it would suffice, but it was definitely not my top pick.

According to Ken Research, Progresso and Campbell's take up more than 60% of the market share of the canned soup market in the United States. Progresso sells a wide variety of soups, from traditional styles like chicken noodle to vegetable classics like hearty minestrone. The soup brand has a "Rich & Hearty" line that includes this Rich & Hearty New England Clam Chowder Soup. The chowder is gluten-free and features clam broth, dried potatoes, clams, soybean oil, water, and onions as the main ingredients. I enjoyed this one the most out of the chunky-forward chowders on this list.

This chowder was, like the other chunky chowders, potato-forward. However, there were larger pieces of clams in it than were in the Campbell's Chunky varieties, and I was able to get a decent amount in each bite. The only caveat was that the bigger bits of clams were slightly rubbery. Even still, the chowder consistency wasn't too thick, and there was a solid clam flavor in the broth with a balanced salt level. The recipe isn't too complex, but for those who like a heartier clam chowder, this is a solid choice.

Snow's, which is now owned by Bumble Bee, has longstanding roots in the New England clamming scene. Founded in 1920 in Pine Point, Maine, Snow's sells canned clams, clam juice, and clam chowder made from the founder's personal family recipe. With such strong roots in New England and an appealing, old-school can design, I was looking forward to tasting this one. 

This traditional-style chowder had the thinnest consistency of the bunch and was less creamy than I'd prefer. The pieces of potatoes were smaller than in Campbell's Chunky varieties and the Progresso Rich & Hearty soup. The potatoes were tender and similar in size to the clam bits, which were prevalent throughout. The similar size allowed for a well-balanced bite each time. 

The chowder had a pronounced seafood taste, which could be due in part to the natural anchovy flavoring included on the ingredient list. Overall, the flavor was pretty mild, and the soup itself was quite light. If there were just a hint more seasoning and a slightly thicker consistency, I'd rank this higher, but all in all, this was a solid clam chowder.

A major player in the fast-casual dining scene, Panera Bread is known for its salads, sandwich options, and soups in bread bowls. After the success of Panera Bread's soups, the brand began selling refrigerated versions of its classic soups at grocery stores. The Panera Bread New England Clam Chowder can be found in the refrigerated sections of major grocery stores. Once sold at Panera Bread locations, the clam chowder has since been discontinued and can only be found as part of the brand's store-bought soup line. 

Panera Bread's clam chowder had a really nice consistency. It was creamy and velvety with a good ratio of clams to potatoes. The clam bits were bigger than some of the other soups on this list, but they veered on the chewy side. At first taste, the soup had an immediate sweetness to it. This was likely from the onions and onion powder included in the recipe. The clam flavor was present but subtle, so if you like a less clam-forward chowder, this is a good option. This isn't the best clam chowder you'll ever try, but for store-bought soups, it's a decent choice.

With both Progresso and Campbell's as top players in the canned soup market, I wasn't too surprised to see them end up so close on this ranking. Like Campbell's, Progresso soups have lined grocery store aisles for decades. The brand has a range of soup lines on offer, from the Pitmaster line to the Traditional line, the latter of which includes clam chowder. As for Progresso's Traditional New England Clam Chowder, though, it ended up tasting pretty similar to the can that ranked a spot above it.

The consistency of this chowder was slightly thinner than the next-highest-ranked soup, but it still had a velvety mouthfeel and slightly buttery flavor. The clams were coarsely chopped and tender, and the potatoes were soft but held their shape. The soup was slightly clammy and salty, but the taste of the cream was the predominant flavor. Similar to my experience with the next highest-ranked chowder, the Progresso Traditional chowder had a flavor profile that felt familiar to other Progresso soups I've had. If you're a fan of Progresso and are looking for a decent clam chowder, this will hit the spot.

Campbell's has over 150 years of experience making soup. With an annual revenue of over $10 billion in 2025, the brand is one of the leading North American soup companies. Campbell's has continuously made affordable, flavorful canned soups, and its Homestyle New England Clam Chowder is just what you'd expect from the brand. 

The chowder was a great consistency for chowder, as it wasn't too thick or thin, and it had a creamy, classic texture. The chowder was filled with small chunks of potato that held together when stirring, but were soft and smooth enough to bite into. There were plenty of small chopped clam pieces with similarly sized celery bits throughout. Both the clams and celery were tender.

The soup was creamy, with a subtle, mild flavor profile and a hint of sweetness. The brininess of the clam stock came through, likely amplified by the natural flavoring that includes cod. The consistency wasn't too thick or too thin. The salt level tasted similar to other Campbell's soups and would taste familiar to anyone who enjoys Campbell's soups.

This was a reliable Campbell's chowder. I ranked this third because it is the best option from the major soup brands, but it lacked the freshness that the top two soups brought to the table. 

Founded in 1917 in Maine, Bar Harbor Foods sells canned fish and clams harvested from the North Atlantic, along with clam juice and a variety of seafood bisques and chowders. Bar Harbor New England Style Condensed Clam Chowder is made in small batches and uses clams produced from a fishery that has been independently certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. 

This chowder was a bit different from the others in that the instructions suggested adding milk, butter, or cream until it reached the desired consistency, and to season with salt and pepper to taste. When I made the chowder, I added a splash of milk and a tablespoon of unsalted butter. I also added a pinch of salt and pepper to season, as instructed. When the chowder first came out of the can, it was gelatinous, solid, and had a semi-translucent beige color. There were visible chunks of orange-colored clams throughout, in both large and small pieces. Once heated and with the dairy added, the soup became perfectly creamy. It tasted about as authentic as a canned chowder can get, which is a testament to its use of high-quality clams and fresh dairy. The clams actually had flavor on their own, and there were tons of them. The soup tasted well-seasoned, buttery, and seafood-forward. For a canned chowder, this is a great choice. However, canned chowders can't fully measure up to the real deal, and the top spot gets about as close as you can get to fresh chowder.

Blount Fine Foods is a family-run business that has been serving up seafood bisques and chowders for decades. The company is the largest producer of clam chowder in New England. The Blount Clam Shack New England Clam Chowder is one of the two refrigerated options I tried for this review, and it truly makes all the difference. Based on the ingredients alone, I had high hopes for this one, and it exceeded my expectations. 

Unlike other chowders that just list clams and clam stock as ingredients, this one was packed with clam flavor. The chowder included clam stock, clam meat, clam broth, and a clam base of cooked clams, water, and cornstarch. For an extra kick of umami, codfish powder was included in the seasonings. The chowder tasted both sweet and savory, in part due to the use of sweet cream. The clams had a nice bite but weren't too chewy, and there was a solid proportion of clams to potatoes. While some premade chowders can have an artificial quality to them, you could get away with heating this one up and pretending you made it. It had a true homemade feel to it, and I couldn't help but finish the entire bowl. 

I spent years living in Massachusetts and frequent the coast multiple times throughout the year. New England clam chowder is one of my go-to soups, and having tried quite a few, I focused on specific parameters regarding texture, consistency, and flavor.

I selected chowders that were popular and available at major grocery chains. To maintain consistency, I prepared each chowder using the instructions provided on the packaging. When reviewing the soups, the goal was to find a chowder that tastes as similar as possible to a homemade New England clam chowder.

A good-quality New England clam chowder should be rich and creamy without becoming too stew-esque. The flavor should be mild, with savory notes from the clams and a slight sweetness from the cream and aromatics. The soup should have a solid clam, potato, and soup base ratio with a balanced level of saltiness. Texturally, the clams should have a slight chew but remain tender. The potatoes should hold their shape but melt in your mouth once eaten.