Instant Pot Seafood Chowder Recipe (Fish Chowder)
Seafood lovers rejoice! This Instant Pot Seafood Chowder recipe is packed with cod fish, shrimp, and smoked oysters. Creamy and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (7 ounces/198 grams)
- 1 large carrot (2.5 ounces/71 grams)
- 1 stalk celery
- ¼ cup spelt flour
- 2 cups baby gold potatoes (12 ounces/340 grams; use thin-skinned potatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup frozen roasted corn
- 1 lb. cod (454 grams; boneless and skinless)
- 1 lb. large shrimp, raw, peeled, tail-off (454 grams; use 70/90 size shrimp)
- 6 ounces smoked oysters packed in olive oil, drained (170 grams)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup clam juice
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- fresh thyme leaves, parsley, black pepper (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Cut the cod into 1-inch pieces (2.54 cm) and cut the shrimp and oysters in half. Chop the onion and potatoes into ½-inch dice (1.27 cm). Dice the carrot into ¼-½ inch pieces (0.6-1.27 cm) and chop the celery into ¼-inch pieces (0.6 cm). Mince the garlic cloves.
- Set the Instant Pot to high sauté. Heat the oil in the pot and sauté the onion, carrot, and celery for 5-10 minutes. You want the veggies to soften, not brown.
- Add the potatoes, garlic, and flour to the pot. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the clam juice and chicken broth, and sprinkle in the Old Bay and dried thyme. Put the lid on the pot and close the valve.
- Pressure cook or 5 minutes using the “beans/chili” setting under high pressure. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before carefully opening the vent on the lid.
- Add the cod, chopped shrimp, drained chopped oysters, corn, and cream to the pot. Simmer the chowder on high sauté for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
- The fish should reach a safe internal temp of 145°F (63°C). You can check a few pieces with a meat thermometer if you’d like to be extra cautious.
- Ladle the chowder into soup bowls and garnish (if desired) with fresh herbs and black pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
This is a level 2 recipe (transition or weight maintenance). Normally I bump recipes with flour up to level 3. This chowder only has 1 tablespoon of flour per serving for thickening. It makes a hearty and satisfying one pot meal under 700 calories, so I’m placing it in level 2 (moderate calorie dinner).
Something to know about this recipe is that the heavy cream adds 200 calories per serving. That’s because cream has 50 calories per tablespoon and you’re getting ¼ cup cream (4 tablespoons) per serving. If you want to know how to make low calorie chowder, I’d cut back on the cream.
There are a number of ways to thicken chowder without cream. Obviously, skim milk, 1% milk, and 2% milk will not make a thick and creamy seafood chowder by themselves.
One very common way to make a thicker chowder is to use a roux of flour and butter. This may contribute fewer calories to your chowder than cream, but it’s not exactly a light option. Using a cornstarch slurry (mixture of cornstarch and water) is a lighter way to thicken chowder.
As mentioned, high starch potatoes do help to make chowder thick. However, I find the chopped potatoes aren’t enough on their own to get the chowder super thick.
If you don’t want to use flour or cornstarch, you could puree some cooked potatoes and add them back to the chowder. You could also experiment with stirring mashed potato flakes into the chowder to thicken it. These additions and substitutions will all alter the nutrition information provided.
Nutrition information is for one serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 655kcalCarbohydrates: 33.9gProtein: 56.8gFat: 34.6gSaturated Fat: 15.5gPotassium: 1022.7mgFiber: 3.8gVitamin A: 75.3% DVVitamin C: 43.3% DVCalcium: 17.2% DVIron: 31.3% DV
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