This Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe is so cozy and delicious. Hearty potatoes, sweet corn, and salty bacon perfectly complement the flavorful soup base made with fresh veggies. It's hard to resist having seconds, trust me!
Corn chowder is a comfort food that you can enjoy any time of year. It's great in summer when corn is fresh, but it's also great in winter when it's chilly out and you want something to remind you of the warmer months. If you have extra fresh or frozen corn around, use it to make this!
This one is a favorite in our soup rotation. If you're looking for other hearty soup recipes, try this Cheeseburger Soup, our Chicken Gnocchi Soup, and Creamy Tortellini Soup next!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy and Fast to Make: This easy corn chowder doesn't take long to make, so it's a great option on days when you don't want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen.
- Easy to Customize: You can easily adjust this recipe to your liking, whether that's adding more meat or vegetables, making it spicier, or changing the soup texture to be creamy.
- Exceptional Flavor: There's something so nostalgic and comforting about this dish, especially if you've ever had it while traveling in the Midwest, New England, or South. So many great memories can be made enjoying corn and potato chowder together.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Bacon: Salty bacon crumbles are one of our favorite parts of this soup! You can use any kind of thick-cut bacon or even substitute turkey bacon.
- Yellow Onion, Celery, and Carrots: Onion, celery, and carrots are used to give the soup base its hearty, classic flavor. Feel free to sub in a sweet Vidalia or white onion if you prefer.
- All-Purpose Flour: We'll use just a little bit of flour to thicken up the soup base.
- Garlic: I love how minced garlic can really bring out all of the flavors and add a kick to this corn soup recipe.
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth: We prefer chicken broth but vegetable broth could also work in this potato corn chowder.
- Heavy Cream and Milk: Dairy adds great creaminess and a slightly sweet flavor to the chowder. This is what gives you such a luxurious broth.
- Fresh or Frozen Corn: For this recipe you can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn. Our favorite is to pull out farmer's market corn that we've blanched and frozen from the summer season, but a bag of frozen corn or a can from the store works just fine too! If you're using fresh corn, you'll need 4-5 ears and you'll want to cook the corn first.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: These add more creaminess to the soup. You could also swap in red baby potatoes or Russet potatoes for more starchiness, but I think the slightly sweet, buttery flavor of Yukon Golds works best.
- Spices: We used thyme, paprika, black pepper, and salt for the seasonings. A bay leaf also works well for this soup (just be sure to remove it at the end of the cooking time).
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Add Italian Sausage or Ham: If you want an even more hearty and filling version of this creamy corn chowder soup, add crumbled, cooked Italian sausage or cooked ham.
- More Veggies: Red and green bell pepper add some great flavor, color, and crunch.
- Vegetarian: For a vegetarian version of this soup, leave out the bacon and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Blended Instead of Chunky: The recipe as it's written gives you a chunky soup texture, but you could also blend some or all of the potatoes and sweet corn for a thicker, creamy soup base.
How to Make Creamy Corn Chowder
Here's how to make corn chowder. It's easy and the secret is using a little bit of bacon grease to cook some of the veggies!
- Step 1: Cook the Bacon. In an effort to minimize cleanup, just use your large soup pot to cook the bacon. It will take around 5-8 minutes. You're going to keep a little of the bacon grease at the bottom. Put the bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and remove all but 2 tablespoons of the grease.
- Step 2: Cook the Onions, Carrots, and Celery. They usually take around 5-7 minutes to cook down and become soft and they'll soak up all that amazing bacon flavor!
- Step 3: Stir in the Garlic and Flour. This will start to thicken like a roux. You only need it to cook for about 1 extra minute.
- Step 4: Add the Chicken Broth and Other Ingredients. Give everything a good stir. Then add the heavy cream, milk, corn, potatoes, thyme, black pepper, salt, and half the cooked bacon. Stir again.
- Step 5: Boil then Simmer. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and add the cover to your pot. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Serve hot and garnish with the extra bacon.
Hint: Kitchen Shears for the Bacon
Here's a quick tip when preparing the bacon. Use kitchen shears to cut it up into pieces!
Expert Tips
- Keep the Liquid from the Corn: The liquid from the corn adds a ton of flavor to the soup. If you're using a can, keep a ¼ cup of the liquid instead of draining it. And if you thaw frozen corn and there's some moisture, go ahead and add it in.
- Use Fresh Herbs: Using fresh herbs can make a big difference to the flavor, too. I think it's worth buying the thyme fresh. You can also garnish with fresh parsley at the end.
- Use Leftover Grilled Corn: In the summer, when we have leftover grilled corn after a BBQ, this is a great way to use it up! It adds a slightly smoky flavor to the soup.
- Chop and Prep Ahead of Time: You can get all of the veggies chopped ahead of time, and even make the bacon early, too. Just save and refrigerate a few tablespoons of the bacon fat to use later.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Keep creamy potato corn chowder leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. This soup makes really good leftovers after the flavors have sat overnight!
- Freezing: I don't recommend freezing this dish as the textures can change if creamy ingredients are reheated.
- Reheating: Reheat the dish on the stovetop on high heat or in the microwave on medium heat for 30-60 second intervals until it is heated through.
Serving Suggestions
Creamy corn chowder with bacon is a delicious weeknight dinner or meal-prep lunch that the whole family will love. It's also a great dish to bring to a potluck. Here are some great ways to serve it.
- Pair your bowl of chowder with crusty sourdough bread, some freshly baked homemade biscuits, or garlic knots. They're all perfect for dipping!
- If you're feeding a hungry crowd, serve your chowder alongside cheesy funeral potatoes and ham roll ups. So much creamy deliciousness!
- Pair it with orange fluff salad or strawberry fluff salad for something light and sweet after your soup.
Recipe FAQs
You can blend some of the ingredients to make the soup creamy instead of chunky. Blend the potato and sweet corn with a little milk using an immersion blender or regular blender.
Frozen sweet corn or canned sweet corn are great options. When in season, fresh corn can also be used. Be sure to cook it first.
Yes, you can use the Instant Pot or the Crock Pot to make bacon corn chowder. For the Crock Pot version, you'll slow cook the vegetables on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours before adding the creamy ingredients and cooking for another 30-60 minutes.
In the Instant Pot, use the saute function to crisp the bacon, then saute the bell pepper and onions. Then you'll add the broth, potatoes, and corn and pressure cook on high for 6 minutes. The creamy ingredients get added after you release the pressure. Two other effortless ways to get corn chowder on the dinner table!
More Delicious Soup Recipes
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Creamy Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon (cut into small pieces)
- 1 cup yellow onion (diced)
- 3 celery stalks (diced)
- 2 carrots (peeled and diced)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp garlic (minced)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup milk
- 4 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes (peeled and cut into ¼" pieces)
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat, cook bacon pieces in a large soup pot. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Set aside.
- Remove all but two tablespoons of grease from the pot. Then, add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until soft.
- Stir in garlic and flour and continue to cook for 1 minute. Stirring occasionally.
- Pour in chicken broth and give a good stir. Then, add heavy cream, milk, corn, potatoes, thyme, paprika, black pepper, salt, and half the cooked bacon. Stir until well combined.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for covered. Cook 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Serve while hot and garnish with remaining bacon.
Notes
- You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn for this soup recipe. If you're using fresh corn, you'll want to cook it first and you'll need around 4-5 ears of corn.
- For a vegetarian soup, leave out the bacon and use vegetable broth instead of chicken.
- For an ultra-creamy texture, blend some of the potatoes and corn using an immersion blender, then add them back into the soup.
- You can chop the veggies and cook the bacon ahead of time if you want. Store 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the fridge so it's ready to use when you start cooking.
Nutrition
*All nutrition information provided is automatically calculated and is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients, brands, and changes in cooking methods listed in the recipe. If you need exact numbers on your ingredients, I would recommend calculating them with your prefered nutrition calculator.
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