Using either, fresh, canned, or frozen corn, this easy Corn Chowder recipe is a great year-round soup. With added potato, bacon, and cheese, you’ll want a big bowl!
Really love corn? Serve this with a little cornbread on the side!
Year-Round Corn Chowder Recipe
There are so many soups I absolutely love, but if given the choice between a brothy soup and a thick creamy chowder, I’ll go for the chowder. Using either fresh, canned, or frozen corn, this easy homemade corn chowder gets made all year.
It’s everything a chowder should be – thick, creamy, hearty, flavorful, and simple. The rich broth pairs perfectly with the sweet corn. Pure comfort food.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make this corn and potato chowder:
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)
- Corn – Fresh, frozen, or canned corn can be used, making this chowder recipe great any time of year. I find that fresh corn is the sweetest, so it’s my preference, but there’s a simple fix to that if using canned or frozen – add a bit of honey! A little drizzle helps replace the missing corn “milk.”
- Potatoes – Either Russet or Yukon gold. If using Yukon gold, no need to peel. Your choice.
- Vegetables – Onion, celery, garlic, and scallions provide wonderful aromatics and flavor.
- Liquid – Low-sodium chicken broth and heavy cream.
- Bacon – For flavor…because BACON. Ha.
- Flour – Used to thicken the soup.
- Butter – To sauté the vegetables and for richness and flavor.
- Cheese – Shredded cheddar cheese
- Seasonings – Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, dried thyme, and bay leaves season the soup.
Recipe Variations
- Add in some chicken. Diced or shredded cooked chicken can be added in for extra protein and flavor.
- Vary the seasoning. Replace the thyme with dried oregano.
- Kick up the spice. Add in some paprika for a smoky flavor or cayenne pepper for a little heat.
- Change the cheese. The cheddar cheese can be swapped out for pepper jack.
- Make it vegetarian. Simply omit the bacon and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Note, you might need additional seasoning to make up for the flavor bacon provides.
How to Make Corn Chowder
This potato corn chowder recipe is very easy to make in just a few simple steps. Here’s a summary.
(Scroll to the bottom for our easy printable recipe with the complete directions, and don’t miss the video below.)
- Cook the bacon. Add bacon to the bottom of a large heavy soup pot set over medium heat. Stir until browned and crispy. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Drain off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the pot. Add butter to the pot.
- Sauté the vegetables. Add in the onion and celery and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix in flour and add the broth. Sprinkle the flour into the vegetables to coat them evenly, making sure no white patches remain. Slowly pour in the broth, stirring.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Add in the potato, corn, honey, thyme, and bay leaves.
- Simmer. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle bubble. Simmer until the potatoes are tender but not mushy, stirring occasionally.
- Add heavy cream. Discard the bay leaves from the soup and stir in the heavy cream.
- Blend. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency is reached (alternatively, transfer about 3 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender and stir it back into the soup.
- Add the cheese and cooked bacon. Stir in the shredded cheese until melted, then stir in most of the cooked bacon, reserving some for garnish.
- Serve. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the some cooked bacon and diced scallions.
Can I make Corn Chowder in the Crockpot?
This chowder is really easy and all made in one pot, but if you still need (or prefer) to make it in your crock pot, you certainly can.
- Cook bacon in a skillet.
- Add all ingredients (except the cream and cheese) to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir well, cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. (NOTE: If you like your potatoes to be less soft, add them in after a couple hours of cooking. They’re usually tender after 5 hours. Cook time will vary depending on the size of your potatoes.)
- Use an immersion blender to blend about half the soup (or add 3 cups of soup to a blender and puree then add back to the slow cooker).
- Stir in cream, cover and cook another 10 minutes or so to heat through, then stir in the cheese until melted.
Video: Corn Chowder
What to Serve with Corn Chowder
This soup is pretty substantial all on its own, but here are some great additions that pair really well with it:
Proper Storage
- Leftovers. Leftovers will keep in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
- To reheat. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave over low heat until warmed through. If it seems too thick, you can add a little broth to thin it out.
- Can you freeze corn chowder? I’m not a fan of freezing this soup since the heavy cream tends to separate once thawed and the potatoes break down creating a weird texture – the overall soup just doesn’t taste all that great. If you simply must freeze it, omit the cream initially and add it once thawed and when reheating the soup. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
More Soup Recipes:
- French Onion Soup
- Hungarian Mushroom Soup
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Zuppa Toscana
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Corn Chowder
Using either, fresh, canned, or frozen corn, this easy Corn Chowder recipe is a great year-round soup. With added potato, bacon, and cheese, you’ll want a big bowl!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon , diced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small sweet onion , finely diced
- 2 stalks celery , finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic , diced
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 medium russet potato , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3 cups corn kernels (fresh from 5 ears of corn, canned and drained, or frozen thawed and drained)
- 1 tablespoon honey (if using canned or frozen corn)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 scallions , diced small
Instructions
- Add the bacon to the bottom of a large heavy soup pot set over medium heat. Stir until the bacon is browned and crispy. Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon.
- Drain or spoon off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the pot. Stir in the butter until melted.
- Add in the onion and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just begin to become tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Sprinkle the flour into the vegetables to coat them evenly and make a paste. Cook a minute or two to get rid of the raw flour flavor.
- Pour in the chicken broth along with the potato, corn, honey, thyme, and bay leaves; bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender but not mushy, stirring occasionally, about 10-12 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaves from the soup.
- Add in the heavy cream.
- Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency is reached (alternatively, transfer about 3 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender and stir it back into the soup.)
- Stir in the shredded cheese until melted.
- Stir in most of the cooked bacon, reserving some for garnish.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the some cooked bacon and diced scallions.
Video
Notes
Add in some chicken. Diced or shredded cooked chicken can be added in for extra protein and flavor.
Kick up the spice. Add in some paprika for a smoky flavor or cayenne pepper for a little heat.
Vegetarian. To make vegetarian chowder, simply omit the bacon and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Note, you might need additional seasoning to make up for the flavor bacon provides.
Make it in the crockpot. Directions to make this chowder in a crockpot are included in the article.
Nutrition
Calories: 541kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 523mg | Potassium: 791mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1034IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 204mg | Iron: 2mg
Made this recipe and it was so easy and delicious. No changes. Family loved it.
We used fresh corn and this rrcipe was spot on. Very good. Do all your prep up front. Then it’s quick!
This soup is delicious! The Thyme, bay leaves & honey make it unique!
Made this today for Wednesday Church bible study, the chowder is wonderful, thank you for sharing
Awesome soup!! Will make again. I added a can of cream of corn. And substituted Evaporated milk for the heavy cream as I did not have any!! Didn’t use emersion blender, as I like chunky soup!!
This recipe is going into my fall rotation! A thumbs up from the whole family!
This soup was delicious! Made it exactly according to the directions and it turned out perfectly!
Delish , Second time I have made it,
I did not have celery nor bay leaves but this recipe delivers! This will be my go to receipe for corn chowder from now on. Guest worthy!
Very tasty soup. Will definitely make again. Easy too.
Very nice tasting. Used frozen corn and half and half instead of cream. Doubled recipe and only 2T honey added. Will make again.
Loved this. Added extra bacon and used frozen corn. It was perfect.
Awesome soup!! Will make again. I added a can of cream of corn. And substituted Evaporated milk for the heavy cream as I did not have any!! Didn’t use emersion blender, as I like chunky soup!!
Thank You for this yummy recipe. It’s my grand daughter’s favorite. She drove 600 miles for a 2 day visit and insisted that I make it. It is the best!
Delicious and easy to make. My granddaughter loves it
I’ve been making this twice a month, we love it!
Great recipe
My family loved this so much. Didn’t change anything. Great recipe!
How do you think it would be without the cheddar cheese?
Ican’t omit the cheese. It really makes the receipe I used half cup strong balderson cheddar and it was perfect.
Soooo good…
Have you ever tried using sweet potatoes instead of russet potatoes? Just wondering since I have them on hand.
This recipe is in pretty constant rotation in my house. My kids love it and my hubby is pretty fond of it too (and he’s really picky). I use golden potatoes instead of russet and find that it makes it creamier. I don’t know if the different type of potato makes a difference with the cook time but I have never had them cook sufficiently until at least the 20 minute mark. If you’re using canned corn, 2 cans equals 3 cups so no need to dirty up a measuring cup. Thanks for the great recipes, I have yet to try a recipe from this site and be disappointed.
This soup was amazing. My whole family loved it. Didn’t change a thing. Thy
Pretty good recipe. I made a bowl woth recipe as is but, for our preference, I added a little sugar, seasoning salt and hot sauce. Was just perfect for our taste buds then. Thanks for the recipe
Very very good soup! Exactly what I was looking for