This corn chowder recipe with cream and fresh corn is perfect for early fall when there is still lots of seasonal produce available. It has tons of flavor and is a crowd pleaser.
Table of contents
I made this soup for the first time as a newlywed from an old issue of the magazine Cook’s Country. (Does it still exist? It was good.) I was trying to impress my mother-in-law. I had two things going for me that I thought would impress her. First, I was cooking soup, from scratch, for lunch. Second, I had grown the corn in my own garden.
The only problem was that it was July when my corn was ready, so it was approximately 100 degrees outside and no one wanted soup. Also, my “impressive” corn was puny little ears that no one had any right to be proud of.
I undercooked all the vegetables and she attempted to be kind by pronouncing the soup “crispy.” Sigh.
My version is simplified a bit from that fussy version I tried long ago, uses up lots of fresh vegetables, and is very welcome at any type of get-together. But preferably not when it is 100 degrees.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
You’ll need the following for this corn chowder:
- fresh corn raw and cut off the cob
- chicken broth or stock
- bacon finely chopped
- onion finely chopped
- green pepper finely chopped
- salt plus additional, to taste
- pepper plus additional, to taste
- red potatoes scrubbed and diced
- heavy cream
🥣 Equipment
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🍴Instructions
Step One: chop and cook the veggies and bacon in the pot
Removing the corn from the cob can be tedious. Make sure you use a very sharp or serrated knife (a bread knife works well) and work over a container to collect the kernels. I use a 9×13 pan.
When all the vegetables are chopped, you cook the bacon and then the veggies right in the pot. The corn will not look visibly different, but the onions will become translucent.
Step Two: add broth, potatoes and seasoning
The next step is to add the chicken broth, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover the pot back up and cook until the potatoes are tender. Make sure to test them with a fork to make sure they are cooked through.
Step three: add cream
Add the cream last, make sure everything is heated through, and check for seasonings. I tend to add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper at the end.
Step Four: serve
Serve right away or keep warm on the stove until you’re ready to eat. Refrigerate any leftovers.
How do you thicken corn chowder?
Many chowder recipes are thickened with flour, or with a roux. This one is not. I find that boiling the potatoes in the chicken broth and adding cream thickens the soup plenty. If you are a chowder purist, perhaps you will object.
🥫 Storage instructions
Anything with cream tends to freeze poorly. But frozen corn makes very good corn chowder. This recipe is quick to make once the veggies are prepped, so there is really no need to make it ahead of time and then freeze it.
If you really wanted to, you could freeze it without the cream, then add the cream just before serving.
🔍 FAQs
Yes, but you should taste it and see if it needs additional salt as this chowder can taste quite sweet.
While soups can be thin and light, chowder is characterized by being rich and thick.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- You can use either fresh, frozen, or canned corn to make this recipe.
- You can add other veggies to this chowder such as Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes, pumpkin and a lot more.
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
- Any bread is a good complement, but especially these honey wheat dinner rolls.
- Fresh apples with toffee cream cheese dip are perfect for fall.
- Deep-fried pickles are a great thing to serve as an appetizer.
📖 Here’s the recipe
Corn Chowder with Fresh Corn
Ingredients
- 8 ears fresh corn raw and cut off the cob
- 1 qt chicken broth or stock
- 6 slices bacon finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely choped
- 1 medium green pepper finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt plus additional, to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper plus additional, to taste
- 1 lb. red potatoes scrubbed and diced
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large pot or Dutch oven until crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain, leaving the bacon fat in the pot.
- Add the corn kernels, diced onion, diced pepper, and salt and black pepper to the bacon fat. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes, until onions and peppers are soft.
- Add the diced potatoes and chicken broth. Bring pot to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce to simmer, and allow potatoes to cook, about 15 minutes. Poke with a fork to make sure they are tender. Add the cream and the cooked bacon, heat over medium until heated through.
- Test for seasonings and add more salt and pepper as desired.
