Corn Chowder

Thick and creamy with sweet corn, tender potatoes, and smoky bacon in every bite. Ready in 45 minutes from a handful of pantry staples.

What You’ll Need

• 6 slices raw bacon, diced. Thick-cut holds up better in the chowder, but any bacon works.
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 (14.75 ounce) cans cream-style corn. Don’t substitute regular canned corn here. The cream-style is what gives the chowder its thickness
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups half and half. If you don’t have it, use 1 cup heavy cream plus 1 cup milk.
• Chives, chopped (optional, for garnish)
• Cooked and crumbled bacon (optional, for garnish)

Equipment You’ll Need

• Large pot or Dutch oven
• Slotted spoon

Instructions

Crisp the bacon

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the diced bacon until it’s properly crispy, not just cooked through, but actually crisp. Some of it goes into the chowder and some becomes garnish, and limp bacon is sad in both jobs.

Use a slotted spoon to move the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, and leave about 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pot. Pour off the rest. If you leave it all in, the chowder ends up with a slick of fat on top when it cools, which is not the vibe.

Soften the onion

Add the diced onion to the pot with those reserved drippings and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

If your bacon left any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, the onion’s moisture will help lift them as it cooks. That’s free flavor, so don’t scrub the pan between steps.

Simmer the potatoes

Stir in the diced potatoes, both cans of cream-style corn, and the chicken broth. Bring it up to a boil, then drop it to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Watch the potatoes, not the clock. Russets cut small will be done closer to 15, and larger pieces can push past 20. You want them to slide off a fork easily but not fall apart into mush.

Add the half and half

Pour in the half and half along with the salt and pepper, stir, and let it warm through over low heat for another 5-10 minutes. Do not let it boil. Dairy plus a hard simmer equals curdled chowder, and there’s no fixing it once it happens.

Stir occasionally and keep the heat gentle. If you need to walk away, pull the pot off the burner entirely rather than risk it climbing back up to a boil.

Taste and finish

Give it a taste before you commit to serving. Cream-style corn varies wildly in saltiness brand to brand, so the seasoning in the recipe is a starting point, not a guarantee.

Add more salt or pepper until it tastes like soup and not like warm cream.

Stir most of the crispy bacon back in, save a little for the top, and ladle into bowls. Finish with chopped chives and the reserved bacon. Yum.

Storage Instructions

Leftover chowder keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally.

I don’t recommend freezing this one.

Variations

• Ham instead of bacon: stir in 1½ cups of diced leftover ham at the end, and use 2 tablespoons of butter to sauté the onion.
• Cheesy corn chowder: stir 1½ cups shredded sharp cheddar into the pot off the heat at the very end.
• Add a kick: ½ teaspoon smoked paprika with the salt and pepper, plus a diced jalapeño with the onion. (This is my favorite version)
• When corn is in season, or you have it frozen, add a cup of fresh or frozen corn with the half and half.
• Chicken corn chowder: stir in 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken when you add the half-and-half.

Questions and Troubleshooting

Can I use milk instead of half and half?

You can, but the chowder will be thinner and less rich. If that’s all you have, use whole milk and maybe mash a few of the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken things up. Or do 1 cup heavy cream + 1 cup milk, which is basically half and half anyway.

My chowder curdled. What happened?

It boiled. Half-and-half curdles when it gets too hot, which is why the recipe says to keep it on low after you add it. It’ll still taste fine, just look a little grainy. If this bugs you in general, you can use heavy cream and not really worry about 🙂

Can I skip the cream-style corn and use regular corn?

I wouldn’t. The cream-style corn is doing a lot of work here — it adds body and that classic chowder sweetness. If you want corn kernels for texture, add a cup of frozen or canned whole corn in addition to the cream-style.

Can I make this ahead?

Make it through step 3 (potatoes cooked), then cool and refrigerate. Add the half and half when you reheat, so it doesn’t separate.

Do I have to peel the potatoes?

I do, for a classic chowder texture. Russet skins get a little tough and don’t really belong in a creamy soup. If you’re using red or yellow potatoes, leave the skins on — they’re thinner and it’s fine.

Can I make this in the slow cooker?

You can, but you’ll still want to cook the bacon and onion on the stove first — the slow cooker won’t crisp the bacon or develop the onion flavor. Then dump everything except the half and half in the crockpot for 4 hours on low, and stir in the half and half at the end.