This creamy corn chowder recipe is loaded with sweet corn, crispy bacon, and hearty potatoes. It's a really satisfying one pot meal that's simple to make, and everyone will ask for seconds!
Got corn to use up? Try my Easy Creamy Corn Pasta or Cajun Grilled Corn on the Cob next.
Why you'll love it
This comforting and filling corn chowder recipe has it all. There's bright sweetness from the corn, savory goodness from the bacon, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes, and of course a flavorful and thick, robust broth you'd expect in any good chowder to make it totally irresistible. There's also nothing fancy here, just a few wholesome ingredients.
You can use either fresh or frozen corn to enjoy this easy corn chowder year-round. It's great as a summer soup when corn is in season, but there's no reason why you can't make it as a cozy meal when it's chilly out! I know I do. I based this one off my popular Easy Chicken and Corn Chowder, another family favorite you may enjoy.
What you'll need
- Bacon - I find it easiest to cut it up with a pair of kitchen shears
- Onion, celery, and carrots - a classic base to start off many soups and stews right. I like sweet (Vidalia) onions best.
- Flour - it's a thickening agent for the broth
- Garlic - this garlic press makes it easy to mince the cloves. You don't even need to peel them first.
- Chicken broth - it adds more depth of flavor to this chowder. Just use an entire 32 oz container to make up the 4 cups. Easy peasy.
- Heavy cream - it's what makes the broth so luxurious
- Corn - fresh is ideal, but frozen works too
- Potatoes - I prefer using Russets for chowder. They're nice and starchy and thicken it up even more.
- Italian seasoning - if you're a regular reader, you know this tasty dried herb blend is my go-to for so many recipes. It comes all in one single, convenient jar.
- Cayenne pepper - it's optional, but the slightest amount gives a gentle warmth and zip. It doesn't make it spicy.
Do I use fresh or frozen corn for chowder?
- Frozen corn is great, but if you've got fresh corn, then by all means use it! Just cut it off the cob and add it to the soup. You could even use grilled corn and then add it for extra flavor. I'd buy 4-5 cobs of corn to make what's needed for this soup.
- I don't recommend canned corn unless you're really in a pinch. I find the flavor and texture of frozen or fresh to be a lot better. Canned corn lacks that crisp quality.
Pro tip
- I usually like to prep the the ingredients as I go along to save time, but feel free to chop and measure everything ahead before starting the recipe if that's more comfortable for you, especially when making this chowder for the first time.
What is chowder vs soup?
- There's no true consensus as far as I know, but chowder is generally a rustic soup made thicker with flour, and they're always creamy and normally have chunks of potatoes. Chowder has seafood if it's made on either coast, but it isn't a requirement in something like a southwestern chowder or this one with corn. However you define it, I've never found one I didn't like!
How to make corn chowder
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Prep the bacon, and cook until crispy in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate leaving a couple of tablespoons of the fat in the pot, and sauté the onion, celery, and carrots until softened.
Still in the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add in the flour, and stir it constantly for about a minute. Pour in the chicken broth and stir until the flour has totally dissolved. Scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
Add in the cream, corn, potatoes, Italian seasoning, and cayenne along with most of the bacon. Bring to a boil, and then simmer until the potatoes are tender and it thickens up. Season with salt & pepper, and garnish with the rest of the bacon and fresh parsley if desired.
Substitutions and variations
- I don't recommend subbing the cream for milk or half-and-half because there's a good chance the soup will curdle. It happened in another of my chowder recipes and I wouldn't want that happening to you, so use your best judgment if trying that.
- You can sub the Russet potatoes for another kind if you wish, but they're ideal since the starch released helps thicken the broth even more.
- Some readers have added in shrimp near the end of the cooking time with fantastic results.
- I get asked fairly often if you can make this in a Crockpot. We haven't tested it, and you'd have to do the sautéing steps in a skillet anyway, so it's much easier as a one pot stovetop recipe!
What to serve with it
- This corn chowder is a meal in itself, so it doesn't need much else to go with it. I do like a dinner roll or a big slice of bread to dip into it. A French baguette or sourdough is my favorite.
- If you'd like to pair it with a salad, try some mixed greens with my Homemade Ranch Dressing. It's super quick and easy. I also am fond of throwing together this Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- Corn chowder is one of those better-the-next-day kinda soups, in my opinion. The flavors meld even more. It'll keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Reheat in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring every so often, until it's warmed through. It's quite thick to begin with, and it thickens up more the longer you leave it. Feel free to add a little more chicken broth to leftovers if you need to thin it out a touch.
- I wouldn't recommend freezing it since the texture of the potatoes could change and dairy doesn't do so well in the freezer. If you plan on having lots of leftovers, though, you could leave out the cream, freeze, and add when warming it up.
I hope you agree that this is the best corn chowder recipe you've tried! Leave me a review if you made it or have any questions. I'd be happy to answer them in the comments below. You can also find me on Instagram.
Creamy Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon cut into small pieces
- 1/2 medium onion chopped small
- 3 sticks celery chopped small
- 2 medium carrots peeled & chopped small
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 4 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 2 large Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prep your bacon (I use kitchen shears to make cutting it up easy) and add it to a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook until crispy (about 10 minutes).
- Meanwhile, prep your onion, celery, and potatoes.
- Once the bacon is crispy, take it out of the pot and remove to a paper towel lined plate. Leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pot.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring nearly constantly.
- Add in the chicken broth and give it a good stir to ensure the flour has dissolved and the brown bits are scraped up from the bottom of the pot.
- Add in the cream, corn, potatoes, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and most of the bacon (I save the rest for garnishing the bowls later on). Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to a rapid simmer so it's gently boiling. Cover the pot so the lid is slightly ajar.
- Cook until the potatoes are tender (about 15-20 minutes). Stir every so often. The soup will thicken up more the longer you cook it.
- Season the soup with salt & pepper as needed. Garnish bowls with the rest of the bacon.
Notes
- Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.
- You may need to add more broth to leftovers as the soup thickens the longer you leave it.
- Since the cream is boiled, I would NOT recommend subbing it for milk or half-and-half because there's a good chance it'll curdle from the high heat.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information
Jai says
This looks so yummy! Do you think vegetable stock would be ok? I’m allergic to chicken.
Natasha says
Sure!
Brooke Blett says
Delish! Made with fresh corn and it’s oh so good. Made a double batch to share.
Natasha says
So happy you enjoyed it!! 😀
Megan says
Skipped the bacon, used butter, used condensed milk(it’s what I had), added thyme, basil then zuchinni in the last 5 minutes of cooking! So good! Leftover corn from the cob made it perfect.
Natasha says
Glad it worked out, Megan!! Thanks for your review!
Mia T. says
So good! I used part frozen & part canned corn wirh turkey bacon & double the Italian seasoning. Perfecto! This recipe is a new favorite.
Natasha says
Awesome!!! 😀
Cori Fernandez says
This was yummy, but added more Italian herbs. Very, very tasty!! Not sure why the color had to be changed…mine was beautiful!! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Natasha says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it!! I agree.. whenever I make it, the color seems fine haha.
Laureen says
I got fresh corn from my farm friend. This was delicious ❤️
Natasha says
Wonderful!! 🙂
Richard Wilson says
I made this last night. I had been craving corn chowder. My Mom used to make it frequently but I haven't made it in many years as my husband is not a fan. I didn't have any bacon, but I had a jar of bacon grease in the fridge that I keep for recipes and used the 2T of that. Gave it the bacon flavor! I also used a can of evaporated milk as someone suggested, as well as a little turmeric for color and smoked paprika rather than the cayenne. It is a keeper. Different than Mom's, but thicker, heartier and that is what I was going for. Thanks Natasha!
Natasha says
I'm so happy that you enjoyed it, Richard!! 🙂 Love the bacon grease idea... I always keep some in my fridge too. Thanks for your 5-star review!
Meg says
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Mine was also very white in color after adding the cream so I added some turmeric. That gave it just the right golden color plus turmeric had such great benefits it was a win win!
Natasha says
That's a great idea!
Diana Baker says
This was wonderful!! I accidentally put the potatoes in with the onion, celery, and carrots and it didn’t hurt a bit. Great flavor!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
So glad it worked out, Diana! Thank you for trying our recipe! 🙂
Louise says
I just made your corn chowder and it is DELICIOUS! I love the addition of carrots. I was going to make my usual recipe which calls for frozen corn and creamed corn and I had no creamed corn. Glad I found you on Pinterest & I’m sure this will be my new recipe. Thank you.
Louise from Calgary.
Natasha says
Fantastic!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Louise. 🙂
Trisha says
Looks delish! Could I substitute red skin potatoes?
Natasha says
Sure!
Barb says
HOw ongoing will this soup keep in the fridge?
Natasha says
Hi Barb! I'd say 3-4 days, possibly longer, but I'd definitely err on eating it sooner rather than later as there's cream in there. Warm it up over a low heat.
Karen says
I recommend using white pepper. It’s such an underrated spice and has a different flavor from black pepper.
K Moore says
Very easy to make and delicious!
Miranda @ Salt & Lavender says
Awesome to hear! 🙂
Nancy says
Made this exactly according to the recipe and did not look like this
It looks like parsley in it. And it’s more golden colored mine was not
Not a fan of this recipe
Natasha says
Yes... I added parsley for the photos. Mostly for a little pop of color. You can for sure add it if you wish, but it's not an integral part of the recipe or else I would've included it in the recipe itself. You didn't mention anything about the actual taste of the recipe... that's the important thing. Ingredients, lighting conditions when taking photos etc. all can vary. It's like buying clothes. Do you expect the clothes to look exactly the same on you as they do the model?
Julia Houston says
This was delish! I ended up using double amount of whole milk vs cream because that’s what I had. I precooked all veggies together in microwave for 4 minutes— just to be sure they cooked thoroughly so milk wouldn’t curdle. I’d highly recommend this recipe!
Natasha says
Excellent - glad your tweaks worked out! 🙂