Corn Chowder is a delicious creamy soup recipe made from scratch that you will fall in love with. This recipe makes a great side dish, but is perfect as the star of your dinner show.
If you have been hanging around Simple Joy for a bit, you know I have an intense love for soup. I could eat soup once a week all year long. It is easy to make, feels like comfort in a bowl, and fills up our whole family with just one pot.
This Corn Chowder recipe is the perfect soup for transitioning from summer into cooler fall weather. Made with fresh corn, potatoes, bacon, and a deep and rich creamy base, this is the perfect soup to fill you up.
I made this chowder for football Sunday and my husband and three boys LOVED it. It’s very hearty and is great for fall days. It paired well with a slice of buttered beer bread. I will definitely be making this again!
How to Make Corn Chowder
This is a brief overview of how to make this delicious recipe. For the full recipe with all of the measurements see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Cook the Bacon, Onion, and Garlic
In a large stock pot, cook four slices of thick cut bacon. Cook the bacon until it is nice and crisp. Add in the onion, and saute. Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic.
Make a Roux
Stir in flour. This combined with the fat from the bacon will start a roux. Then slowly add in chicken broth.
Add in Potatoes and Corn
Stir in both the potatoes and the corn. Then season with dried thyme and bay leaves. Bring everything to a simmer and cook over low heat for twenty minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Finish off the Soup
Stir in some heavy cream and leave over the heat for just under a minute or until the cream heats through. Taste the soup and add kosher salt and black pepper. The amount you add will vary based on your stock and bacon, but we added about 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Tips and Tricks
- Add broth to the roux slowly. This helps keep the soup creamy. The more broth you add, the more quickly you can add it. While you need to go slow, it should only take about a minute to add it.
- Use a bundt pan to cut corn off the cob. Put the corn cob into the hole in the center of the pan and use that to stabilize the corn as you slice corn off the cob.
- Freeze your summer corn. This is a great trick to have corn on hand. Remove the husks and silk from the corn and then freeze it in an air tight container for up to three months.
- Use Yukon Gold potatoes. They have a soft buttery texture and are perfect in this soup. If you’d like to use something else, red potatoes are another good option.
Fresh Corn or Frozen Corn
We tested this recipe with both fresh and frozen corn. Hands down, the fresh corn made for a better corn and potato chowder. When you use fresh corn, you are simmering the corn with the potatoes in the stock base, and that infuses the soup with the corn taste.
When you use frozen corn, you are adding the corn in at the end. It still tastes delicious and makes for a great chowder, but you are missing that sweet corn taste throughout the soup. That being said, if it is the middle of winter and fresh corn is cost prohibitive, make this with frozen corn! You will still love it.
Making it Vegetarian
If you would like to make this creamy corn chowder recipe vegetarian, you can leave out the bacon. You can skip step one and instead melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Then proceed with the recipe by adding the onion and garlic to the butter and sautéing them in that.
Storing Leftovers
This corn and potato chowder can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. Store it in an airtight container.
Because of the cream base in this soup, it is not my favorite to freeze. If you chose to freeze it, store it in an airtight container with room for expansion. Freeze for up to three months and when you are ready to eat, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. It should be thawed completely before you reheat it.
Reheating Left Overs
When you are reheating left overs, you want to reheat just the portion you plan on eating. Leftovers should only be reheated once, so pull out what you plan on eating.
Reheat your leftover soup in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir frequently. I do not recommend microwaving left overs as it is easy for the cream base to separate. If you want to microwave, make sure to cook on half power and stir once or twice during reheating.
What to Serve with Corn Chowder
As mentioned above, I love this recipe because it is a stand alone meal. If you want a few things to go on the side, here are my suggestions:
If you loved this corn chowder with bacon, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick cut bacon diced into small pieces
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour (40 grams)
- 5 cups chicken broth (1133.8 grams or 1182.9 ml)
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes diced into 1/2 inch pieces (680.4 grams)
- 8 cobs of corn husks and silk removed and kernals cut off (see our note in the post about using frozen corn and read below in the note section how use it)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup heavy cream (227 grams or 236.6 grams)
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or a large dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring often.4 slices thick cut bacon
- Add the onions, cooking until they are translucent and very soft, about 5 minutes.1 small onion
- Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds, being careful that the garlic doesn’t burn.2 cloves garlic
- Stir in the flour, coating all the onions and the bacon. Continue cooking about a minute until the flour begins to brown, it will be very thick and gummy.1/3 cup all purpose flour
- Very gradually, pour in the chicken stock. Pour about two tablespoons at a time (no need to measure, this is just an estimate), whisking it into the flour mixture. There should be no visible liquid between each pour. Continue this way until you use all the liquid, pouring more quickly at the end. This should take no more than about a minute or two.5 cups chicken broth
- Add the potatoes, corn, thyme, and bay leaves and increase the heat to high and bring to a boil (you are looking for big bubbles at the surface). Then reduce to a simmer (the lowest you can go heat wise and still see bubbles) and continue cooking for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, 8 cobs of corn, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, 2 bay leaves
- Stir in the cream, and let heat through for a minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The amount of salt you add will vary depending on your bacon and chicken stock. We added 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper at the end.1 cup heavy cream, salt and pepper
Recipe Video
Notes
Judy Collins says
This was delicious. I followed the recipe exactly including using fresh corn. The only difference was I used Idaho potatoes. I will definitely be making it again.
I’m so glad you liked it, Judy!
Jennifer K says
I’m a soup freak too and this was easy and wonderful.
I’m so glad you liked it, Jennifer!
Bobbi Marie says
Love that it’s a big pot so we can eat leftovers. It’s just me and my 9 yo son but we love soup, potato being one of favorites, and can pack it away😂 the only thing I did different was I cooked the bacon as stated and then removed it from the pot and into a separate bowl. I used the bacon grease to cook the onions and everything else and added the crispy bacon pieces on top of the soup when the soup was all done. The smoothness of the soup and crunch of the bacon was perf👌I’m not a fan of the texture bacon takes when left in soup but if you are then definitely leave it in😁 thanks for the recipe!!
I’m so glad you liked it!
George says
Like most Americans I love bacon. What I do not like is the taste of bacon grease which is what I tasted the first the first time I made this chowder. To change this I cooked the bacon in the oven(350 for 20 mins) This will give you a crispy bacon but don’t worry it will soften when returned to pot. Discard the bacon grease. Melt 1/3 cup of butter in pot then follow recipe as written. I added the bacon back to the pot with the potatoes. This made a big difference for me. Delicious!!!
Hope parretti says
My family loved it so much!!!
Hope Parretti
I’m so happy to hear that!
Bud says
Nice site
Kris says
I have not tried the recipe yet, but I want to thank you for restating the ingredient amount under each numbered step. That is extremely helpful!
I’m so glad to hear that!
Sarah says
“These ads won’t print.” Lies! I am currently making the chowder and appreciate the recipe but a huge ad printed right over the last 3 steps. 🤣
I’m so sorry to hear that! Let me reach out to my ad company and let them know about this bug, because that should definitely not happen.
courtney says
This was wonderful! I added a chopped red pepper when sautéing the onions and just used water instead of vegetable stock. I topped it with chopped green onions. YUM!
I’m glad you liked it!
Bob says
Love this recipe especially this time of year (September) when the fresh corn is coming in. I will also blanch and freeze eight ears to make it again in the winter.
I’m so glad you like it!