Luscious, hearty, Potato and Corn Chowder is exploding with sweet corn, tender cubes of potato and loads of other goodies in a fragrant broth that smells just like fresh sweet corn. Don’t let the ingredient list stop you from making this glorious chowder. It’s all easy-to-find stuff that you likely already have!
Corn and Potato Chowder
When the weather is crisp, there is no food I crave more than a really magnificent corn and potato chowder. While a garden variety chowder is fine, this chowder that takes a run through the garden is something truly special.
And even better? It doesn’t take much work or many added steps to turn something perfectly good into something purely magical.
The key is in using every day things to build umami into the soup so that it tastes intensely of the corn and potato. I’ll break down some different options you have to up the oomph in your chowder!
Potato Corn Chowder
If you’re lucky enough to have excellent sweet corn available to you, please make this chowder with it. You’ll be thrilled if you simmer the corn cobs in with the potatoes, corn, and other vegetables. This is another atomic weight hit of sweet corn flavour that you should not skip if it’s a possibility.
I prefer to use corn that I’ve put up in the freezer from the summer for this chowder. If I don’t have it (read: used it all already), I opt for store-bought frozen corn.
I have also made it from canned corn and enjoyed it. For best results, though, go for either super fresh corn cut from the cob or corn you froze yourself.
For the most absolutely transcendent potato corn chowder, use corn stock. It is basically the distilled essence of summer corn in liquid form and is worth its weight in gold, culinarily speaking.
Leftovers are fantabulous. Don’t go small.
Make a full or double batch because soup is one of those rare foods that improves with age. Take advantage of it!
Potato Corn Chowder Recipe
For this soup (see above reference), I advise using Corn Stock. If you don’t have this handy, you can certainly use chicken or vegetable stock. I’m gonna go ahead and say make the stock!
In most cases, I’d suggest you cook the bacon to your desired doneness… In this case, however, I’m going to go ahead and instruct that you cook it to crispy… Even to the point of TOO crispy to eat alone. Not burnt, mind you, but crispy. It will soften in the soup, and I like to think of it as a meat crouton anyway.
If you have potatoes with a green-tinted or tough, blemished skin, peel them. Green skin will lend a bitter, weird, off-flavour to the final chowder. If the skins are smooth, thin, and evenly coloured, feel free to keep those skins on. They’re delicious.
Potato Corn Chowder
Rate RecipeEquipment
- 1 6 quart or larger stock pot
- 1 long handled wooden spoon
- 1 plate
- Paper towels
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon Omit the bacon and add 4 tablespoons of butter for a vegetarian version.
- 1 onion ends trimmed, peeled, and diced
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery washed and diced
- 6 cups corn stock or chicken stock
- 1 1/2 pounds baby yellow potatoes or small white or red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 ears corn or 4 cups frozen corn
- 2 teaspoons chicken or vegetable bouillon
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or three sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional but tasty
- sliced green onions and minced fresh parsley if desired, for serving
Instructions
To Make the Roasted Corn and Potato Chowder:
- Cut across the slices of bacon to make 1/2-inch strips. In a soup pot over medium heat, cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until it is crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crispy bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Set it aside.
- Drain all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon grease. You can eyeball it: you don't need to be precise. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent.
- If using corn on the cob, cut the kernels away from the cob, then use a spoon to scrape any remaining corn milk from the cob. Combine the scrapings with the corn.
- Add the corn stock, potatoes, corn, chicken or vegetable bouillon, thyme, nutmeg, and bay leaf. If you used fresh corn, please add the cobs, too!Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes and carrots are very tender.
- Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of water or shake it together in a jar. Pour into the soup and stir. Raise the heat to medium high and bring back to a simmer, stirring constantly. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Drop the heat back to low, stir in the heavy cream and the crispy bacon, and heat just until steam tendrils rise from the soup, about 1 1/2 minutes. Do not boil the chowder!
- Serve with a handful of sliced green onions and chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Reader's Thoughts...
Mindy says
I made this tonight and it is absolutely delicious & soooo satisfying! I didn’t have corn stock (but you can bet I will this year!) but it was wonderful with chicken stock anyway! I’m also nauseated by the texture of onions cooked to translucence but i like the flavor, so I sautéed as directed and used my immersion blender on them. I wasn’t sure how it would work with adding the flour, but it came out perfectly! Thank you for the keeper 🙂
Angie says
Sounds wonderful, I love a good soup to warm my cold bones! Pinning!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
I like the cream cheese for richness. Yay I am not a vegetarian. Hellooooo bacon. Obviously I like this soup.
Brianna says
Yummy. There is nothing like good comfort food when it is cold outside. It’s freezing where I am at, and I’ll I’ve been wanting is good soup recipes, with a hunk of homemade bread. Thanks for posting this–in my “to try” list!
sheila says
I’m on my way!!
I just purchased the Soup Club Cookbook….it is so lovely!! Every recipe makes a ginormous batch of soup, great for sharing with friends and such. ; D
Julie says
Yum. Soup. With sweet potato biscuits alongside. This is on next week’s dinner menu, since winter doesn’t seem to be going away.
Rie says
It has been a little nippy lately, hasn’t it. I LOVE homemade soup. Just made chicken stock yesterday. I think I have some corn stock in the freezer, but no potatoes or cream cheese. May have to make a ran to the store. Think I see some snow flakes…..How do you think this would freeze? This is a big batch for just me and the hubster.
Rebecca says
Hi Rie- I don’t know how well this would freeze mainly because of the cream cheese. It holds well in the refrigerator for a few days, though, and makes a great sharesy soup like Sheila mentioned! If it’s just two of you, though, you could reduce the recipe overall!