Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 8 hrs
Total: 8 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Corn chowder is one of those soups you can eat year round—it is comforting on a cold day, but also highlights one of the summer’s best crops. It is a versatile recipe, allowing for additions (like bacon and chopped red pepper), as well as alterations (like keeping it chunky or puréeing half of the mixture). Corn chowder is also easily made vegetarian by swapping out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
What makes this recipe even more appealing is that it is cooked in a crock pot instead of on the stove. You can start the soup in the morning, and then finish it off an hour or so before dinnertime. And because it is filling and nutritious, all you need alongside are biscuits or crackers and a simple salad.
Ingredients
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32 ounces corn (2 16-ounce cans, drained)
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3 medium potatoes (Yukon Gold or red-skinned)
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1 medium onion
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1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
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1/4 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
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2 cups chicken broth
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2 cups whole milk (or half-and-half)
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1 tablespoon butter
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2 strips bacon (cooked and crumbled, or chopped chives or parsley), optional, garnish
Steps to Make It
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Gather the ingredients.
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Combine the corn, potatoes, onion, salt, pepper, and chicken broth in a slow cooker.
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Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.
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Purée in a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender, if desired, then return to the pot.
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Stir in milk and butter; cover and cook on high about 30 to 60 minutes more.
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Garnish with crumbled bacon and/or chopped chives, if desired.
Use Caution When Blending Hot Ingredients
Steam expands quickly in a blender, and can cause ingredients to splatter everywhere or cause burns. To prevent this, fill the blender only one-third of the way up, vent the top, and cover with a folded kitchen towel while blending.
Tip
- This recipe calls for canned corn, but you can use frozen kernels if you like. And if you are making this in summer when the corn is at its peak, by all means, use fresh ears (about 6 ears) of corn. To make removing the kernels from the ears easier and less messy, place the ear of corn on the center of a Bundt or tube pan, sticking the point of the ear in the hole a bit. Using a serrated knife, slice down the ear, rotating around, allowing the kernels to fall into the base of the cake pan.
Recipe Variation
- Add some protein to the soup if you like. Ham, shrimp, lobster, and bacon are excellent choices. Cook the meat or shellfish and add them to the soup shortly before it’s ready. If using shellfish, replace the chicken stock with clam juice or broth.
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 6 to 8 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 228 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 5g | 7% |
| Saturated Fat 2g | 12% |
| Cholesterol 11mg | 4% |
| Sodium 355mg | 15% |
| Total Carbohydrate 42g | 15% |
| Dietary Fiber 4g | 15% |
| Total Sugars 10g | |
| Protein 8g | |
| Vitamin C 13mg | 65% |
| Calcium 88mg | 7% |
| Iron 1mg | 7% |
| Potassium 707mg | 15% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
