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Corn Chowder Recipe

Filed under Seasonal Favorites: Summer, Soup and Stew, Vegetarian, Wheat-free

Corn Chowder

With sweet, fresh corn, still available at the local farmers market, we just couldn't resist trying our hands at some fresh corn chowder. The recipe is adapted from one by Mitchell Davis in Kitchen Sense and is full of flavor. The original recipe calls for a strip of bacon, but you can add a little bacon fat instead, if you have some on hand, or just add a little more butter.

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Corn Chowder Recipe

Ingredients

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 strip of bacon or 1 teaspoon of bacon fat (substitute 1/2 Tbsp of butter for vegetarian option)
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved (see steps for taking corn off the cob)
1 bay leaf
3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Method

1 In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon strip (skip this step for vegetarian option, just add more butter) and fry until the bacon renders its fat, but doesn't begin to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.

2 Break the corn cobs in half and add them to the saucepan. Add the milk and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer (on our stove we had to use the "warm" setting) to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.

3 Discard the cobs, the bacon strip, and the bay leaf. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, red pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.

4 Raise the heat, add the corn kernels and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serves 4.

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Posted by Elise on Sep 5, 2006 and indexed Chowder, Corn, Soup

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Comments

This sounds delicious. I've been craving a good soup as the weather turns a bit colder lately.

Q. Is the corn cooked first or just cut off the cob raw?

Posted by: Jennifer on September 5, 2006 8:29 AM

Hi Jennifer - You'll need very fresh, raw corn.

Posted by: Elise [TypeKey Profile Page] on September 5, 2006 8:38 AM

Make it southwestern by substituting Sweet Potato and a canned chipotle pepper or green chiles! My Favorite!!!!

Posted by: Anonymous on September 5, 2006 9:43 AM

Hi Elise-
Does the broth thicken or is it more liquid-y? (Does my question even make sense?) Either way, it looks and sounds delicious. Yum.
-Anne

Posted by: Anne on September 5, 2006 12:01 PM

I love it with chiles, especially chipotle!

Great soup. I think I will have to make some, now. (Cilantro is good in it, too...)

Posted by: Barbara on September 5, 2006 12:15 PM

Great way to use the last of the summer corn -- we're still getting Silver Queen at the farmstands in Rhode Island. A tiny bit of Spanish paprika would stand in for the smoky flavor of the bacon, for those of us who'd rather not use the bacon fat.

Posted by: Lydia on September 5, 2006 4:24 PM

There's still very nice fresh corn in Whole Foods. I'm guessing that frozen corn on the cob would work very well. The milk should help enhance that "fresh" flavor and you might consider a tiny bit of sugar.

I was thinking about smoky Spanish paprika and pancetta. Can't wait to try this and I won't be skimping on calories. A little half-and-half or whole cream might be a very nice addition.

Posted by: Lydia Sugarman on September 6, 2006 1:49 PM

Tried this last night. The fresh corn flavor really was the star of this soup. For my taste I would decrease the red pepper next time. Great recipe!

Posted by: Anonymous on September 7, 2006 10:53 AM

I made this last night. What perfect timing as the weather has been so crummy. I love that there was no heavy cream in this recipe! I thought the potatoes did a great job of making it thick and chowdery. It is better the next day...just like all soups (imo).

Posted by: miche on September 10, 2006 9:29 PM

This was fantastic, Elise. It was just the ticket. I had gotten a bit over-enthusiastic at the farm stand and was glad to have another use for some corn. This came together very easily last night and was delicious. Looking forward to the leftovers.

Posted by: Paul on September 12, 2006 7:09 AM

Hi Elise! Your corn chowder looks totally divine. Thanks so much for link to mine [it's one of my favorite recipes]. I will really miss fresh corn. It makes such a difference in these kinds of soups.

Posted by: Karina on October 4, 2006 2:57 PM

I actually used jarred roasted peppers in place of the regular pepper. YUM!

Posted by: Amy on September 13, 2007 1:59 PM

Fabulous soup, Elise! I doubled the bacon just because! I'm new to your site and really enjoying poking around. Thanks for the nice place to come to.

Posted by: Danabee on October 1, 2007 9:26 PM

Very good recipe.
Just ate it now.
Didn't add pepper and left the bacon in.

Posted by: Derek Middlestones on October 17, 2007 6:18 PM

Does anyone have a recipe for corn chowder that DOESN'T use milk at all?
The person I need to make it for is a vegetarian AND lactose-intolerant.
Any ideas?
(Your recipe sounds DELICIOUS, though!)

Posted by: Pat on October 19, 2007 4:27 PM

I used John Cope's Corn in this and it was wonderful.

Posted by: Jim Price on December 30, 2007 8:31 PM

I made this today and it was so good! I didn't have corn on the cob so I skipped the part about boiling the cob and just used frozen corn and it still turned out well.

Posted by: shelly on February 13, 2008 10:37 AM

While a year after the question, here's a Corn Chowder recipe I make to rave reviews and the bacon and cream are optional so it should appeal to a vegetarian/lactose intolerant person. I made it for a friend who was undergoing chemo and couldn't handle the cream at the time. She loved it. I am now trying your chowder recipe (I'm in the 30 min simmer stage)...can't wait to try it! I look forward to trying more on your fantastic blog.

4oz sliced bacon (optional)
2 T unsalted butter
2 C chopped onions
2 T flour
4 C chicken or vegetable broth
2 large potatoes
1 C half and half (optional)
4 C cooked corn
3/4 t black pepper
Salt to taste
1 large red bell pepper diced
3 scallions; white bulb and 3" green cut into 1/4" slices
1 T chopped cilantro

1. Wilt bacon in large soup pot over low heat until fat is rendered. Add the butter and allow to melt.
2. Add the onions and wilt over low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Add the flour and cook stirring another 5 minutes.
4. Add the stock and potatoes; continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are just tender; 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Add the half and half (if desired), and corn. Cook 7 minutes stirring occasionally. pepper and salt.
6. Add bell pepper and scallions and cook for 5 minutes.
7. Garnish with cilantro.

Posted by: Laurie on March 19, 2008 8:05 AM

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