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Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Prepare corn: Husk corn. Cut kernels off of cobs. Reserve both the kernels and the cobs to the side.
  2. Prepare chowder: Melt butter in a medium-sized soup pot or Dutch oven set on moderate heat. Add the leeks, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the potatoes, chicken stock, corn cobs and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove and discard cobs and bay leaves. Add corn kernels and simmer for 5 minutes more. 
  4. Reserve 5-6 cups of chowder from pot. Carefully purée remaining chowder directly in pot using an immersion blender. You can also use a food processor or blender with the stopper removed and the top covered with a dish towel. Return reserved chowder to pot containing the puréed chowder and stir to combine. Pour in cream and sprinkle in cheese. Stir everything together and heat the soup over low heat until ready to serve.
  5. To serve: Stir in parsley and red pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper if using. For vegetarians, garnish with Parmesan cheese, chopped chives and black pepper. For all others, add Parmesan, chopped parsley and chopped bacon.
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Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

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A rich, creamy soup of freshly shucked corn, potatoes and a mix of flavourful veggies, finished with cream and Parmesan…

  • clock icon
    60 MIN
  • 8 SERVINGS
Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

It’s time for a flavour-forward take on the classic CREAMY CORN CHOWDER RECIPE!

We decided to include a dedicated SOUPS AND STEWS collection tab on our website for good reason; a steaming bowl of well-made soup may very well be the perfect comfort food. This CREAMY CORN CHOWDER RECIPE is destined to become a fan favourite. Here’s a quick overview of what makes this recipe so appealing:

  • The chowder is made using fresh corn.
  • The creaminess comes from the addition of both cream and Parmesan cheese.
  • Homemade chicken stock is used as the base of the chowder.
  • Onion, leeks, potatoes, parsley and red pepper add to the flavour profile.
  • We have a special trick that gives this corn chowder recipe loads of flavour.

After making and enjoying this chowder recipe, don’t forget to revisit Weekend at the Cottage to check out some of our other satiating soups. We know you’ll like our super-popular HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP, our SEAFOOD CHOWDER, this SAUSAGE SOUP WITH WHITE BEANS or our healthy CARROT-ORANGE SOUP. When it comes to soups and stews, we’ve got you covered.

For now, grab a large pot and head to the kitchen, because it’s time to make a delicious CREAMY CORN CHOWDER RECIPE.

All of the ingredients needed to make a creamy corn chowder recipe
Lots of fresh veggies, herbs and summer corn make this chowder a powerhouse of flavour!

INGREDIENTS

This chowder recipe is made using a gathering of fresh vegetables, chicken stock, cream and Parmesan cheese. We purposely kept the list of ingredients short, sticking just to the things that maximize flavour yet create a richness that doesn’t need a flour-based roux for thickening. Yup, this recipe is gluten-free. As with all our recipes, we suggest making this one using organic vegetables purchased from a local source. You will taste the difference.

Four ears of freshly shucked summer corn.
Use freshly shucked summer corn for best results.

CORN

Although there are times when we suggest going the simple route and using frozen corn for a recipe, this isn’t one of them. For this homemade chowder recipe, only fresh sweet summer corn will do. Sweet summer corn comes in white, yellow, coloured and multi-coloured varieties. Corn tastes best when freshly picked, so head to your local farmer’s stand or market and look for a popular variety like Silver Queen, Jubilee, Butter and Sugar, or Peaches and Cream. These varieties will lend a pleasing tender sweetness and almost nutty corn flavouring to your soup. 

Don’t forget to watch the VIDEO crafted for this chowder recipe. We’ve got a nifty way of removing corn kernels off the cob that happens effortlessly. Best of all, no big mess when you do it! 

Onion, leeks, celery, potatoes and red pepper all add lots of flavour to the chowder.
These vegetables all add to the pleasing flavour profile of the chowder.

SAUTÉED VEGETABLES

This chowder recipe starts like almost every other soup; a sauté of aromatic vegetables cooked up in a fat, in this case, butter. Using a combination of leeks and yellow onion gives the dish a fragrant sweetness, while the celery adds flavour and texture. Lastly, adding diced potatoes into the mix is a characteristic element in chowders. We suggest using round white or Yukon gold potatoes. These varieties won’t fall apart, so you’ll end up with chunks of cooked potato that add a nice bite to the soup when mixed up with the corn.

Cobs of corn simmering in the chowder pot.
Add even more flavour to your chowder by simmering the kernel-less cobs.

CORN COBS

Wait! Did you just read that right? There are corn cobs in this recipe? You bet! As mentioned above, here’s where the special flavour boost comes in. Once the chicken stock gets added to the pot, all of the veggies get a nice slow simmer for 20 minutes, which got me thinking, “Hey, I bet those corn cobs are packed with corny essence!” Adding the kernel-less corn cobs into the pot at this point gives the chowder some serious flavour.

A bowl of corn kernels and cobs.
Each cob yields about 1 cup of kernels. That’s alot of corn in this chowder – hurray!

CORN KERNELS AND RED PEPPER

Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, remove and discard the cobs and add in the corn kernels. Stir them in and continue to simmer for 5 minutes more. The corn kernels will cook within that short period of time and release their flavouring into this CREAMY CORN CHOWDER RECIPE.

We included a red pepper in this recipe not only to add a bit more sweetness but to also add a pop of colour. It definitely adds to the visual appeal.

Half-and-half cream and Parmesan cheese.
The cream and Parmesan cheese both contribute to the creaminess of the chowder.

CREAMY CHOWDER

This soup recipe gets its hallmark texture from three simple steps that combine to create something memorably creamy. First, we reserve five cups of the soup “as is”. Then, we carefully purée everything left in the pot using an immersion blender, food processor or standing blender. Stirring the two back together creates a naturally thickened chowder made without using flour, hurray! The next step is to add both 10% cream (half and half) and grated Parmesan cheese. They also help thicken the soup to a pleasing consistency.

Parsley, chives, finely diced red pepper and chopped crispy bacon.
Garnishing the soup with freshly chopped herbs, the diced red pepper and crispy bacon adds colour and lots of flavour, too.

GARNISH AND SERVE

Right before serving this soup, we recommend stirring in some chopped parsley (or chives), plus some finely diced red pepper. These two final ingredients give the chowder a great presentation, adding a pop of contrasting colour to the yellow of the corn.

A steaming bowl of corn chowder
Garnish with Parm, parsley and chopped crispy bacon… oh, my!

You’ll also notice we’re giving you an option to add an unexpected garnish as well; chopped bacon. If you happen to have some thick-cut smoked bacon on hand, cook off a few rashers until just crispy. Towel off any fat and chop them up, adding a sprinkle of crispy bacon bits to each bowl when you serve. It’s a wonderful addition.

A baking sheet of Cheddar buttermilk biscuits
Bake off a batch of biscuits while the chowder simmers

So are these FLAKY TEA BISCUITS or our light and fluffy CHEDDAR BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

A bowl of creamy corn chowder garnished with Parm and crispy bacon.
Got extra or leftover bacon? Just add it to the pot!

This CREAMY CORN CHOWDER RECIPE is simply amazing!

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Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

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Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe

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Ingredients

  • 4 ears of corn, shucked (reserve cobs)
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 2 leeks, white parts cleaned and thinly sliced
  • 1 white or Spanish onion, peeled and diced
  • 2 celery stalks, diced
  • 4 boiling potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 8 cups chicken stock (or chicken broth or vegetable broth)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 cups 10% cream (half and half)
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • kosher salt and black pepper to taste
  • pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
  • Garnish
  • sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese
  • sprinkle of chopped parsley or chives
  • chopped crispy bacon
  • sprinkle of black pepper

Directions

  1. Prepare corn: Husk corn. Cut kernels off of cobs. Reserve both the kernels and the cobs to the side.
  2. Prepare chowder: Melt butter in a medium-sized soup pot or Dutch oven set on moderate heat. Add the leeks, onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the potatoes, chicken stock, corn cobs and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes.
  3. Remove and discard cobs and bay leaves. Add corn kernels and simmer for 5 minutes more. 
  4. Reserve 5-6 cups of chowder from pot. Carefully purée remaining chowder directly in pot using an immersion blender. You can also use a food processor or blender with the stopper removed and the top covered with a dish towel. Return reserved chowder to pot containing the puréed chowder and stir to combine. Pour in cream and sprinkle in cheese. Stir everything together and heat the soup over low heat until ready to serve.
  5. To serve: Stir in parsley and red pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper if using. For vegetarians, garnish with Parmesan cheese, chopped chives and black pepper. For all others, add Parmesan, chopped parsley and chopped bacon.

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