Chicken Corn Chowder

This CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER recipe is hearty and filling, made with fresh sweet corn, chunks of chicken, and plenty of potatoes and bacon. This is the ultimate summer soup recipe!

 

Soup, but make it summer.

Soup in the summer isn’t usually my thing, but this one is the exception.

This easy chicken and corn chowder recipe is full of the sweet flavor and crunch of corn, there are lots of juicy chunks of chicken, chunks of potato, and then – this is the part that really gets ya – it’s all topped with crispy bacon and cheddar cheese.

The corn stays crisp and sweet, the broth is rich, but still light enough to not feel heavy on a warm evening, and the whole thing just tastes like summer in a bowl.

Fresh corn in the summer is absolutely the way to go if you can get it. But canned or frozen corn works beautifully the rest of the year, which means this one earns a permanent spot in the rotation, all year long.

Of course, we love sweet corn any which way you want to cook it (hello, scalloped corn, cream cheese corn, and cornbread casserole)!

3 Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

1. Big flavor from simple ingredients. Old Bay, green chiles, and bacon do a lot of heavy lifting here without anything fancy or hard to find.
2. One pot, minimal cleanup. Everything comes together in a single soup pot from start to finish.
3. Works with fresh, frozen, or canned corn. No need to wait for summer. This chowder is good any time of year.

Ingredients, Swaps, & Tips:

Use rotisserie chicken. This is a great recipe for leftover or rotisserie chicken. Just shred it and stir it in. It cuts down on prep time considerably. Alternately, our crockpot shredded chicken is perfect here.

Swap the corn freely. Fresh corn cut from the cob gives you the best flavor and a little extra sweetness from the cob pulp. Out of season, use 15 ounces of canned corn plus 15 ounces of creamed corn, or around 20 ounces of frozen corn.

Don’t skip the bacon drippings. Cooking the potatoes and scallions in the bacon fat left in the pot adds a layer of savory flavor you won’t get otherwise. If you want to cut back on fat, you can drain some off, but leave a little in there.

Adjust the heat. The cayenne and green chiles add a mild kick. If you’re cooking for kids or spice-sensitive folks, you can reduce the cayenne to just a pinch or skip it entirely.

Thicken it up. If you want a thicker chowder, you can mash a few of the cooked potato chunks against the side of the pot before adding the corn and chicken.

Step by Step:

Fry up the bacon until nice and crip and then remove it from the pan, leaving the drippings behind.

Cook the potatoes, scallions, and flour in the bacon drippings and then stir in the liquid and seasonings to form the base of the soup.

Use a sharp knife to cut the corn off the cob. Use the back of the knife to scrape down the edge of the cob to remove the pulp and juices.

Add the conr, chicken, and green chiles to the pot and let it all simmer until you’re ready to dig in. Top it off with that crisp bacon.

Serving Ideas

This chowder is a full meal on its own, but a few sides make it even better:

• Oyster crackers on top for a little crunch
• A chunk of crusty bread or a warm homemade biscuit for dipping
• A simple green salad to lighten things up
• Cornbread on the side for a cozy, full-on comfort food situation

More soup recipes you will love:

• Cheeseburger Soup
• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Keto Cauliflower Soup
• Corn and Bean Chowder
• Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe was originally published in 2011. Original photo below: