Corn Chowder

Creamy Corn Chowder with potatoes is a delicious and hearty soup perfect for a cold day. It’s easy to make with canned corn and great to enjoy for lunch or dinner.

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Potato Corn Chowder

Few people can resist a big bowl of corn chowder when it’s cold outside. This version makes the ideal lunch or starter with hearty potatoes, sweet corn, and a touch of milk.

Why This Is The Best Easy Corn Chowder Recipe

This no-fuss potato corn chowder can come together in less than an hour with only a few common ingredients that you probably already have at home. The soup is delicious as is, but you can easily make changes to customize the flavor to your liking. This recipe is not made with fresh corn or frozen corn, but this recipe is made with a creamed corn you get from the can.

Recipe Ingredients

To make this corn chowder recipe, you will need:

• Butter – you can use salted butter or unsalted butter
• Onion – you can use yellow onions or white onions
• Potatoes – I like to use Russet potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Canned cream-style corn
• Milk – I like to make mine with whole milk, I think it reheats best when made with whole milk
• Bacon bits (optional garnish)

Ingredient Notes

The best potatoes to use for this corn chowder soup recipe are a bit on the waxy side. Red potatoes are a good choice. Yukon Golds are also lovely.

Try to stay away from baking potatoes, like Russets, because they have a mealy consistency and tend to fall apart when simmered in a chowder.

Don’t confuse cream-style corn with creamed corn. They are two different things. Creamed corn contains heavy cream, but creamed-style corn does not.

Save your favorite creamed corn recipe for the next time you need a side dish, and use a can of cream-style corn instead.

Ingredient Substitutions

Make this summer corn chowder vegetarian by replacing the bacon bits with a plant-based alternative, like All Y’alls Foods Vegan Bacon Bits. Skip the butter and use margarine instead for a completely vegan version.

How to Make Corn Chowder

To make this corn chowder soup recipe on the stovetop:

1. Place a large stockpot with two cups of water over high heat. Season the water with salt and pepper.
2. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small cubes.
3. Once the water comes to a boil, add the cup of cut potatoes directly into the pot without rinsing. Cook at a boil until the potatoes are knife-tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, dice the onions into the same sized pieces as the potatoes.
5. In a pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in butter until they soften and become translucent; about 5 minutes.

6. Dump the cooked onions, two cans of cream-style corn, and a cup of milk into the undrained stockpot with the potatoes.
7. Bring the corn chowder to a full boil and reduce the heat to a simmer.
8. Stir in the bacon bits and let the liquid thicken slightly before serving.

Crockpot Corn Chowder

Use a slow cooker to make this recipe even easier:

1. Prep the onions and potatoes the same as in the stovetop version.
2. Add the onions, potatoes, cream-style corn, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker bowl.
3. Pour in two cups of water and stir.
4. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
5. Stir in the butter and milk and cook uncovered on high until hot.

How to Serve Corn Chowder

Serve the homemade corn chowder in a thick-walled soup bowl. If you want to get fancy, or are just nostalgic for the ’80s, try using a small, hollowed-out sourdough boule as a bread bowl!

Garnish with some extra bacon bits and maybe a few kernels of cooked corn with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper on top.

Sour cream and finely chopped jalapeno peppers give the chowder a south-of-the-border vibe.

What Goes Well With Corn Chowder

Any sort of rich and flaky biscuit is excellent on the side of corn chowder. Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits are particularly good when paired with this recipe.

You can add diced or shredded cooked chicken to the soup if you want a little extra protein.

How to Store Leftover Corn Chowder

If you don’t eat all the chowder, you can keep it in a covered container inside the fridge for up to three days.

Any longer than that, and you’ll want to freeze the leftovers. Frozen creamy corn chowder will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to three months.

If you know you want to freeze the chowder, you will get better results by leaving the milk out of the recipe and adding it later when you reheat it.

Divide the soup into individual portions using freezer-safe bags to make reheating easy.

How to Reheat Corn Chowder

To reheat corn chowder from thawed:

1. Warm in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. To thin the soup out, add a few tablespoons of water.
2. Alternatively, you can heat for a minute and a half in the microwave. Stir the chowder. Continue to heat in 30-second bursts until hot.

To reheat corn chowder from frozen:

1. Thaw the chowder in the microwave or overnight in the fridge.
2. If you left the milk out when you made the chowder, add a cup of milk and bring it to a simmer over medium heat in a small saucepan. Continuously stir the corn chowder until it starts to thicken.
3. If the chowder already has milk, follow the directions above to reheat.

Love corn? Try these recipes!

• Air Fryer Corn on the Cob
• Chipotle Corn Salsa
• Cornbread with Creamed Corn
• Cream Corn Casserole
• Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Scalloped Corn

Favorite Chowder and Soup Recipes

• Acorn Squash Soup
• Clam Chowder
• Crab Bisque
• Crawfish Bisque
• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Cream of Celery Soup
• Homemade Potato Soup

Check out more of my easy soup recipes and the best winter recipes here on CopyKat!