Homemade Chicken Corn Chowder In Under an Hour

Nothing tastes better than fresh, warm soup on a cold day. And when you’re really hungry, no soup satisfies quite like a good chowder. That combination of cream and potatoes is deliciously rich and filling. Paired with sandwiches or hearty bread, it makes a terrific meal that warms your soul.

One of my family’s favorites is Chicken Corn Chowder. It’s full of chicken in a rich and creamy broth with the heartiness of potatoes and a hint of sweetness from the corn. Yum on a spoon. We like to eat it with fresh bread. It goes great with a hearty “take and bake” loaf or a simple no-knead bread mix.

This soup really is weeknight fast. I know everyone promises dinners you can get on the table in 30 minutes or less. I’ll be honest; this soup takes almost an hour to make. Since it takes me that long to make most dinners, I say it’s fast enough for my family’s weeknights!

You can speed up the process by using celery and onion that are already chopped. Pre-washed baby potatoes can trim some time too since all you have to do is split them in half. In contrast, russet potatoes (which I recommend for this soup) need to be washed, peeled, and chopped. I do call for some shortcut ingredients in this recipe. Here I use two of my favorite magic shortcuts: real bacon bits and jarred minced garlic.

I also use frozen corn most of the time—no need to thaw. I have used fresh corn too. I cut it right off the cob and add it to the pot. You don’t need to cook it first. You can use drained, rinsed canned corn in a pinch, but fresh or frozen is a little sweeter and yields a better tasting chowder.

I call this Weeknight Chicken Corn Chowder since I usually spend about an hour making dinner for my family on an average weeknight, and that’s how long this takes, thanks to a couple of short cuts.

Like most soups, this one starts with celery and onions. It’s not a classic mirepoix because I don’t add carrots, but I’m sure they would be delicious if you wanted to add some. I also don’t use mirepoix proportions, which are two parts onion with one part each of carrots and celery. This chowder uses equal parts onion and celery, and you can use the handy pre-chopped ones some grocery stores sell or chop them ahead of time and keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the soup.

Be careful if you peel and chop the potatoes ahead of time. They will brown if exposed to air. According to the potato experts at IdahoPotato.com, you can keep them from browning by storing them in water in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. They suggest you “submerge them in a bowl of water, cover and refrigerate.”

When making a recipe that calls for several chopped ingredients, like this chicken corn chowder, I usually prep all of the ingredients before I begin cooking. That way, when the soup is ready for the next ingredient, it’s ready for the soup. And I don’t risk burning something or cutting myself while I try to hurriedly chop up the next ingredient. That’s why the potatoes are the last ingredient I prep when making this soup (although I may try keeping them in a bowl of cold water instead!)

If you are using real bacon bits, like the recipe calls for, or chopped pre-cooked bacon, you’ll want to melt the butter into the canola oil in the pot and crisp your bacon bits up a little in the fat. Then remove the bacon, but reserve the fat to cook the vegetables in. By doing this, you’ve added some bacon flavor to the fats. If you are using fresh bacon, reserve the pan drippings and add just enough butter or canola oil to make two tablespoons. It will be delicious either way, but it will take a little longer if you use fresh bacon.

Even the chicken breast can be prepared ahead. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in my chicken corn chowder, but you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if that’s what you have on hand. The breast meat is a little lighter, but they cook in about the same amount of time, so they work equally well.

One of the other things that make this soup a little faster to prepare is that you don’t need to cook the chicken ahead of time. Because you are using boneless chicken, and you’ve chopped it up, it cooks very quickly in the broth.

I use heavy cream in this soup. You can substitute half and half or canned evaporated milk if that’s what you have on hand. I’ve made this once or twice with whole milk, and it’s good, but not as rich and luxurious as it is with cream.

This chowder recipe calls for sour cream. You can use crème fraiche instead, but it won’t have quite the same tang as sour cream. I haven’t tried making it with plain yogurt, but I expect that would work nicely too. Leave a comment if you try it. I’d like to know how the yogurt works out for you.

You may notice some red and green bits in this batch of soup. I had a bag of frozen corn with peppers and onions in it, so I used it. It worked very well, so if you wanted to add a tablespoon or two of chopped red and/or green bell pepper, I think it would be a very nice addition to this chicken corn chowder. If you like it spicy, you might add a chopped jalapeño too.

Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes or so, it’s ready to eat. This recipe for chicken corn chowder instructs you to season the soup to your taste. That means you should taste the soup once the chicken is cooked to make sure it has enough salt and pepper. Remember, this soup contains bacon, which is already salty, and if you use regular chicken stock, it will have a fair amount of salt in it. The same is true if you used canned corn, even rinsed. So, please do yourself a favor and taste it before you take it off the heat. If you do add seasoning, stir it in and simmer it for five minutes afterward.

I usually keep about a tablespoon of bacon bits back to use as a garnish, but chives or fresh parsley also work very well. Remember that this recipe is a basic guideline. Feel free to experiment and make this chowder your own. Use your favorite flavors and embrace the magic of turning raw ingredients into a hot, healthy bowl of yum.

Weeknight Chicken Corn Chowder

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dishes, SoupCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

55

minutes

This soup is full of chicken in a rich and creamy broth with hearty potatoes, salty bacon, and a hint of sweetness from the corn. And it goes from cutting board to table in about an hour.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil (canola, sunflower, vegetable, olive, or corn oil)

• 1 Tablespoon butter

• 1/3 cup real bacon bits (not bacon-flavored bits) or crumbled cooked bacon (about 5 slices)

• 1 lb. skinless, boneless, raw chicken breasts (about 2 large)

• ½ medium onion, diced (about a cup)

• 2 sticks celery, diced (about a cup)

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)

• 5 cups chicken stock or bone broth

• 2 cups fresh or frozen corn (or frozen corn blend with peppers and onions)

• 3 large potatoes (about 1 ½ lbs.), peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes

• ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (or ¼ teaspoon thyme and ¼ teaspoon oregano)

• 2/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream, half & half, or evaporated milk

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Fresh parsley or chives for garnish (optional)

Directions

• Prepare onions and celery. Cut chicken breast into one-inch pieces and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Heat oil and butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When butter has melted, add bacon bits (or chopped, cooked bacon). Cook and stir for about one minute until bacon bits are crispy. Remove from pot and set aside, reserving fat in pot.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add diced onion and celery to pot. Season with a little salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes or until onions are translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
• Add flour. Cook and stir for about a minute. It’s okay for the flour to get slightly golden, but not brown.
• Stir in the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any brown bits.
• Add the chicken, frozen corn, potatoes, Italian seasoning, and the bacon (reserving 1 Tablespoon for garnish if desired).
• Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low (simmer).
• Stir in the heavy cream and sour cream.
• Simmer for about 20 minutes (until potatoes are tender), stirring occasionally. Soup will thicken as it cooks. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
• Ladle into soup mugs or bowls and garnish with remaining bacon bits, chopped fresh parsley, or chives as desired.

Notes

• Freeze leftovers in 1–2 cup portions. Reheat in a microwave oven on the medium setting. Do not heat on high, or the cream in the broth will break.
• The beer bread pictured was made with the Country Style Beer Bread Mix from Ozark Mountain Dessert Coffee and is available at gourmet food stores across the USA and from their website: http://www.ozarkmountaindessertcoffee.com. I added 3 oz shredded cheddar before baking as the package directs.