Creamy, hearty Corn Chowder with BACON!! My two little effortless tips that take this up a notch is to use the bacon drippings to make the soup base, and toss the used corn cobs into the broth to infuse it with extra corn flavour. This soup is guaranteed to warm your soul and get your taste buds dancing!
Corn Chowder
I’m a sucker for creamy soups in any form. In fact, I’m yet to come across a creamy soup I don’t love. Hmmmm…..that statement sounds somewhat awfully familiar.
I’ve written that here before. Oh, that’s right. I say the same thing about cheese. Umm… and potatoes.
This website would be a very different place indeed if I also said the same thing about salads. 😈
There are corn chowders, then there are corn chowders. A couple of years ago, I shared a quick ‘n easy Corn Chowder using leftover Christmas ham and frozen corn. This one is a teeny step up from that in terms of effort, and it’s totally worth it because it’s extra corny and loaded with extra flavour.
Here’s my tip: Use fresh corn and use the corn cobs to make a simple extra-corny broth. OH – and cook the bacon first and use the bacon drippings to make the soup base (i.e. sautéing onion and garlic then making a roux that thickens the soup).
This method of infusing the soup broth with the corn cobs (also used in this Cold Corn Soup) is a tip I picked up from Kenji at Serious Eats, The Best Corn Chowder Recipe. Kenji says this, Kenji says that, Kenji’s tip for this, Kenji’s tested that… his name gets thrown around quite a bit in the RecipeTin family. While I’m pretty sure none of us has actually made any of his recipes exactly as written, we find his food-science approach to making the “best of the best” (like crunchy fried Chinese chicken that stays crunchy) or why it’s impossible to do this-or-that in a home kitchen (like truly charring noodles the South East Asian way) interesting reading, and are sometimes able to pick up tips that we can actually use in our normal day to day cooking.
Infusing the broth with the corn cobs is one such technique. 🙂
Now, I must confess something. Well, 2 things. The soup you see in the photos is cleaner than what you will see in the video. I usually make this with sprigs of thyme to infuse the broth. When I made the recipe video, I only had a few shrivelled up brown sprigs so I opted to use dried thyme instead rather than doing yet another run to the grocery store, so the soup broth is speckled with thyme leaves.
Having made that decision, I proceeded with the recipe video. Got the step where I was to toss in a bay leaf…. and realised I was out of bay leaves!!!
So… that bay leaf you see me plop into the soup is actually….. errr ….well, it’s a kaffir lime leaf. I fished it out as soon as I stopped recording!!!
These are not deal breakers though. Dried vs fresh thyme sprigs is just about aesthetics, and the bay leaf does add a subtle hint of extra flavour but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have it.
Just don’t substitute with kaffir lime leaf!!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Corn Chowder with Bacon
Ingredients
Corn (choose one)
- 4 ears of corn
- 4 cups / 750g / 1.5 lb frozen or canned corn , drained
Soup:
- 1 tsp butter (or oil)
- 250g / 8 oz bacon , chopped
- 30g / 2 tbsp butter (use 3 tbsp if bacon is lean)
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- 1 small onion , diced (or half large onion) (yellow, brown or white)
- 5 tbsp flour
- 2 cups chicken broth , low sodium
- 3 cups milk (I use low fat but full fat will work too)
- 600g / 1.2 lb potatoes , cut into 1 cm / 2/5" cubes (about 2 large)
- 2 sprigs of thyme OR 1 tsp dried thyme
- 3/4 cup cream (Note 1)
- 3/4 cup shallots / scallions , green part finely sliced
- Salt and finely ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut the corn off the cob. This is how I do it: Place a small ramekin in a large bowl. Place corn on the ramekin then cut the corn off. See video. Keep naked cobs.
- Place 1 tsp butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until golden. Use a slotted spoon to remove onto a paper towel lined plate. Leave fat in pot.
- Lower heat to medium high. Add 2 tbsp butter, once melted, add garlic and onion. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add flour and mix it in. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add broth, milk, potatoes, thyme and bay leaf. Break naked cobs into 2 or 3 and add into the liquid. Put the lid on and simmer for 25 minutes (adjust heat so it's simmering energetically but not bubbling like crazy or super gently).
- Remove lid, remove corn cobs. Add corn and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked to your taste.
- Stir through cream and 3/4 of the bacon and shallots. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with remaining bacon and shallots.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More creamy soups
LIFE OF DOZER
Nowhere to be seen when I was cutting the corn, made an appearance when the bacon was cooking. (PS I shot this recipe pre Cindy Crawford beauty spot in the photo I shared last Friday a.k.a smudge of permanent hair colour on his face)
OMG this soup is delicious! Will be making this time and time again.
Thanks Nagi
What kind of cream do you use
Hi Christine, it’s all in the recipe notes ☺️
OMG !!! This corn chowder with bacon soup looks amazing .. I love making soup. I make a soup that is pretty much the same but it is potato chowder with bacon.. I do use corn in it also . is much the same .. I love thick rich cream soups !! Thanks and keep sending the yummy recipies…
I hope you give this one a go and love it!
Winner winner chowder dinner! I used leek instead of onion and skipped the shallots, adding fresh parsley instead. So yummy, all devoured and no leftovers.
Sounds like a winner Sarah!
So yummy!
Shallots or scallions?
Hard to make that exchange. We are doing shallot, no green part to slice thinly. Put the shallots in sooner?
Thank you for the recipe, we are still getting lovely “candy corn” (white and yellow kernels mixed.)
Scallions to you! We call them shallots here 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
It was pouring outside yesterday so Chowder was the perfect meal! Your recipe is absolutely delicious and so easy! Just ran out of cream so I used evaporated milk – not sure how it would be with the cream, but I think I’m going to stick with the milk… This recipe is husband, 4 year old & baby approved 😉
Can you freeze this ?
Hey Nagi, and all you other great cooks!
I was hoping to find a recipe for Salmon Chowder on your site, but am thinking that I could adapt this . . .?
I’m thinking I will replace some of the chicken broth with clam juice, add the salmon, maybe some dill for seasoning (might cut back on corn – but will definitely keep the bacon and bacon drippings!)
Do you think that would turn out well?
Any other suggestions?
YES! That sounds AMAZING!!!
I had salmon that needed to be used (one of the benefits of living in the Pacific Northwest) so I went ahead and tried this today, and it turned out GREAT!
I decided to totally leave out the corn, so that the salmon flavor would really come through, and not be over powered by the corn. I used clam juice instead of the chicken broth, but added a couple of tsps of chicken bouillon powder (my dear husband’s suggestion). I kept the seasoning the same (a bay leaf and a sprig of lemon thyme from my garden), and didn’t use dill, since DH (Dear Husband) isn’t as much of a dill fan (I might add some just to my portion when I serve it).
I followed your directions (I threw in some celery to saute with the onions), and stirred in the salmon (which had already been cooked on the grill) close to the end.
Nagi – it was soooooo good! The thickness and texture of the chowder was PERFECT – thick and creamy like I like it, and it didn’t have a “floury” taste like they sometimes do in restaurants.
Although I make a lot of soups, for some reason I’ve always been intimidated by the thought of making a chowder. But now, with your recipe, I feel like I can make any type of chowder I want, just by making slight adaptations – clam chowder, corn chowder, salmon chowder, etc, etc, etc!
Thank you , thank you, thank you, Nagi!
(and if any of you have been hesitating to make a chowder – just follow Nagi’s directions, and you’ll be so pleased with the results!
Made this as a special at work and have had every customer beg for it to come back again…
Your magic touch. 🙂 I just provided the tools! N x
Hello Nagi and Dozer, when you posted this lovely recipe last year the fresh corn was pretty much over here in southwest Missouri USA but it looked so great that I printed it and waited, sort of patiently but not very, for the warm weather and fresh corn. Well, both have arrived so I bought all the ingredients and plan to make it this week, actually am drooling with anticipation…Dozer has nothing on me. I wonder what you think about making this in the slow cooker? I use an excellent recipe for Slow Cooker Potato Soup from BudgetBytes.com and think that your recipe might adapt well however I would appreciate your input because your recipe is so fine that I don’t want to take any chances on ruining it on the first go around.
Hope that Dozer is recovering well. My dogs have always tended to lick their stitches if they can get to them. But the real hardship is on you, I suspect. Are you able to take him with you on your rounds? I imagine not and walking him outdoors must be a challenge. Those soft Elizabethan recovery collars on Amazon look very cool and Dozer would look really sharp in several of the styles. Best of everything to you and your friend…wouldn’t life be dull without a wonderful dog or two to keep you company, love you unconditionally and provide buckets of support for all your recipes?
I LOVE any kind of chowder but this was one of the best recipes! My kids loved it too. I wish I made a double quantity as there is no leftover for me to enjoy tomorrow 😉
LOVE hearing that Masako!!! So glad you enjoyed it! N x
YUMMMMM! Thanks for using grams in your recipe. This is the first recipe that popped up on google and my first time visiting your site. I’ll be back!
So glad you enjoyed this Shana! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Another winning recipe! We used the corncobs for extra flavour as suggested and really liked how the crunchiness of the corn kernels offset the creamy texture of the chowder. The leftovers are now in the freezer for those evenings when we fancy a quick meal. Thanks Nagi!
Great to hear K! Thank you very much for leaving a review – N x ❤️
I found this better the second time I made it because I omitted the bay leaf and the thyme as I found them over powering for this type of dish. I was able to enjoy the sweet creaminess of the corn and potatoes without the herbs taking over. Delicious. Thank you!
So pleased you were able to adjust this to your taste Wendy! N x
This was absolutely delicious! Super easy, and other than corn, I already had all the ingredients at home (minus the Kefir lime leaf ). Getting extra flavor from the corn cobs is brilliant, although, I might use frozen corn next time. I had the corn silk EVERYWHERE!!! Definitely will make this again and again!
That’s great to hear Cheryl, thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
Removing corn from a cob can be a messy and tricky business. To keep those kernels in their place, place the cob into the hole of a bundt pan. Downward strokes and voila, corn in pan!
💪🏻
I do similar using a ramekin in a bowl!!
I made this last night, Delish! 😋. Served some cheesy nachos along side. Being a chilli 🌶 addict, I will try adding one or two next time I make it. I always look forward to reading all of your recipes, you are an inspiration!! Thank you 👍🏻
Nachos TOO??? WHY WASN’T I INVITED??!! 😂
Next time, how long is the flight to London?!? 🤣
24 hours including stopover time 😵
Hello Nagi… do you know if this freezes well? Thanks you. Love your blog
Yes it will freeze great! I frozen leftovers and gave them to a friend 🙂 N xx
This was really delicious thanks for the recipe
I’m pleased you enjoyed it Fiona, thanks for letting me know! N x
Loved the chowder-didn’t have fresh thyme so I used dried. (1 tsp) For those that don’t absolutely love thyme,
it might be a little much, will use less next time. (maybe 1/2)
Glad you enjoyed it Mike! Thanks for sharing the tip about the thyme 🙂 N x