Corn Chowder
Published 7/29/2022
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It’s sweet corn season, and we’re sharing a cheesy corn chowder recipe made with fresh ears of corn, cheddar cheese, potatoes, bacon, and yummy spices.
The BEST Cheesy Corn Chowder
It’s sweet corn season and if you haven’t made a batch of corn chowder yet, now’s the time!
As a midwesterner, everyone should have an epic corn chowder recipe in their back pocket. You see, we have cornfields left and right here in Minnesota. Knee high by the 4th of July, amiright?!
Let’s make a corn chowder recipe that’s cheesy, creamy, and so flavorful!
why you’ll love it!
- Creamy and hearty
- Made with fresh corn
- Filling
- CHEESY
Corn Chowder Ingredients
- Yellow sweet corn: we recommend using the freshest of corn you can find. Make sure to shuck it and use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob. If you must use frozen or canned corn in a pinch, you can. It will impact the flavor.
- Bacon: this recipe starts off by crisping up chopped bacon and that’s to get all the amazing flavor pork has to offer!
- Yukon gold potatoes: we love the heartiness that potatoes add to this corn chowder. Feel free to swap for russet, Idaho or red potatoes. Just make sure to cut them into smaller chunks.
- Yellow onion: onion is an essential flavor add for the base of this chowder. We used yellow onion, but white works too.
- Chicken broth: broth not only adds amazing flavor to this corn chowder, but it also helps thin things out a bit.
- Heavy cream: this corn chowder is finished off with some heavy cream for a good, creamy measure.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: this wouldn’t be a Cheese Knees corn chowder without CHEESE. We’re stirring in shredded cheddar to amp up the creaminess in the soup, and then topping with more for serving 😀
- Garlic: we always recommend fresh minced garlic for optimal flavor.
- Green onion: you’ll thinly slice your green onion and use for garnish when serving.
How to Make Corn Chowder
Crisp Bacon
Heat a Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add the chopped up bacon and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until crispy.
Remove the bacon and set aside, reserving 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan.
Saute onions
Add the onion and reserved bacon fat back and cook until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for an additional minute.
Simmer Chowder
Next, add the potatoes, corn, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, uncovered.
Add Cream & Cheese
Stir in the heavy cream and 1.5 cups of the cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and then let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes.
Add Bacon
Finally, stir in the bacon and mix to combine the best corn chowder.
Garnish & Enjoy
Serve in a bowl garnished with additional cheddar and green onions. ENJOY!
The secret to amazing corn chowder
I’m sure you’re wondering, what is the secret to corn chowder? 2 words –> FRESH CORN.
That’s right, make sure you use freshly shucked sweet corn instead of canned or frozen. The taste is so much better as is the texture.
Sweet corn season: Mid-July through September
FAQs
You can mash some of the potatoes and stir them back into the chowder to thicken it. You can also stir in 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch when you stir in the heavy cream.
Love spicy chowder? Feel free to add in a tablespoon or two of hot sauce.
Yes! This corn chowder recipe is naturally free of gluten.
Storage
Let your corn chowder cool completely. Then, transfer it into an airtight container and seal it. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer Directions
If you plan to freeze this recipe, we suggest holding off on the heavy cream and cheddar cheese and adding this once it’s thawed and heated up again.
- Let soup cool completely.
- Transfer soup into an airtight container and seal.
- Remove as much air as possible.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, uncooked and chopped
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 lb. yukon gold potatoes, diced into ~1-inch chunks
- 4-5 ears fresh corn cut off the cob, ~4 cups
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, + more for serving
- ¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add the chopped up bacon and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until crispy.
- Remove the bacon and set aside, reserving 2 tablespoons of bacon fat.
- Add the onion and reserved bacon fat back and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and cook for an additional minute.
- Next, add the potatoes, corn, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- Stir in the heavy cream and 1.5 cups of the cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and then let the soup simmer for another 5 minutes. Finally, stir in the bacon and mix to combine.
- Serve in a bowl garnished with additional cheddar and green onions.
Tips & Notes
- If corn is not in season, use equal amounts of frozen corn.
- We left the skin on our Yukon gold potatoes. Red potatoes could be used in place of yukon golds. If you don’t like skin on your potatoes, feel free to peel them.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #cheeseknees, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
I used frozen corn, so to really get as much of the that corn flavor as possible, I simmered a pound of frozen corn in 2 quarts of broth (double recipe) for about 4 hours before even starting the rest.