Best Recipe for Corn Chowder
This Corn Chowder recipe is destined to become a new easy family favorite – and definitely one of mine! It’s wonderfully creamy, (but lightened up!) quick and easy, extremely versatile and pantry friendly. This corn chowder also reheats beautifully for make ahead dinner or lunches!
Servings 6 -8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed see notes for substitutions
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 2 1/2 cups Yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced into 1/4-1/2” cubes
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced
- pinch -teaspoon red pepper flakes optional for spicy
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 14.75 oz. cans cream style corn
- 30 ounces corn fresh, frozen (not thawed) or canned
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp EACH dried oregano, dried thyme, salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
Add later
- 2 cups half and half
Instructions
- Heat one tablespoon oil in a large soup pot/Dutch oven over medium heat-high. Add sausage, onion, carrots and celery and cook until sausage is cooked through and onions are tender.
- Add potatoes, garlic, red pepper (if using) and sauté 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle in flour and cook an additional 1 minute while stirring (it will be thick).
- Stir in creamed corn, corn, chicken bouillon, bay leaves and all seasonings. Whisk cornstarch with 1 cup of chicken broth and stir in. Add remaining chicken broth.
- Cover and bring to a boil then uncover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn’t burn.
- Stir in half and half and heat through. Discard bay leaves. Taste and season salt/pepper to taste if desired.
Video
Notes
*Don't miss the how to make corn chowder video at the top of the post!
TIPS AND TRICKS
- Use hot Italian sausage. This corn chowder recipe will work with chicken, bacon and any other protein, but it doesn’t get any better than juicy, flavorful sausage.
- Alternate ground protein. You can swap the sausage for lean ground beef or turkey seasoned with Italian seasonings, fennel and a pinch of red pepper flakes to mimic Italian sausage.
- Rotisserie chicken: add 2 1/2 cups rotisserie chicken with the half and half. If you use chicken instead of sausage, you will need to use 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoon butter to cook the carrots/celery/onions in.
- Don’t drain the drippings. We are going to use the sausage grease instead of adding additional butter to create the roux.
- Red pepper flakes. I only suggest using red pepper flakes if you want a spicy soup because the sausage already will have a little kick. We love heat at our house, so we use both. You may also use mild Italian sausage and add red pepper flakes to taste.
- Customize vegetables. In addition to the mirepoix, you can add whatever veggies you have on hand or mix it up just for fun! Green beans, zucchini, cabbage, bell peppers etc. Just be aware most vegetables only need 10 minutes to cook - see my detailed instructions in the Variations section.
- Vegetable size. Chop carrots and celery a about 1/4-inch thick so they will cook in time.
- Consistency. You can make this corn chowder more or less “chunky” or more or less creamy. For a less chunky soup, simply add additional broth or half and half at the end of cooking. See section on how to make it creamier.
- Gluten Free. If you want to make gluten free corn chowder, use gluten-free flour – the rest of the ingredients should be gluten free, but make sure to check ingredient labels.
- Vegan. To make vegan corn chowder, omit the sausage, use 5 tablespoons olive oil to sauté the vegetables, replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth, replace the half and half with plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice whisked with 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch.
Even healthier Corn chowder:
- Swap the Italian sausage for ground turkey seasoned with Italian seasoning, fennel and a pinch of red pepper flakes or swap it for rotisserie chicken.
- Swap the half and half for evaporated milk whisked with 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
- Swap the potatoes for cauliflower chopped into bite size pieces and add them the last 5 minutes of cooking.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT
- Storage: let the corn chowder cool to room temperature, then cover and store in your Dutch oven or transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
- Stove: reheat large batches on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally about 10 minutes.
- Microwave: transfer individual servings to a microwave-safe dish, cover with a microwave-safe lids or paper towel. Microwave for 90 seconds, stir, then continue to microwave for 20-second intervals, if needed.
- Crockpot: transfer soup to a crockpot and heat on low for 1-3 hours. The time will depend on how much soup you have remaining.
HOW TO FREEZE
As a general rule of thumb, creamy soups do not freeze well as the texture can become unpleasantly grainy as the dairy and fat separate. You can still freeze the soup with these expectations, or omit the half and half when freezing, then add the half and half to the soup after defrosting. Alternatively, you can swap the half and half for evaporated milk (see tips section in post).- Cook the corn chowder according to recipe directions but omit the half and half or swap it with evaporated milk + 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
- Allow soup to cool completely then transfer soup to an airtight freezer safe container or freezer bag.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- When ready to use, defrost overnight in the refrigerator then reheat in the microwave, crockpot or stove, adding half and half if omitted.