Crunchy Corn Chowder

Let’s be real: most corn chowder recipes are bland, beige, and barely qualify as food. This? This Crunchy Corn Chowder actually tastes like something. It’s sweet, chunky, smoky, and a little spicy if you want it to be. It's perfect for fresh summer corn, or using up that bag of sad corn in your freezer or that rogue can in the back of your cupboard year round.

No twee drizzle of cream, no micro herbs. Just a big pot of comfort, thick enough to coat a spoon and punchy enough to make your taste buds remember they have a job.

🌽 What the Hell Is Corn Chowder?

If soup and stew had a creamy little love child, and that child grew up on butter and carbs, you’d get corn chowder. It’s a hearty, chunky soup packed with sweetcorn, potatoes, vegetables, sometimes bacon, and always attitude. It really is the ultimate comfort bowl, especially when you crank the flavour.

🧈 Why This One’s Better Than Yours

• No skim milk. This is full-fat business.
• It's full of veggies and packs all of your 5 a day in one bowl.
• Smoky bacon base (vegetarians can skip it, but you’ll miss it).
• Optional cayenne pepper, chopped jalapeño or chili flakes for heat.
• It doesn’t taste like wallpaper paste.

Corn Chowder

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Creamy, smoky, and packed with flavour — this corn chowder recipe is comfort food done right. Made with bacon, corn, and zero bullshit.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Calories: 451

Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 125 g bacon diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 large carrots peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery diced
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 500 g corn kernels
• 3 medium potatoes peeled and diced
• 1000 ml chicken stock (or corn stock, see notes)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 500 ml whole milk
• 250 ml cream
• 2 teaspoon salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper ground, to taste
• 100 g cheddar cheese to serve
• 3 scallions diced, to serve

Equipment

• 1 Casserole / Dutch Oven
• 1 Chef's Knife

Method

 

1. Heat Dutch oven over a medium high heat and add diced bacon. Cook until crispy and remove bacon bits, leaving fat in pot.

   Add carrots, onions and celery and cook until soft. Add potatoes and cook until starting to soften. Add flour and stir for a few minutes to distribute.

   Stir in stock and smoked paprika. If you are using fresh corn, add at this stage, if using frozen or canned corn, hold off for now.

   Cook until potatoes are just tender, stirring regularly to ensure nothing sticks. You can mash some in to thicken the stock at this stage, but if you prefer them in chunks, just carry on.

   Add the corn (if using canned or frozen) and milk. Cook until heated through and add cream. Heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more milk or stock until chowder is at your desired thickness.

   Serve into bowls and top with cheddar, scallions and reserved bacon bits.

Nutrition

Calories: 451kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 16gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 1017mgPotassium: 906mgFiber: 5gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 4091IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 224mgIron: 2mg

Notes

If you want to maximise the corn flavour, make corn stock! Remove the corn kernels from 5 or 6 ears of corn. Save any corn silk, husks and the ears. Place into a pot with an onion cut in half, a roughly chopped carrot and stick of celery, a bay leaf, and a sprig of fresh thyme and parsley. Top with chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for an hour or so and strain. Use in place of the chicken stock above. 

Leave out the bacon and double the smoked paprika for a vegetarian version. 

Add some cayenne pepper to taste if you like a little kick. 

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