Fresh Corn Chowder loaded with sweet summer corn and tender potatoes in a creamy and flavor-packed corn broth. You’ll love that you have options using either fresh corn on the cob, frozen or even canned corn when it’s not in season. It also keeps well in the refrigerator, which I love for meal planning!
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Helpful Reader Review
“This is hands down the best corn chowder that we have ever had. I made it for company and they said that we could have just served them the chowder and skipped the main course because the chowder was so scrumptious! Thank you!” – Karen ★★★★★
The Best Corn Chowder Recipe
If you love the comfort of Clam Chowder, this corn chowder recipe is sure to become a new favorite. This crowd-pleasing soup is perfect for entertaining on cool summer nights. Pair it with warm homemade biscuits and dinner is made!
Corn chowder is quite a treat when fresh corn is abundant. We love to use both the kernels and the stripped cobbs for sweet corn flavor. This corn chowder has the creamy richness of a Potato Soup and the addition of tender corn and bacon makes every bite memorable.
Corn Chowder Video Tutorial
Watch my video tutorial and I’ll show you just how easy it is to make corn chowder. Corn chowder is actually one of the first soups I learned how to make when I got married 21+ years ago. I remember researching the top restaurant copycat soups and then developing this recipe – it’s a keeper!
Ingredients for Corn Chowder
The ingredients here are simple pantry and refrigerator staples that come together to make the best pot of soup.
- Corn: Corn that is still on the cob is best so you can utilize the kernels and the corn milk from the husks. Check out my tips for buying corn. If fresh corn is out of season, no problem – see below for corn substitutions.
- Potatoes: we use Yukon gold potatoes for their tender, waxy texture which is perfect for a chowder.
- Carrot, Celery, and Onion: This aromatic trio is critical to adding flavor and we use them in nearly all of my soup recipes.
- Bacon: Sauteeing the bacon and then cooking the veggies in the bacon grease adds wonderful flavor and we use the cooked bacon to garnish the soup. No one will resist that bacon topping!
- Chicken Broth, Milk and Cream: These form the base of the corn stock. We simmer the shucked cobbs in this combination for a deeply delicious chowder base.
- Cayenne Pepper: This simple seasoning is all you need, plus salt and black pepper of course.
Can I use Frozen or Canned Corn?
Fresh corn on the cob and especially local produce will give this chowder the best flavor. For winter corn chowder or when fresh corn is not available, try these instead:
- Frozen Corn: frozen is usually produced at the peak of freshness so it will work and will save you some time. Since you won’t have the cobs for making corn stock, add a 15 oz can of creamed corn for a tastier broth.
- Canned Corn: Use (1) 15 oz can corn and (1) 15 oz can creamed corn. Add the liquid ingredients at step 3 without pre-cooking them. The liquid from the canned corn will add a boost of corn flavor.
How to Make Corn Stock
Using the whole cob of corn will give you the best-flavored corn stock. Allowing the stripped cobs to simmer for 20 minutes with the broth, cream, and milk draws out every bit of rich and sweet flavor from the corn. After discarding the cobs, you are left with really delicious corn stock.
- Make the Corn Stock – Cut the kernels from the cobs and set kernels aside for making chowder.* Place the bare cobs in a stockpot.
- Add broth, milk, and cream, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes while making the chowder. Use tongs to remove and discard cobs before using corn stock.
How to Cut Corn off the Cobs
Cutting corn from the cob can get messy with kernels landing all over your kitchen. You can avoid making a big mess with this simple trick:
Set a small bowl upside down inside of a larger bowl. Place your corn vertically on top of the smaller bowl, hold the top, and cut the kernels off by running your knife straight down against the cob. The kernels will fall into the larger bowl, just be careful not to hit the bowl with your knife. You can also do this over a bundt pan.
How to Make Corn Chowder
- Sautee bacon in a Dutch oven until crisps and renders fat. Remove bacon to a plate, reserving 2-3 Tbsp of bacon grease in the pot.
- Sautee veggies (onion, celery, and carrot) in the bacon grease until softened.
- Add potatoes and corn kernels and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Add corn stock into the pot and simmer until potatoes are tender.
- Serve in warm bowls garnished with bacon and chives.
How to Remove Corn Silk
After the corn is shucked, it’s important to remove the silk threads for the smoothest consistency. The easiest way to remove corn silk is to brush the corn with a bristled brush or even a clean toothbrush. The bristles catch the silk and it comes off quickly and easily.
Storing Corn Chowder
- To Refrigerate: Cool the soup completely to room temperature before storing, then transfer it to airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: I would not recommend freezing corn chowder since the dairy in the recipe can separate, and potatoes can get grainy and mushy.
- To Reheat: Add soup to a saucepan and reheat over low heat, stirring frequently to bring back the creamy texture. You can also reheat in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until heated through.
Topped with bacon and chives, this Corn Chowder becomes such a comforting bowl of soup. It’s a family favorite, right up there with Zuppa Toscana!
More Corn Recipes
If you love sweet summer corn, these corn recipes are the best way to enjoy corn while it’s at the peak of freshness and flavor.
- Boiled Corn on the Cob
- Avocado Corn Salad
- Grilled Corn in Foil
- Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
- Mexican Street Corn
- Shrimp Boil
- Corn Guacamole
Corn Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
For the Corn Stock:
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
For the Corn Chowder:
- 4 cups corn kernels (from 4-5 ears corn), reserve cobs for stock*
- 4 oz (4 slices) bacon, chopped
- 1 large onion, finely diced (1 1/2 cup)
- 1 large carrot, cut into 1/4″ dice (1 cup)
- 3 stalks celery, finely diced (1 cup)
- 1 lb Yukon potatoes, 3 medium, peeled and cut into 1/4″ thick pieces
- 2-3 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 2 Tbsp Chives, chopped, to garnish
Instructions
How to Make Corn Stock:
- Cut the kernels from the cobs and set kernels aside for making chowder.* Place the bare cobs in a stockpot.
- Add 4 cups broth, 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 cup cream to pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer un-covered 20 minutes while making the chowder. Use tongs to remove and discard cobs before using corn stock in step 3.
How to Make Corn Chowder:
- Place a 5 Qt dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook stirring occasionally until browned. Remove bacon bits with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- In the same pot, add chopped onion, celery and carrot to the bacon fat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft (7-8 min).
- Add sliced potatoes, 4 cups corn kernels, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Pour corn stock into the pot, bring to a light boil then simmer uncovered 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste**. Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon and chopped chives.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Family-Favorite Soup Recipes
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Split Pea Soup – My Mother’s recipe
- Beef Stew
- Tomato Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- French Onion Soup (Natasha’s Fave)
Hi Natasha! I’m about to make this soup today using creamed corn and a can of corn. You said to add this at step 3….do you add an additional 4 cups of corn as noted in the steps? Do I still add chicken stock to the pot?
Hi Rose, I’m sorry I missed your comment earlier. If using canned corn, you can just add the can of creamed corn and can of corn and if you prefer more corn, you can add another can of corn which would put it closer to the amount of corn in the recipe. I hope you love the corn chowder!
I made it and used the bacon as suggested to create the oil for the sauté, but didn’t throw the pieces in at the end because I cooked the bacon a little too much. In the past I have always put cheddar cheese in my corn chowder, which I did in this recipe. It came out awesome!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Jennifer!
This is listed in the Vegetarian section, yet it contains chicken broth and bacon. So, it’s clearly NOT vegetarian!!!
Hi Cat, you are correct! Sorry about that – it was mis-categorized and is now fixed 🙂
By far the best corn chowder I’ve ever had! Used frozen Colorado sweet corn from the summer instead of cooking with the stock and the flavor is incredibly rich!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Hey, Natasha, I don’t see the video link anywhere.
Hi Elena, sometimes if you have an adblocker on, the video may not display. Try turning off the ad blocker and refreshing the page. I hope that helps!
Hi again, I watch your videos on my laptop, and I don’t know how to pause the AdBlock. I looked it up and they said to long press the “reload” button – that’s what I did, but it didn’t work. Any ideas? (Although I’m not sure if you’re good at computer science or whatever) Sorry to bother you 🙂
ELena, What kind of browser are you using to run the site? Chrome? IE? The best way to do that is to open your Browser settings and manage the add-ons and blocker settings there.
Made this soup tonight. It was delicious. Will make it again. Thank you!
That’s so great Denise! Thank you for your feedback!
Fantastic recipe! I used the can corn that you recommended and the whole dish was super easy to pull together and served it with some rustic bread! Everyone devoured it! Really delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe!!!!
I’m so happy to hear that Lisa!! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with me!
Great recipe, thank you Natasha! I also started out with rendering Jimmy Dean original sausage with the veggies , it gave everything great flavor and used frozen corn . In our area corn has gone by ..
I’m happy you were able to make this work! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hi Natasha Just want to give you a shout out for being the BEST teacher on the internet with regards to making food. Pioneer Woman got nothing in you. You are much better in every way like your superior teaching abilities and how you make many hard things seem easy. I Loved the corn chowder and I will make this a weekly staple in the winter time. Please do a video on how to make Southern Italian onion pie (Scalcione). Thank you
I am so so happy you love the corn chowder recipe!! Thank you for the amazing review – that is quite a compliment! 🙂
she is the best cook on the net
she is the best cook on the internet. Always good ideas & recipes
So, if you’d put 1/4 of the soup in a blender BE AWARE that it will blow up all over the kitchen and on you. My arm and my face just had 180 degree corn chowder poured all over it and is burnt to pieces! Be careful, but I did not know this. And the top was on the blender. I guess the heat caused it to explode but if this helps one person not to burn themselves then this post is worthwhile.
Hi Rick! Yes if it is too hot, heat will cause that. Be very careful and secure properly, not all blenders covers are made for hot products. I hope you’re okay! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Can I make this with frozen corn kernals if I cant find fresh corn?
I haven’t tried this myself but several of our readers have successfully made this with frozen corn.
hi i used frozen corn and mine wad good
can i put this in a slow cooker and add chicken
Hi Pamela! Although I haven’t tried that bit it may work! I’d love to know how you like this recipe if you experiment.
hi i tried in the sow cook and it worked great thanks its a keeper
That’s so great, Pamela!!
If I am using canned corn and canned cream corn in at step three, do I still do the first step of boiling the heavy cream, chicken stock, and milk?
Hi Mary, if using canned corn and cream corn, you do not have to do that step at the beginning.
Just made this today! Only in added chicken because why not! It’s fantastic my family loves it! Thanks!
You’re so welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Just made a double batch of this and added chicken. LOVE how easy this recipe is. And it taste sooo good.
That’s so great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Can this be made a few days in advance? Will the flavors improve with age as some dishes do? Thanks
Hi Jackie. If stored in the fridge it should be good for at least 2 days. I haven’t tried it longer than that.
I made the Corn Chowder and it was spectacular! I could serve this to anyone and know that they would love it. Thx Natasha!!
That’s so great Mary! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Hi, I made your corn chowder recipe last week and my family gave it two thumbs up…
I was wondering what you might think about adding crab meat.
Hi Patsy, I absolutely love that idea! YUM!!! Thanks for sharing your inspiration with me 😉
Can I use frozen corn instead of the fresh one? Will it affect the flavor/texture if I don’t put the bare cobs in a stockpot? Thank you
Hi Zhanna! I think that could work. I haven’t tried it myself, the flavor may be somewhat different.
Just made it today using frozen corn on the cob. It taste fantastic!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I’m about to make this for the first time. This is going to sound like a stupid question but…. to make the corn stock do you cut the raw corn off the stock, or do you cook the corn then cut it off and use the cobs?
Hi MerryBeth! That is a great question. The corn goes in raw! It will get cooked in the soup 🙂 I hope this helps
I’m curious if you have experienced the milk curdling when you boil the corn cobs…? Is there a way to avoid this, or is it just part of the recipe?
Hi Maria, I have not experienced milk curdling. That seems odd since there is nothing acidic to make it curdle. It could happen if you are substituting with a different kind of milk possibly or adding something else?
Yummmy!Yummy! Love your clam and corn chowder recipes:) made both these last 2 weeks.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Irene! Thank you for the wonderful review!