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)
I had leftover uncooked sweet corn that a purchased several days earlier. I didn’t think it would be good to cook it on the grill so I followed your recipe and made chowder. Wow, it is perfect and so sweet it could be desert!
I’m so glad you gave this recipe a try, Kay! That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I love this soup and it has become to my go to corn soup. To enjoy it off season I cut the corn off the cob and freeze it along with the cobs and then thaw it and just prepare it according to recipe directions. What a treat in winter!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Shirley!
Corn chowder for dinner…yummy. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Pam!
Can this creamy corn chowder be made without dairy? Is there a suitable substitute?
Hi Walt, I think that would still work. If you wanted to make it dairy-free, it might be worth experimenting with canned coconut milk if you wanted that creamy look or texture, or make it a soup instead of a chowder and leave out the dairy. I hope you love corn soup!
Should I boil the fresh corn cobs first and then remove the kernels to proceed to making the stock?
Hi Chrissy, you remove the corn kernels from the cobs before cooking them. Make sure your ad blocker is turned off so you can watch the video tutorial towards the top.
Thank you! I had the same question. Totally would’ve cooked them if I had to guess.
Great recipe thank you. I added chicken and replaces the potato’s with gnocchi. Crazy good.
Yum! Craving this today – we had a rainy day! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Duane! Thank you for sharing those substitutions with us; I bet this is so good with gnocchi!
It says there’s a video for this recipe but I haven’t seen a video link for it.
Otherwise it’s a great recipe. Although I’ll be omitting the cayenne pepper as I never buy it. I also might add diced chicken to this.
Hi Caitlyn, See the title “Corn Chowder Video Tutorial:” within the recipe post. The video is right below that which is right below the main recipe photo. I hope that helps.
I enjoyed this recipe and so did my husband! My one suggestion would be to make a note in the recipe to omit the cayenne pepper for those sensitive to spice. It ended up having a spicy kick to it and my kids couldn’t eat it. I was so disappointment. 😭but the recipe is delish I will just omit it next time.
Hi, thank you for the feedback, however, there was only 1/4 tsp of cayenne in the recipe and normally it is super mild in the soup and not spicy. You can omit it if you are very sensitive to spice, or did you possibly add too much?
Once again, another delicious recipe. The flavor has good and just enough heat with the cayenne pepper. The only thing I did different was I used red potatoes instead of Yukon Gold. Will make again for sure.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Mattie!
I think I am going to put the chicken in too.
Great idea, Andrei! I have not tried that yet to advise, but I think it is worth experimenting with. It could be delicious if you add chicken pieces and a little more seasoning since it already has broth.
once again a perfect and easy soup to make. Tasty and family loved it.
Thank you for your good comments and feedback, Nancy!
This recipe was incredibly delicious, light, and such a breeze to make!
Thanks for your great review and feedback, Jennifer!
Fresh corn season is here and I’ve been obsessed with making corn as many different ways as possible. This is a fantastic recipe that will be on my soup rotation as much as possible. I wish we could get fresh corn all year because this recipe would be amazing in winter too. Thank you for all the yummy recipes!!
You’re very welcome! Perfect timing then, I hope this becomes your new favorite recipe!
Shari, if you have room in your freezer, this soup freezes well! We do eat it all winter long! I think I made 4x the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
This is unbelievably good! I’m glad I used fresh corn, I think it makes all the difference
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Natalia! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Perfect balance of flavors
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
This was very good. Ugly cold day and this really hit the spot. Used frozen corn and creamed corn and the cayenne gave it just the kick it needed. Definitely in my recipes for the future.
Love it! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Linda
I dont have heavy cream, will half and half work instead?
Hi Sarah, I havne’t tested that with half and half but here’s what one of our readers wrote “I did make with half and half I ended up adding a little cream cheese and lots of potatoes to get it rich and thick. Everyone loved it that way Next time all buy the cream. Thank you for responding. I think you have alfredo sauce recipe, also added cream cheese with half and half.” I hope that helps.
Loved it. Made by your instructions. But, even though I am a huge salt lover, I put like 1.5 tspn and that was way too much. I will use maybe ,5 tspn in future then taste and adjust
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this to carry to a Couples Lobster Dinner and it was a great hit. Great side with our salad, 2.5 lb. lobsters, rolls and dessert. Copying the recipe to share with other guests.
Yum! That sounds like an amazing and tasty dinner!
SUPER RECIPE!!!!!!!!!
Everybody just loved it!
We grow our own sweet corn and sometimes I seem to have
way too much! Sharing something this good with our friends was a great way to enjoy this recipe
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Wendy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!