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This chicken and corn chowder recipe is cozy, flavorful, and easy to make. Bacon makes this recipe extra delicious!
You may also like my Ham and Corn Chowder, which was inspired by this one.
Why you’ll love it
Corn chowder is already comforting, but pairing it with juicy chicken and crispy bacon takes it over the top in this simple recipe that’s made all in one pot. It’s one of my go-to meals in late summer especially, but I find myself craving it year-round.
Corn is good any time of year if you buy it frozen, but there’s something special about enjoying corn when it’s in season in late summer through fall. Corn chowder always hits the spot as the weather starts to turn a little crisp. I also love using it in my Creamy Corn Chowder and this Salmon Chowder!
What exactly is chowder?
- Ok, so we’ve all heard the word “chowder” and know that it’s a soup, but why are some soups called chowders while others aren’t? So, according to the internet, chowders are soups that are often thickened by way of a roux. That’s pretty much what we’re doing here since we’ve got the flour as our main thickening agent. Other methods include broken crackers.
- They typically contain fish, clams, or corn with potatoes and onions. I don’t know about you, but it seems like a weird definition. Like why group fish and clams with potatoes, corn, and onions and decide to classify it as “chowder” rather than “soup”? If anyone wants to do more in-depth research than I’ve conducted or knows why, please let me know. 😛
Ingredients for it
- Bacon – I find it’s easiest to cut up bacon with kitchen shears
- Chicken – we’re using chicken breasts in this recipe
- Onion, garlic, and celery – for the tasty base of the soup
- Flour – a thickening agent
- Chicken broth – a 32 oz carton of broth equals 4 cups. Just pour the entire thing in for this recipe. If you’re sensitive to salt, I suggest using low-sodium chicken broth. Chicken stock works too!
- Corn – feel free to use fresh corn (just cut if off the cob with a knife) if you have some. Canned corn isn’t quite as good, so I’d choose frozen over canned.
- Heavy cream – for added richness and thickness
- Potatoes – we prefer Russet in this recipe
- Italian seasoning – it’s a blend of dried herbs in a single convenient jar
- Cayenne – a pinch of cayenne pepper is optional but adds a little warmth
How to make chicken and corn chowder
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook your bacon in a large pot until crispy, then take it out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the grease in the pot. This adds so much flavor to the soup! Sauté the onion and celery in it.
Stir in the flour, and cook it for about a minute to cook out that “flour” taste. Add the garlic to the pot, and deglaze with the chicken broth.
Put in the remaining ingredients, saving some of the bacon for topping it later, and simmer until the potatoes are done and the soup has thickened as desired. Season with salt & pepper and garnish with chopped scallions if you like.
Pro tip
- I’ve had a few people ask me in the comments if the chicken should be added in raw. Yes! There’s no need to pre-cook it because it has plenty of time to cook in the soup. Over-cooking chicken makes it dry and rubbery.
Substitutions and variations
- I have tested this chicken chowder recipe with other potatoes besides Russets. I made this with 1.5 pounds of yellow little potatoes (baby Yukon golds) cut into halves/quarters and it turned out fine, but I prefer Russets.
- We don’t recommend substituting the heavy cream for something with a lower fat content. We’re not using a ton of it here, and it makes the chowder that much tastier!
- This is a fairly thick soup. If you like a thinner consistency better, just add a little more broth or water as necessary.
What to serve with it
- It’s one of those meals that’s perfect on its own with a big slice of crusty bread.
- If you do want to pair it with a salad, try this Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- This chowder will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Simply reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally until warmed through.
- You could try to freeze it, but sometimes dairy doesn’t hold up after thawing, so the texture may change. It should still taste fine, though. If you plan to have a lot of leftovers, you can leave the cream out before freezing and add it in later!
Will you give this chicken and corn chowder a try? Questions? Ask me in the comments. 🙂
Easy Chicken and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces
- 2 large uncooked chicken breasts cut into small bite-size pieces
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 3 medium-to-large Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pinch cayenne pepper optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Scallions chopped, optional for serving
Instructions
- Prep your bacon (I find kitchen shears the easiest thing to cut it up with) and add it to a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook until crispy (about 10 minutes).
- Meanwhile, prep your onion, celery, chicken and potatoes.
- Once the bacon is crispy, take it out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the grease in the pot (it adds a ton of flavor).
- Add the onion and celery to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring nearly constantly.
- Add in the garlic, followed by the chicken broth. Give it a good stir to ensure the flour has dissolved and everything is scraped up from the bottom of the pot.
- Add in the chicken, corn, cream, potatoes, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and 3/4 of the bacon (I save the rest for garnishing the bowls later on). Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to a rapid simmer so it's gently boiling. Cover the pot with the lid slightly open.
- Cook until the potatoes are done (about 15-20 minutes). Stir every so often. The soup will get thicker the longer you cook it.
- Season the soup with salt & pepper as needed. Garnish with the rest of the bacon and chopped scallions if desired.
Notes
- Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.
- Yes, the chicken will cook right in the soup. If you want to use already cooked/rotisserie chicken, add in during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking so it doesn’t dry out too much since it’s already cooked.
- Anywhere around the 1.5-2 pound ballpark will work for the potatoes if you want to weigh them.
- This is a fairly thick soup. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add a splash more broth or water as needed.
- If you’re sensitive to salt, use low-sodium chicken broth.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I LOVE THIS SOUP. I made it for my husband and I on a whim, and it was honestly the best decision I’ve ever made. When we took the leftovers to work the next day, everyone was begging for the recipe because it smelled so good! This will definitely become a staple soup in my family. Thank you!!!
This comment makes me so happy! 🙂
I made this today for a friend who is coming home from surgery. This sounded like the perfect comfort food for her. I followed everything to the T accept I used half & half instead of the heavy cream. She watches her weight and fat content. So so disappointed. The soup curdled on me. Looked horribly unappetizing. What went wrong? I’d love to try it again.
Hi Kris! I’m sorry that happened. I would be upset too. Cream tends to be more resistant to curdling, so that’s one of the reasons I like it… it’s more forgiving in general. But I totally get the calories thing. I am guessing that boiling it is what caused it to curdle. Milk (the other half of half-and-half) tends to curdle when boiled. Next time, I would either use the full-fat cream to be safe or add the half-and-half as the last step (e.g. don’t boil it, just let it gently warm through). You could even heat the half-and-half on a low temperature prior to adding it into the soup so that the temperature difference isn’t quite as shocking. I am quite surprised it curdled since this soup isn’t particularly acidic or anything, but sometimes strange things happen in the kitchen.
Thank you,
I’ll give your suggestions a try 😁
You are welcome!! So sorry that happened.
This recipe was fantastic! Easy to follow! I’m a new cook and still learning so much. I made some adjustments according to preference and dietary needs. (Sorry! 🙈😜)
I added some jalepeno peppers when sautéing onion and celery. I also added a pinch of ground cloves and a couple pinches of sugar in addition to the specified Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper.
The final adjustment I made was I dumped a can of creamed corn in place of some of the frozen corn.
I normally have to avoid chowders due to dairy sensitivity but I was able to make a substitute out of lactose free milk and butter.
Thanks for the recipe! And I can’t wait to make it again! ☺️
Hi Carly! No need to apologize…. I love when readers put their own twist on recipes. That’s the only way to learn! So happy it worked out. 🙂
I made this the other day with a few small modifications and it was absolutely delicious, definitely being made again soon.
I used Royal Blue instead of Russets because of availability, they work great if you need to make a substitution. I found it took about 25 minutes for them to cook through, but that could be because of the variety and size of the pieces.
I also used 1 1/2 onions. That was a mistake but it certainly didn’t seem to hurt things.
Overall, a perfect winter dish.
I am so glad it worked out for you, Zac! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was a hit, will definitely make again this winter.
Since I had a rotisserie chicken I needed to use, I used that instead of raw chicken. I added the chicken and the corn at the very end and it was perfect!
Great! So glad you liked it!
Would you be able to convert this into a crockpot recipe? If so, how?
Hi Cassie! With this type of recipe I’d have to test to give you anything but a total guess. I’d probably do something like add everything to the crockpot except the flour and cream (fry bacon first), cook it on low for 6-8 hours, and then in the last half hour or so I’d mix the cream and flour into a smooth paste and add it to the crockpot then let it thicken up. No idea if that would work, though.
Natasha I’m so craving this right now! It looks so comforting and delicious!
Thanks, Kelly!!
This looks delicious Natasha! I love your blog, everything looks amazing 😊
Aww thanks so much!!
Do you put the chicken in raw?
Yes. It cooks in the soup. 😊 Hope you like the recipe!
This looks so perfect, I am sick today and would cry if some of this showed up at my front door haha. A quick suggestion would be to poach the chicken breasts in the chicken broth before adding it to the soup, it will deepen the flavour of the broth. Also to me a chowder is simply a white, thickened soup opposed to a thinner stock based soup. But I wouldn’t consider it a chowder if it had beef or pork in it… that seems weird. Like chowder seems like it should only be seafood or chicken, maybe turkey. Haha who knows why this seems right to me but it does.
Haha aww I hope you feel better soon! Sure, I think poaching the chicken is a great idea. I agree with you… that’s how I think of chowder too. It’s just odd how terminology works hehe.