Corn Chowder with Bacon is full of fresh kernels of corn, yellow potatoes, and plenty of bacon. This fill-you-up meal is full of flavor and makes great leftovers too!
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword corn chowder with bacon
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 40 minutesminutes
Total Time 55 minutesminutes
Servings 6servings
Calories 467kcal
Author Sue Ringsdorf
Ingredients
8slicesbacon- diced
4Tablespoonsbacon grease- or use butter
1mediumonion- chopped
1wholejalapeño- seeds removed and diced
3clovesgarlic- diced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
2teaspoonscumin
4Tablespoonsall-purpose flour
3cupschicken broth
1cupcorn water- or use more chicken broth
4cupsfresh corn kernels (sliced from cobs)- from approximately 7-8 cobs
4cupsyellow potatoes- peeled and chopped
1cup2% milk
extra bacon and black pepper- to serve
Instructions
Strip corn from cobs, by holding corn vertically on cutting board, and using sharp knife to slice. Rotate corn cob as you slice.
Make corn water (OPTIONAL). For additional corn flavoring, you can boil the cobs in water after removing the corn. It will create some additional flavor, but if you'd rather skip it, just add additional broth.
Heat a large sauce pan on stovetop to medium heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and some of the grease from the pan, leaving about two tablespoons. Add butter, onion, and jalapeños, and sauté until soft (approximately 4-5 minutes). Add garlic and seasonings and stir.
Add flour to pan, and stir continuously for about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir, scraping the pan to loosen the spices. Turn heat up slightly so that the mixture starts to simmer and thicken.
Add corn and potatoes to stock pan. Stir and let simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, approximately 20-25 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree a portion of the soup. Leave some chunks intact.
Serve chowder with extra bacon, and some freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
If you don't want to use bacon grease for the fats in the chowder, use butter instead. If this is the case, you could also bake or microwave the bacon instead.
Be sure to puree about half the chowder. This will help achieve a creamy consistency but will also maintain some of the chunks.