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American

Corn chowder

Non-vegetarian

A thick, creamy American soup of sweet corn and potatoes simmered with onion, celery and thyme, with optional crispy bacon on top.

Corn chowder is an American soup from United States, ready in about 50 minutes and made with potato and sweet corn. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Vegan Garden Corn Chowder with Chives
Photo: tomatoes and friends / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
35 min
Total
50 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
281

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    If using bacon (opens in a new tab), fry it in a large heavy pot over medium heat until crisp, then lift out, leaving the fat. Add the butter (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab) and celery (opens in a new tab) and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic (opens in a new tab) for 1 minute.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute, then gradually stir in the stock. Add the potatoes (opens in a new tab), thyme (opens in a new tab) and bay leaf (opens in a new tab), bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are just tender.

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat

  3. Step 3

    Add the corn (opens in a new tab), milk (opens in a new tab) and cream and simmer gently for 8 minutes without boiling hard. Season with the salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) and remove the thyme (opens in a new tab) stalks and bay leaf (opens in a new tab).

    • 8 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    For a thicker chowder, blend about a quarter of the soup and stir it back in. Serve topped with the bacon (opens in a new tab) and chives (opens in a new tab).

    Food safety: Blend hot soup in small batches with the lid vented.

About this dish

Origin
United States · Commonly attributedCorn chowders are a long-standing variation on New England chowder, found across the US.Also popular in CanadaMore food from United States
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Simmered
Taste
creamy, sweet, mild, savoury
Diet
No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Pork-freeWith the listed swaps: Vegan, Plant-based, Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Potato · Sweet corn · Butter · Onion · Celery · Garlic
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom butter, milk, heavy cream
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, vegetable stock
  • Contains: Celeryfrom celery, vegetable stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

281 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 380 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 9%
  • Carbohydrate 48%
  • Fat 42%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy281 kcal74 kcal
Protein7 g1.9 g
Carbohydrate35.8 g9.4 g
Net carbohydrate32 g8.4 g
Sugars10.2 g2.7 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.8 g1 g
Fat14 g3.7 g
Saturated fat8.3 g2.2 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol38 mg10 mg
Sodium940 mg247 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
683 mg
Calcium
91 mg
Iron
1.4 mg
Magnesium
58 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
162 µg
Vitamin C
22 mg
Vitamin D
0.9 µg
Vitamin B12
0.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
64 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: bacon, chives.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Scrape the empty cobs with the back of a knife and add the milky juice — it deepens the corn flavour.

Common mistakes

  • Boiling hard after adding the dairy can make it split.

Serve with

  • Serve with crusty bread, oyster crackers or cornbread.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days. The potatoes go grainy if frozen.

Reheating

  • Warm gently, stirring, and loosen with a little milk.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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