Growing up my mother served soup a lot during the summer using fresh vegetables from her garden. Back when I was growing up we didn’t have air conditioning and invariably her vegetables always seemed to ripen when temps hit the triple digits. I can still remember sweating buckets as we ate hot soup in the sweltering heat; my sweaty thighs sliding around on the vinyl dinette chairs at the dinner table. Ok, that’s probably not the best memory to share with you to convince you to try this recipe smack dab in the middle of summer. If you are like me you probably prefer soup in the winter when it can warm you up from the inside out…right?
But when summer corn is in season it’s hard to pass up making this delicious corn chowder! Sure you can use frozen corn instead of fresh corn in the winter months, but this chowder tastes best when you use freshly harvested sweet summer corn to make it.
We recently had a welcome break from the triple digit heat to enjoy a few cooler days, so I decided it was the perfect time to make this delicious chowder for dinner.
Using a sharp knife, remove corn kernels from each cob. Discard cobs.
Use a spoon to scrape cobs and release any liquid.
In a large dutch oven pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.
Remove bacon from pot with a slotted spoon, and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
Add diced onion to the pot and cook in the bacon drippings until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, diced potatoes, and corn kernels to the pot.
Increase heat and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring to combine all the ingredients.
Cover and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
Fish out bay leaf and discard.
Using an emersion blender, purée the soup to desired consistency.
Add milk, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Stir in shredded cheddar cheese.
Cook over low heat for a few minutes to heat through and melt the cheese.
Taste and season with additional salt if needed.
To serve ladle the chowder into deep bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, reserved bacon bits and sliced green onions.
OMG! This chowder is awesome!!! It’s creamy and naturally sweet from the corn, with smoky goodness from the bacon. Serve this chowder with biscuits, rolls or fresh bread to round out this delectable easy to make light summertime meal!
Creamy Corn Chowder
Equipment
- large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot with lid
- Emersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 ears fresh corn
- 4 slices bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 stalks green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, remove corn kernels from each cob. Use a spoon to scrape cobs to release any liquid.
- In a large dutch oven pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.
- Remove bacon from pot with a slotted spoon, and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add onion to the pot and cook in the bacon drippings until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, diced potatoes, bay leaf and corn kernels to the pot.
- Increase heat and bring mixture to a simmer, stirring to combine all the ingredients.
- Cover and reduce heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
- Fish out bay leaf and discard.
- Using an emersion blender, purée soup to desired consistency.
- Add milk, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Stir in cheddar cheese.
- Cook over low heat for a few minutes to heat through and melt cheese.
- Taste and season with additional salt if needed.
- To serve ladle chowder into bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, reserved bacon bits and sliced green onions.
Did You Make This?
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