Southern Chicken and Corn Chowder Recipe
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This hearty chicken and corn chowder comes together easily and cooks for a comforting corn chowder you’ll love.
Corn chowder makes a comforting cool weather recipe. Amp it up a bit by adding chicken to the classic corn chowder recipe and you have a meal that everyone will love.
As the weather starts to get cooler in the evenings and the sun sets a bit earlier, I start craving hearty meals of soups and stews and casseroles. In other words, I turn to comfort foods, my favorite always being those from treasured family recipes.
It reminds me of a time when Little Buddy was REALLY a wee Little Buddy. It was late in the Fall and I’d been in the kitchen cooking supper as he came over and asked me what we were having. I told him, “Tonight we’re having Grandmother Verdie’s Chicken and Dumplings.”
“Grandmother Verdie’s coming? Then, why are you cooking?”
“No honey, I’m making her recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. It’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”
As we were finishing our Chicken and Dumplings, Little Buddy peeped over the rim of his spoon at me and said, “These pillows taste like a big hug.”
I should have just changed the official name of Chicken and Dumplings right then and there to Chicken and Pillows it was so precious. But his point pretty much sums up how I feel about family recipes, too.
Family recipes are just like big hugs passed from generations before us where loved ones share bits and pieces of themselves in each recipe. Each time we make one of their recipes, it’s as if they are right there at the table beside us.
While this recipe isn’t about Chicken and Dumplings (you can find that in an earlier post), I do want to share with you a family favorite recipe for Southern Chicken and Corn Chowder.
This recipe has a few ingredients in it like jalapeno, thyme, and vegetables that give it a truly hearty flavor.
And here comes a little secret. I like to add in a couple of packages of frozen creamed corn. Of course if you have creamed corn in your freezer that you put up from your garden, that would be the very best corn to include! But in a pinch, and for those of you whose corn was gobbled up by the deer on your property like mine was, this creamed corn works just fine!
You’ll want this corn to have thawed considerably before adding it to your chowder. Don’t worry if there are still bits of frozen corn as you add it. As it cooks, it will be perfect!
Here’s how I make it.
Here’s my Chicken and Corn Chowder Recipe. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
Southern Chicken and Corn Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pieces bacon, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced
- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 (20-ounce) packages frozen creamed corn, , thawed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat bacon and olive oil in a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, jalapeño, and the chicken to the Dutch oven. Stirring frequently, cook until the chicken is lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine milk and flour in a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is lightly browned. Stir into the chowder along with the creamed corn, thyme, salt and pepper. Add enough water to slightly cover all ingredients. Cover pot with lid and cook for about 20 minutes until chicken is done and all of the vegetables are tender.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I made this for a group and everyone loved it. I made a few changes that seemed to work well.
This was spur of the moment and I had chicken breasts that had marinated a couple days which I grilled prior to adding to the chowder. The char was a nice add. I also couldn’t find frozen creamed corn so I used 1 32 oz bag of regular frozen corn but added a can of cream of celery soup just to add some richness. It came out really well. Final thought, the amount of corn seemed excessive to me, I had roughly doubled the recipe but only used the 32 oz bag of corn. It called for 4 – 20 oz bags.
Dennis, your changes sound great. I’m sorry you misread the recipe but I only use 2 (20-ounce) packages of creamed corn. I agree: 4 packages would be too much.
I’ve never seen frozen creamed corn either.
Frozen corn is in a plastic tube by McKenzie vegetables. Publix, Winn Dixie and Kroger all sell it. It’s usually down on the lower selves in frozen veggies.
Terry, that is exactly the brand of frozen creamed corn I use in this recipe. Hope you enjoy this chowder. Thanks for your tip.
I don’t think I have ever seen frozen cream corn. I’m assuming canned would be ok?
corn chowder is one of my favorite soups. I look forward to making this. It looks delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I just want you to know this recipe has been in our family’s regular rotation for about two years now. I’ve modified it a bit to suit our tastes, but mostly it’s your recipe still. 😉 Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
Oh Donna, you made my day! I’m so glad you and your family enjoy this chowder recipe! You’ve reminded me that I need to add it to my menu for this coming week. It sounds delicious right about now! xo
made this tonight. Lots of oohs and ahhs. Thank you
What a fabulous recipe! they didn’t have frozen creamed corn at my grocer so I had to use canned and let me tell you…add a little hot sauce and boneless chicken thighs to the recipe and its perfection!!
Thanks Robyn!!!!!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Debi!
I tried this on a cold Saturday afternoon and it really was delicious! Hope you guys try it. I think it will be a hit with some crusty bread. Thanks Robyn for such a tasty recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this chowder recipe. It is one of my favorites, too!
I made it with unsweetened almond milk and gluten free baking mix awesome
This sounds so delicious. I love all the comments from those who have made this already. Pinning it!!!