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 yesterday and decided to make my own creamed corn which added a nice touch, but it was A LOT of corn…and was wondering if maybe the amount of corn was written wrong in the recipe….I couldn’t find 20 oz packages so I used 4 10oz packages….it was overwhelming. I’ll definitely do this again, but with less corn.
This soup is Yummy. However I made a couple of changes. After cooking the veggies I took them out of the pot then added the chicken so that it would brown a bit. Then put the veggies back in and finished the recipe. I also used a can of cream corn instead of frozen as that is what I had. I did add a bit of cream too. I hate to admit it but I love what a little cream does to soup! So I couldn’t resist. Great recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Can you tell me how much one serving is in cups (approximately). My husband is watching his portion sizes and keeping track of everything he eats soni was curious if you knew. Thank you!
Hello, this looks fabulous! I recently went off gluten, can I substitute another thickener for the flour? Cornstarch mixed into cold water maybe? Potato flour? anyone tried this??
This recipe was awesome! I made it tonight for a group function, and took my bowl home empty! Thanks!
Hi Sharney!
I’m so glad everyone loved it! Thank you so much for your sweet comment! Hope you have a great week.
Please excuse the question if it is dumb. My only excuse is that I am a man. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Lol. My question has to deal with the chicken breast. When you add it to the soup, has it been cooked already? Or is it added into the mix raw? By the way, it looks delish!
Hi Edward. Not a dumb question at all!!! You are adding uncooked chicken. Hope you enjoy it!
Thanx!
This is simmering right now!
I also changed a few things:
1) I used some pancetta instead of bacon, and cooked the veggies in it.
2) I added smoked paprika and halved the jalapenos. This adds both smoky flavor AND the color that some mentioned was lacking. Ground chipotle would probably do the trick, too.
It smells divine. I can’t wait to eat it!
Sounds delicious, Rosie!
I just had leftovers for lunch. It’s even better! Love this recipe. Thanks for posting!
How does this freeze? Only one person in my house so I like freezing portions
I made this tonight. It is super delicious!! I’m wondering, though, where did the color come from? Mine is white like a chowder not the golden color. Thanks:)
Hi Kelley! I’m so glad you loved the chowder. To get your chowder base a bit darker, you could try to brown your vegetables at the beginning just a wee bit longer. The color from additional browning on the vegetables should help to color your chowder more. It should also bump up the vegetable flavor in the chowder.
Robin – I made this recipe last night and it was ssssssooooooo yummy! I halfed the recipe because it was only 2 of us, but here is what I would alter next time:
* I used Turkey bacon, but will use real bacon next time for a stronger smoky flavor
* I used half of the jalepeno, but will include the entire jalapeno next time.
* I might add some regular corn in addition to the creamed corn to add more texture.
I served with a green salad and sour dough bread. I know I will be making this again!