Creamy chicken corn chowder starts with crispy bacon and pan-seared juicy chicken, and is simmered with corn and tender potatoes in a creamy broth. Packed with sweet and savory flavor, this is the ultimate comfort food for a cool night.
Key Takeaways: Chicken Corn Chowder
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Bake Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Servings: 6
- Cook Method: Chicken is pan-seared and then simmered in a pot with all of the other spices and ingredients.
- Flavor & Texture: This soup is creamy, savory, and a bit smoky and sweet from the crispy bacon and pops of corn.
- Difficulty: Easy. This recipe comes together quickly and takes no special skills to make.
- Why this Recipe? Chicken corn chowder is a simple dinner, packed full of flavor, and is a real crowd pleaser.
My kids don’t love it when I serve soups that have unique flavors and spices. This one is just a classic, with corn, cream, and of course bacon. I don’t have to convince anyone to try it. They all love it when I make it, especially when I serve it with sourdough dinner rolls or freshly milled biscuits.
We always top ours with shredded cheddar and homemade sour cream. I leave the herbs on the side to keep the little kids happy.
This chicken and corn chowder has flavor on a whole new level. It is sure to become a cool-weather comfort food staple in your home!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple – This creamy soup is made up of simple, whole food ingredients and is easy to throw together. It is a great recipe to add to your collection of healthy whole food meals.
Flavorful – This corn chowder soup is packed with flavor. Also, any dish that includes bacon is a winner in my book.
Crowd pleaser – If you are looking for a meal that is packed with veggies and nutrients, while also being a crowd pleaser for the whole family, look no further. This cozy soup is a great recipe that everyone will love.
Ingredients
All-purpose flour – Since the flour can’t be fermented, I sometimes like to use einkorn flour to thicken the soup because of its easier digestibility.
Chicken Stock – My younger sister is a farmer, so I have access to plenty of bones for broth making. For this soup, I usually simmer chicken bones with celery tops, herb clippings, onion peels, and bits of leftover garlic to make a flavorful broth. Of course, you can use store-bought, but a homemade broth like my Instant Pot bone broth makes this soup taste so much better.
Frozen Corn – I use frozen corn in this recipe because it’s convenient and easy, but you can easily substitute fresh corn cut from the cob.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Modifications and Variations
For a dairy-free option, you can substitute butter with olive oil or avocado oil, and either eliminate the cream or swap it out for cashew milk or almond milk. It will not be as creamy, but it should still be very flavorful.
To make this soup gluten-free, skip adding the flour and make a cornstarch slurry instead. Add a little bit of cornstarch with a little cool water, mix, then slowly add to the soup once it is simmering. Do this before adding the cream. Next, bring it to a simmer and check the consistency. Add a bit more if it is too thin. Add the cream, stir, and serve. Pair it with a slice of gluten-free sourdough bread.
How to Make Chicken Corn Chowder
Step 1: Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
Once hot, add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring frequently until just crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside.
Step 2: Keep one tablespoon of the bacon grease in the pan. Season each side of the chicken breast with a pinch of salt and pepper. Brown each side of the chicken in the bacon fat for 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pot.
Step 3: Add the butter to the pot. Once melted, add the onion and celery. Sauté until translucent and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
Step 4: Add the flour to the veggies and sauté for one minute, stirring frequently.
Step 5: Add the potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and the chicken breasts back to the pot.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Step 6: Remove the chicken from the pot and shred. Check that the potatoes are fork-tender.
Step 7: Add the cooked and shredded chicken, corn, and cream to the pot. Bring to a light simmer, stirring frequently until everything is combined and thickened. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Step 8: Serve with crumbled bacon and fresh herbs (optional) on top and enjoy!
Lisa’s Expert Tips
- Though this recipe doesn’t call for cream cheese, sometimes we’re in the mood for something a little creamier, or I have some homemade cream cheese I’m looking to use up. I take one brick of cream cheese and put it into a wide-mouth jar with hot broth, then blend it with an immersion blender. I use this creamy broth in place of the regular broth.
- Pan-searing the chicken seems like an unnecessary step, but I promise you, you don’t want to skip it. The searing adds so much flavor and gives the chicken a better texture.
- If you want to make this soup even quicker, feel free to use pre-cooked chicken, such as store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken from another recipe.
Chicken Corn Chowder FAQs
This chicken corn chowder is packed with veggies and protein from the chicken. If you opt to use homemade bone broth in the recipe, it adds another abundance of nutrients to the dish. This is a great healthy family dinner.
I thicken the chowder by sprinkling flour over the veggies and cooking before adding the broth, but using a cornstarch and water slurry is also a great option for thickening chowder.
Heavy cream is the best to use for this chowder, as it offers the best creamy texture to this recipe. Plus, you can use leftover cream to make homemade whipped cream to top a whole wheat blueberry cobbler for dessert!
Store chicken corn chowder in an airtight container once it has cooled, and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.Â
You can freeze the soup, but cream-based soups sometimes have a grainy texture once thawed. You can freeze in mason jars, leaving an inch or two of headspace to ensure the jar does not break. You can also freeze it in freezer-safe bags. Lay flat to freeze for easy storage.
More Dinner Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Easy Buffalo Chicken Salad Recipe
- Best Easy Chicken Thighs Recipe
- Crockpot Chicken Tacos
- Easy Beef Enchiladas Recipe
- The Best Easy Baked Ziti Recipe
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Easy Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven (A large stock pot would also work.)
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- â…“ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 small yellow potatoes, diced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 36%
- Herbs for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
- Once hot, add the bacon pieces and cook, stirring frequently until just crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside.
- Keep one tablespoon of the bacon grease in the pan. Season each side of the chicken breast with a pinch of salt and pepper. Brown each side of the chicken in the bacon fat for 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pot.
- Add the butter to the pot. Once melted, add the onion and celery. Sauté until translucent and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
- Add the flour to the veggies and sauté for one minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the potatoes, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and the chicken breasts back to the pot.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and shred. Check that the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Add the cooked and shredded chicken, corn, and cream to the pot. Bring to a light simmer, stirring frequently until everything is combined and thickened. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve with crumbled bacon and fresh herbs (optional) on top and enjoy!
Notes
- Though this recipe doesn’t call for cream cheese, sometimes we’re in the mood for something a little creamier, or I have some homemade cream cheese I’m looking to use up. I take one brick of cream cheese and put it into a wide-mouth jar with hot broth, then blend it with an immersion blender. I use this creamy broth in place of the regular broth.
- Pan-searing the chicken seems like an unnecessary step, but I promise you, you don’t want to skip it. The searing adds so much flavor and gives the chicken a better texture.
- If you want to make this soup even quicker, feel free to use pre-cooked chicken, such as store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken from another recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So good!
This was delicious. I did lighten it up a bit and not “chowder” it, so no flour or cream, but followed everything the same and a delicious soup came out. My husband said it’s definitely a do over!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!
Do you think this could also be made in the crockpot as a dump and go?
Yes, it could!
Easy and delicious! The bacon puts it over the top for me! So good! Thank you for sharing!
Excellent! Thank you!
P.S. In place of the flour, I used sourdough discard.
Absolutely delicious soup!
So yummy!!!! Can this be freezed in small batches for later?
I would freeze this without dairy and then you can add the dairy products back when you thaw it and prepare it.