Corn Chowder with Bacon (Printable)

Creamy chowder blending corn, potatoes, smoky bacon, and spices for a satisfying dish.

# What You Need:

→ Meats

01 - 6 slices bacon, chopped

→ Vegetables

02 - 2 cups sweet corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or drained canned)
03 - 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
04 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
05 - 1 celery stalk, diced
06 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Liquids

07 - 3 cups chicken stock (use gluten-free if required)
08 - 1 cup heavy cream
09 - 1 cup whole milk

→ Spices & Seasonings

10 - 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
11 - 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
12 - Salt, to taste
13 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

14 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or green onions

# How-To:

01 - In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook chopped bacon until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot.
02 - Add diced onion and celery to the pot. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until softened.
03 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
04 - Add diced potatoes, corn kernels, smoked paprika, and dried thyme. Stir thoroughly to coat ingredients evenly.
05 - Pour in chicken stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
06 - Stir in heavy cream and whole milk. Continue simmering for 5 minutes without boiling.
07 - Use an immersion blender to partially puree the soup directly in the pot until desired consistency is achieved. Alternatively, puree 2 cups in a blender and return to pot.
08 - Stir in half of the cooked bacon and season the chowder with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
09 - Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with remaining bacon and chopped fresh chives or green onions.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like comfort in a bowl but comes together faster than you'd expect.
  • The bacon fat does half the flavor work for you, so you're not fighting to build depth.
  • It stretches to feed a crowd or keeps beautifully in the fridge for those nights when you need dinner without thinking.
02 -
  • Don't skip the bacon rendering step or use it raw—that fat becomes the soul of the soup, and nothing else tastes quite the same.
  • Partial blending is the secret; leaving chunks of corn and potato makes every spoonful interesting instead of uniform.
  • Cream curdles if it boils hard, so keep the heat gentle once the dairy goes in—low and slow wins here.
03 -
  • Use an immersion blender instead of transferring soup to a regular blender—you'll have less cleanup and more control over the texture.
  • Brown the bacon until it's truly crispy and golden, not just cooked; that extra caramelization deepens the entire soup's flavor.
Go back