Corn Chowder with bacon and chives takes no time at all and is the best comfort food. All you need for this recipe is a Dutch Oven, sweet corn, bacon, and a few other key ingredients. My Easy Corn Chowder can be made in less than 30-minutes and tastes great as leftovers the next day!
CORN CHOWDER IS THE RECIPE FOR FALL
It's almost fall and officially the best time of the year! The leaves are changing, the weather is cooler, and although I’m still drinking my pumpkin iced coffee during the day, I’m wearing sweaters around the house at night. And you know what that means, soup time! I’ve had this silly notion that making chowders is really hard. When in fact, they aren’t hard at all.
They are actually super easy! And with corn season still being in full effect, you can make my easy corn chowder with bacon and chives soup recipe in less than 30-minutes.
All you need for my easy and delicious corn chowder is fresh corn (skip the canned stuff for this one as fresh is always better. ) If you’re local, Davis Ranch Produce has fresh sweet corn through November and it’s literally the best corn in the country! You’ll also need bacon, heavy cream, russet potatoes, shredded cheese, red onion, and chives. That’s it!
You’ll also need a Dutch Oven to make this soup taste super-rich. I find a Dutch oven is best and the longer the soup simmers, the better it tastes. We found that it tastes even better the second day. Leftover’s anyone?
YOU CAN USE FRESH OR FROZEN CORN (BUT FRESH IS ALWAYS BEST!)
Now, that I’ve conquered corn chowder, you are going to see a lot more yummy chowder recipes on my blog because they are literally that simple. Chowders are also great for nights when you don’t have to think about complicated ingredients for a recipe.
If you have fresh corn in your fridge that’s on its last legs, then my corn chowder is perfect for that. You can also use frozen corn at any time of the year.
Need another delicious soup recipe?
I also suggest using arrowroot powder to thicken the soup. Because it’s chowder, we want it to be super thick and creamy. The thicker the better!
I find that using a small amount of bacon grease works to help thicken the chowder and give it an even more delicious, rich flavor.
NEVER THROW AWAY YOUR BACON GREASE
If you want to food-prep this recipe, you could prep all of the ingredients (except for the bacon) the night before and have the ingredients ready to go for when you get home. The first step is cooking up the bacon in the Dutch oven.
Using scissors or a butcher knife, cut up the bacon into bacon bits. Next, simmer it on low in the Dutch oven. Once the bacon is cooked through, set it aside on a plate, but keep the bacon grease in the Dutch oven. You are going to simmer the chopped onions in the bacon grease.
The bacon grease gives a delicious rich flavor to the corn chowder. Bacon grease is liquid gold, never throw it away. Use it and you’ll find it gives your dishes a ton more flavor.
How about this delicious sandwich recipe?
I store my bacon grease in a sealed glass jar in the fridge and add to it as I cook bacon. Bacon grease never goes bad! Think of it as a sourdough starter. It will last forever in a cold fridge and can be used for all types of recipes and baking needs.
BONE BROTH MAKES THIS EASY CORN CHOWDER TASTE EVEN BETTER
You’ll also need a good, fresh bone broth for this recipe. You can use chicken or beef bone broth as either one works. Make sure you also use good quality shredded cheese for this recipe too. I suggest using a strong sharp white cheddar. The white cheddar gives the corn chowder that added a level of extra flavor and makes a great topping too.
Let me know if you guys make this recipe and what you think of it. Chowders are so easy, especially corn chowder. Stay tuned for more delicious chowder recipes hitting the blog all Autumn long.
Are you guys excited for cooler weather and Halloween? I know I am!
Easy Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6-8 strips bacon
- 1- red onion chopped
- 4- russet potatoes cut into small cubes
- 1- package of fresh beef or chicken bone broth
- 2- cups heavy cream
- 3-4 cups of fresh or frozen corn not canned
- 3- cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- 2- teaspoons arrowroot powder for thickening (optional) or 1-tablespoon bacon grease
- 1- bunch fresh chives chopped
- Sea-salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Prep the bacon by cutting the strips into small pieces. Simmer on low in the Dutch oven for 8-10 minutes.
- Once the bacon is cooked through, remove it from the Dutch oven and leave the bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
- Simmer the chopped red onion in the bacon grease until translucent.
- Add the diced russet potatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Simmer the potatoes for about 15-minutes until they are tender.
- Whisk in the corn starch and add the heavy cream, fresh corn, and shredded cheese and simmer for another 10-minutes.
- During the last two minutes of cooking add half of the bacon to the corn chowder.
- Garnish with more bacon bits, shredded cheese, fresh chives, and sea salt and black pepper.
Nutrition
Addie says
Love the crispy bacon bits on top!
Genevieve says
Bacon for life!
Anaiah says
This corn chowder was so delicious and easy to make. I just served it with a side salad and some bread for dinner and the whole family loved it!
Genevieve says
That's awesome to hear! I'm happy your family enjoyed it!
Freya says
I love corn chowder and I replaced the bacon with veggie bacon and it was amazing!
Genevieve says
Oh I love hearing that!
Jenny says
This was so easy and delicious! Will be making all fall.
Genevieve says
Thank you! It's the perfect fall comfort food.
Kayla DiMaggio says
Corn Chowder is one of my favorite late Summer meals, I love the bright flavor of yours!
Genevieve says
Thank you! It's cozy comfort for sure.
Agnieszka says
This is such perfect soup for summer. Really good!
Megan Ellam says
I love how vibrant this chowder is. I absolutely love the use of the bacon grease. Now that is brilliant!
Genevieve says
Thank you! Save that bacon grease, I call it liquid gold!
Jean says
time to make this recipe again soon! so delicious.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Great food photos. It looks so good.
Peggy says
Corn chowder is one of my favorite foods, and this recipe is so simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Natalie says
What a dinner this was! My picky eater kids loved it, thanks!
Lizet says
I've made it a few times now, but last week I made it with bone broth as you recommend, and it was so much better!
Kayla DiMaggio says
This easy corn chowder was so delicious! Loved how refreshing it was! Perfect for both warm and cool weather!
Nancy says
Amazing corn chowder! You were right it tastes even better the next day!! Now I make sure I make it a double to have leftovers next day!
Marina says
As always your images made me very hungry, lol, so I made your corn chowder recipe for lunch... And OMG this is amazing, thanks!
Genevieve says
Hi Mariana, thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. It makes lovely leftovers too!
Megan says
It turned out perfect and we absolutely loved this chowder Genevieve! Your recipes always turn out perfectly!
Genevieve says
Megan, thank you so much for the kind words! That means a lot.
Kayla DiMaggio says
This corn chowder recipe was so easy to make and turned out so delicious! Even though it is hot as Hades here, I could eat this everyday!
Genevieve says
You are right about that, Kayla! It's so hot outside. I'm dying for Autumn to arrive. Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad ya'll enjoyed it!
Nora says
The absolute comfort food! The whole family was thrilled! Thank you very much!
Genevieve says
I'm so glad to hear it, Nora! It's one of our favorites too!
Nancy says
Super creamy and tasty. Can’t wait for corn season again
Genevieve says
It's corn season right now, get some while it's still fresh. 🙂