Creamy Corn Chowder

This creamy corn chowder might be the ultimate comfort food, and it’s so easy to make! It involves a simple roux, a little milk and broth, a couple potatoes and some onion and garlic to round out flavors. You can add lots of toppings, or keep it simple with a sprinkle of cheese. Either way it’s a simple and delicious weeknight meal. This recipe has been a long-time favorite and is also in one of our cook books. At the risk of shaking things up a little, I recently updated the instructions just a bit. If this is a favorite of yours already, no fear- the original instructions can be found in the notes section of the recipe card!

Ingredients Needed

  • Butter
  • All-purpose flour
  • Water
  • Milk
  • Chicken base – like Better than Bouillon but feel free to sub ready made broth.
  • Bacon – The bacon is optional, making it potentially vegetarian. If you decide to leave the bacon out, I’d recommend adding about 1 tsp. of smoked paprika to get that yummy, smokey flavor in the soup.
  • Onion
  • Red potatoes
  • Fresh garlic
  • Frozen corn
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Hot sauce – such as Tabasco.
  • Smoked paprika – Optional. This will change the color of the soup, so don’t feel like you have to add it, but if you’re leaving out the bacon (or even if you’re not) it can be a yummy addition that adds a little bit of smokiness.
  • Cheddar cheese – For serving
  • Green Onion – For serving, optional.

How to Make Creamy Corn Chowder

This is simply an overview of instructions, for full printable recipe, keep scrolling! Also, this recipe has recently been updated with some new and improved instructions. If you’ve been making this for years and prefer the original, you’ll find it in the notes of the printable recipe.

  1. If you’re using bacon, fry 6-8 ounces of it until crisp (or use this oven method, which is my all-time favorite way to make bacon!).
  2. While the bacon is cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and saute chopped onions until tender. Add garlic and a little more butter and stir in flour.
  3. Add water and chicken base and whisk to smooth out flour. Then add milk.
  4. Add potatoes and bring to a low simmer, stirring very frequently, for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  5. Add crumbled bacon and corn (and smoked paprika if you’re using) and heat through.
  6. Add a few drops of hot sauce and then salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with extra bacon and cheese – I also love a little green onion!
Corn chowder on a spoon

Note: Smoked paprika is an optional ingredient here. I absolutely love the smoky flavor it adds to soups, especially if you’re leaving out the bacon. Just be aware it adds a peachy orange color to the soup- which I don’t mind, but if you want your soup to stay creamy white then you’ll want to leave it out. The photo above does not include the smoked paprika, and the photos below do, just for reference!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this ahead of time?

This soup comes together pretty quickly, but if you’re strapped on time you can definitely make it ahead and store the cooled soup in the fridge until ready to heat and serve. After serving, you might need to add a little extra broth if it’s thickened too much.

Can I use fresh corn?

Yes! Feel free to use fresh corn. You can saute it fresh off the cob with the onions, or add it at the end you like it more crunchy.

corn chowder with cheese and bacon

Creamy Corn Chowder

5 from 43 votes
This Corn Chowder is so delicious, and fantastic comfort food.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings4 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 ½ cups milk
  • 2 teaspoons chicken base *plus some extra broth if desired, see step 5 in instructions.
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt more to taste before serving
  • 8 ounces bacon
  • 1 cup onion minced
  • 2 small-medium potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces, about 2 cups or 10-12 oz
  • 1 ½ cups frozen corn
  • black pepper
  • a few dashes of hot sauce like Tabasco
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika optional
  • grated cheddar cheese for serving, optional
  • green onions for serving, optional

Instructions

  • Fry bacon until crisp or lay it flat on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until crisp.
  • In the meantime, melt 2 tablespoons butter (or you could totally use bacon drippings here!) over low heat in a soup pot. When melted, add diced onion and saute for 5-7 minutes until tender. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and garlic and stir until butter is melted.
  • Add flour and stir to combine to coat the onions. Add water very slowly while whisking until completely combined and there are no lumps.
  • Add milk and chicken base along with 1/2 teaspoon salt (and smoked paprika if you're using) and bring to a low simmer -NOT a high rolling boil. Add potatoes and simmer, stirring very frequently so it doesn't stick and burn on the bottom of your pan, for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Note: While simmering- This is a very thick soup at this point. If you like it this thick, continue with recipe! If you'd like to stretch the recipe and still have it creamy, but not quite so thick, add up to 3 additional cups chicken broth (ready-made broth or broth+chicken base). I personally always add 2-3 cups additional broth but I want to include options based on your preference since many people love it extra thick!
  • Add crumbled bacon and corn and heat through. Add a few drops of hot sauce and then a few cracks of black pepper and additional salt to taste.
  • Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with extra bacon and cheese, plus green onions if you like.

Notes

This recipe has been a long-time favorite and is also in one of our cook books. At the risk of shaking things up a little, I recently updated the instructions just a bit. If this is a favorite of yours already, here are the original instructions:
Melt just 2 tablespoons butter in a stock pot and add the flour until it turns into a small ball.  Slowly add water and whisk until there are no lumps.  Add chicken base and milk and stir until smooth.  Add onions and garlic and potato and simmer on low until potatoes and onions are cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Stir in bacon and corn until warm. Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper. Top with cheese if desired.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a few days.  You can also freeze individual portions of this soup for a quick meal.  Frozen soup might have a very slight textural change from the frozen roux, but it’s not super noticeable and still delicious. 

Nutrition

Calories: 247kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 541mg, Potassium: 588mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 245IU, Vitamin C: 8mg, Calcium: 110mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Main Courses, Soups
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Creamy Corn Chowder
Calories: 247kcal
Author: Kate Jones
Cost: $5
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
woman in denim shirt holding a salad bowl
Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

  1. i remember in the email that you sent out with this you had a tip on the bacon…cooking it in the oven…can you tell me this again…what temp and for how long. trying to make it for dinner tonight! thanks

  2. CurlyJ–Welcome!! I'm so glad you've loved what you've tried so far. As for freezing the corn chowder, I wouldn't–it would still taste good, but it would be a curdled mess.

    Hope that helps!!

  3. Just found your site last week and I've already tried 2 recipes… amazing! My new favourite blog :).

    As for the corn chowder, is it freezable??

  4. 5 stars
    Just learned about your site through some friends of mine here in Amman; tried this chowdah recipe tonight (although my intro to your site was the "best dinner rolls," which they served to me). Delicious! Essential "fall" comfort food for us here in the Middle East.

    Keep these great recipes coming! I'll be trying others.

  5. 5 stars
    Yummmmmmmy! It has been voted to be back on the menu. I didn't have bacon and forgot to put ham in but was still delicious. I was wary of the amount of onion, but I used a very small onion and it softened up a lot.

  6. Hi, Becky! You know, I've tried freezing this and it just ends up curdling every time. It still tastes great, it just doesn't look super appetizing, you know?

    Hope that helps!

  7. Just stumbled across this one (love your site BTW) and am going to give it a go! Question for you….do you know if this freezes well? Thanks for your awesome site!

  8. 5 stars
    I am in love! Its the first day of winter down here in New Zealand and its has rained all day! This chowder sure hit the spot for comfort food on a winters day. Who knew you could make something so creamy with just 2 Tablespoons of butter? Thanks for sharing.

  9. Meridee- I actually put ham in this all the time. I usually have ham around for my kiddos to eat so I just chop it up and add it to the soup and then use the bacon for the top. Works great!

  10. I made this along with the Creamy Tomato soup, and a squash soup (not the one on this site), and had a taste test with friends. They said this Corn Chowder soup could have rated #1 if it didn't have so many onions. Maybe try half an onion if you make this?

  11. 5 stars
    I made this last night and it was delicious! Even my picky hubby loved it! Thanks for posting this! I'm tickled I can say I not only made a soup from scratch, but one that consisted of a roux! Look at me- I'm Juliafreakinchild! 🙂

  12. McKay–I usually ends up being about 50 calories per poing, to it's probably about 150 calories.

  13. I know you said this is only 3 weight watchers points, but how many calories does that translate to?

  14. Yum! I am eating this for lunch right now. We never have canned corn, but tons of frozen corn that we put up in the summer. I just added it with the potatoes to let it cook. So good! The seasoning/spices are just perfect in this one.

  15. OMG! I just had Corn Chowder soup the other day for the first time. I loved it! So as adventurous as I am, I decided to try to make my own, a friend of mine referred me to your site. I am making the soup right now and I am excited to try it!

    Thank you! I love your site and I am hooked! :o)

  16. Hey, Olivia's Mommy!:)

    I don't think I'd put this in the crockpot. I haven't had great luck with using large quantities of milk in the crockpot because it tends to curdle. I'm sorry I don't have better news!

  17. Hi there – this looks delish!
    Question – is this 'crockpot-able'? I would love to prep it the night before and let it happily simmer away while I'm working – what do you think?
    thanks!

  18. 5 stars
    I was going through your blog to find something last minute for dinner and I ran across this recipe and had all of the ingredients, so I went for it!! WE LOVED IT! This will definitely be one of our new family favorites. Thank you. My husband and his friend had been working outside all day in 95 degree weather, so I was worried that they wouldn't feel like soup, but they LOVED it! Thanks!

  19. 5 stars
    Made this for dinner tonight- Excellent! I added the smoked paprika and I don’t think I would ever suggest leaving it out. I also made it with frozen corn which means I dumped in about three times the amount that is in a can… it was wonderful 😀

  20. 5 stars
    that soup was num-o. My husband’s recommendation for next time – double the recipe so we can have leftovers. Thanks!

  21. the 1/2 lb of bacon is optional???I would say its a MUST!!!LOL
    Thanks for your comment on my Oreo Turkeys.
    They would be perfect for the cub scouts to make!

  22. Hey Kate – you made my day. It is chilly up here in the North East and soup sounds good to me. Well, particularly because my oven is broken :^( Stove top and grilling are my friends right now!

  23. Creamy Corn Chowder I’ve been dreaming of you for years. . . ever since someone brought me a pot with cheese and bacon after I had my second child. This looks just like that!!! Mmmmmmmmm. . .
    Thanks for making my dreams come true.

  24. I’ve got taco soup in my crockpot right now, but now I’m kind of wishing I had seen this recipe first. Yum! I can’t wait to try it.

  25. Oh I’m glad you posted this, and why have I not seen it until now? A good corn chowder has been on my list of recipes to find “the best of” and I loooove that soup season is fast approaching! I made soup the other day too, in almost 90 degree weather. As I put all of my pumpkins out on my mantle 🙂