Active Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 35 minutes
This recipe for creamy corn chowder boasts layers upon layers of flavor. It starts with fresh summer sweet corn. Instead of relying on chicken broth, you’ll use the sheared cobs to make a Parmesan-corn broth for the chowder’s base. Want to make it year-round, even when corn’s not in season? You still won’t need store-bought stock. A combination of mushroom stems, fresh herbs, and cheese rinds make for a tasty broth, even if the corn flavor won’t be as potent. Pro tip for midwinter corn chowder makers: Leave the canned corn on the shelf; frozen corn will taste fresher and have a better texture.
Sautéing the corn kernels in butter before adding them to the soup pot concentrates their flavor—you’re looking to cook off most of the juices and pick up a bit of caramelization. You’ll deglaze the pan with white wine (a crisp, dry Pinot Grigio works well here) before sautéing a bit of diced thick-cut bacon in the same pan. For a vegetarian version, omit the bacon, but replace it with extra shiitake mushrooms and sauté them until golden brown (reserve some crispy bits for topping the soup) before adding in the rest of the veg.
We like the creamy texture russet potatoes add here, but Yukon Gold potatoes are also good. We also go all in on richness, adding a dose of heavy cream. For a lighter broth, whole milk will be fine, but you could also use coconut milk for a vegan version (replace the butter with a dairy-free alternative).
Need a little more guidance? Watch Carla make the corn chowder here. Can’t decide between corn or clam chowder? Try this combo soup recipe, which pairs briny shellfish with fresh corn.
Ingredients
8 servings
8
2
4
2
1
2
5
¼
4
1
3
1
2
2
2
2
1
Preparation
Step 1
Cut kernels from 8 ears of corn, husks removed, and place in a large bowl. Place cobs in a medium pot and add 2 Parmesan rinds (if using), reserved stems from 4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, 2 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton’s kosher salt, and 8 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until broth is fragrant and reduced by half, 40–50 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl; discard solids and set broth aside.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a large heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add corn kernels, season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender and juices have evaporated and browned on the bottom of the pot, 12–15 minutes. Reserve ½ cup corn for garnish; transfer remaining corn to a medium bowl.
Step 3
Add ¼ cup dry white wine to pot and cook, scraping up browned bits, until liquid is syrupy, about 2 minutes. Scrape into bowl with remaining corn.
Step 4
Melt remaining 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter in same pot over medium heat and cook 4 oz. thick-cut bacon, cut into ¼" pieces, until golden brown and fat has rendered, about 6 minutes. Add 1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into ½" pieces, 3 shallots, thinly sliced, 1 medium leek, white and pale green parts only, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced, 2 garlic cloves, finely grated, and shiitake mushroom caps, cut into ¼" pieces, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened but haven’t taken on any color, 12–15 minutes. Add 2 Fresno chiles, seeded, finely chopped and cook until fragrant and softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour and cook until nutty and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add reserved broth, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are fork-tender, 10–15 minutes. Add 2 cups heavy cream and corn mixture and cook, stirring, until chowder has thickened, 5–10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 Tbsp. chopped marjoram. Let sit 15 minutes before serving.
Step 5
Divide chowder among bowls. Top with chopped parsley or chives, oyster crackers, and reserved ½ cup corn; season with pepper.
Editor’s note: This recipe was first printed in August 2016 as part of BA’s Best, a collection of our essential recipes. Head this way for more of our best corn recipes →
Leave a Review
Reviews (40)
Back to TopThis is incredibly delicious, but also definitely labor & time intensive! Highly recommend that people make this as written, but make sure you give yourself closer to two hours and read the whole recipe so that you know what to prep and when.
Jacob
Cambridge, MA
8/8/2023
Doubled leeks and mush since I had 5 ears of corn, veggie broth in place of water, petite link sausage in place of bacon, 1 cup cream, 1 cup milk. Lovely richness
Penny McElheny
Greenville, NC
5/14/2023
I’ve been making this for about 2 years, and make it slightly different. My stock is made with 10 corn cobs, twice as many herbs, and I add two small leaks, 2 medium garlic cloves, and whole peppercorns. Also, not sure what I’m doing wrong, but it never looks as vibrant as in the picture… it’s always more brown and mushy looking in color. Which I hate because I feel like people judge it before they try it, but then they love it when they do try it. Anyways guess it doesn’t matter if it tastes good!! I feel like kale would a nice addition, or sausage.
ashton_pen
West Virginia, USA.
12/15/2022
I don't leave reviews for recipes. But I have to for this one. My hopes we're not that high, corn chowder doesn't sound that interesting. But this is a flavor bomb. So much work, but I make it every year when corn is in season. Make this chowder. You'll curse yourself 2 hours in but then it's soooo worth it
Anonymous
Syracuse, NY
9/11/2021
Made this once and LOVED it! Do you think subbing with coconut milk would work?
Anonymous
Snohomish, WA
10/5/2020
Everyone loved this! I'm in the UK where we have single and double cream instead of heavy and... regular? So I used double cream as I thought that was more like heavy cream, but next time I would definitely replace some with single cream or even (whole) milk. The chowder was very very thick, I could have easily left out the flour - of course, I'm not familiar with "authentic" chowder, perhaps it's supposed to be very thick! Anyway, due to the extreme thickness and creaminess, it felt a little bit like eating pasta sauce with a spoon... but it was tasty! I did need to keep adding some Frank's hot sauce to cut through the richness and sweetness - so, next time, would use less fatty dairy and perhaps replace some of the corn with other veg/more shrooms.
Anonymous
London, UK
9/23/2020
The chiles in the video are quite small. I had about a four inch Fresno that I seeded & used 3/4. Delish but this chowder is hoooottt. Could totally be the chile but just a word to the spice averse.
Anonymous
Seattle
9/5/2020
Sooooo good. This chowder is super flavorful and definitely worth the work. I skipped the mushrooms and marjoram and it was still delicious. I’ll add sliced kielbasa next time for a husband-approved dinner. And some fresh dill on top would be divine.
Los Angeles
7/20/2020
I love this chowder so much I have to force myself not to hog the entire batch. It speaks to a need I never knew I had and I find I need a word more descriptive than delicious.
Anonymous
4/18/2020
So good!! I'd recommend making the broth the day before so that you can split up the labor between two days. I'd also add the shallot roots/skins to the broth to make it even more delicious and you can get most of the mis en place out of the way before you make the chowder. A perfect recipe for these kinds of days
Anonymous
Atlanta, GA
3/19/2020
IT's SO GOOD! Worth the work!!! Doubled the potato and the bacon, made it perfectly chunky!
Anonymous
Houston, TX
12/26/2019
Wow, such a delicious and hearty soup! So amazing, will make again. Also added in a couple of pinches of ground Sichuan peppercorns and loved the bit of heat and additional floral notes. This is a soup you can be proud to serve to houseguests on a chilly day.
ohkaymo
Denver, Co
11/30/2019
This is so delicious! I made it today for the first time and made some tweaks from the original recipe: used 8 cups of vegetable broth instead of H2O for the corn cob broth; nearly doubled the garlic, bacon, and potato quantity (at boyfriend's request lol); and only used 1 cup of heavy cream. SO YUMMY.
Anonymous
San Francisco
10/20/2019
Great recipe! Although there's some prep, the actual cooking isn't too intense. I'm trying to get more into cooking, and my one mishap was overcooking the bacon in too hot of a pan. Round 2 was much more successful. The final product has a great corn taste that isn't too sweet but balanced. I think the Fresno chiles really elevate the dish. I made a full recipe and have easy to reheat leftovers. It's also quite hearty.
Anonymous
Las Vegas
9/9/2019
SO GOOD. Even until I was almost done, I wasn’t sure. I added salt until it tasted right, cooked until potatoes were soft, rested for 15 minutes...and that’s when the magic happened. This is one of the most flavorful chowders I’ve ever eaten. I substituted jalapeños for fresnos. That’s the only thing I changed from the recipe- it seems like a complicated procedure, but it really does turn out wonderfully. I accidentally reduced my broth too much, so added a bit of chicken stock to make sure I had enough liquid, and that did the trick. I already have plans to make this for friend and family get togethers.
Seattle
9/9/2019