Corn Chowder
Sweet corn and potatoes in a creamy broth — summer's soup, pantry-ready all year.
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Join HomecookedIngredients
- 450 g Corn kernels
- 2 Potatoes
- 1 Onion
- 25 g Butter
- 250 ml Milk
- 600 ml Stock
- 1 tsp Salt
- 100 ml Cream (optional)
- 1 tsp Thyme (optional)
- 2 Scallions (optional)
Method
- Dice the onion, then peel and dice the potatoes.
- Slice the scallions thinly for the garnish. (optional)
- Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat and soften the onion with the thyme until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, corn, stock, and salt to the pot and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer the chowder until the potatoes are tender to a knife tip, about 12 minutes.
- Mash a few ladlefuls against the side of the pot to thicken, then stir in the milk and cream and warm through without boiling.
- Ladle the chowder into bowls and top with the sliced scallions.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from ingredients; varies with exact portions and brands.
About Corn Chowder
Corn chowder is an American soup that celebrates the sweetness of in-season corn, thickened with potatoes and enriched with cream into something that tastes more like comfort than raw ingredient. The soup belongs to the chowder family—thick, stick-to-your-ribs broths built on a vegetable base, butter, and dairy—with American roots running deep into New England. What makes this version work for weeknight cooking is that it uses common pantry staples: butter, onion, potatoes, and dairy that most cooks have on hand, alongside frozen corn if fresh isn't available. The technique of mashing some of the cooked potatoes against the pot's side thickens the broth naturally without flour or cream reduction, creating a rustic texture that feels homemade and ungoverned by technique.
Corn chowder tastes gently sweet, creamy, and deeply comforting, with the earthy starch of potatoes grounding the bright corn flavor. The soup is gentle enough to suit almost any palate, yet the final scatter of sliced scallion adds a sharp, fresh note that keeps it from becoming cloying. It's a dish that works equally well as a light lunch with bread, a starter to a larger meal, or an excuse to slow down on a cold evening. The beauty of this chowder is its flexibility—it can be made ahead and reheated, tastes even better the next day as flavors meld, and reads as more effort than the thirty-five minutes it actually takes.
Corn Chowder: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Corn Chowder?
One serving of Corn Chowder has about 343 calories, with 10g of protein, 33g of carbs, 19g of fat and 5g of fiber. These are estimates based on the ingredient amounts in this recipe and will vary with your exact portions and brands.
Is Corn Chowder gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Corn Chowder has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
Is Corn Chowder dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Butter, Milk. Swapping those for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How long does Corn Chowder take to make?
About 35 minutes start to finish, but only around 20 of those are hands-on — the rest is cooking time. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Corn Chowder?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out cream, thyme, scallions — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Corn Chowder make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.