A creamy sweetcorn chowder with roasted red peppers, jalapeño peppers, a bit of potato and lots of sweet corn, all in a seasoned creamy broth.
This creamy sweetcorn chowder is a bowl full of flavour with a bit of a kick. It’s a perfect corn season, Summer dinner served with some crusty bread. The short cooking time on the stovetop means you won’t heat up the kitchen, either!
While this corn chowder is especially lovely with fresh corn, thawed frozen corn or even drained canned corn will work just fine, too.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Corn – If it happens to be fresh corn season, fresh corn is the best option. Simply cut the kernels off the cob to use. Alternately, you can thaw some frozen corn or use drained, canned corn.
Jalapeño peppers – Jalapeño peppers are an always accessible choice, but you could substitute Hatch chiles if they are easily available to you.
Chipotle chili powder – Look for chipotle chili powder in the spice aisle at the grocery store. It’s quite easy to find these days and a great addition to any spice cabinet. It’s like chili powder with a smoky note. If you can’t find it, simply use regular chili powder (the type you would use for a pot of chili).
Heavy cream – Heavy cream (35% b.f.) will make a luscious, creamy soup, but lighter creams such as half-and-half cream (10% b.f.) will also work. You’ll need to add a bit more thickener if using a lighter cream.
Jarred roasted red peppers – Jarred roasted red peppers make this soup, so I urge you not to skip them! In a pinch, you could roast off regular red bell peppers by placing them under the oven broiler until browned.
How to make creamy sweetcorn chowder
- Start this chowder by heating some oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion, roasted red peppers, jalapeños, corn and shredded potato. Cook briefly.
- Add the chipotle chili powder to the pot.
- Add some cumin to the pot.
- Add the milk and cream to the pot.
- Add the vegetable (or chicken) broth to the pot and allow the soup to cook briefly. You don’t need to over-simmer this chowder as you want the corn to be just tender-crisp to retain the fresh flavour.
- Finish the soup by seasoning well with salt and pepper and then thickening to taste with a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with cold water).
Recipe tips!
- This is one of those recipes that really benefits from pre-preparation of the ingredients. Before you start the chowder, chop your onion, roasted red peppers and jalapeños. Shred the potato, too. Have your spices measured out and combine the milk and cream in a 2-cup measure.
- Adjust the amount of jalapeños and chipotle chili powder to your taste, using more or less than specified.
- The difference between a good soup or chowder and a great one is salt! A generous seasoning with salt at the end of cooking will bring together all the great flavours. So taste and season before serving.
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Get the Recipe: Creamy Sweetcorn Chowder
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 3/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained and chopped *see Note 1 below
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, cored and seeded, then chopped *see Note 2 below
- 1 medium yellow-fleshed potato, scrubbed and shredded
- 3 cups corn, fresh from the cob (about 3 ears of corn), thawed frozen corn or drained canned corn
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or regular chili powder *see Note 3 below
- 1 cup whole milk (3% b.f.)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (35% b.f.), *see Note 4 below
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 4 oz goat cheese
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
To thicken (if needed):
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons cold water
For serving:
- fresh cilantro, chopped
- additional chipotle chili powder
- feta cheese, crumbled
- lime wedges, for drizzling
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Tip! This chowder, as written, has a nice little kick to it, from both the jalapeños and the chipotle chili powder. You can adjust the amount of either or both to your taste for spiciness. Using jarred roasted red peppers is highly recommended as it bring both great flavour and a bit of smokiness to the chowder.
- Take a few minutes to chop the onion, roasted red peppers and jalapeños. Shred the potato and have the corn ready to go. Mince up the garlic. I like to measure out the spices and the milk, cream and broth as well.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large soup pot over medium heat on the stovetop. When hot, add the onion, roasted red peppers, jalapeños, corn, potato and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add the cumin and chipotle chili powder and stir in.
- Add the milk and cream to the pot, and then add the vegetable (or chicken broth). Season with a bit of salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir together and let the soup come to a simmer. Reduce the heat and allow the soup to simmer for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Don't over-cook as you want the corn to be just tender-crisp to retain some of the fresh flavour.
- Add the goat cheese to the pot and use a whisk to incorporate it with the soup until melted.
- In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and cold water. Drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the soup, a bit at a time, stirring after each addition, until the soup thickens to your desired texture.
- Taste the soup and add additional salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed. (*Salt is key to a great soup, so season generously, as needed.)
- To serve, garnish with fresh cilantro and crumbled feta cheese. Have some lime wedges out for drizzling as well, if you like. This chowder is lovely with a loaf of crusty bread.
Notes
More corn chowder recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Have you ever tried adding salmon, shrimp, chicken to this recipe? Which one would you suggest?
Hi Janice, I haven’t, but certainly chicken would be lovely with this one. That would probably be my first choice. Shrimp could also be a nice, easy addition though.
So, forgive me for not being in the know, but what does (bf) mean, best friends ?
It stands for butter fat (as in the percentage of butterfat in the dairy). I add the b.f. % I use so that people in different countries with different dairy can approximate the same product.
This is and excellent corn chowder. I always make a recipe exactly as called for the first time. Only change I would make is to use half the cumin. I thought it was a little too overpowering.
So glad you enjoyed it, Sally :) Thanks so much!
This was absolutely delicious! The only change I made was to use 4 ears of corn because the grocery store was selling them 4 ears for a certain price. Next time I will use the fine holes on my box grater to shred the potato instead of the larger holes. The finer potato shreds will cook more quickly. The toppings of minced cilantro, crumbled feta, and lime juice really enhanced the flavor. Our entire family loved the soup, and I will definitely make it again. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
So glad to hear, Annette! Thanks so much :)
Had some left over ham which encouraged me to make the chowder. You hit this one out of the park . Adding some cubed cooked ham at the end was just icing on a perfect cake.. Thanks from Victoria BC… Enjoy the Labor Day weekend.
Sounds delicious, Barry! So glad you enjoyed it and enjoy your long weekend, too :)