Chicken corn chowder is an easy way to serve the fam a bowl full of love tempered with the sweet nuances of corn and savory seasoned chicken. It’s one of those deeply satisfying chicken soup recipes full of nutrient-dense veggies that add a ton of flavor to the subtly sweet creamy corn base.

If you love the way chicken noodle soup and chicken tortellini soup warm your inside to out in the cold weather months, then you’re gonna’ love this recipe. It’s a hearty stick-to-your-ribs type of soup with layers of rich yummy flavor and slightly sweet undertones. Try my chicken gnocchi soup next!

Let’s make this!

What I Love About This Recipe

This massively convenient chowder comes together quickly using a few wholesome kitchen staples.

Nutrient-dense veggies
Hardy creamy base
Savory flavor with subtlety sweet undertones
One-pot meal made using convenient kitchen staples

How To Make Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe

Cook the bacon in a large pot, stirring often, until crispy. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Remove and discard (or save for another recipe) all but 1/4 cup of pan drippings.
Add butter to the pot and melt over medium-low heat. Saute onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until soft, about 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and continue to cook, whisking constantly for about 4-5 minutes or until flour is lightly toasted and fragrant.
Remove pot from heat and slowly whisk in broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen all brown bits on the bottom of the pan, until smooth.
Return pot to heat, add Better Than Bouillon, thyme, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, potatoes, whole kernel corn, cream-style corn, bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat and simmer, uncovered until potatoes are fork-tender about 20 minutes. Stir in chicken cubes, and heavy cream and simmer until chicken is heated through about 10 minutes.

****See Full Instructions Below

Chicken And Corn Chowder Recipe + Ingredient Notes

Sautéing – Sauté your veggies in the bacon grease. It helps to bring out their deeper more mellow flavors.

Toasting – Toast your roux (after whisking in the flour) for just a minute or so before adding your liquid. It’ll help cook-off that floury taste you don’t want in your chowder.

Bacon – Frying up a few slices of chopped bacon gives you drippings to sauté your veggies in and it’s a fantastic start to your fond. I typically just reserve the fried bacon bits for garnish.

Chicken – In the interest of convenience and flavor, I opt for rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Then all you need to do is shred it or pull it off the bone and chop it up. You’ll need about 3 cups of meat so use white meat, dark meat, or a combination of both!

Flour – A little bit of all-purpose flour helps thicken up your soup to a creamy dreamy consistency.

Corn – A combination of cream-style corn and whole kernel corn gives this its sweet nuances and incredible texture.

Chicken Broth – Using chicken broth instead of water adds a more complex flavor profile and ensures your chowder isn’t too thin. I use low sodium chicken broth to ensure the finished product isn’t too salty. You can always adjust the seasoning later.

Better Than Bouillon – Better Than Bouillon is a concentrated flavor paste made of multiple ingredients. It’s easier to measure and offers so much more flavor than those dry salty cubes. For this recipe, I use the chicken flavor (they have several flavors to choose from).

Seasonings – I season this with a blend of salt, pepper, bay leaf, and thyme. There’re already some tasty seasonings on the rotisserie chicken, so I just use dried thyme.

Tools to Make:

This chowder is a delicious one-pot wonder that comes together without making a huge mess. The best part is that you really only need a large soup pot to pull it off!

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? When stored properly, this will stay fresh and yummy for up to 4 days in the fridge. You’ll want to ensure that it’s in a sealed container with a secure lid. For best results, observe the FDA recommended 2-hour serving rule and let your chowder cool completely before preparing it for storage.
Can You Freeze This? Since this recipe uses heavy cream, it’s not advisable to freeze the leftover soup. You can freeze this as a make-ahead option if you leave out the cream. Just add the cream when you are ready to reheat this.
Make-Ahead Tips: This comes together fast and the bacon drippings are used to make the fond, so there’s only so much prep you can do. BUT it does help to have all the veggies chopped ahead of time.

Serving Recommendations

This creamy chicken chowder is hearty enough to be a satiating supper or even a ready-made lunch (if you have leftovers). Plus, the nutrient-dense veggies make it a well-balanced meal with layers of flavor.

I like to serve mine with buttery crescent rolls, a chunk of beer bread, Bisquick biscuits, or Southern cornbread to sop up what’s left (otherwise the fam gets soup in their hair when they lick the bowl). Just kidding – kinda’.

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