Chicken Corn Chowder- final shot showing finished soup in a bowl

This Chicken Corn Chowder is a hearty meal with so much flavor, but it happens to be a little lighter than most alternatives! Fresh corn simmered in a potato soup base, loaded with chicken breast, bacon, and onions. The perfect creamy soup to use up fresh summer corn, or swap in canned or frozen corn as needed!

This recipe is built around my light potato soup base, which I have been using for years! The trick with this soup is to use russet potatoes, and to simmer them long enough that they begin to dissolve into the liquid. The result is a rich, creamy soup without using as much heavy cream as similar recipes.

Chicken Corn Chowder- progress shot slicing corn from the cob

How to make Chicken Corn Chowder:

See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe!

Cover the chicken breast with plastic wrap and gently pound it to an even thickness. Season all over with salt and pepper. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes about 1 cm in size.
Shuck your ears of corn, then use a knife to cut the corn kernels off the cob. Do NOT discard the cobs!
Heat a large, wide pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-low heat. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and leave the drippings in the pan.
Increase the heat to medium-high, ensure you have enough bacon grease to full coat the bottom of the pot. If not, supplement with a little bit of olive oil.
Once hot, add the chicken breast and sear on both sides until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate, but do not wipe the pan clean. (The chicken does not need to be cooked through)
Evaluate how much bacon grease remains in the pot. If it doesn't fully coat the bottom of the pot, supplement with a little bit of olive oil. If you have more than ~1.5 tablespoons, you may want to remove a little. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the onions in the bacon drippings until they soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add potatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Dust the flour over the mixture in the pot and stir until the ingredients are well-mixed and starting to take on more color, ~2-3 minutes.
Add the half-and-half and water and stir until well-mixed, then add the corn cobs and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
Once simmering, add the chicken breast into the soup to finish cooking, along with the corn kernels. If desired, reserve a handful of corn kernels for garnishing the soup later.
The outsides of the potatoes will dissolve into the liquid, creating the rich creamy texture with small chunks of potato remaining. The longer you simmer, the more the potatoes will dissolve into the soup. I simmer for at least 30 minutes but sometimes longer. Stir occasionally to prevent potatoes from sticking to the pan's bottom.
If you let the soup simmer too long and it ends up very thick, just stir in a little bit of water as desired.
When the soup has thickened, remove the chicken breast to a cutting board and shred (I do this using two forks). Remove and discard the bay leaves and the corn cobs from the soup. Return the shredded chicken to the soup.
If you have a meat thermometer, you can check to make sure the internal temp of the chicken has hit 165 °F
Before serving, add more salt and pepper to taste. Potatoes absorb a ton of salt, so it may feel like you are over-salting, but you probably aren’t.
Add the shredded chicken to the soup and mix until fully incorporated, then remove from the heat.
Ladle into bowls and serve topped with the bacon bits, reserved fresh corn kernels, and fresh thyme.

Key Tips - Chicken Corn Chowder

Do not sub another kind of potato.

This recipe relies on the russet potatoes partially dissolving into the soup, which gives it the rich, creamy texture. Other varieties of potatoes may not dissolve in the same way, especially waxy potato varieties.

Use fresh corn for the best results.

Fresh corn is best here for two reasons. Allowing the whole cobs to simmer in the soup imparts more corn flavor to the soup itself, which makes a big difference. I also really love the freshness of topping the soup with fresh corn at the end, which doesn't have quite the same effect when using canned or frozen corn.

Use enough salt.

My biggest tip with this recipe (and really any potato-based recipe) is to make sure you add enough salt! Potatoes absorb huge amounts of salt, so they are frequently under-salted. Don’t forget to taste the soup before serving and add more salt if needed!

Progress shot showing chicken breast cooking

Dietary Restrictions

Make it Gluten-Free:

Rather than ¼ cup of flour per batch, use 2 tablespoon of corn starch.

Chicken Corn Chowder- final shot showing finished soup in a bowl, a spoon scoops up some of the soup

A Note On Serving Sizes

Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. ¼th batch of this recipe is a nice serving, including about ½ lb of potato and 3 oz of chicken, but some people may prefer to have more than one serving.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Jacqueline Schell

This chicken corn chowder recipe combines creamy potato soup with fresh corn, chicken, and bacon! This version is lighter than similar chowder recipes.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Simmer time 30

Total Time 1 30

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American

Servings

Calories 543 kcal

Ingredients

2 pounds Russet potatoes peeled and cut into ~1 cm cubes, do not sub other potatoes
12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
3 or 4 strips of bacon
1 large white or yellow onion chopped
4 fresh ears of corn see notes for canned/frozen subs
1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half-and-half or whole milk
2 ½ cups water or salt free chicken stock
2 bay leaves optional
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves optional
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
olive oil optional, as needed

Instructions

Cover the chicken breast with plastic wrap and gently pound it to an even thickness. Season all over with salt and pepper. Chop the bacon into small pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small cubes about 1 cm in size.
Shuck your ears of corn, then use a knife to cut the corn kernels off the cob. Do NOT discard the cobs!
Heat a large, wide pot or Dutch oven over medium to medium-low heat. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it reaches your desired level of doneness. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and leave the drippings in the pan.
Increase the heat to medium-high, and ensure you have enough bacon grease to fully coat the bottom of the pot. If not, supplement with a little bit of olive oil.
Once hot, add the chicken breast and sear on both sides until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken to a plate, but do not wipe the pan clean. (The chicken does not need to be cooked through)
Evaluate how much bacon grease remains in the pot. If it doesn't fully coat the bottom of the pot, supplement with a little bit of olive oil. If you have more than ~1.5 tablespoons, you may want to remove a little. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the onions in the bacon drippings until they soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add potatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Dust the flour over the mixture in the pot and stir until the ingredients are well-mixed and starting to take on more color, ~2-3 minutes.
Add the half-and-half and water and stir until well-mixed, then add the corn cobs and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
Once simmering, add the chicken breast into the soup to finish cooking, along with the corn kernels. If desired, reserve a handful of corn kernels for garnishing the soup later.
The outsides of the potatoes will dissolve into the liquid, creating the rich creamy texture with small chunks of potato remaining. The longer you simmer, the more the potatoes will dissolve into the soup. I simmer for at least 30 minutes but sometimes longer. Stir occasionally to prevent potatoes from sticking to the pan's bottom.
If you let the soup simmer too long and it ends up very thick, just stir in a little bit of water as desired.
When the soup has thickened, remove the chicken breast to a cutting board and shred (I do this using two forks). Remove and discard the bay leaves and the corn cobs from the soup. Return the shredded chicken to the soup.
If you have a meat thermometer, you can check to make sure the internal temp of the chicken has hit 165 °F
Before serving, add more salt and pepper to taste. Potatoes absorb a ton of salt, so it may feel like you are over-salting, but you probably aren’t.
Add the shredded chicken to the soup and mix until fully incorporated, then remove from the heat.
Ladle into bowls and serve topped with the bacon bits, reserved fresh corn kernels, and fresh thyme.

Notes

4 ears of corn yield about 2.5 cups of corn kernels. You can use canned or frozen corn in this recipe; there's no need to defrost frozen corn before using.

The russet potatoes dissolve into the soup and help create the rich, creamy texture. This may not work with other varieties of potato.

This recipe can be prepared without the bacon, just cook the onions in ~1.5 tablespoon veggie oil.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25 batchCalories: 543kcalProtein: 35g

Keyword Chicken Corn Chowder, Chicken Potato Soup, Chowder, Corn Chowder, Creamy Potato Soup, Creamy Soup, soup

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