I recently realized that I make a version of corn chowder around the same time in April. This is likely for a couple of reasons. First, it is a great spring-time food. When we’re coming out of soup season (fall and winter), but we still have some cool spring days. Second, I need to clean out all of the corn I have leftover in my freezer so that I can make room for the summer’s sweet corn bounty.
So, I end up craving corn chowder in April. This post will describe the two corn chowder recipes I have made the past two Aprils (2020 and 2021). If I keep making more chowders in April, I’ll keep you all updated.
The first chowder is a very simple sweet potato and corn chowder. It gets is creaminess from the sweet potatoes instead of cheese. You could even leave the milk out of this recipe and make it a vegan or lactose free chowder. If you choose to leave out the milk just add a bit more chicken or vegetable stock.
Sweet Potato Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups sweet potatoes
- 1 cup corn
- 2 shallots
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Dice the sweet potatoes and finely dice the shallots and bell pepper. Saute the potatoes, shallots and bell pepper, seasoned with salt and pepper, until the shallots and red bell pepper start to soften.
- Add corn, chicken stock, milk, and bay leaf.
- Simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft or fork tender.
- Mash the soup with a potato masher so that some of the corn and sweet potatoes thicken the soup. You can mash to your desired consistency for the chowder.
- Finish the soup with more salt and pepper to taste and the apple cider vinegar for brightness.
The second chowder is a heavier on the corn, calling for 6 cups compared to the other recipe’s one. It also has plenty of cheese. It was inspired by elotes, or mexican street corn.
This recipe calls for taking corn off of the cob, but if you don’t have corn on the cob, you can use frozen or canned corn. I mean heck, if you use canned corn, you could even use a can or two of creamed corn and you would skip the puree step! I might need to try that in the next corn chowder recipe…
Cheesy Mexican Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6-8 corn on the cop
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- 1 jalapeno minced
- 1 onion diced
- 1-2 russet potatoes diced
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2-4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup half and half
- tajin seasoning, limes, cilantro, and sour cream for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the corn from the cobs. You're looking for about 6 cups of corn kernels.
- Saute the onion and jalapeno in the butter until softened.
- Add the corn, diced potato, and chicken stock. Simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Slightly puree the soup with an immersion blender until about half of the soup has been slightly pureed. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can place half of the soup into a blender and then add the pureed soup back to the pot.
- Add the cheeses and half and half, simmering until the cheese is melted and the soup is creamy.
- Top the soup with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of Tajin seasoning, and a squeeze of lime.
