This chicken corn chowder is creamy, spicy and delicious! It can be made in the instant pot, slow cooker or on the stovetop. It’s a perfect end of summer meal with fresh corn, onion and pepper. If you are sensitive to dairy, no worries, because it is dairy free!
I love this recipe because it can be made so many ways. If you're an instant pot family, that’s cool. I got you. More of a slow cooker fan? No worries. Don’t want to mess with any of the gadgets? Well buckle up, baby, because we can do that too. I’ll explain below and in the recipes notes how to make this creamy chicken corn chowder multiple ways.
Before we talk about the different ways to prepare this corn chowder, let’s talk about what’s in it.
Ingredients
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Corn (you can use fresh off the cob or canned corn)
- Potatoes
- Garlic
That’s pretty much the basics. I added chicken and chicken broth to this recipe. The seasonings I like to put in corn chowder include:
- Chili powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Liquid smoke - I’ve used this ingredient in my vegan carbonara pasta recipe and it’s so powerful and pungent! The recipe only calls for ¼ tsp, but feel free to add more to your liking after you make it.
How to make chicken corn chowder?
There are three ways you can prepare this chicken corn chowder.
- Instant pot: I have an instant pot and am a big fan. Set it and forget it. This recipe takes about 12 minutes in an instant pot to make. See under the recipe notes below for directions.
- Slow cooker: Similar to an instant pot, but takes longer to cook. The benefit to using a slow cooker in this recipe comes into play if you are leaving for work in the morning or want to prepare it over a 4 or 8 hour span.
- Stovetop: This method does not take a long time either. I’ve made soups both ways and the time it takes in an instant pot is similar to cooking it on the stove.
What goes with corn chowder?
I love love love to eat this with tortilla chips! Dunk away!!! I chose to garnish it with turkey bacon, scallions and cojita (for those who can have dairy). The amount of tortilla chips I’ve consumed in the past few days is outrageous.
This chowder will thicken in the fridge overnight, so add additional water or broth if you want to thin it out when you re-heat it!
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Easy Chicken Corn Chowder (dairy free)
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This chicken corn chowder can be made using the instant pot, slow cooker or stovetop. It's a great end of summer meal with fresh corn, onion and peppers. Dairy free for those of you who are sensitive!
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp oil (EVOO or avocado works)
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 tbsp flour (GF flour, white or whole wheat is fine)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced (about 1.5 cups)
- 2 ½ cups potatoes, peeled and diced
- 3 cups corn (off the cob or from can)
- 2-3 chicken breasts, whole
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp liquid smoke (optional)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 3 cups chicken broth
- garnish: scallions, turkey bacon crumbles and/or cojita
Instructions
Instant pot:
- Turn to sauté function and add 1 tbsp oil and chopped onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add flour and garlic and mix to combine. Next, add bell pepper, potatoes, corn, spices, chicken and broth. Put the lid on the instant pot and turn the valve to sealing. Push the manual button and adjust the time to cook for 12 minutes.
- Once the steam has been released and time is up, turn the valve to venting to release more steam. Remove the lid and remove chicken breasts using tongs. Reserve ½ cup of corn, diced pepper and set aside with the chicken.
- Using a blender (immersion blender works too) blend the remaining ingredients until smooth. Add the reserved cup of cooked corn and diced pepper back into the chowder. Shred the chicken and place back in the chowder. Garnish if you wish!
Slow cooker:
- Add all the ingredients to the crock pot and set to low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Once it's finished cooking, remove the chicken breasts using tongs, shred and set aside. Using a slotted spoon, reserve ½ cup of cooked corn and pepper and set aside.
- Blend the remaining ingredients until smooth. Add shredded chicken and reserved corn mixture back into soup. Garnish if you wish!
Stovetop:
- In a large stockpot, turn heat to medium and add 1 tbsp oil and chopped onion. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add flour and garlic and mix to combine. Next, add bell pepper, potatoes, corn, spices, chicken and broth. Place a lid on the pot and cook for 20-30 minutes on medium/high heat. Remove from heat once chicken breast is cooked through until no longer pink in the middle.
- After it's finished cooking, remove chicken breast, shred and set it aside. Reserve ½ cup of corn, diced pepper.
- Using a blender (immersion blender works too) blend the remaining ingredients until smooth. Add the reserved cup of cooked corn and diced pepper back into the chowder. Add the shredded chicken and place back in the chowder. Garnish if you wish!
Notes
For extra creaminess: take ½ cup of creamy chowder and ½ cup cashews and blend together. Once smooth, add back into the chowder.
Chowder is good in the fridge for up to 5 days. It will thicken in the refrigerator, so thin it out with water as you wish!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dinner, soup
- Method: boil, simmer
- Cuisine: Mexican, southern
Hi!
Do you need to blend everything or can you leave as is and just shred the chicken ?
You can just leave it how it is and shred the chicken 🙂
I plan on using rotisserie chicken and my Insta pot. How long would you recommend pressure cooking it with pre-cooked chicken?
I would recommend cooking it in the pressure cooker for as long as it would take for the potatoes to cook through. My instant pot takes about 8-10 minutes for smaller potatoes
Thank you! This was delicious! I cooked it for 10 min with the pressure cooker off the instant pot and did not blend it since I put pre-cooked/pre-shredded chicken. My family loved it and we’ll be adding it to our favorites list.
What type of potatoes would you suggest?
I would recommend russet potatoes
What kind of potatoes does this recipe use?
I would recommend russet potatoes
Didn’t look pretty like your picture, but it was very tasty! I added sour cream and cheese to the top, along with green onion pieces. This would be the perfect warm dinner on a cold night camping.
A russet potato will work perfectly!
I made your healthy chicken corn chowder! Connie said it was 10 out of 10 and Amazing! We loved the garnish with scallions (she’s a big fan) and turkey bacon bits for extra crunch . I also made spicy shrimp tacos. It was out of this world! Thanks Maggie for an amazing recipes!
That's so great! I'm happy to hear she loves it and you dressed it up with the scallions and turkey bacon!
Delicious! Love the extra spicy kick!
Thanks Karly!