Basic Corn Chowder Recipe (2024)

I have made this several times. The basic version, without the tomatoes. and it is delicious. It is flexible re ingredients. I have added another potato for example.(It also freezes well)

I've been making this at least once per summer since I clipped the recipe out of the paper when it appeared in 2000. I liked to add fresh thyme or chopped tarragon towards the end of sautéing the potato and onion, and some heavy cream. I use a hand blender to purée the finished soup but leave about 1/4 of it in pieces.

I made a double batch of this chowder. It is delicious. I followed the recipe exactly but puréed about half and then added it back in, which helped the consistency enormously. The stock made from the corn cobs was great. I used whole milk. Great recipe and it doesn't need bacon.

Skip the dairy like this:
After you remove the corn cobs from the water, let them cool a bit and then, before you discard them, use the back side of a knife to scrape off the germ and the milky juice. Add this yummy corn essence to the soup along with with the kernels. Add chopped parsley at the end.

Surprisingly good. Made Corn Chowder with Lump Crabmeat. Used 6 ears of corn because it's corn chowder. Used butter because corn. Didn't peel the spuds. Didn't seed the tomatoes. Used the parsley. Checking the salt and pepper before serving is key. Added a can of lump crabmeat and it was extraordinary.

This chowder is so great I bought extra corn at the Farmers' Market last weekend and made a double batch. I add white wine and a bay leaf when boiling the cobs. Also some garlic when cooking onions and potatoes; no tomatoes; and thyme when it all comes together at the end. Red pepper flakes don't hurt either.
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Also add add 3 tablespoons of sour cream. Used an immersion blender or to blend it but not all the way. Delicious

Sauté a strip or two of bacon (chopped) and use the bacon renderings to sauté the onions and potatoes. Adding 1/2 cup chopped cilantro gives a nice flavor.

Per another source, 1 medium cob of corn yields a half a cup of kernels. I suppose that means using 2 to 3 c of your stored kernels. If kernels are frozen, I might err on a larger amount of kernels but slightly reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe to account for thawing effects.

Because I had it sitting around, I added a couple ounces of cubed pancetta which was delicious. I plan to use it or a little ham next time. For seasoning, I added smoked paprika. Yum!

I always add a bit of dill weed to the basic recipe. Delicious!

I made this recipe often when I lived in Maine (basic recipe- no tomatoes, as real Mainers would object). At the end I add a chunk or two of fresh or frozen haddock or cod, or whatever I have in the freezer. Adjust seasonings. Love a bit of tarragon. I'm going to make this now as I often forget in landlocked Kentucky. Thank you so much for featuring this recipe!

Yum! I had corn I canned last summer so I went with broth instead of doing the corn cob broth (Although I'll definitely do that this summer). I used 2 cups corn kernels, three small/med potatoes, about 1 or 1.5 cups broth, half an onion, 1 celery stalk, about 3/4 cup milk, and some dried thyme. I pureed half of it, but next time I might do a little less.

Was a bit bland. Maybe use heavy cream instead and do at least 5 corn cobs.

Excellent! Easy to make dairy free too. Sub butter for olive oil and don’t add milk/cream. Added sherry and bay leaves to the stock (YUM) and also chopped up a poblano pepper and sautéed with onion. Great weeknight dinner

How much rice would you had if your were to choose that instead of potatoes.

Would definitely use a mild onion so as to not overpower the fresh corn flavor, great recipe!

I made about four gallons of this for a free dinner our church puts on for the community. Based on comments, I added bacon, tarragon, celery, carrots and a red bell pepper (this IS a BASIC recipe), and left out the tomato. Simmering the cobs (close to an hour while I chopped the other veggies) was magic; it made the most amazing broth! Rave reviews and so, so easy. Yes, I'm reviewing a different recipe than is presented here, but it's that broth that makes the soup so good. Thanks, NYT!

Used bacon to sauté the onion and potatoes. Hand mashed before adding cob stock, Used heavy cream. Added amchur for acid, fish sauce for umami, a bit of cayenne for heat, and thyme and parsley. Delivered half to a COVID household and had the rest for Sunday dinner watching The Prisoner from 1967 with a dirty gin martini as an apéritif. A perfect retro inspired evening.

Tasted SO much better, warned up, the next day.

Added green chili. Thus: green chili corn chowder. No tomatoes. Used thyme. Excellent recipe.

yes to thymeyes to parsley yes to partial pureeif you’re not vegetarian, then bacon. because chowderif no bacon, then more butter i like to either use chicken broth or add “no chicken” better than bouillon i like to add zucchini i do not like tomato in this chowder (tried it just to be sure ;)

Added two large sprigs of fresh thyme and left out the tomato. I used the immersion blender a bit that improved the consistency. The results were off the charts good.

I wish I had read the review notes before making this. I used 4 ears of corn, and oil to saute the potatoes and onions and the chowder is very thin and rather bland. Next time I'll use less water or more corn and will puree some of the soup as other reviewers have suggested.

Blend 1/2 the corn to give it a bit more depth.

This was very good. Modified with celery and heavy whipping cream. Blended a small portion to increase consistency. Summer staple.

Made this to use up some ears the next day. Great use of not-quite-fresh corn. I was sloppy with measurements and wound up with a soup that was too liquidy, so didn’t add milk. Still delicious. I did garnish with bacon, and didn’t use tomatoes, though I did add two small red peppers with the onion. It generated a lot of mess in the kitchen—and was worth it.