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Sweet corn chowder is the summer dinner that everyone seems to love! Fresh Indiana sweet corn is the shining star in this lightened up recipe for creamy corn chowder!
Sweet corn is a little bit like zucchini in that if you are growing it and you have it ‘coming out your ears’ you may run out of ways to cook it. I know that a few times over the summer we bring in a huge haul of ears to shuck, freeze for later and eat.
One of our family favorites has always been corn chowder. I love this fresh sweet corn chowder recipe because it is so versatile. Add meat , lumped lobster or crab, blue cheese or feta or diced fresh veggies on top and it is a hearty summer meal. What I don’t like about chowder is that it can really pack a caloric and fatty punch. Therefore, I normally eat less of this chowder I love. Until now, that is.
Last summer, I decided to make my usual chowder recipe, except this time, leaving out ALL of the milk/cream, most of the flour, and almost all of the butter.
The result is a rich sweet corn chowder that gets it’s body from pureed corn.
The base of this soup has an intense corn flavor that comes from using what most would throw out: the boiling water and the corn cobs! I add 1 cob to the corn mixture. It gives a little more ‘corn’ flavor, and helps make the soup creamier. It should look like this:
I use an immersion blender to puree the contents in the pot. I do this for 2 reasons:
1. So my son doesn’t see the onions…..
2. Because without cream, flour, and butter to thicken the soup, pureeing gives it the extra body it needs.
This recipe makes a large pot of chowder that we ate as a side dish. The rest went into containers in the freezer! I am stocking up, remember?
I added just a pinch of cheddar cheese and chives for garnish. My kids opted for sour cream, salsa, and cilantro. ????
This sweet corn chowder may be lower in fat and calories, but you will never know it by the taste!
Total Servings 6 servings
Creamy sweet corn chowder, without all of the fat and calories! The key to this lightened up recipe is pureed corn.
8 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)
20 minCook Time
28 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 8 large ears of corn: cooked and kernels cut off.
- Reserved boiling water, keep hot
- 1 cob, after you have cut the kernels off
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups chicken stock (you can use broth but I like the body of stock, so thats what I used)
- 2 TB of butter
- 2 TB of flour
- 1 bunch of chives, chopped
-
Garnishes of your choice : cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, fresh veggies, blue cheese, lobster, crab, or other meats
- Salt and Pepper, as needed for taste
Instructions
- To a heavy soup pot, add the olive oil, onions, garlic and a pinch of salt. Saute until translucent. Add the butter and flour to form a light roux. When this is incorporated but not brown, slowly whisk in the broth. Stir until it is a nice little base. This whole process should take 5 minutes.
- Now add all but a handful of the corn kernels to the pot. (I reserve some to throw in at the end, for texture, but you can do what you want.) I also add 1 cob to this mix. It gives a little more ‘corn’ flavor, and helps make the soup creamier.
- Simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes , stirring often. Then, remove the corn cob and add two ladles of hot water from the pot you boiled the corn in. Use an immersion blender to puree the contents in the pot. Add the reserved corn kernels and any additional hot water to reach your desired consistency.
- Just before serving, add chopped chives and any additional desired garnishes.
More delicious recipes to make with fresh sweet corn:
Fresh Indiana Sweet Corn Recipes
