This crockpot chicken corn chowder is a delicious and super approachable soup to put together. It’s beautifully creamy and full of flavour - you need this easy meal prep recipe to make your life simple!
We love a good warming bowl of soup in our house. This crockpot chicken corn chowder is super easy and super creamy. We’re hooking you up here with our best version of chicken corn chowder that has all the flavour you want with minimal effort. Our roasted butternut squash red pepper soup, roasted butternut squash curry or sweet potato and carrot soup will definitely send you to flavour town as well!
We’ve got you sorted with all the tips and tricks you need throughout this post to help you create the flavour you're looking for. We love throwing meals together from some ingredients we’ve had lurking in the fridge, it's the perfect time to use up all those fresh sweetcorn cobs and zucchini/courgettes! If you fancy something else try our zucchini galette.
This is the best way to ease yourself into the fall season. You can't go wrong with a steaming bowl of chowder. We know you'll love this chicken and corn soup so don't forget to leave a rating and comment!
Follow the links below to get to exactly where you need to and get the tips you need for the best results.
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🍲 What is chowder?
Chowder is a thickened creamy soup, usually with seafood and vegetables. It's most traditionally thickened with a roux (a thickening paste) made with butter and flour. In this recipe we get the thickness from the potato and when the soup is partially blended and mixed back in, a lovely creaminess too.
Whilst we are still enjoying the latter end of summer, you can gently transition into fall with a crockpot chicken corn chowder like this. And bonus: there's no need to hover over a hot stove for hours.
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
More reasons you'll love this delicious crockpot chicken corn chowder and why you need it in your life:
Pre-sautéing ingredients - THIS is what makes this worth it flavour-wise, we're all about flavour and this makes all the difference. You can even do all the pre-sautéing, leave it to cool and put it into an air-tight container to make the recipe at a later date.
Fresh seasonal produce - This recipe definitely celebrates corn and zucchini/courgette. They add sweetness and texture and most importantly veggies as we like to ensure we are consuming enough vegetables and fruit.
Creaminess - The step of blending within the recipe is essentially the cream building step. The corn and potato create a velvety smooth creaminess that just can’t be beaten. Alternatively use cashew cream like in our vegetable orzo soup.
Healthier - as we thicken and make the chowder differently, it is a lot lighter and healthier.
Make ahead - with just a simple bit of preparation, this recipe is a great option to make ahead of time and keeps you hands off.
📋 Ingredients
You only need simple ingredients for this crockpot chicken corn chowder as we want to make this as approachable as possible. Here’s what you need:
Chicken thighs - we extract even more flavour from these with a little prep and pre frying. We recommend using boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Aromatics - Corn chowder absolutely lends to building layers of flavour, you’ll definitely need garlic and jalapeño. The jalapeño is optional - but we love the grassy green notes it adds along with a bit of heat.
Potatoes - the perfect comfort food, we use Maris Piper potatoes which are readily available in the UK but you can use any all rounder potato. Yukon gold potatoes are nice too. These add to the creaminess and will thicken the chowder.
Corn on the cob - every corn chowder needs corn! We love using the seasonal fresh corn on the cob. You can always use frozen corn out of season, which is just as good.
Cream - we use a splash of double/heavy cream, it adds extra richness and creaminess. You can use a dairy free alternative if you prefer.
📖 Customizations
Some recommendations of ours for customising our crockpot chicken corn chowder:
Dairy free - if you have dairy intolerances, you can easily switch out the cream for a dairy free alternative. Or simply omit it.
Zucchini - feel free to use diced zucchini instead of shredding it. Or you can throw in some green beans instead.
Bacon - crisp up some bacon and crumble it on top for some extra crunchy savoury toppings.
Protein - you can also use chicken breast or turkey if you prefer. Leftover shredded chicken works well but you miss out on the extra flavour from searing the thighs first.
🔪 How to make crockpot chicken corn chowder
Let’s get to the nitty gritty, this crockpot chicken corn chowder is so simple to throw together you’ll be hands free cooking in no time. Follow these step by step instructions to put your creamy chicken corn chowder in the slow cooker.
Flavour building steps
- Start by sautéing your onion, carrot, celery, jalapeño and garlic in a skillet over a medium high heat for 5-7 minutes until slightly softened.
- Season both sides of your chicken thighs with ½ teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper, sauté them until golden on both sides. We aren’t aiming to cook the chicken through here, just to build flavour. Golden = flavour!
- Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker or crockpot! Put it on low for 6-7 hours or 3-4 on high.
- Once it’s all cooked, absorb the yummy smells coming from your crockpot. Take the chicken out, shred it on a plate and leave to the side.
Making it creamy
- Blend 4 cups of the veggie chowder liquid mix left in the pan. Make sure to get an even mix of liquid and veg. Blend until smooth and creamy.
Finishing the soup
- Add the blended portion of the soup back into the slow cooker and mix together. Add all your shredded chicken and squeezed out grated zucchini.
- Stir together with the cream if you want to add it in. Return the pot to the slow cooker on high heat for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning of the chowder and adjust if necessary.
👩🍳 Expert tips
Follow these expert tips to ensure success and full on flavour for this crockpot chicken corn chowder.
Tip #1 - Do all the pre sauté ahead of time, let everything cool and put into a container to be ready to throw in the crockpot when you want to.
Tip #2 - The browning of the chicken is caused by the Maillard reaction (a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavour) - all you need to know is that it creates the 5th flavour umami, which is savoury and yummy!
Tip #3 - You can do the blending of part of the chowder with a stick blender if you don’t have a jug blender.
💭 FAQs
In the fridge - keep the chowder in an airtight container for up to 4 days. A great option to provide a warming easy go-to meal.
In the freezer - you can freeze the chowder for up to 3 months in portion sized containers. Before reheating you will need to defrost the soup overnight in the fridge before following the below instructions.
How to reheat - reheat the amount you want to use in a saucepan over a medium heat until the soup is hot throughout, about 10 minutes. Or you can use a microwave on high for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through the heating.
🥗 Want some other tasty soup options?
Love this crockpot chicken corn chowder recipe? Then you definitely want to check out more of our soup recipes. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced, (1 ½ cups)
- 1 large carrot, finely diced, (1 cup)
- 1 celery stick, finely diced, (¾ cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, such as maris piper or yukon gold, cut into ½ inch dice, (3 cups)
- 3 ears of corn on the cob, kernels sliced off, (3 cups, or use frozen corn instead)
- 3 cups chicken stock, (750ml)
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, (650g)
- 1 courgette/zucchini, grated and squeezed, (1 cup)
- ¼ cup double/heavy cream, (60ml)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large frying pan or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, jalapeño and ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pan and sauté until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker pot.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 large onion, finely diced, 1 large carrot, finely diced, 1 celery stick, finely diced, 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped, 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
- In the same skillet, season both sides of your chicken thighs with ½ teaspoon salt and some freshly ground pepper, then sauté them until golden on both sides. We aren’t aiming to cook the chicken through here, just build flavour.1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Place the potatoes, corn and chicken stock into the slow cooker or crockpot. Add the browned chicken thighs. Set the slow cooker to low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.2 medium potatoes, such as maris piper or yukon gold, cut into ½ inch dice, 3 ears of corn on the cob, kernels sliced off, 3 cups chicken stock
- Once cooked, take the chicken out, shred it on a plate and leave to the side.
- Blend 4 cups of the veggie chowder liquid mix left in the pan. Make sure to get an even mix of liquid and veg. Blend until smooth and creamy. Take care with this step as the liquid will be very hot! Pour the blended liquid back into the bowl of the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Add the blended soup back into the slow cooker and mix together. Add all your shredded chicken and squeezed out grated zucchini. Stir together with the cream if you want to add it in. Return the pot to the slow cooker on high heat for 10 minutes.1 courgette/zucchini, grated and squeezed, ¼ cup double/heavy cream
- Check the seasoning of the chowder and adjust if necessary.
Notes
- If you're in a hurry, you can skip the step of sautéing the diced veggies and browning the chicken. The recipe will still work, but we highly recommend this step as it improves the flavour of the chowder.
- Use defrosted frozen sweetcorn if you wish instead of fresh corn on the cob.
- If you don't have or want to use a freestanding blender, you could try using a stick blender to roughly (but not completely) blend the soup at the end.
- You can leave out the grated courgette/zucchini if liked, but it does help to thicken the chowder at the end and is a great way to add extra veggies!
Melanie Bowman says
I LOVE THIS SOUP! It is easy and adaptable. I changed it up only a little. I browned the chicken first, put the chicken in the crockpot. Then I sautéed the veggies to deglaze the pan. I only used 1/2 of the jalapeno, next time I will use the whole thing, there was pretty much no heat with half.
Laura says
Oh my goodness, this was absolutely delicious, definitely follow the steps for flavour building it really makes a difference! I love a good chowder and this chicken corn one was just perfect
Martin Cray says
Love chicken and just havested my first corn cobs from the garden. Looks like an idela recipe to have ago at. Chowder sounds kind of exotic - looking forward to tasting it!