Creamy spicy chicken and corn chowder is the perfect soup for fall with chicken, corn, bacon, jalapenos, bell peppers and cheddar cheese.
I’ve had some requests for more soups, so here we go! This is one I will happily chow down on because one, it has corn. Two, it’s creamy and three it has bacon and cheese.
For those that like it spicy, there’s that too. But the level of spiciness can be customized so it’s a sweet background heat for those that don’t want to be punched in the face and it’s where’s-the-water-I-need-it-now for those that love it SPICY. Just keep adding some cayenne until you’re tearing up and happy.
There are also some herbs and Old Bay seasoning just to deepen the flavor a little. Some slicing and dicing is needed but it’s such a colorful collection of raw ingredients, it’s really not that bad.
With so much going on with this chowder and its medley of flavors, there’s plenty of comfort to go around. So let’s start cooking.
CREAMY SPICY CHICKEN AND CORN CHOWDER RECIPE TIPS
Use some rotisserie chicken to cut down your cooking time. I pulled off all the meat and just chopped them up roughly. If you want to poach chicken, about 3-4 chicken breasts should make for 3 cups, if I remember correctly. Or grill it! I kept it simple by just buying some rotisserie but go crazy in the kitchen if you’re feeling like it.
So to make it creamy and thick, I’ve made a roux which is basically butter and flour mixed together to act as a base before adding broth and milk. On top of that, the broken down potatoes also act as a thickener. If you want it even creamier, substitute milk with heavy cream or add a cornstarch slurry towards the end.
To make the cornstarch slurry, dissolve cornstarch (I used two tablespoons) in some cold water, just enough to mix it all up, and add it to the soup once it has started to boil. It’s a quick and no-fuss way to get your soup the consistency you want it.
One last thing! The smaller your dice your potatoes, the quicker it will cook and the easier it breaks down to help thicken the soup. Pureeing half the soup in a blender or with a hand blender will also thicken the chowder.
Make sure to buy a baguette to dip with. The soup is filling by itself but crusty bread will make it even better. Enjoy!
MORE COMFORTING SOUPS AND STEWS TO TRY
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker Pasta e Fagioli
- Cheese and Veggie Chowder
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Cream Cheese and Potato Soup
Did you make this recipe? Rate it!
♡ If you liked this recipe, giving it a star rating ★★★★★ in the comments below really helps! For more recipes, subscribe to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Creamy Spicy Chicken and Corn Chowder
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Creamy spicy chicken and corn chowder is the perfect soup for fall, with chicken, corn, bacon, jalapenos, bell peppers and cheddar cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 russet potatoes, diced
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups corn
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded or chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 green onions, chopped
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- In a dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter and saute onions, garlic, jalapeno and bell peppers until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Add flour and stir to combine.
- Pour in chicken broth and whisk until smooth.
- Add potatoes, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Puree half the mixture in a blender to help thicken the soup and add it back to the dutch oven.
- Add milk, corn, chicken, thyme, bay leaves, cayenne, Old Bay seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes.
- Serve warm topped with bacon, green onions, cheddar cheese and lime wedges.
- Enjoy!
Notes
For an even thicker soup, use a cornstarch slurry. Add to the soup when it is boiling and stir until the soup thickens.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Nutrition for serving size of 8:
Comments & Reviews
Delicious!! I did cook 4 pieces of black pepper bacon in the pan and drained the fat but did not wipeout the pan. Used the bacon as garnish and it was great. The house also smelled great!! I can’t wait to make more of your recipes.
So happy to hear that, Melanie! I always get excited when I hear from someone trying out one of my earlier recipes. Thanks for taking the time to comment and I hope you let me know if you try anything else!
What do you think would be the best way to convert this to a crockpot recipe? Do you think I could use raw chicken?
I would say do the saute as usual. Add in the flour and chicken broth to the pan then transfer that to a slow cooker. Add potatoes, corn, raw chicken, herbs and seasonings and cook for high for 4 hours. Once done, puree some of the soup with potatoes to thicken it (leave out the chicken) and add in milk towards the end so it does not curdle in the slow cooker. If you want to add in dairy earlier, I heard evaporated milk works best in slow cookers and does not curdle. Otherwise, always add dairy towards the end of the cooking cycle. Then top with the topping ingredients. Good luck!
I made this today, and it came out great! I love how your recipes are easy and so delicious!!!
I am a stay at home mom and always need recipes to change things up. I also made the corn chowder chicken soup and that came out very good as well.
Thank you so much for your hard work on your blog. I
Thank you, Nora! I try to make them as approachable as possible and I break down what I did in the kitchen so people who aren’t sold on the recipe yet can figure out if they want to go through the hassle/steps or not. But thanks for trying out this particular one. I always get excited when folks try out some of my less popular recipes!
This sounds lovely and really tasty. Thank you for sharing this.
Simon
Absolutely! You’re most welcome Simon.
Is there a good substitute for Old Bay seasoning? It’s not that I don’t want to use it, I just don’t happen to have any on hand! Thanks!
Not that I know of! Since it’s a spice blend, it’s gonna be hard to find a substitution unless you have some of the spices at hand. It seems the spices are mustard seed, paprika, celery salt, bay leaf, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mace, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger based on Wikipedia, so I might suggest tossing in whatever spices in this list you have in small quantities since I only used 2 teaspoons of Old Bay. Good luck, Abby! 🙂
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Bay_Seasoning
I made this tonight for dinner since it is the first chilly day of fall. The chowder turned out fantastic! I added a 1/2 teaspoon more cayenne and added some cornstarch towards the end to thicken the chowder. This chowder is such an easy meal to make and it only requires one pot! I will definitely be making this again!
Happy it turned out well for you! Never really realized it was a one pot meal until you mentioned it 🙂
I have never made my own chowder from scratch before! I love eating it though so this recipe is one that is on my to make list. It looks totally creamy, delicious jam packed full of yummy flavour.. thanks for the great recipe!
First time making a chowder for me too, so I’m glad it worked out well. I used to be able to eat canned soup, but the older I get, the more I can’t stomach it. Weird!
Old bay?! Jalapenos! I am so sold on this! I was searching for some creamy fall soups to make this weekend and this caught my eye for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely! I really do like the Old Bay flavor in this. Brings it up a notch, methinks 🙂
Oh yeah! Bring it on! I LOVE creamy chunky soups, especially when there’s no cream in it 🙂 I only cook with cream very sparingly. And you know what? I have Old Bay I brought back from the US!! It’s mean to be!
I love Old Bay seasoning. Especially with crab. I think it adds a nice flavor to the soup. And heavy cream isn’t really a staple in my house either. I don’t really like buying it because I can never finish it up!