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Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder is a creamy, hearty soup thats easy to make and even easier to enjoy! You can customize the chowder with your favorite southwest toppings like tortilla strips, avocados, cilantro and more! (see the the notes below for more ideas!) 

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Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Did you know there’s actually a difference between a chowder and soup? Ok maybe you do…but do you know what that difference is:

What makes a chowder different from soup?

A chowder is noticeably thicker and chunkier than a traditional “brothy” soup. A chowder usually also has some variation of cream, potatoes, and sometimes onions. This recipe has all three of those plus more!

Some of our favorite SOUPS:

How to make Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder:

This chowder starts with bacon…and that’s never a bad start! You’re going to cook your bacon in the pot, remove it, then save a bit of bacon drippings to cook the veggies in. This gives the chowder an amazing flavor boost! And the bacon will be used at the end for topping!

bacon cooking in a cast iron pot

The veggies join the flavor party next. I like to add a jalapeño pepper in here. I remove the seeds and membranes (because I’m a wimp) but you can either add those in or omit the jalapeño all together.

veggies in a stock pot

Next you’ll want to add your thickener to the pot.

How to thicken a chowder:

All purpose flour is used to thicken this chowder. It gets added here to the vegetables and then you’ll want to stir them around until they’re fully coated in the flour. This creates almost a paste with the excess bacon drippings and prevents lumpy flour bits.

veggies in a stock pot, Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Next, you’ll add in almost everything else (with the exception of the cream). You’ll add the broth, corn, beans, potatoes, uncooked chicken and seasonings. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn. I happened to find cans of fire-roasted corn and it went perfectly with the Southwest flavors. I also include a can of cream style corn which adds a rich, creamy corn flavor to the soup.Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

This gets simmered for 20-25 minutes to allow the chicken to cook and potatoes to soften. After simmering, you can pull the chicken out and either shred or dice it.

shredded chicken on a plate

Before adding the chicken back into the soup, I also like to use an immersion blender to blend just about 1/3 of the soup (not all of it!). This makes such a creamy chowder!

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Once blended, you can add the chicken back in and add in the cream. This gets simmered for just a few more minutes and your Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder is done!

pouring in heavy cream

All you have too do next is serve it up and add your favorite toppings!

Corn Chowder Topping Ideas:

  • bacon
  • tortilla strips
  • green onions
  • jalapeño slices
  • avocado
  • sour cream
  • fresh cilantro or parsley

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

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Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

Course: dinner, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Mexican, southwest
Servings: 6
Author: Coco and Ash

Equipment

  • immersion blender or regular blender

Ingredients

  • 6 strips of bacon
  • 1 small yellow onion (diced)
  • 1 red bell pepper (diced)
  • 1 jalapeño pepper (optional)
  • 3 large cloves of garlic (minced)
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 large chicken breasts - uncooked
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans of whole kernel corn (drained)
  • 1 (14 ounce) can of creamed corn
  • 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 2 russet potatoes (peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon EACH - smoked paprika, salt, pepper
  • 1 teaspoon EACH - cumin, chili powder
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions

  • Slice your bacon into small bits and add to a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook until crispy then remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. (save for topping the soup)
    6 strips of bacon
  • If you have a lot of bacon drippings in your pan, discard most of it but leave about 2 tablespoons in the pot (no need to measure exactly)
  • Add your diced onions, diced bell peppers, and diced jalapeño to the bacon drippings in the pot and cook until softened. (about 5-7 minutes)
    1 red bell pepper, 1 small yellow onion, 1 jalapeño pepper
  • Add in the garlic and cook for about 1 more minute.
    3 large cloves of garlic
  • Sprinkle in the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for 1 minute while stirring just to get rid of the raw flour taste.
    1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • Add in the chicken broth, all of the corn, beans, potatoes, raw chicken breasts, all of the seasonings and 1/2 cup of water.
    2 large chicken breasts - uncooked, 4 cups chicken broth, 2 (15 ounce) cans of whole kernel corn, 1 (14 ounce) can of creamed corn, 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, 2 russet potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon EACH - smoked paprika, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon EACH - cumin, chili powder
  • Bring everything to a full boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 25 minutes. After the 20-25 minutes, you can make sure the chicken is cooked and the potatoes are fork tender.
  • Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it carefully using 2 forks.
  • Before you add the chicken back in the pot, you can blend about 1/3 of the soup to make it extra creamy. I use an immersion blender. If you are using a regular blender, see the *notes below.
  • After blending, add the shredded chicken and the heavy cream to the pot. Cook for 5 more minutes then serve with **toppings of your choice!
    1 cup heavy cream

Notes

*Blending tips: An immersion blender is an amazing tool for soups and sauces. Here is a link to the one I use although if you search amazon, you'll see plenty of options at different price points. 
If you want to use a regular blender, just ladle in a few scoops of the soup. Since the soup is very hot, it will steam which can sometimes cause your blender lid to not stay on properly, I like to open the little top valve or pour spout on the lid and cover that with a towel to prevent the pressure from the steam. 
Topping ideas:
  • extra jalapeños
  • tortilla strips
  • bacon 
  • avocado
  • sour cream
  • shredded cheese
  • fresh cilantro
  • green onions

Southwest Chicken Corn Chowder

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