Crock Pot Chicken Corn Chowder
A hearty and delicious Crock Pot Chicken Corn Chowder with bacon is an easy dinner to warm you from the inside out!
Servings 8 cups
Calories 248.9kcal
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ cup peeled and diced carrots
- 1 russet potato (about 6 ounces), peeled and cubed
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or ½ dried thyme)
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 (14.75 oz) can cream-style corn
- Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside to use later as a garnish. Reserve bacon drippings in the skillet.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Add chicken breasts to the bacon drippings in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, just until browned on both sides (about 3 minutes per side). The chicken does not need to be completely cooked through – it just needs to be browned on each side for flavor, since it will continue cooking in the slow cooker.
- Meanwhile, place onions, corn, celery, carrots, potato, and thyme in a slow cooker. Add browned chicken to the slow cooker. Pour chicken broth over top, cover, and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or on LOW for 4-6 hours.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and place on a cutting board.
- Using a handheld stick blender, puree about half of the soup in the slow cooker. If you don’t have a stick blender, you can carefully transfer about half of the soup to a regular blender or food processor and blend until it reaches desired consistency. You might have to do this in batches, depending on how large your blender is.
- Once the soup is pureed, chop or shred the chicken and stir the meat back into the soup in the slow cooker.
- Stir in heavy cream, cream-style corn, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Continue cooking for about 5 more minutes, or until heated through. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Divide chowder among individual bowls and garnish with reserved cooked bacon and chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Chicken thighs stay tender and juicy in the Crock Pot, but chicken breast will also work if you prefer the white meat.
- Let the cream come to room temperature before stirring it into the soup. The room temp cream will blend more evenly into the chowder and is less likely to curdle.
- Use heavy cream rather than milk for the best texture and mouthfeel. The cream is also less likely to curdle or separate when added to the hot soup.
- Taste and season as you go. The total amount of salt necessary will vary depending on the saltiness of your broth, and on personal preference. Add extra salt for more flavor, and feel free to increase the other herbs and seasonings as well. Start with low sodium chicken broth if you're sensitive to sodium, since many store-bought options can be quite salty.
- Garnish the soup with fresh parsley or fresh thyme at the end for a bright finishing touch.
- For a lighter chowder, use half-and-half in lieu of the heavy cream.
- Instead of russet potatoes, you can use 6-8 ounces of gold new potatoes that are quartered. There's no need to peel the small potatoes.
- Make a fresh corn chowder by using 1 cup of fresh corn kernels cut straight off the cob when corn is in season.
- Take a shortcut! If you don't want to spend the time browning your chicken or frying your bacon first, you can place the raw chicken directly in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the vegetables, thyme, and broth to the Crock Pot (as instructed in the recipe). Garnish individual bowls of soup with cooked, chopped bacon if desired.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 248.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 21.3g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 8.1g | Saturated Fat: 4.1g | Cholesterol: 73.6mg | Sodium: 603.6mg | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 4.4g