This recipe for corn chowder without cream is everything you’re looking for in a comforting soup, without the extra calories of heavy cream or half and half.
Everyone I have served this corn chowder to has absolutely loved it.
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It’s one of the few soups/chowders that my bachelor son makes. In fact, he told me I should change the ratio of ingredients in the recipe in order to use an entire bag of Trader Joe’s corn. He means business, ha ha!
How to Make a Low Fat, Creamy Chowder
I’m sure your first question is, “how can a chowder be creamy without cream?”
This thick and creamy bowl of deliciousness doesn’t have one drop of cream in it. Truthfully, that’s rare for me, and I’m not saying you couldn’t add some cream, however, you really won’t need to. I based this on my clam chowder recipe which is also rich and creamy, without added cream. A bit of flour and potatoes and one little trick, create the magic that happens in this recipe.
Once you know this technique, you can apply it to many other soups and chowders, it’s fabulous!
How to Thicken a Soup or Chowder Without Adding Cream
- It’s really simple to thicken a chowder or soup without adding any cream or half and half. Just blend a percentage of the soup and add it back in once it’s smooth. Want a thinner soup? Don’t blend too much of the pot. If you’d like a thicker chowder, blend a larger percentage; it’s that simple!
- Another method is to add potatoes (or more potatoes).
- Last, but not least, make a roux, or just add some flour, which is another method I use in this recipe for corn chowder.
Tip: just remember if you’re adding meat, barley or rice, for example, don’t add them until you’ve blended the rest of the ingredients. These hard grains and some ingredients, like meat, won’t purée like vegetables. This red lentil soup (with barley) is a good example.
Can You Freeze Corn Chowder?
Absolutely yes, corn chowder freezes perfectly, and reheats beautifully. You’ll never know this chowder was frozen.
Corn Chowder Recipe without Cream
Recipe created by Christina Conte Makes 5 Servings
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients:
- good quality butter
- extra virgin olive oil
- onion
- celery stalks
- all purpose flour
- chicken or vegetable stock
- milk
- potatoes
- fresh or frozen corn, preferably organic (leftover works, too)
- Kosher or sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Make the Base
Heat the butter and oil in a large pot. Add the onion and celery and sauté over medium high heat for about 7 minutes, before adding the flour.
Stir vigorously so that the flour cooks, but doesn’t brown, for about 4 minutes. Begin adding the stock a little at a time, while continuing to stir until all the liquid has been added.
Add the Remaining Ingredients
Next, add the milk and stir well. Add the diced potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt, and allow to simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the corn.
Simmer for an additional 8 to 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Now, for the trick which thickens and improves the overall flavor of this corn chowder.
Blend Some of the Corn Chowder
Remove about a cup or so of the soup and use an immersion blender to puree it. Return it to the pot and stir well. If it’s not thick enough, puree a little more.
Taste, adding salt if necessary and some black pepper. Serve corn chowder piping hot. I love to serve it with some parsnip scones slathered in a good salted butter!
You could truly adapt this recipe for corn chowder to make any sort of creamy chowder, or you could just add your choice of ingredients to make it your own version. If you do, drop me a line below and let me know what you did and how you liked it!
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Recipe for Corn Chowder without Cream
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter (good quality)
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 2 celery stalks (chopped)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 potatoes (medium to large, diced into bite sized pieces)
- 2 cups corn (fresh or frozen, preferably organic-leftover works)
- ⅛ tsp Kosher salt (or sea salt)
- ⅛ tsp pepper (freshly ground)
Instructions
- Heat the butter and oil in a large pot. Add the onion and celery and sauté over medium high heat for about 7 minutes, before adding the flour.
- Stir vigorously so that the flour cooks, but doesn’t brown, for about 4 minutes. Begin adding the stock a little at a time, while continuing to stir until all the liquid has been added.
- Then add the milk and stir well. Next, add the diced potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt, and allow to simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the corn.
- Simmer for an additional 8 to 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
- Now for the trick to thicken and improve the overall flavor of this chowder: puree about a cup or so and return to the pot.
- Taste, adding salt if necessary and some black pepper. Serve hot.
Notes
- Nutrition info is for 4 servings.
Nutrition
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I added shredded chicken, (left overs) and crumbled bacon on top (so much for healthy) just to make it a one pot dinner. It was absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much for the best dinner ever!
Hey, protein is GOOD! ;) That’s wonderful, Lisa! Thanks so much for letting me know you loved it! I appreciate it more than you know. CC
Just made this and wow! I love it and so easy to make. Thanks for helping to keep my dinners more interesting!
Thank YOU for letting me know, Michelle! I made it yesterday and was kicking myself for not making it more often! My parents loved it too! So glad you enjoyed it! :)
Hi Christina,
I made the corn chowder for dinner this evening and it was amazing!
I’m looking forward to making your lemon cake next!
Thank you so much for letting me know, Rachel! Love to hear this! Let me know how you like the lemon cake, too! Have a great day! CC
Chrisina – being from New England, this is closer to what I would call a real chowder. They usually are thinner than people expect and generally are made “on the sly” like yours. I can’t wait to give this one a whirl and compare it to my mum’s!
Well, that is a compliment! Thank you, David! Hope you like it as much as I do!
Christina, this literally made my mouth water. I adore dishes like this – girl, this recipe is sssooo pinned, because others need to know about it!
Thanks, Kristi! :)
Yum! Corn chowder is always a crowd pleaser. Your little trick is one I use with beans, too. It’s a great way to thicken soups.
Must remember to do it with beans, too! Thanks, Frank!
Hi Christina, Very delicious soup. I could use a bowl of that right now. I love Corn Chowder and this one sounds fabulous! I love your “SLY” version. I think it is a really marvelous idea. If you didn’t share that info, I would think it was cream. Have to remember for the future. Printing this one out. Looks like this soup will stick to your bones and keep you warm on a cold night. Thanks for sharing…Have a beautiful week…:) Dottie
Good luck with that cold spell, Dottie! I have seen it on the news and it looks pretty nasty. Hope you keep warm with lots of yummy soups! Take care, CC ;)
This is my kind of dish, I adore corn chowder and your trick is amazing…(I am guilty of using heavy cream.)
You know I have no aversion to cream, Sue! However, sometimes it’s good to keep the cholesterol down and do it a bit healthier, but still keep all the flavor. :)