Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder

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This recipe for Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder is bound to become a new simple family favorite, and it will most surely become one of mine. It is extremely creamy (but lighter up), full of sweet corn, meaty sausage, creamy potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, and onions for a symphony of soothing flavors and textures in every mouthful, and it is outrageously lightened up.

Why You’ll Love This Corn Chowder Recipe:

Easy to store in the pantry: This Pioneer woman’s recipe for corn chowder calls for ingredients that are easy to find, don’t cost a lot of money, and you probably already have most of them on hand. If you don’t have any Italian sausage on hand, you should have no trouble finding it. Alternatively, you may use ground beef or chicken in its place; nevertheless, the sausage would be the option I would choose if given the choice. In addition to that, you may keep frozen sausage in your freezer, which is just what I did to make this dish.
One Pot: There are several recipes for corn chowder that instruct you to simmer the soup in one pot while simultaneously making a roux in another; however, there is no requirement for you to do either of these steps. At the beginning of the recipe, we make the roux directly in the soup pot to give the corn chowder body. Afterward, we make the soup creamier by whisking it in half-and-half at the very end of the recipe.
Easy: To That End, This Recipe for Corn Chowder Is Remarkably Straightforward; All You Need To Do Is Watch The Video! It’s as easy as browning the sausage with the vegetables, adding the flour, corn, broth, and seasonings, and then simmering the mixture until the potatoes are tender before stirring in the half-and-half. Done And Done!
Delicious: This Corn Chowder Recipe Is Without A Doubt Up There With One Of My All-Time Favorite Soups. Because I already had a recipe for chowder made in a slow cooker with corn and potatoes and another recipe for chowder made with Mexican chicken and corn, I wanted to make something that was completely different, so I decided to use Italian sausage, and the result was mesmerizing. Every Mouthful Is A Warm, Savory Symphony Of Juicy Sausage, Creamy Potatoes, Tender Veggies, And Layers Of Complex Aromatic Flavor Swaddled In Creamy Broth. Each And Everyone.
Reduced the burden: This Corn Chowder Recipe Is Not “Skinny,” But It Is Lightened Up By Using Zero Cheese (Because It Is Already So Delicious, It Doesn’t Need It!) Leaving out the butter and replacing it with sausage drippings, skipping the heavy cream in favor of a roux made with half-and-half and cornstarch, and adding creamed corn as my “secret ingredient.” I’ve also included some variations on the recipe so that you may make it completely guilt-free.
Versatile: This Corn Chowder Is Packed Full Of My Favorite Ingredients, But All Of The Add-Ins, Including The Protein, The Potatoes, And The Veggies, Are Easy To Customize With Whatever You Have In The Fridge Or Pantry At The Time. Easy to store in the pantry. This Pioneer woman’s recipe for corn chowder calls for ingredients that are easy to find, don’t cost a lot of money, and you probably already have most of them on hand. If you don’t have any Italian sausage on hand, you should have no trouble finding it. Alternatively, you may use ground beef or chicken in its place; nevertheless, the sausage would be the option I would choose if given the choice. In addition to that, you may keep frozen sausage in your freezer, which is just what I did to make this dish.

What Is Corn Chowder?

A chowder soup that is created with corn as the major ingredient is known as corn chowder. Corn, onion, celery, butter, milk or cream, and corn are the standard ingredients in a basic corn chowder recipe. Potatoes, squash, salt pork, fish, chicken, and various types of shellfish are some of the additional components that may be utilized.

Where Does Corn Chowder Come From?

This custom was brought “over the pond” by settlers from fishing communities in Europe, and it has been practiced continuously ever since their arrival. Corn originated with Native Americans, who cultivated it and used it to make a soup called corn soup. The first settlers were given a copy of this document.

What’s The Difference Between Corn Soup And Corn Chowder?

On the other hand, chowder is often heartier and more substantial than soup, which can be watery and light in texture. It is comparable to stew in that it has large chunks of meat or fish in addition to various vegetables, potatoes being the most prominent of them.

What Ingredients To Make Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

This recipe for corn chowder from The Pioneer Woman calls for few ingredients and a short cooking time. The secret to creating an explosion of flavor is to establish layers of flavor by first browning the sausage with the mirepoix, and then sautéing the aromatic garlic and red pepper flakes, if desired, before adding the broth. This will allow you to create a base for the explosion of flavor. You will need the following ingredients to prepare this corn chowder recipe:

Corn: You will need thirty ounces of maize, which may be purchased either fresh, frozen, or in a can.
Cream-style corn: Corn prepared in a cream-style preparation is required to get the desired level of creaminess and corn taste in this soup.
Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch cubes, are used for the potatoes in this recipe. If you cut them into huge cubes, they will take significantly longer to cook.
Italian sausage: I prefer hot Italian sausage because it does not contribute any heat to the corn chowder but rather enhances the flavor. The primary flavoring component in Italian sausage is fennel, which is why it is called Italian sausage. If you want a true Italian taste, fennel is really necessary, so if you want to substitute beef or turkey for the sausage, be sure to add some Italian seasonings, fennel, and a touch of crushed red pepper flakes.
Chicken Broth: If you want to avoid having corn chowder that is excessively salty, make sure the chicken broth you use has a low sodium content. Because we are using broth with lower salt content, we can enhance the flavor using chicken bouillon.
Chicken bouillon: Use bouillon powder, bouillon cubes, or better than bouillon for making chicken bouillon. You don’t need to dissolve it in liquid before adding it to the corn chowder. If you are going to use cubes, you will need two of them, which you will then pulverize and add to the broth.
Half and Half: Heavy cream is something I always have on hand, but I don’t usually have half and half in the house. If you’re anything like me, you can replace the half-and-half with a combination of milk and cream in the same proportions. You can make a healthy version of this recipe by replacing the half-and-half with evaporated milk that has been thickened with an additional tablespoon of cornstarch.
Onion: one yellow onion, chopped and included.
Garlic: Depending on how much you enjoy garlic, use anywhere from four to six cloves.
Carrots: Chop the carrots into tiny pieces, approximately one-fourth inch cubes.
Celery: Celery should also be diced very finely, to approximately a quarter of an inch.
Flour: By forming a roux, flour contributes to the thickening of the chowder. You are welcome to use gluten-free all-purpose flour in its place.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps thicken the soup, which enables us to use half-and-half instead of heavy cream, which would otherwise increase the number of calories in the dish.
Seasonings: Our soup is brought to its full potential by the addition of the following seasonings: dried parsley, dried oregano, dried thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.

How To Make Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

Put one tablespoon of oil into a large Dutch oven or soup pot and cook it over medium-high heat until it reaches the desired temperature.
Continue to sauté the mixture after adding the sausage, onions, carrots, and celery. Do this until the sausage is thoroughly cooked and the onions have reached the desired consistency.
Continue to sauté the mixture for another 30 seconds after adding the potatoes, garlic, and red pepper, if using any of those ingredients.
After incorporating the flour, proceed to continue cooking for an additional minute while stirring (it will be thick).
At this stage, you should mix in the creamed corn, the corn, the chicken bouillon, the bay leaves, and any other ingredients that you choose to use.
After whisking together cornstarch and one cup of chicken broth, add this mixture to the other ingredients. The remaining amount of chicken broth has to be added.
After raising it to a boil while the lid was on, take it off and reduce the heat so that it is just barely simmering.
Simmer, uncovered, for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the potatoes have reached the desired degree of softness, making sure to stir the mixture regularly to avoid it from burning on the bottom.
After stirring in the half-and-half, bring the mixture to a low simmer. Toss the bay leaves out the window. If you’re interested, give it a taste, then thereafter season it with salt and pepper to your preference.

Recipe Tips

The following is a rundown of some helpful hints and suggestions for making the very finest corn chowder:

Use spicy Italian sausage in your cooking: This pioneer woman corn chowder dish may be made with chicken, bacon, or any other type of protein; however, juicy, savory sausage is by far the best addition you can make.
Don’t skip mirepoix: This pioneer woman’s recipe for corn chowder features the traditional trinity of carrots, onions, and celery, which are sautéed in drippings that are rich in flavor. They are referred to be the “holy trinity” of cooking because they produce a richness and depth of taste that cannot be achieved by any other method. If you really can’t get your hands on any of these materials, please don’t skip this step.
Customize veggies: You may use whatever vegetables you have on hand, in addition to the mirepoix, or you can mix them up for some added fun! Green beans, zucchini, cabbage, bell peppers, etc. Be aware that the majority of veggies only need to be cooked for ten minutes – you can see my specific instructions in the section under “Variations.”
Vegetable size: Cut the carrots and celery into pieces that are approximately a quarter of an inch thick so that they will cook properly.
Consistency: This pioneer woman corn chowder may be made more or less “chunky,” or more or less creamy, depending on your preference. Simply add more broth or half-and-half at the very end of the cooking process to achieve a soup with less chunkiness. Please refer to the part that discusses how to make it more creamy.

Recipe Variations

Potatoes

Swap potatoes with rice or cauliflower to reduce carbs. Ideas:

Rice for potatoes: Simmer 3/4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice for 8-12 minutes. Cooking time may vary depending on how long it takes to boil your soup, so check the rice occasionally until done. Warm 2 12 cups cooked rice towards the end of cooking.
Barley replaces potatoes: Barley has a lovely texture. You should use pearl and simmer for 30 minutes, therefore you may need to add an extra cup of broth since more liquid will evaporate.
Lentils replace potatoes: 1 cup rinsed brown or green lentils. Simmer the lentils for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tender yet firm. Again, longer simmering may require more broth.
Quinoa replaces potatoes: For more protein, simmer rinsed and drained quinoa for 25 minutes.
Substitute cauliflower for potatoes: 2.25 cups chopped cauliflower. Add cauliflower during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Protein differences

Although I’m obsessed with Italian sausage in this recipe, you may use other proteins:

Rotisseries: Lightly seasoned rotisserie chicken is a mix of light and dark meat. Perfectly tender and slurpable. Shredded rotisserie chicken is needed. Heat the chicken and half-and-half in corn chowder.
Breasts Or Thighs: I prefer boneless or bone-in chicken thighs to breasts. Dark chicken meat is juicier, richer-tasting, and more tender than chicken breasts. Bone-in chicken breasts are best, although boneless will work.
Chicken Thighs/Breasts: Chicken Thighs Or Breasts, Sear each side in 1 tablespoon of oil in a soup pot, then remove. Add the chicken back to the broth and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until tender enough to shred. Remove, shred, and add back to the soup with the half-and-half.
Chicken leftovers: Add 2 12 cups leftover chicken to corn chowder with half-and-half.
Bacon: Remove crispy thick-cut bacon from the pot. Save 5 tablespoons of drippings to cook mirepoix and roux. Add bacon toward the end of cooking.
Ham: Finish cooking and heat ham. Ham is salty, so reduce the recipe’s salt and add to taste.
Meatballs Turkey: Mimic Italian sausage with Italian seasoning, fennel, and red pepper flakes.
Sausage: Kielbasa, Polish or Chicken Sausage Whole Carrots/Onions/Celery, Then Plate. Slice or chop, then add to soup with broth to simmer with potatoes.

I recommend carrots and celery, but you may also add

Mushrooms: Most flavorful are Cremini/baby Bella mushrooms.
Capsicums: Every Color Is Delicious! Ten minutes before serving, add them.
Yams: Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
Pumpkin: Chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
Broccoli: Last 10 minutes of cooking, chop into bite-size pieces.
Zucchini: Last 10 minutes of cooking, quarter zucchini. Thinly slice zucchini so it doesn’t get soggy.
Asparagus: Canned green beans taste better fresh. Add in the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Greens: Cover the pot for 1-2 minutes to wilt spinach or cabbage towards the end of cooking.

Alternate

Beans: Beans Sweeten, creamy, and meaty.
Cheese: You can make this corn chowder cheesy. Cheese makes everything better, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Stir with sharp Cheddar, smoked Gouda, Parmesan, or Swiss or Gruyere near the end of cooking.
Change Spices: Switching seasonings change the flavor profile. Cajun with black pepper, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne. You can also increase the smoked paprika or other seasonings.
Spicier: Substitute seeded, diced jalapeno for red pepper flakes.

Can Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder Be Made In The Slow Cooker?

Absolutely! It is possible to prepare this corn chowder in a slow cooker by first following the recipe as written up until the point where the flour is cooked, then transferring the contents to the slow cooker and adding all of the other ingredients except the half and half. Cook, covered, on high for three to four hours, or on low for six to seven hours, until the potatoes are soft. Once the vegetables are soft, you may then warm them up by stirring in 1-2 glasses of half & half.

How Do You Thicken Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

Due to the flour, half-and-half, and cornstarch, this pioneer woman corn chowder recipe should already be luxuriously thick and creamy, but if you would still prefer a thicker soup, you may use any one of these methods:

Cornstarch: This is the way that I favor the most because it is so simple. Take approximately a quarter cup of the chowder and remove it to a separate bowl. Using a fork, whisk in 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch until the mixture is smooth. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. It may be necessary to repeat.
Flour Take approximately a half cup of the chowder and remove it to a separate bowl. Using a fork, mix 2 to 4 tablespoons of flour into the removed chowder until it is smooth. Simmer for approximately 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. It may be necessary to repeat.
Potato mash: Mashed potatoes are a wonderful natural thickening that you may use. Take a portion of the potatoes out of the soup, mash them, and then put them back in. You also have the option to microwave some additional potatoes in a separate bowl, then mash them and add them to the chowder.
Add creamed corn: add a can of creamed corn to give the soup more of a corn taste and to help thicken it.
To puree soup, ladle out 1 to 2 cups of the soup and place it in your blender or food processor. Puree the soup. The taste will be preserved while at the same time it will give the soup more bulk.
Make a bean puree by placing part of the soup and cannellini beans in a blender and pulsing the mixture. To get a smooth paste, just puree the ingredients. Bring to a simmer while stirring in the other ingredients.

What To Serve With Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

This corn chowder from The Pioneer Woman is a complete meal in itself, as it contains protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates. Because of this, you may call it supper or serve it with any of the following extra sides:

Collard Greens.
Roasted Vegetables.
Pull-Apart Garlic Bread.
Broccoli Salad.
Ciabatta Bread
Sweet Potato Fries.
Cheesy Bread
Coconut Rice.
Garlic Spaghetti.

How To Make Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder Ahead Of Time?

The next day, the flavors of this corn chowder meal are only going to get better and better, and in contrast to the chicken, the sausage won’t overcook or dry out, so the leftovers are going to be delicious! Please reheat in line with the instructions that are provided below.

What’s The Best Corn For Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

For this recipe for pioneer lady corn chowder, you can use whatever works for you, but my personal preference is either fresh or frozen corn:

When in season, fresh corn is hard to beat in terms of flavor. You will need around four to five ears of sweet corn with the kernels removed off the cob.
In this recipe, I substituted frozen corn for fresh corn because fresh corn is not currently available. The result was outstanding. Corn that has been frozen is often packaged when it is at its optimum freshness, which means that it may even be fresher than certain fresh corn. In addition to that, it is flash frozen, which maintains the integrity of the food’s nutritional profile. If you are going to use frozen corn, there is no need to defrost it first.
Corn that has been canned should be drained and rinsed before being added to the chowder.

How Long Does Leftover Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder Last In The Fridge?

As soon as The Pioneer Woman’s corn chowder has reached room temperature, cover it and either leave it in the Dutch oven covered with a lid or transfer it to an airtight container. The dish may be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days.

How To Freeze Leftover Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

Cook: Prepare the corn chowder by the instructions provided in the recipe.
Allow the soup to cool fully before placing it in the freezer. This will ensure that the integrity of the components is maintained and that the soup does not enter the “danger zone.”
Package: Place the soup in a container that can go in the freezer and is airtight, or a freezer bag. You may even use plastic bags that are the size of a sandwich for individual servings. Squeeze out any extra air before labeling the container “Freeze” to prevent freezer burn. Put in the freezer for up to three months.
Defrost/Reheat. When you are ready to use the food, let it thaw out in the refrigerator overnight, and then reheat it in the microwave, crockpot, or stove according to the directions that were provided earlier.

Tips For Freezing:

If you want to avoid the corn chowder becoming gritty after it has been frozen, don’t add the half & half to it. After the soup has had time to thaw, stir in the half-and-half and continue cooking over low heat until it has thickened.
Evaporated milk that is made using regular, full-fat milk rather than low-fat milk and heavy cream both freeze far better than half and half. The higher the fat level, the better the product freezes. Plan on making one of these substitutions if you have any intention of freezing this corn chowder in the future.
To assist integrate the cream back into the soup after it has been frozen with half-and-half, reheat the thawed soup very slowly over low heat once it has been defrosted.
When freezing with half-and-half, improving the gritty texture requires the addition of some fresh cream or cream cheese that has been softened.

How To Reheat Pioneer Woman Corn Chowder?

In The Stove::

reheat on the stovetop in large batches using medium-low heat, stirring at regular intervals for a total of around 10 minutes.

In The Microwave:

After transferring each portion to a microwave-safe dish, cover it with a lid designed for use in the microwave or a paper towel. After ninety seconds in the microwave, stir it, and then continue to heat it at 20-second intervals, if necessary.

In The Crockpot:

The soup should be heated in a slow cooker on the lowest setting for anywhere from one to three hours. The amount of soup that is remaining will decide how long you will need to simmer it.

FAQ Section

Can I Use Russet Potatoes?

Use a potato that has a waxy texture, such as Yukon gold, red potatoes, Dutch baby potatoes, new potatoes, or fingerling potatoes. Because waxy potatoes do not take on moisture as they cook, they can keep their form even when subjected to high heat for a lengthy period. However, this does not imply that waxy potatoes lack flavor or the ability to melt in your mouth. They have a flavor that is supple, buttery, and tender without ever having a mealy quality to them.
Russet potatoes have a texture that is described as being soft, creamy, and melt-in-your-mouth. They also have a flavor that is described as being the most “potato-y.” Russet potatoes provide a challenge since you don’t want them to disintegrate, so you have to be careful not to overcook them. If you do, the potatoes will break apart. If they are overdone, they can also have a meaty flavor.

Can I Use Fresh Herbs?

In this recipe for corn chowder, I find that dried herbs work best since they are added to the soup right at the beginning, which allows their flavor to permeate the creamy broth. You are welcome to use fresh herbs; however, the proportion of fresh herbs to dried herbs should be three to one. It is important to remember to add fresh herbs towards the end of the cooking process so that they maintain their taste and freshness.

Can I Use Vegetable Broth Instead?

Because it does not have the same depth of taste as chicken broth, I do not suggest veggie broth. This does not imply that you are unable to use veggie broth; however, it does indicate that the soup will not have the same level of flavor.

Can I Add Other Vegetables To Corn Chowder?

Absolutely! I’ve just adhered to the fundamentals, but you could also include things like zucchini, squash, peas, and so on. I have provided several other options.