Southwest Corn Chowder
Southwest Corn Chowder is a pot of cozy goodness filled with fresh corn, buttery potatoes, poblano chilies, herbs and spices; all made in a rich broth of white wine, chicken stock, and a touch of Greek yogurt for creaminess. Top off with crispy bacon and fresh cilantro for the perfect healthy comfort food!
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease
- 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 1 large carrot, diced small
- 2 celery stalks, diced small
- 1 small poblano chile, seeded and diced small
- 1 lb yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels removed from cob (4-5 ears) frozen or canned corn works as well
- 1 cup dry white wine or chicken stock or water
- 5 cups chicken stock I use better than bouillon roasted chicken base
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt see notes below for substitutes
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped optional
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven or pot to medium heat. Add bacon pieces and cook until crispy, about 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain extra fat. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease.
- Add onions and cook until soft. Add carrots, celery and poblano and cook until tender. Stir in salt, pepper and spices.
- Raise the heat to medium high and add wine. Cook stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is evaporated.
- Add potatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Stir in corn and cook for 5 minutes. When corn is tender and heated through, turn heat down to low and remove pot from heat. Add yogurt or favorite milk product. Place back on heat and cook on low for 3-4 minutes. You don't want to boil at this point.
- Stir in cilantro, serve, and top with crispy bacon.
Additional toppings:
- Sour cream
- Monterey jack cheese
- Avocado
- Jalapeno slices
- Green onion slices
- Hot sauce
Notes
Dairy and non-dairy free options-
If you prefer a creamier, thicker chowder, and don't have an intolerance to dairy, heavy cream is the best choice. You can also use half and half or whole milk. If you need to eliminate the diary all together, unsweetened almond or oat milk will work. I like using oat milk because it's creamier and thicker than almond milk resulting in a silkier outcome.
Frozen or canned corn-
If I'm going to use this short cut or fresh corn isn't in season, I use frozen roasted corn or canned fire roasted corn in place of fresh.
This recipe serves between 5-6 people.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be understood as an estimate rather than a guarantee. The Menu Maid makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.