Kickin’ Chicken Corn Chowder – A creamy chowder loaded with hearty potatoes and chicken, sweet corn, bacon-y goodness, and spicy jalapeno kick. A quick 30-minute meal!

This Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder is one of my favorite chowders.  It’s full of such great flavors and is really easy to make.  Need a freezer meal idea?  This chowder freezes well and is better the next day!  It’s full of spicy peppers, bacony goodness, sweet bell peppers and corn, and loaded with hearty potatoes and chicken.  A chowder that can AND should be enjoyed year round!

If you like this chowder recipe, you may also like these recipes:

• How to Can Your Own Chicken
• Creamy Crockpot Ham and Potato Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
• Creamy Roasted Tomato Basil Soup
• Spicy Mexican Red Pozole

CAN THIS CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER BE MADE IN THE CROCKPOT?

Yes, this recipe can be made in the crockpot but you’ll have to alter the process just a bit.  To make this chicken corn chowder recipe in the crockpot, add onions, garlic, peppers, potatoes, corn, chicken, bacon, and broth to the crockpot.  Cover and cook on LOW for about 5 hours or HIGH for about 3 hours.  Next, melt butter and add flour to make a flour rue.  This is used to thicken the chowder.  Whisk rue into hot soup.  Allow chowder to cook and thicken for another 20-30 minutes.  Stir in milk or half and half and it’s ready to go.

WHAT KIND OF CHICKEN SHOULD I USE IN THIS CHOWDER?

This recipe calls for 3 to 3 1/2 cups COOKED shredded chicken.  I like using precooked or canned chicken because it makes this chowder come together so quickly.   Chicken breast is easy to can and a great pantry staple.  It allows you to eliminate cook time for meat when using chicken in soups, salads (like chicken salad), sandwiches, or tacos.  If you want to learn more about how to can your own chicken, check out my post on Canned Rosemary Chicken HERE.

An alternative to canned chicken would be a whole rotisserie chicken.  You can purchase a rotisserie chicken, remove the meat (usually about 3-4 cups of chicken).  This is a convenient method as you don’t have to can, buy canned or cook fresh raw chicken.  You just need to stop by the store and pick a rotisserie chicken up from the deli.  The one downside to this method is, depending on the store you purchase from, the price can be upwards of $10 for a cooked chicken.  I typically buy rotisserie chickens from Sam’s Club, Winco or Costco because they’re only about $5.  It’s a steal if you ask me.

Last option, if you don’t have cooked chicken and don’t want to buy a rotisserie chicken, you can use fresh chicken breasts (about 2 lbs or 2-3 breasts).  You’ll want to wait to add the potatoes until the chicken is cooked otherwise you’ll end up with mashed potatoes instead of potato chunks.  You can cube the chicken into 1-inch pieces or cut in half (if shredding later). Depending on the size of chicken chunks, this can take 15-30 minutes.  Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pepper, onion, garlic broth.  If shredding, let it cool for at least 5 minutes before shredding.  You’ll add the cooked chicken back in when you add the bacon, corn, and dairy toward the end.

Here are step-by-step pictures of how I make this chowder.  It’s so easy and turns out delicious!

MAKE IT AS SPICY AS YOU’D LIKE!

This recipe calls for 1-2 jalapenos.  If you like spicy food you can leave the seeds in or add 1-2 extra peppers.  In our home, my husband loves spicy, I don’t mind it but my girls typically avoid it.  To please everyone, I add 2 seeded jalapenos and serve this chowder with a small bowl of minced jalapenos on the side.  This allows each person to control the spiciness level to some degree.

HAVE CHICKEN CON CHOWDER LEFTOVERS?

It’s better the next day!  This chowder and all its glorious flavors melt together in time.  With that said, if you have leftovers, save them for tomorrow or FREEZE them for another day.  This chowder reheats beautifully!  With life being as busy as it is, freezer meals have saved dinner so many times… this chowder included.  I love making extra purposely to freeze for later.  I freeze 6-8 cups in a gallon size bag. Label it with the date made (and froze).  It will store in the freezer for up to 3 months.  Boom! That’s awesome!

PRICE CHECK ($):

This recipe is awesome for those busy nights and can be frozen to reheat later.  It’s ready in about 30 minutes and has soooo much flavor everyone will love it but you’ll love it even more when you see how cheap it is to make!  Prices of supplies may vary depending on location and store you purchase groceries from.  I shop bulk food stores, use coupons, watch ads and shop sales (like case lot), buy supplies in bulk to save on cost and use homegrown produce and herbs when available.  Here’s my ingredient list and cost:

• Butter – $0.38
• Onion – $0.25
• Red bell pepper – $0.33
• Jalapeno peppers – $0.14
• Garlic – $0.08
• Flour – $0.05
• Chicken broth (made with bouillon) – 0.12
• Potatoes – $0.37
• White beans (home-canned from dry) – $0.75
• Chicken (home-canned) – $3.08
• Corn (frozen) – $0.84
• Bacon – $1.20
• Half & half – $0.22

This chowder is so good and you’ll love it even more when you see the total cost for me to make 6 servings was only $7.81.  That’s only $1.30 per serving!  Even if you made this for twice the cost that I did, it is soooo worth it.  This chicken corn chowder is one of my personal favorites!

 

Here’s the full printable recipe. Enjoy!