Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder

This slow cooker chicken corn chowder is a hands off, low prep version of classic corn chowder with extra protein from chicken. You get a creamy, filling bowl without reaching for cornstarch, because part of the soup gets blended at the very end of cooking.

It is the kind of dinner I set up in the morning and then forget about until the kitchen smells like bacon and sweet corn.

If you want a cozy, protein forward meal that does not heat up the house, this one belongs in your rotation.

This is one of those dinners that makes a busy week feel handled. You chop a few vegetables, cook some bacon, and the slow cooker takes it from there.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

I started making this chowder on busy weeks, and it never left the rotation. Here is what makes it such an easy win:

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• It slides right into meal prep. You build the whole thing in one pot in the morning and dinner is waiting at the end of the day.
• Your kitchen stays cool. The slow cooker does the work, so the stove and the oven can stay off on hot summer evenings.
• It works all year. Sweet corn kernels are wonderful fresh in season and just as good from frozen the rest of the year.
• The leftovers earn their spot. A bowl of this chowder reheats beautifully for lunch the next day.

The texture is the part I love most. Instead of cornstarch, you pull out about a third of the soup, blend it smooth, and stir it back in.

That blended corn and potato thickens the whole pot naturally, so every spoonful tastes like sweet corn and cream instead of starch. It is a small extra step that changes everything, and it takes about a minute with an immersion blender.

It is also a genuinely filling bowl. Between the chicken, the potatoes, and the corn, this chowder eats like a meal, not like a side dish. The ingredient list is refreshingly simple too, and most of it is probably in your kitchen right now.

Serving suggestions

This chowder is a full meal on its own, but a few sides turn it into a proper cozy dinner.

• Extra crispy bacon on top. Save a little of the bacon you cooked and crumble it over each bowl right before serving.
• Green chili corn bread. Slightly sweet, slightly savory, and made for soaking up a creamy broth.
• A crisp salad. A classic wedge salad or a strawberry quinoa salad adds freshness and crunch next to a rich bowl of chowder.

Both salads come together quickly while the chowder finishes in the pot. In my house the corn bread wins almost every time.

If you are feeding a crowd, set out the bacon and the fresh parsley in small bowls and let everyone top their own bowl. Corn bread on the side and a bowl of chowder is my idea of a perfect cool weather supper.

Ingredients and Ingredient Substitutions

This recipe makes 8 servings, with 15 minutes of prep and about 4 hours of cooking time. Here is the full list.

Swap the potatoes. Yellow potatoes give you that soft, creamy texture, but red potatoes are a fine substitute if that is what you have in the pantry.

Use the corn you have. Sweet corn kernels can be fresh off the cob or frozen, so frozen corn is the move when corn is not in season.

Short on time with the chicken? You can skip cooking raw chicken in the pot and stir in pieces of rotisserie chicken at the end of cooking instead.

Want it vegetarian? Leave the chicken out and use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.

About the bacon. The bacon builds the flavor of the whole pot, so it is worth cooking it properly. Extra bacon for topping is optional, but I rarely skip it. If you want extra for the bowls, cook a couple of strips more than the recipe calls for, because it disappears fast.

The seasoning blend is simple on purpose: kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and sweet paprika. If you keep a well stocked spice drawer, you likely already have all four.

Here is the source nutrition per serving, based on 8 servings. The values are approximate and come primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database.

How to make

This is a two step recipe, and the slow cooker does most of the work.

The only real hands on time is cooking the bacon at the start.

Step 1: Cook Bacon and combine ingredients

Cook the bacon on a skillet or in the oven until it is crisp. Let it cool slightly, then cut it into bite sized pieces.

Add the cooked bacon to the crockpot along with the yellow onion, carrots, celery, yellow potato, chicken breasts, corn, kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, sweet paprika, and chicken broth. Stir everything together, then cover the pot.

A small tip from experience: keep the chicken breasts whole and nestle them down into the liquid. Whole pieces cook more evenly, and they shred easily later.

Step 2: Cook and enjoy

Set the crockpot to cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours. Before you pull the chicken, check that it has reached an internal temperature of at least 165F. At that point it should shred with almost no effort. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with two forks.

Now for the trick that makes this chowder creamy without cornstarch. Remove about a third of the soup from the crockpot and blend it with an immersion blender or a standard blender. Pour it back into the pot along with the shredded chicken and the heavy cream. Stir, taste, and season with a little salt if it needs it.

Blend about a third of the pot, not the whole thing. That keeps the chowder thick and creamy while you still get bites of potato, corn, and chicken.

Serve right away, topped with extra crispy bacon, fresh parsley, and black pepper.

One more thing worth doing before you ladle it up: taste it. Broth brands vary a lot in salt, so the amount you need at the end can change from pot to pot.

Every slow cooker also runs a little differently, so if this is your first time making it, aim for the middle of the time range and check the chicken from there.

Storage and Reheating

Leftovers keep beautifully. Store the chowder in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop until it is warmed through. If the chowder has thickened up in the fridge, I like to loosen it with a splash of broth or cream as it warms.

Cold chowder will look thicker than it did in the pot, and that is completely normal. Give it a good stir before you reheat so the cream and broth come back together. It is a great lunch to pack ahead, and the flavor is just as good on day two.

Check out these other Corn Inspired Recipes

If sweet corn is your thing, these are the next recipes to try. They all lean on the same sweet, summery corn flavor that makes this chowder so good.

• Creamed Corn
• Creamy Corn Pasta
• Summer Corn Salad
• Black Bean and Corn Dip

Creamed corn is the most classic of the group, creamy corn pasta turns that flavor into a full dinner, summer corn salad keeps things fresh and crisp, and black bean and corn dip is the one I bring to cookouts.

Each one is a good way to use up a bag of frozen corn too. Serve any of them alongside this chowder, or make one for a lighter lunch the next day.

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Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder

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Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder This slow cooker chicken corn chowder is a hands off, low prep version of classic corn chowder with extra protein from chicken. You get a creamy, filling bowl without reaching for cornstarch, because part of the soup gets blended at the very end of cooking.

• Total Time: 255 min
• Yield: 8 1x

Ingredients

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6 strips bacon
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2 lbs yellow potato, peeled and cubed
1 ½ – 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
12 oz sweet corn kernels, fresh or frozen
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 qt chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream

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Instructions

1-Cook bacon on a skillet or in: Cook bacon on a skillet or in the oven. Allow to cool slightly and cut into bite sized pieces.
2-Place cooked bacon in a crockpot along: Place cooked bacon in a crockpot along with the yellow onion, carrots, celery, yellow potato, chicken breasts, corn, salt, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, and chicken broth. Stir and cover.
3-Set to cook on low for 4-6: Set to cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Ensure that the chicken has reached at least an internal temperature of 165F. The chicken should easily shred. Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred with 2 forks.
4-Remove about ⅓ of the soup from: Remove about ⅓ of the soup from the crockpot and blend with an immersion blender or a standard blender. Pour it back into the crockpot along with the shredded chicken and heavy cream. Taste and season with salt if needed.
5-Stir to mix together and serve immediately: Stir to mix together and serve immediately. Top with extra crispy bacon, fresh parsley and black pepper.

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• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 240 min
• Method: mixed

Nutrition

• Calories: 339kcal (17%)
• Sugar: 6g (7%)
• Sodium: 1229mg (53%)
• Fat: 14g (22%)
• Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)
• Carbohydrates: 34g (11%)
• Fiber: 5g (21%)
• Protein: 20g (40%)
• Cholesterol: 66mg (22%)