Chipotle Chicken and Corn Chowder
A few months ago when the weather started to get chilly, my Chief Culinary Consultant began eating a lot of soup for lunch and sometimes for dinner. Some of the popular soup brands have come out with new, updated flavors and one of his favorites has been a chipotle chicken and corn chowder. He’ll throw in a different soup every now and then, but that has been his go-to for quite a few months now. I used to love eating soup, but have gotten away from the canned soups mostly due to the exorbitant amount of sodium they contain, and because they usually leave a nasty after-taste in my mouth for some reason. Most times, I either do homemade soup or none at all. My CCC asked if I could try to recreate his new favorite chipotle chicken and corn chowder, and I was happy to take on the challenge. After tasting the soup, examining its ingredients list and looking back to my archives for similar chowder-style recipes, I came up with this recipe.
I held my breath when he took his first bite, not sure how my homemade rendition of his favorite soup would hold up. He declared the soup awesome, one of the best things to come out of my kitchen, and way better than the canned version. Success! Even though I did use some milk and cheese in this recipe, he said it tasted significantly healthier than the store-bought stuff.
There are so many big flavors packed into one little bowl of this soup; you have the combination of red bell and poblano peppers… the chipotle chile and adobo sauce for the smokey, spicy flavor… the cheesy, creamy broth… tender potatoes… crushed tortilla chips for some flavor and texture… lime juice and seasonings… and tons of corn. The soup has just the right amount of spice, that is, it’s noticeable but not at all overwhelming or distracting from the other flavors.
If you’re in need of a hearty bowl of soup to warm your soul this winter, this one will serve you well. No more canned soup here!
One year ago: Focaccia Bread
Chipotle Chicken and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) dried thyme
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (732 ml) whole milk
- 2 cups (480 ml) chicken stock
- 6 small red potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) Cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups (473.18 g) diced, cooked chicken
- 30 ounces (850.49 g) canned sweet corn, drained
- 15 ounces (425.24 g) canned cream-style corn
- 1 cup (115 g) crushed tortilla chips
- Juice from 1 lime, about 2 tablespoons
- Chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Remove one chile from the can of chiles and mince it. Remove 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce and set it aside to be used later. You can save the remaining chiles and sauce for another use.
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the poblano pepper, red bell pepper, the chile from the can, cumin, thyme and oregano, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the peppers become soft. Add the garlic, stir and cook for an additional 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Stir in the flour with a wooden spoon and cook for 1 minute, or until there is no longer any visible raw flour. Slowly stir in the milk and chicken broth, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.
- Add the potatoes, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.
- Add the shredded cheeses a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese is completely melted.
- Finally, stir in the chicken, both cans of corn, the tortilla chips, lime juice and the reserved 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the soup is completely heated through. Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I’m not a ‘spicy’ person but even I thought this was bland. We added another chipotle. Since this is quite thick, I chose not to add the tortilla chips and instead served them on the side.
OMG!!! This soup is AMAZING!!! We had it last night and it was DELICIOUS. Definitely going into my rotation of great recipes. I could not find a poblano pepper, so left that out. I’m not a very spicy lover, but tried chipotle chiles for the first time. WOW!! I doubled the recipe knowing BEB wouldn’t lead me astray, and now we have leftovers for lunch. LOVED IT!!!! Thank you Michelle. If you have not tried this recipe, DO!!!!
Do you think it would still taste as good if I subbed white beans for the potatoes? I have a truly embarrassing stash of dried beans and I’m constantly looking for ways to use them!
I think that would be totally fine! Enjoy!
How hot are the canned chipotle chilies?
I’d give them a spicy rating of medium.
My favorite soup!
Excellent. Keeping this one. I did add more cumin tho
This soup is fabulous! I used 2 poblanos because they were small, forgot the lime juice and left out the tortilla chips. This is a keeper!
When I make this I always double the recipe. I can not keep this huge pot full. It is gone in 3 days!!!
Love this recipe. Quite a bit of prep work but well worth the effort and energy to taste the monumental flavors and enjoy the texture.
Cheers
I have made this many times over the years. Still one of my favorites. Super easy to make and full of flavor
Hello Michelle– I’m the guy who had an uncle Dominic that we called Domie, and now have a grandson named Dominic. I sent you our recipe for onion pie– I hope you made it! Anyway, I made the Chipotle Chicken & Corn Chowder yesterday. We both really liked it. However, it really stuck to the bottom of my Dutch Oven. I think it was mainly flour. I’ve been cleaning pots and pans for 60 years, and I’m pretty good at it, but I really struggled getting my Revereware pot clean.
We love this! I add some diced medium hot peppers, celery, and onion and more spice because we like a little more heat! We also add diced avocado and some tortilla strips to our bowls when we eat it, they really make it zing!
One thing you can do to avoid a nasty taste from canned soup is to saute some diced onions and a little minced garlic in the pan before you pour the can of soup in to heat it up. I don’t know why that works, but it does remove that nasty “metallic” aftertaste.
How do you think this would taste without chicken and using chicken broth? I have meat eaters and vegetarians at my table every night and thought this would be an easy meal if I make with veggie broth and have rotisserie chicken on the side to add if desired…???
Yes that would totally work!
I had never eaten corn chowder in my life, but look for recipes when I can use rotisserie chickens from the deli. So I gave it a go. I’ve made this a couple times now and I love it!
Great recipe! The only things I added were salt and some chipotle hot sauce(el yucateco).
I made this last winter. It came out so awesomely good. Warm and inviting flavor profiles. Been waiting for winter to get here to make again.
I made this soup for a group of hunters last week. It was awesome, tons of compliments and no leftovers! It was the perfect warm comfort food for the hunters as they came in from hours in the cold. The recipe turned out jut as I thought it would and had so much flavor! I did not stir in the tortilla chips at the end, but instead had bowls of tortilla strips, extra shredded cheese and cilantro on the side, to add as toppings.
Can I make this recipe in a slow cooker?
Hi Julie, I haven’t, but I think it would work just fine!
Can I substitute soy milk for whole milk in chipotle chicken corn chowder?
Hi Darlene, I’ve never used soy milk to make a roux-based sauce, so I can’t give you a definitive answer, unfortunately. If you’ve done so before, then it should be fine.
I make homemade cream corn that my family loves. I am excited to see a recipe where I can use my leftover cream corn! Never thought of using it in a soup. I love soups!
This was so yummy!
Delicious soup, I omitted the cheese, used fresh frozen corn, added some chopped fresh green beans, stirred in chopped cilantro before serving, corn chips on the side. This soup will be on our table frequently. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
This soup looks so comforting! I love chowder, especially creamy ones so I’ll be trying this recipe for sure. Thank you for sharing!
This is a very good recipe! I’ve made it twice already. I made it for the family and I made it for the office. It was a hit both times. I will also be making it again this week-end to take to the in-laws. I only did two things different. I added an onion to the pan when I was sautéing the peppers and I did not add the crushed tortilla chips. Instead, I just crumbled some chips on the top of each bowl. Very tasty!
Love, love, love this soup. It turned out so great! One totally random question for you – what is the font you used for the “eyed” and “sweet savory sinful”. I absolutely love it and want to use it in designs on my Silhouette. Thanks in advance!!
Hi Tracy, So glad you enjoyed it! Unfortunately, I’m not sure which fonts they are, a designed did the logo for me!
OMG…..our new favorite soup, I couldn’t stop eating it. Easy to make. Warms your tummy. We were fighting over the last bowl. BF won he had to leave for work. So I’ll make more while he is gone!
OMG! This soup is perfect. Just enough spice, very hearty and toe tingling warm. We ate this for three straight days!
I am excited about trying this recipe but in the UK I cannot buy adobo sauce so I think I will substitute chipotle. I hope it will still turn out ok? I followed your green bean casserole recipe to cook Thanksgiving dinner with my husband (he’s from GA) and we loved it! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I have made this several times now and for others. It’s a hit every time!,
This is absolutely delish. I did not use creamed corn just the fresh corn off the cob. I also used half and half cream with the skim milk, the rest as is. Outstanding… we will be making this again.
I made this chowder last weekend…the whole family loved it! I especially liked the smokey undertone from the chipotle pepper. It might sound funny to make chowder in the summer, but it was a quick and easy recipe to make that didn’t heat up the kitchen. ;-)