Crock Pot Corn Chowder with Chicken and Bacon
~ Just toss everything in the slow cooker! This Crock Pot Corn Chowder with Chicken is so ridiculously easy! A creamy, satisfying soup with the sweetness of corn and just a hint of smoky bacon. Healthy, simple and absolutely delicious! (Originally published as Crock-Pot Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder on February 6, 2014) ~
This Recipe Is: • Freezable • Make Ahead •
There’s a little running joke here in Ohio …
Ohio has four seasons: 1. Almost winter, 2. Winter, 3. Still winter, 4. Road construction.
Yeah, I know … funny-not-funny (at least if you live in Ohio). A little too true, maybe.
But with allllll that wintery-ness, we Ohioans are big-time into blankets, slippers, and comfort food. Comfort food experts, you might say. Because the cold weather makes us extra hungry (and cold, obviously … so, so cold).
We need comfort foods to soothe our cold, frozen little souls and melt through some of the chill. (Over dramatic? Ok. Maybe just a little. But only a little! 😉 )
Why We Looooove Crock Pot Corn Chowder
We want comfort food that’s fast. And easy. And delicious.
This Crock Pot Chicken Corn Chowder recipe’s got all that, and more! It perfectly combines:
- the sweet, sunshiny flavors of corn (oh, summer … we remember how good you taste!)
- with tender, hearty white-meat chicken and shreds of potatoes
- plus just a hint of smoky bacon
All in a steamy, warm, rich, creamy, keep-you-toasty-because-it’s-negative-twenty-degrees-outside chowder.
The most comforting part of all? You just toss everything in the slow cooker and walk away. No worries. It’s soooo easy!
Make-Ahead Tip!
You can even mix this Corn Chowder up in your crock-pot insert the night before … and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to fire up your slow cooker.
(Just think of the time saved in the morning! At least six minutes! You’ll probably need that time to put on your extra layer of clothes.)
Even better yet?
This Chicken Corn Chowder recipe makes a BIG batch. And it’ll still be fabulously delicious right on into another dinner later in the week, or as several warm, cozy lunches.
It’s Even Freezable!
Yup! For the ultimate in make-ahead meals, you can freeze the leftovers for another meal or two later!
So great for meal prep and for all those crazy-busy weeks when you really just need dinner to be already done!
After the incredible response to our 3-Ingredient Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos and Crock-Pot Crazy Pineapple Chili, we knew you weren’t kidding about wanting quick, easy (yet healthy!) slow cooker meals.
Well, THK friends, we’ve got ya covered! Check out all Our Best Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes Ever – lots more ideas for making dinnertime easier – just like this amazing, hearty, family-favorite chowder!
Surprising Ingredients in This Corn Chowder with Chicken
Now, we know you may be kinda surprised about a few things.
Hmmmmm … bacon … in a THK recipe? And frozen onions … and cream of mushroom soup? Are you sure?!?!?
Yep! We’re sure!
There are actually some pretty specific reasons why, after all our recipe testing, we settled on the ingredients we’re using in this Chicken Corn Chowder. So let’s talk about a few of ’em that might be surprising you.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Sometimes this gets a bad rap for being too old-fashioned (you know … think 1950s cream-of-anything mystery casseroles!). But we did significant testing of brands and proportions. We found that there are some great new cream of mushroom soup choices on the market that offer a wonderful, creamy and flavorful backdrop for modern, healthy recipes.
Of the brands that are easily available to us, we generally reach for Health Valley Organic, which is low in calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium. Read the labels and choose the best that your grocery store offers.
Bacon
The bacon adds a wonderful, additional layer of flavor to an already-delicious Corn Chowder. This soup’s just not the same without it!
Of course, you could cook up your own turkey bacon, lower-fat center cut bacon – or even veggie bacon – and crumble it in. You could.
But occasionally we actually embrace the time-saving step of using pre-packaged real crumbled bacon (not Bac-Os). A little goes a long, long way by adding meaty, smoky depth of flavor to health-ified recipes like this soup.
Oh – and check out the nutrition label. Go ahead. We’ll wait.
We bet you’re looking at only about 25 calories and 1.5g total fat per tablespoon (we call for four tablespoons – 1/4 cup – in this recipe). Spread that out over allllllll those servings, and you’re getting a LOT of flavor without too much nutritional compromise.
Easy … and delicious. Do it!
Chicken (Hint: Don’t Use Frozen!)
Are you confused about whether you should use frozen chicken in crock-pot recipes? Yeah – we know … it’s a point of hot debate.
Our short answer is: Don’t Do It!
If you’ve got chicken in your freezer that you’d like to use for this recipe, thaw it properly first. (Wanna know why? Check out our post Is It Safe to Use Frozen Meat in Your Crock-Pot?).
Frozen Onions
Surprised again, right? Don’t be!
These beauties are a busy cook’s dream, at least in certain long-cooking recipes. They’re perfect in this Corn Chowder because they cook down enough to really soften and meld into the soup.
If you can’t find frozen onions or just happen to have a fresh onion you need to use – that’s ok, too. We’ve used fresh onions in this recipe many times. But given the choice, for this particular Corn Chowder, we definitely prefer the softer, silkier texture of frozen.
From a nutritional standpoint, frozen veggies are generally considered to be similar to fresh, and are sometimes even nutritionally superior because they’re allowed to fully ripen or mature, before being flash-frozen at their absolute peak.
Bonus of using frozen onions? It saves time … and tears!
Wow! That’s all a lot of explanation (and surprises) for such a quick and easy soup!
We don’t always share so much of the testing, research and nutritional discussions behind each of our recipes.
But, we know you THKers care about what goes into the food your family eats. And you want to know that the recipes you choose are fast … and yet also provide healthier options for fueling your family’s busy lives. So we thought you might be curious about some of the ingredients and methods we chose this time around.
Serving Ideas
But let’s get back to the chowder: fast and easy! Warm and comforting! Delicious! Yummmmm …
It’s a meal in itself!
Maybe garnish it with a bit of shredded, reduced-fat cheese or some pretty, fresh parsley, if you’d like. You really don’t need anything else!
But did you notice a clever idea in some of our photos?
For a fun twist, try serving your Corn Chowder in individual bread bowls. Divine!
Of course, we recommend choosing grainy or whole wheat bread for the extra nutrition. Plus, those choices tend to be sturdier and more texturally interesting, too.
However you serve it, your family will love it (and you’ll love how quick and simple it is to make)!
‘Nuff said!
Stay warm this almost-winter (and winter, and STILL winter) season, my friends! And share those blankets – you don’t need all five for yourself!
Crock Pot Corn Chowder with Chicken and Bacon
Just toss everything in the slow cooker! This Crock Pot Corn Chowder with Chicken has a delicious hint of smoky bacon. Creamy, satisfying, healthy and easy!
• Freezable • Make Ahead •
Ingredients
- 3 cups nonfat milk
- 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen corn kernels
- 2 cups frozen diced onions (see note)
- 2 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes (sometimes labeled as country style)
- 2 (14 3/4-ounce) cans cream-style corn
- 1 (14-ounce) can organic cream of mushroom soup (we like Health Valley Organic – see note)
- 1/4 cup real bacon bits (not Bac-Os)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- optional for serving: shredded reduced-fat cheese, minced fresh parsley, or whole grain rolls (personal bread bowls)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except chicken breasts in your slow cooker, stirring to mix thoroughly and to break up any clumps of vegetables.
- Add chicken breasts to mixture, pushing them to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Cook on low (6-8 hours), or on high (5 hours).
- Just before serving, use two forks to shred chicken. Or, remove chicken from slow cooker onto a plate or cutting board and cut it into small cubes, and then return chicken to soup in slow cooker.
- Serve soup sprinkled with cheese or parsley, if desired. Can be served in large, hollowed-out, whole-grain rolls as bread bowls.
Notes
Onions: For this recipe, we prefer to use frozen diced onions for two reasons. Of course, it saves the step of chopping the onions yourself. More importantly, however, the frozen onions break down better and become softer in the slow cooker, especially when cooking this soup quickly on high or for only six hours on low. You can certainly use fresh onion, chopped to equal 2 cups, if you would prefer your onions to be a bit more firm and crunchy in the final soup.
Cream of Mushroom Soup: When selecting a cream of mushroom soup, read the labels carefully, as ingredients and nutritional profiles vary widely. We recommend choosing an organic, lower fat brand such as Health Valley.
Make-ahead options: You can mix together all ingredients, except chicken, the night before cooking, and refrigerate overnight. Then just pour the refrigerated mixture into your slow cooker in the morning. We recommend adding the chicken in the morning when you begin cooking.
In addition, this soup makes a large batch, and refrigerates well to be reheated for meals later in the week. It also freezes well after cooking and can be frozen in a tightly sealed baggie or freezer container.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 servings Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 303Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gFiber: 4g
Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only, and may vary depending on your choice of ingredients or preparation. No guarantees are made regarding allergies or dietary needs. Always consult a physician or dietician for specific advice and questions.
First of all – gorgeous bread bowl shot above! Pretty!
This recipe looks perfect. The crockpot and I are BFFs lately, and I love creamy anything soup. After how popular your crockpot chicken tacos were with us, I’m sure we’ll love this soup as well!
(And speaking of cold weather days – it would figure that our schools would have 5+ days off – and one state-wide, governor-mandated day off – when I finally stopped teaching to be at home with babies!) 🙂
Awwww, Liz! You’re so sweet! Thanks for the really kind compliments – both on the pics and on our Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos (sooooo glad your family liked them :D)! You guys really will love this soup, too! Perfect dinner for all those snow days! ~G&S
There must be a way to make this without a crock pot right? If I just stuff everything in a pan and keep it on low for a while? Sounds like it could work… This chowder looks and sounds so delicious!
Good question! We actually had a very interesting comment on our 3-Ingredient Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos from a reader in England who was finally able to track down and purchase a slow cooker, but mentioned how much more difficult it is to find them in Britain! Are the Netherlands the same way?!?! It doesn’t surprise me that the slow cooker craze is more of an American thing!
Regardless, I think your “stuff everything in a pan” method will work (a large dutch oven would be great for this), but you may need a couple of tweaks. For one thing, because there is very little evaporation in a slow cooker, recipes targeted at that cooking method typically don’t have a lot of liquid, so you’ll probably need to increase the liquid (milk) in this recipe to adapt it to the stovetop. I would just thin it as you go until it’s the consistency you’d like. If you use a lot of additional liquid, though, you may also need to just slightly increase the seasonings to flavor that additional liquid. Easy enough to do – just take a taste toward the end of cook time and adjust the seasonings as needed. Lastly, besides marrying the flavors, the main concern in cooktime for this recipe is to make sure the chicken is fully cooked and tender. If you don’t want to cook the soup for a long time on the stovetop, you could shortcut the process a bit by adding precooked, shredded or chopped chicken breast into the soup toward the end of cooking.
Ok! I hope that gives you some ideas! Let me know if you have more questions so I can help you make this work! (Or maybe I should just send you a crock-pot!?!?! 😀 Seriously – you’ll looooove it!) ~Shelley
I finally got around to making this! (I had a THK weekend ;)) I found a place that sells crock pots here actually, but they are a bit rare. Will probably turn into a hype, once yours is over! Anyway, this recipe totally works if you dump everything in a pan and wait until the chicken is cooked and then shred and cook a little longer. I caramelized the onions before adding the rest of the ingredients and somehow ended up using only 2 cups milk in stead of 3. (although I completely agree with your logic, not sure how I went wrong :P) Most importantly: the people who like corn in this family, thought it tasted amazing! (the rest needs to learn to eat really ;))
My dad grew up in Dayton (among other places), but I don’t think he misses the snow one bit! Both of his parents also moved to California, and neither of them want to leave either. We’re cold wimps in our family! 😉
But I’m still absolutely loving these easy crockpot meals, and this comfort food one looks amazing! Although he’s a super picky eater, my guy will actually eat corn chowder (not clam, he hates seafood), but… I’m allergic to mushrooms. Is there something else I could substitute?
Hi, Amy! Yeah – sounds like your dad and his parents have the right idea about climates! Honestly, Ohio is an awesome place to raise kids – we have a gorgeous pond out back, and year-round they’re either swimming and paddle-boating and fishing, or else skating, playing hockey and sledding, plus we have decent little ski resorts nearby, too – plenty to keep kids happy and active in any season! But, ummmmmm … as an adult, sometimes this type of winter wears just a teensy bit thin! Lucky for comfort foods like this! I just chowed leftovers of this soup at lunch … ahhhhhhh … so great! 😀
My first thought about the mushroom dilemma is simply to sub cream of potato soup – again, watching for a good organic, low-fat brand. Since there’s already potato in this chowder, anyway, it should be lovely together. Really – you’re just using it as a creamy, velvety backdrop for all of the other flavors anyway. The mushroom flavor isn’t at all prominent, so although I haven’t tried it, I honestly think you’d be just as happy with the cream of potato version. If you try it, for sure let me know how that works for you! ~Shelley
Aww that sounds like such a beautiful backyard Shelley! My guy and I love hockey (we actually just bought spur-of-the-moment tickets to see the Sharks tomorrow night!), but there’s no way I could ever join your kids… And I know what you mean about winters as an adult. I’m already counting down the days until spring — and have been since Thanksgiving! I’ll keep an eye out for cream of potato soup; thanks for the tip! 🙂
You’re welcome, Amy! Gretchen suggested maybe a cream of chicken soup, too – if you can find a healthier or natural version of that. Hope you guys had fun at the Sharks game! 😀 ~Shelley
Thanks so much Shelley; you and Gretchen are just the sweetest! 🙂
Ladies this looks absolutely delicious and perfect for this crazy cold weather. This is our 2nd straight day of no school due to extreme temperatures. Today windchill..-44 degrees. Yes, that is right it is bitterly cold. Now this Creamy Chicken Corn chowder is just what we need today. Thanks!
We had -40 degree wind chills a couple of weeks ago, and then the kiddos missed school this week because we got so much snow! No kidding – they haven’t had a full week of school since before Christmas! We love it, though – so many bonus days to hang out with our little buddies! Sure does make it hard to get our blog work done, though! 😀 Stay warm, friend! ~G&S
On my way to the grocery store with all of the ingredients listed for “Crock-pot Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder”. With yummy foods to look forward to, the winter winds can blow and we will be warm!
Those winter winds sure are don’t seem to be letting up, do they?!? Lucky this makes plenty of yummy soup to keep you warm for a good, long time! Hope you love it as much as we do! Let us know what you think! 😀 ~G&S