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A simple Zucchini Corn Chowder loaded with fresh produce! Diced potatoes, zucchini, and fresh corn all together in a luxuriously creamy soup base!
Sipping on summer corn chowder.
Okay, but not really.
Though this delicious Zucchini Corn chowder has all of summers best bounties, it’s one of those recipes that you can truly make all year long. All you need is a little crusty bread to pair alongside a bowl of this and maybe an side salad. It’s honestly such a flavorful bowl.
And let’s also talk about the abundance of veggies here: potatoes, onions, celery, and carrots, garlic, and jalapeños — yes JALAPEÑOS that go into this chowder. When do we ever do boring, bland, or tasteless food around here? What you’re getting in this one bowl is veggies up the wazoo.
The key to making a perfect corn chowder is the balance of creamed veggies and chunky bites. I like to purée about half of the soup in a food processor before adding in the half and half so that some of the veggies are whole while others blend completely to make the perfect silky chowder texture.
Last note, the jalapeños I used are completely option, for a milder zucchini corn chowder, just leave them out. But we love a little southern style kick so I highly urge you to give it a go with the peppers!
This is my favorite new soup! Uses up the zucchini in my garden in a new and tasty way. I’m made it for many different people and its always a winner!
Ingredients for Zucchini Corn Chowder
- Butter: just a few tablespoons to saute the veggies in the pot.
- Yellow onions: we’ll a saute the onions and vegetables in the pot as the base.
- Carrots: you’ll need diced carrots for this
- Celery: I use finely chopped onions, carrots, and celery as the base of this recipe.
- Garlic: adds the perfect amount of flavor
- Jalapeno: give this a little southern kick!
- Gold Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite for this, but feel free to use russets too. We don’t need flour to make a roux, as the natural starch in the potatoes will help thicken the chowder.
- Chicken Broth:vegetable broth works equally well here to make this vegetarian-friendly!
- Fresh Zucchini:
- Herbs and seasonings: you’ll need kosher salt, as well as a bay leaf, some dried thyme, and some fresh parsley to finish the soup. I always finish my bowl with
- Fresh Corn Kernels: When in season, I’ll use fresh corn sliced off the cob, but you can also use defrosted corn here if you’re making this in the winter months!
- Half and Half: if you don’t have half and half, simply use ½ cup milk and ½ cup of heavy cream here instead.
- To finish: I always finish my bowl with a little black pepper and some crisped up turkey bacon!
How to Make Corn Zucchini Chowder recipe
- Saute the aromatics. Start by adding the butter to a large dutch oven. Once melted, add the onions, carrots and celery. Stir often and cook until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and jalapenos with the potatoes and cook until the garlic is no longer raw.
- Simmer the soup. Pour the broth, and all the dried herbs. Then bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are half done.
- Adds veggies. Then stir in the zucchini and corn and cook until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Blend it up. Transfer half the chowder to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. If you have an immersion blender, you can also just pulse it in the soup pot to help thicken.
- Serve it up. Heat the soup then add half and half and let it simmer until it thickens bit. Serve topped with fresh parley and some black pepper!
If you like this recipe, you might also like
- Seattle Style Smoked Salmon Chowder
- Shrimp and Corn Chowder
- Blushing Tomato Crab Bisque
- Secret Ingredient Tomato Basil Soup
- Comforting Red Lentil Soup
Fresh Corn Zucchini Chowder
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1¼ cup yellow onions diced
- ½ cup carrots diced
- ½ cup celery diced
- 4 teaspoons garlic minced
- 1 jalapeńo diced, remove seeds/ribs before to control spice
- ¾ lb. yukon gold potatoes diced
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium, vegetable broth works too
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 large zucchini diced
- 2½ cups corn kernels fresh or frozen
- 1 cup half and half or heavy cream
- fresh parsley black pepper, and bacon bits, for garnish
Instructions
- SAUTE: In a large dutch oven, heat the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic, jalapenos, and potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring so the veggies don't stick to the pot.
- SIMMER: Add the broth, bay leaf, and thyme, bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat and let simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are half way cooked.
- ADD: the zucchini and corn kernels and continue to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. You can check the doneness by gently piercing with the tip of a knife.
- BLEND: Remove the bay leaf, transfer 2 cups or more (see notes) into a food processor and process until smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into the pot. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender and pulse it in the soup pot until it reaches your desired consistency.
- SERVE: Heat the soup over medium high heat, add the half and half and let come to a gentle simmer. Serve topped with fresh parsley, black pepper bacon bits, and smoked paprika if desired.
Notes
- You can blend all or none of the chowder as well. This is completely to your preference! Use more or less jalapeños to preference too!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Loved the chowder wilmake this again and again
Wow. I made this just to use up ingredients I had on hand, didn’t expect much. Holy cow, one of my favorite soup recipes. I did add ground chicken for protein, and didn’t have Jalepeno. I added some green hot sauce to the adult bowls at the end and it was the perfect kick. 10/10 will make again.
This has potential but needs salt with all those potatoes.
Love this soup! I always add some raw diced chicken to the broth with the carrots, celery and potatoes to make it have protein to be a complete meal. I also only add 1/2 cup of half and half and some salt! Also, the smoked paprika really makes the dish!
This is a good recipe. The only change I made was to use about 6 strips of bacon diced and then fried until crisp instead of the button. I like the smokie taste it gives the soup. Extremely easy to make and a good use of large zucchini.
We loved this! Especially my husband. I used 2 ears of corn on the front end. I puréed most of the soup and then added a third ears worth of corn. Topped with bacon!
Great soup for a cold winter night. I used a blender to purée half of the soup and added salt and pepper. Really good.