This poblano corn chowder is ultra creamy, hearty, and rich, with a subtle smokiness from the charred poblano peppers. Made easily on the stovetop, with no fancy equipment, itโs perfect for game day, tailgating, or a comforting night in.
This is one of my Soup recipes I know youโll want to keep on hand!
If thereโs any one type of recipe that you guys really seem to love, itโs bowls of delicious comfort food! And you know what, Iโm right there with you.
We’re smack-dab in the middle of Fall, in all it’s comfort food glory, and this chowder is the epitome of cozy!
I love a great corn chowder, and this fun spin on one adds plenty of perfectly charred poblano peppers which add a subtle smokiness.
We love this chowder alongside a piece of crusty bread and a green salad, but it’s also great for game day or tailgating!
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Poblano peppers – poblanos are smoky, but not very spicy.
- Bacon – you can use any type of bacon you’d like. I typically use Smithfield Hometown Original.
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter, but you can use salted if you have that on hand.
- Onion – this recipe was tested using yellow onion, but a white or sweet onion would also work well.
- Celery – adds a little crunch and mild grassy flavor.
- Bell pepper – you can use any color bell pepper, we just like red for the color, as well as it being slightly sweeter and less bitter.
- Garlic – if you don’t want to mince fresh garlic, you can use about a Tbsp of garlic paste or pre-minced garlic.
- Flour – nothing fancy needed, just all purpose flour.
- Potatoes – I like to use Yukon gold potatoes, which in my area, are usually baby potatoes.
- Broth – I prefer to use reduced sodium chicken broth.
- Spices – in this recipe, these are salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, Mexican oregano, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
- Heavy cream – this may be also called heavy whipping cream.
- Corn – make sure you drain the canned corn well.
- Cheese – I like to use shredded Mexican-blend cheese.
- Garnishes – always optional, but delicious! That’s the cilantro, green onions, cooked bacon and black pepper.
How to make charred poblano corn chowder:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Char peppers. This is easily done with your oven broiler.
- Dice. Once you’ve peeled off the blackened skin, go ahead and dice up the peppers.
- Cook bacon. Just until crisp and golden brown. Leave the drippings in the pot.
- Cook veggies. Cooking the onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic in the bacon drippings adds a ton of flavor.
- Add flour. Adding the flour here allows for the chowder to gently thicken as it cooks.
- Simmer. Add the potatoes, bay leaf and chicken broth and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Add seasonings.
- Add dairy and peppers. Stir in the heavy cream, corn, diced peppers, and cheese.
- Simmer and finish. Simmer for a few minutes to heat the dairy through, then stir in half of the cooked bacon and serve with garnishes.
Helpful Tip!
Everyone has their own idea of how thick a chowder should be. As written, I find this to be an average thickness. If you’d like it thinner, add less flour. If you’d like it thicker, whisk together the heavy cream with about a tablespoon or two of cornstarch until smooth, then add it to the chowder. It’ll thicken as it simmers.
Variations of this recipe
- Peppers – please feel free to adjust the amount of poblano peppers to your taste.
- Bacon – just as with the peppers, you can adjust the amount of bacon. I love using a good amount, so half of it goes in the soup, and half goes on top as a garnish.
- Potatoes – Yukon golds are fantastic in this recipe, but if you can’t find them, you can use an equal amount of russet potatoes or red skin potatoes.
- Broth – to keep this recipe from being too salty, I highly recommend using reduced sodium broth. Chicken broth is my go-to, but you could use vegetable broth as well.
- Dairy – I love to use heavy cream because of it’s richness and ultra creamy mouthfeel, but half and half or even whole milk would also work well.
- Cheese – normally I’m a huge advocate for shredding your own cheese, and if you want to, you absolutely can for this recipe! But if you’d like to a take a little shortcut, you can use the pre-shredded cheese.
- Oregano – if you don’t have Mexican oregano, or can’t find it, regular oregano will work as well.
- Other cooking methods – if youโd prefer not to make this recipe on the stovetop, you can also make it in the slow cooker. Those directions are down in the โchef tipsโ section right below the recipe directions in the recipe card. I haven’t tested this recipe in an Instant Pot, so while I’m sure it can be cooked in one, I can’t speak to the specifics. If you experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
FAQ’s
You certainly could, but some of the smokiness comes from the poblanos, so not using them means you’ll lose some flavor. Other hot peppers, such as jalapeรฑo or serrano, would be delicious, but would definitely make this recipe spicier, since poblanos are smoky but not necessarily spicy.
While I haven’t tested using dairy-free ingredients, I think it would work well. Just swap the butter for 1 Tbsp olive oil, use a dairy-free alternative to the heavy cream, and use a dairy-free shredded cheese.
Making corn chowder ahead of time
Not only can you make the whole chowder/chicken chili ahead of time (in fact, the flavors get even better!), you can also prep a lot of the ingredients ahead of time to really cut down on the prep time.
- Peppers – the poblanos can be charred, peeled, and diced then kept refrigerated.
- Bacon – the bacon slices can be chopped and kept refrigerated.
- Veggies – the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic can be chopped and kept refrigerated. I do recommend keeping the garlic separate, since it’s added at a different point in the recipe.
- Spices – all of the spices can be measured out and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Corn – the canned corn can be drained and kept refrigerated.
Just note that the longer the chowder sits, the more liquid could be absorbed by the potatoes.
Freezing
Due to the potatoes and dairy, I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Frozen potatoes tend to have an odd texture, and dairy can separate during the freezing/thawing process.
Storage
Leftover chowder should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-4 days.
The longer it sits, the more the potatoes might absorb the liquid.
Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of chicken broth or your preferred dairy to thin it out if needed.
My Favorite Dutch Oven!
This is my secret weapon in the kitchen! I use this dutch oven for making bread, soups/chilis, frying and more. Since LeCreuset is expensive, this is a more economical option thatโs still a great pot!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Chowder
- 4 poblano peppers
- 7 slices bacon sliced into 1/2" pieces
- 1 – 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 small red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes cleaned, peeled, and diced into 1/2" pieces
- 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf dried or fresh
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 15 oz can whole kernel corn drained well
- 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
Garnishes
- minced fresh cilantro
- sliced green onions
- lime slices
- crumbled bacon
- sprinkle of black pepper
Instructions
Char peppers
- Turn the broiler on to HIGH and move oven rack so itโs about 7-8 inches from the top of the oven.
- Line a baking sheet with foil, then place poblano peppers on it.
- Add baking sheet to oven and broil for 7-10 minutes, until blackened and/or blistered. Use tongs to turn over the peppers and broil another 5 minutes, or until the other side of the peppers is blackened and/or blistered.
- Remove from the oven and cover loosely with additional foil, and let sit for about 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, use your gloved hands, or the back of a spoon to peel off the blackened skin. Remove the stem end and as much of the seeds as youโd like, then dice and set aside.
Cook bacon
- Heat a large dutch oven or stock pot over MED heat. Once hot, add sliced bacon pieces and cook until crispy and brown. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate, reserving the drippings in the pot.
Cook aromatics
- To the drippings, add butter, then add the onion, red bell pepper, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5-8 minutes, until softened and slightly golden.
- Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Make chowder
- Sprinkle in the flour, and stir well to combine. Cook for a minute or two, stirring often.
- Add the diced potatoes, chicken broth, and bay leaf, stirring well to combine. Increase the heat to MED HIGH and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to MED/MED LOW to reduce the soup to a heavy simmer.ย
- Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15-17 minutes.
- Remove bay leaf, then stir in the kosher salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, Mexican oregano, chili power, and cayenne pepper. Stir in heavy whipping cream, diced and roasted poblano peppers, drained corn, and shredded cheese.
- Simmer for a few minutes, until the cheese is melted, and everything is warmed through, then stir in about half of the reserved cooked bacon (the other half of the bacon is used as a garnish).
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve
- Serve hot, garnished as desired.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this recipe serves about 6, but please feel free to divide it into as many servings as you’d like.
- If you don’t have Mexican oregano, or can’t find it, regular dried oregano will also work well.
Slow Cooker Directions:
- Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, potatoes, chicken broth, bay leaf, salt, cumin, coriander, black pepper, Mexican oregano, chili powder, and cayenne pepper to the insert of a slow cooker.
- Stir well, then cover and cook on LOWย for 6-8 hours.
- While the chowder is cooking, char poblano peppers as directed in the recipe above.
- Cook bacon as directed in the recipe above, except discard the bacon drippings.
- Omit the all purpose flour, and replace it with 3 Tbsp cornstarch.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream and cornstarch, whisking until smooth.
- Remove the bay leaf and discard.
- Switch the slow cooker to HIGH, and stir in the heavy cream mixture.
- Add half of the cooked bacon (reserving the rest for a garnish), the corn, the diced poblano peppers, and shredded cheese, then stir to combine and melt.
ย
-
Cook on HIGH, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until thickened to your liking.
- If you’d like it to thicken faster, or better, you can transfer the contents of the slow cooker to a large dutch oven or stockpot and do this part on the stovetop instead.
- Serve hot, with desired garnishes.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Donna says
Wow! Awesome chowder!!! I didn’t have all the ingredients but it still tasted wonderful! Next time I will make sure to have all the ingredients on hand because I’m sure it will be so much better. Will definitely be making it again! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Kate says
Amanda, thanks so much for this recipe!! I made this today for myself and my staff for lunch and it was a definite crowd pleaser. Your recipes are wonderful and I appreciate you sharing them with us! I am shocked at the rudeness in the comments here and I am sorry that people talk to you that way, but I am pleased to see that you speak up for yourself. Keep being delightful!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Kate, thank you so much for your kind words!! So happy to hear how much you and your staff enjoyed this chowder. Unfortunately food content creators take a lot of verbal (written) abuse, just for providing free recipes. I’m a big fan of matching energy, so I definitely won’t be spoken to like that on my own website ๐
Barbara says
Hello Amanda!
I emailed you but don’t think you got it, so I’ll ask here – what kind of kosher salt do you use, please? Since salt measurements aren’t the same for different kinds, it helps to know. Thank you in advance!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi there! I’ve been in and out of town, so some emails may have fallen through the cracks, my apologies. I use Morton coarse kosher salt ๐
Barbara says
No worries – I’m just over-eager to make this chowder. : ) Thanks so much for your reply – I use Morton too! I always trust your recipes as well as your comments on the flavor(s) – so when I can I want to use the same ingredients you use.
LOVE your site and recipes! Thank you for all you do and share!
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you so much for your kind words!! Hope you love the chowder ๐
annoyed says
proofread your recipes. nowhere in the ingredients do you say how much flour to use.
The Chunky Chef says
You are correct, I had forgotten to add that, but it’s added now. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there are much better ways to bring an error to someone’s attention. Seriously, learn how to speak to other people. Also, capitalization, or lack there of, is something a proof-reader would catch ๐
James says
Substitute the bacon with Andouille sausage……..or use both
Rebecca says
Amanda, this sounds AMAZING!! Can’t wait to try. With mexican oregano ๐๐
Dee says
MEXICAN Oregano? Really? Like that’s something we all keep in our pantry! ๐
Otherwise, the Recipe looks delish.
The Chunky Chef says
Well you’re just super kind aren’t ya? I guess you missed where I mention, twice, that you can use regular oregano if you don’t have Mexican oregano. And yes, some people DO keep that in their pantry. The passive aggressiveness is truly unnecessary and not appreciated.
Kate says
This is a pantry staple for many people all over the world, myself included. Just because YOU are in ignorance does not mean everyone is.
See? Rude comments aren’t fun are they? You can always just scroll on and go on with your day instead.
I hope you have a better day today than it seems you were having when you chose to be rude to someone who is just providing excellent recipes for us.