Poblano Corn Chowder – A creamy corn chowder loaded with poblano pepper, Yukon gold potatoes, and sharp cheddar cheese. It’s the comfort food you need on any cold night!
Brrrr. Who else is feeling some of the coldest weather all season right now??? Later this week, we’re getting lows into the teens! You’ll find me huddled indoors as much as physically possible, bundled up head to toe.
There is one great thing about cold weather like this, however…. time to make some soup!! Soup has the power to comfort like no other food. Just the thought of soup gets me all warm and toasty. Mmmm.
Which brings me to today’s recipe…this lovely, creamy Poblano Corn Chowder.
Now, when it comes to soups, I tend to lean towards the brothy types, simply because they are usually the most healthy. Just take a look at the soup recipes that I’ve posted in the past, like this salsa verde chicken chili or this greek lemon chicken soup.
But when we tried this chowder recipe during a recent week of Hello Fresh meals, I fell in love. Not only could it be made in a jiffy, it was also super comforting without tons of heavy cream. This recipe uses a roux to thicken the chowder so regular ole milk can be added and it will still be nice and creamy.
I was also a little hesitant to try this recipe because of the poblano peppers. Being averse to any type of spiciness or heat, peppers aren’t typically my thing. But if you remove all the seeds from the pepper and make sure to soften them a bit at the beginning of the recipe, the peppers really don’t put off much heat.
As always, I have a couple tips to make sure this recipe comes out perfectly the first time:
- There’s a lot of produce in this recipe – two kinds of onions, garlic, poblano peppers, and potatoes. So I encourage you to peel and cut all of them before you even turn on the stove. I’ve made the mistake of getting too far ahead of the recipe before the produce was prepped and I end up scrambling all over the kitchen to keep up. It takes all the fun out of cooking, for sure!
- Yukon gold potatoes are a MUST in this recipe. They are much more tender and creamy than a Russett or red potato. I bought petite versions to make them easier to dice.
- As always, I recommend shredding the cheddar cheese yourself. You get a much creamier consistency from the cheese when it hasn’t been preshredded. And it melts so much better!
And that’s all there is to it! This recipe is a must for your cooking plans this winter. It makes 6-8 servings but it still worked for my husband and I – we just kept eating it for days without a complaint from either one of us. And that’s a big deal from my husband who cannot handle leftovers…EVER!
I hope you enjoy it too!!
Poblano Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Poblano peppers diced
- 2 medium yellow onions diced
- 4 scallions sliced, separating greens and whites
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 13.5 fluid ounces whole milk
- 20 ounces Yukon gold potatoes diced
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 26 ounces canned corn
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat with a heavy tablespoon of olive oil. Add diced yellow onion, diced scallion whites, and diced poblano pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of paprika.
- Add flour to mixture and stir together until to get a paste, about 1 minute. If a paste does not form, add another teaspoon of olive oil and mix together. Slowly whisk in milk until fully incorporated.
- Add potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife and mixture has thickened, about 12-15 minutes.
- Once finished, drain corn and stir into soup with the remaining teaspoon of paprika. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. Taste soup and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Finish with diced scallion greens.
Pin for later:
More soups that you’ll love:
Turkey Noodle Soup
Salsa Verde Chicken Chili
Chili Mac & Cheese
The recipe directions omit the step for adding the garlic. Can you edit the recipe to include that ? No matter how many times I make this wonderful soup I FORGET THE GARLIC !
Can you add both canned and cream-style corn?
Did I miss something about when to add the garlic? I added it with the potatoes but think I could have added it earlier. Nevertheless, it came out great. This recipe is a keeper!
I’m just wrapping this up and have to comment on how wonderfully this is coming together! The recipe is very flexible. I’m making it for my family of four kids so I used one teaspoon of smoked Spanish sweet paprika, one poblano, 4c of creamed sweet corn we froze this summer, 15oz of leftover Easter ham, and 2c of homemade chicken stock. It’s a great freezer clean out recipe! I’m hopeful the kids will love it. I wish I’d thought ahead and made some cornbread!
This makes me so happy! Thank you for the feedback!
I made this tonight with jalapeños instead of poblanos (the store was completely out of poblanos and I was too lazy to change up my meal plan). My husband said this is as close to a perfect soup as he’s ever had.
This soup looks really delicious. Creamy, loaded with flavors and absolutely beautiful. Love the heat from peppers. I bet that uplifted sweet corn taste so much. I just must give this soup a try.
Corn and poblano peppers are two of my favorite things, so I’m definitely going to have to give this chowder a try! And just in time for a cold spell we’re supposed to be getting this week.
It’s been so cold here this week. This corn chowder is exactly what we need!
I love corn chowder, especially when I load it up with extra potatoes! This would be great to make for my lunches for the week.
Ok, YUM! This looks so delish! Corn Chowder is one of my favorite dishes. It’s so comforting and filling and makes you feel all warm! Loving the ingredients you used in this dish!!!
This looks like a hearty bowl of soup! I love all of the flavors in it.
Great tips you gave to make this beautiful chowder. Agree on all! It must taste incredible!
Adore corn chowder! And yours looks delish :). Thanks for sharing!
This looks like the perfect dish to feed a crowd. SO warming and creamy and probably perfect with some crusty bread. Yum!
soup is on the repeat on my menu, especially in winter! This chowder looks so satisfying and cozy, would be perfect on a cold day!
We are bracing for the winter storms, this looks like the perfect comfort food to be stuck inside with! Loving the flavour combos!
I eat soup year round but this looks so warming and comforting so I can see myself eating it more during the winter!! It looks so thick and delicious!
I love chowder but have never seen one quite like this. It looks amazing! Recently, my throat has been killing me so I’m imaging the warmth soothing my throat lol.
Bring on the cold weather for this soup!! Love those poblanos!
Whoa, this sounds amazing! Kicking it up with poblanos is a great addition.
Wow I’ve never tried a soup like this before, much less made one myself – definitely keen to jump in the kitchen and start experimenting. I’m not sure if we can get poblano’s where I live, do you think we could substitute with regular red chillies or even chilli flakes in a pinch?
I’ve never thought to add pablano to chowder until now, but it’s an awesome addition!
Tis looks so creamy and filling! Perfect comfort food for a cold day like today. I would love to eat a whole bow of your corn chowder!
I have a bunch of poblanos that we didn’t use this past weekend and this will be the perfect recipe to use them for especially with the dropping temperatures tomorrow. Thank you for sharing!
Such a yummy recipe, it looks incredible!
Corn is a big hit in my home. We love finding new dishes to make with it. This is going on my list of must-trys!
This looks amazing for the winter months, i need to try it
You had me at poblano. I love corn and any kind of spicy peppers and if you combine the two, I’m in heaven for sure. I have to try this .