Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder

Don’t wait for the weekend to make this ultra-creamy, ultra-comforting Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder!

Seriously, don’t wait.

Run straight to the store and gather up the ingredients for this Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder (which has been newly updated with Instant Pot directions). It’s the perfect one-pot, no-fuss fall meal when you’re looking for a bowl of soup you can really tuck into. You can just toss it all in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to comfort food bliss or if you didn’t plan ahead you can opt for the Instant Pot version to put dinner on the table in under an hour.

My kids looooooovvve soup which is fine with me because being allergic to eggs, I often find myself enjoying soup for breakfast when the weather turns cool and it’s a great way to use up all of the homemade broth after I make an Instant Pot Whole Chicken. For years their most oft-requested soup for dinner and school lunches was chicken noodle soup followed by Creamy Ham and Potato. But this Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder is currently their favorite and I think you’ll soon see why!

Unlike our Creamy Ham and Potato Soup which relies on partially pureeing the broth and cooked vegetables to get a thick, creamy texture, this soup uses real heavy cream to give it that creamy mouthfeel you want in a chowder. Of course, if you need it to be dairy-free you can opt for a plain, unsweetened non-dairy creamer or milk alternative (I like cashew, oat or almond milk for this recipe). You don’t need a lot of heavy cream because a little goes a long way.

Keep it simple.

If there’s anything I love more than good food, it’s simple, good food like this set-it-and-forget-it Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder. You don’t have to thicken it with the optional potato starch, it’s still delicious – but if you’re looking for the ultra-velvety creamy soup experience then please, take the 5 minutes to thicken it before adding the cream.

And if you’ve got an extra 20-some minutes on your hands before dinner hits the table, you should consider making up a batch of these Gluten-free Sweet Potato Buttermilk Biscuits or Garlic Cheddar Biscuits for dunking into that soup of yours. You know, go all out!

Enough chatter about chowder already – it’s time to make your own batch of creamy, dreamy Slow Cooker Chicken Chowder!

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Let's Get Cookin'

Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder

• Author: The Real Food Dietitians
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 7 hours
• Total Time: 7 hours 20 mins
• Yield: Serves 6 1x
• Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Egg-Free

Print Recipe

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews

Ingredients

• 1  lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed
• 1 Tbsp. butter, ghee, or cooking oil of choice (for Instant Pot version only)
• 1 lb. red potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade bone broth)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. salt + more to taste
• 3 Tbsp. potato starch to thicken, optional (may substitute corn starch or arrowroot starch)
• ½ cup heavy cream*
• 4 strips crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
• Fresh thyme and/or parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions

1. Place the chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and corn in the slow cooker.
2. Add broth, thyme, parsley, pepper, and salt. Stir well.
3. Place lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW setting for 7-8 hours (or 4 hours on HIGH).
4. Just before serving, remove the lid. Mix potato starch with ⅓ cup water. Stir into hot soup until thickened slightly.
5. Turn off the heat. Stir in cream and bacon. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Garnish with fresh thyme and parsley, if desired.

Instant Pot Directions:

1. Select ‘Saute’ function. Add 1 Tbsp. fat/oil to the pot. When the pot is hot, add onions, celery, and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or until onions just start to soften.
2. Stir in garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
3. Add chicken, potatoes, corn, broth, thyme, parsley, pepper, and salt. Stir well.
4. Lock lid into place and set the vent valve to the ‘sealing’ position.
5. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. Allow 5 minutes of natural pressure release before flipping the vent valve to the ‘venting’ position to release residual steam.
6. Mix potato starch with ⅓ cup water. Stir into hot soup until thickened slightly.
7. Turn off the heat. Stir in cream and bacon. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Notes

*To Make Dairy-Free: Substitute plain, unsweetened non-dairy creamer (such as NutPods, Ripple, etc.)

Tips for freezing: Prepare soup through Step 3 for the slow cooker (step 5 for the Instant Pot). Allow soup to cool completely in the fridge before transferring to a freezer-safe container.

Remove soup from freezer and allow to thaw overnight in the fridge. Place soup in large pot (or a slow cooker set to high or your Instant Pot set to ‘saute’) and heat until hot. Thicken with potato starch, if desired, and stir in cream just before serving.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/6th recipe (1 ⅔ cups)
• Calories: 348
• Sugar: 6g
• Sodium: 375mg
• Fat: 11g
• Carbohydrates: 30g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 28g

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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. 

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