This Southwest Potato and Corn Chowder is full of all the goodness of classic corn and potato chowder and loaded with tons of southwestern flavor– peppers, chiles, black beans, cumin, and chili powder!
This Corn and Potato Chowder is hearty and has tons of flavor. On the night that I was working on this recipe, I was craving tacos but I had already prepped that morning to make a regular corn and potato chowder. So like any reasonable person, I spent 3 hours making a soup that should have taken 30 minutes.
What? Normal people do it all the time.
But, don’t worry, it won’t take you 3 hours to make this! That’s just what happens when I get an idea in my head and HAVE to make it work. Lots of trial and error.
How to Make Corn and Potato Chowder Super Creamy
Despite the fact that I was throwing the whole southwestern curve ball at this corn and potato chowder, I wanted a really creamy base that wasn’t the result of copious amounts of heavy cream. The trick? I ended up making a cheese sauce (roux+milk+cheese) separate from the veggies and stock and stirred it in at end. I used a can of evaporated milk to keep it rich and a cup of 1% milk. It’s not exactly low-fat, but definitely better than using cream.
Tips for Making the BEST Corn and Potato Chowder
- Cut your potatoes into even pieces– If your potatoes are cut into pieces that are about the same size they will cook evenly. This prevents some of the pieces to be mushy and others overdone.
- Bloom your spices! In step #2 you’ll add the spices to the hot pan and cook until fragrant. This step will allow the spices to release their flavor oils and create a more flavorful soup!
- Season, season, season! The key to delicious corn and potato chowder is building layers of flavor. You’re doing this by browning your onions, blooming your spices, and making a separate cheese sauce to stir in. Make sure to season each step with a little bit of salt and make sure to taste it at the end and season to taste before serving.
Want more crazy delicious soup recipes?
Try my Hearty Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup for a good dose of vegetables, or this Green Salsa Soup for a little bit of spice. Or if you’re being careful of what you eat, this Cauliflower Chowder is my remedy when I want something that tastes just a little bit naughty but really isn’t.
Southwest Potato and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 cups peeled potatoes diced
- 1 whole medium onion diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oi
- 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 14.5 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
- 12 ounces frozen corn kernels
- 4 ounces canned diced green chiles
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cloves garlic
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt more to taste
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 cups Monterrey Jack Cheese grated
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a heavy bottomed dutch oven or stock pot, heat oil over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Place onions and garlic in oil and let cook until the onion starts to soften, about 6 minutes.
- Add in the cumin and chili powder and stir until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and diced potatoes to the pot, bring to a low boil, cover and cook until the potatoes pierce easily with a fork.-- about 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, melt the butter in a medium sized sauce pan. Once melted stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for a minute.
- Gradually stir in the 2 milks and continue to stir making sure to clean the bottom of the pan with each stir so it doesn't burn. As it comes to a boil, the mixture with start to thicken.
- Continue to stir and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, stir the corn, beans, and green chilies into the broth and potatoes.
- Add the cheese sauce into the broth mixture and stir until well combined. Season with 1/4 tsp kosher salt, adding more depending on the salt content of the broth you used. Squeeze juice of 1 lime into the soup and stir in the chopped cilantro. Serve topped with fresh pico de gallo.
I made this tonight with a few changes. I used almond milk, 2 % evoporated milk, vegan butter, and whole wheat flower ( I try to keep animal products out if I can but I did use real cheese).
Anyway, it turned out great! My husband loved it!
I didn’t do a calorie count but it is likely a little lower than the original recipe, but certainly less rich.
Thanks for the recipe, I will be making it again 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for posting your substitutions, glad it passed the husband test!
Sorry, can’t send any heat over as it’s freezing here in London too, with more snow predicted.
Your soup looks wonderful, and I love the idea of stirring the cheese sauce in at the end, I bet it tasted amazing!
Stay warm! I’m so ready for spring!
I really like this recipe with the separate pico recipe. Good job.
Thanks Connie!