Hearty enough for a meal, yet light, dairy-free, gluten-free and Weight Watchers friendly at only 3 WW points, this Healthy Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe with turkey bacon, is a healthy and delicious way to enjoy your summer corn.
Considering that your typical corn chowder is 12 WW points for the same serving size, I'd say this is a pretty good deal! This healthy corn chowder is popular in late summer and early fall, but it also makes a great year-round soup, as you can substitute canned corn or frozen corn for fresh corn.
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Fresh corn is only around for a short time so if you get your hands on some, then you are lucky! I love summer corn and I was one of the lucky ones, considering hail wiped out a lot of the crop in my area this year.
And this Summer Corn Chowder was the delicious result! It's the perfect way to enjoy your corn.
🥘 Ingredients
For this creamy corn chowder recipe you'll need these key ingredients:
- fresh sweet corn
- turkey bacon
- olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- chicken bouillon
- potatoes
- fresh thyme
- red bell pepper
- bay leaf
- salt and pepper
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Chicken broth - you can substitute vegetable broth
- Corn - fresh corn is best, but you can substitute canned or frozen corn
- Turkey bacon - you can substitute lean ham
- Thyme - you can substitute dried thyme, but you'll only need ½ the amount
- Potatoes - I recommend russet potatoes, but you can use any type you like
- Spicy - add a little cayenne pepper to spice this up!
- Chicken corn chowder - substitute chicken breast for the turkey bacon
My daughter recently developed a pretty dramatic aversion to dairy so I'm trying to make recipes that are dairy-free, when I can. She's 13 now and pretty independent so will simply make her own adjustments and substitutions to meals but she also loves dairy, so sometimes she just takes the hit. However, she loved this dairy-free corn soup and couldn't believe it was dairy-free!
💭 Top tip
The trick to making rich and creamy soup without heavy cream or whole milk is to use potatoes and puree them as I did with this Potato Corn Chowder. I use the same technique with my Loaded Pierogi Soup. It makes your soup into a healthy and hearty meal!
🥣Difference between chowder and soup
But there's a bit of a debate out there about the term "chowder." So what is chowder? And how is it different from soup? or stew? or bisque? If you've also been wondering about that, then read on....
I had a guy comment on my Award-Winning Creamy Carrot Chowder (shown below) that "although it was really good", "it's not chowder, " he said. I beg to differ....Chowders are a type of soup that is characterized by a thick consistency with the addition of chunky seafood, potatoes, or other vegetables. I ended up changing the name anyways 🙂
However, some claim chowders are cream soups and other definitions state "creamy soups." A soup doesn't have to be a cream soup to be creamy, as you can see. You can read more about the difference between soup and chowder HERE.
But because there's a bit of chunky consistency to this, I'm calling it a chowder, although it's more like a creamy soup (without the cream). Therefore, I feel most comfortable calling it Corn Chowder Soup! You can call it whatever you want, but I'm sure we can all agree to call it delicious!
🥗 What to Serve with Creamy Corn Chowder?
Since this homemade corn chowder is a super hearty soup, I like to eat it on its own or serve it with:
- Fresh bread - try my Bread Machine Italian Breadsticks , Bread Machine Onion & Olive Bread or my Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe (shown below).
- Side green salad or try it with my Strawberry Spinach Salad with Honey Lime Cilantro Dressing.
- Or pair smaller servings of this soup with a main dish like Marinated Grilled Maple Lemon Pork. I personally think corn and pork are a match made in heaven!
👪 Serving Size
This healthy corn chowder recipe makes 12 cups but the serving size is 1.5 cups. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW POINTS
This ww corn chowder recipe is 3 WW points.
🍽Equipment
You will need a large pot or a Dutch oven and an immersion blender or a food processor for this simple soup recipe. A large scoop and drain spoon also comes in handy (affiliate links).
🌡️Storage
Store this dairy-free corn soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. It can be frozen for up to 3 months in a sealed container.
🎥 Video
If you're not sure how to cut cooked corn off the cob, then check out the easy method (and avoid making a mess) in this video: How to cut cooked corn off the cob
And if you're looking for more Weight Watchers Corn recipes, then check out my Healthy & Light Grilled Mexican Street Corn (Elote) - WW friendly & Gluten-free
So, if you were fortunate like I was and got your hands on some fresh corn this season, and looking for a great way to use that corn, this creamy corn chowder recipe is ideal. This easy corn chowder recipe is healthy, low-fat, WW friendly, dairy-free, and gluten-free!
And if you're looking for even more hearty soups that are healthy and WW friendly, see the list under the recipe card!
📋 Healthy Creamy Corn Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cobs corn cooked and removed from cob
- 8 slices turkey bacon, cooked cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken broth gluten-free
- 6 medium potatoes, peeled cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 whole red pepper, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper
Toppings (optional)
- chopped fresh chives or green onions
- shredded low- fat cheddar cheese
- additional turkey bacon
- additional red peppers
Instructions
- Cook corn cobs and remove from cob. Place in boiling water for about 10 minutes or until fork goes easily into kernel (see video for directions on cutting the corn off the cob in NOTES).
- Cook turkey bacon and set aside.
- Add onion to large soup pot with a little oil and cook until it is caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add red pepper. Then add garlic and chicken broth.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly, turn down to medium heat, then stir in corn kernels (setting aside 1 cup) and potatoes. Add in thyme and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a light boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- With a slotted spoon, remove as much of the potatoes and vegetables as you can and blend in food processor or blender until smooth (or us an immersion blender). You may have to do this in 2 batches. Stir the mixture back into the pot .
- Add remaining corn and turkey bacon. Cook for 5 more minutes over low heat.
- Remove bay leaf.
Toppings (optional)
- Top with green onion and/or additional sauteed red pepper, corn kernels, cheese and/or additional turkey bacon as desired.
- Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Esta
Question...how much frozen corn if not in season ?
Terri Gilson
Hi Esta,
It's the equivalent of about 4.5 cups of corn. Enjoy!