This Easy Corn Chowder Recipe is a delicious chowder that is made with bacon and without heavy cream. This lightened-up version is loaded with flavor and makes a perfect dinner recipe for the cold weather. Make it in less than 30 minutes tops inside a pressure cooker such as Gourmia or Instant Pot!
The cool, fall chill is in the air here and the comforts a bowl of soup can bring the soul and belly are something I craved.
Truth be told, I have been craving a flavorful bowl of creamy corn chowder. But, my normal go-to recipe is loaded with butter, cream, and quite frankly, tons of calories.
What is Corn Chowder?
Traditional corn chowder is a chowder style soup that is made with corn, potatoes, onion, milk or cream, butter, celery, and seasoning. Corn is the main ingredient in corn chowder, but you can also add other ingredients such as chicken, fish, pork, or seafood.
Since I am on the path to eating more wholesome I wanted to try out a recipe that was reduced in calories, but still delicious.
So, I dusted off my brand new electric pressure cooker. The best part? I really did have to dust it off because while it was brand spanking new, it collected a little dust. I guess my ambitions of using it right away faded fast..haha!
But, now that my grilling is going to be tapering off, I feel like now is the time to dive into all things pressure cooked.
How to Make Easy Corn Chowder
This corn chowder recipe is easy because it uses an electric pressure cooker. Electric pressure cookers are available from many brands such as Instant Pot, Gourmia, Cuisinart, and many more.
The advantage to using a pressure cooker for this recipe is that you can do all your cooking inside the pot – from sautéing to keeping the finished chowder warm.
This corn chowder recipe uses bacon. The bacon adds a rich savory flavor to the dish and its fat is used in place of butter.
Sauté the bacon
Set your electric pressure cooker to “sauté”. Add the bacon slices to the pot and stir them around until they get crispy.
Once crispy, remove them and chop them up for future use.
Sauté chopped Vidalia onion and Garlic
Add a chopped large Vidalia onion and garlic to the pot and sauté it until it begins to turn translucent. This should take about 3 minutes.
Turn off sauté mode.
Add the Bacon and Other Ingredients
Add the chopped bacon back into the pot along with diced Russet potatoes, fresh or frozen corn kernels, seasoning, and vegetable broth.
Give it a stir to mix all ingredients.
Pressure Cook
Follow your electric pressure cooker instructions to seal and lock the lid. Turn the pressure valve to “airtight” and set the pressure cooker to 15 minutes.
Once your pressure cooker reaches temperature and pressurizes, the time will begin counting down to zero.
Once finished, release the pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions and carefully remove the lid.
Add Milk and Flour
Add flour to milk and microwave for 1 minute, whisk thoroughly.
The final step of this easy corn chowder recipe is to add the milk and flour mixture. This makes the chowder creamy and smooth!
Once you add the flour and milk, stir it thoroughly to fully absorb. Then cook on sauté for about 3 minutes.
You’re done
You can top your corn chowder with some chopped chives and bacon to add an extra dash of flavor. Serve warm and enjoy!
What to Serve with Corn Chowder
Corn chowder pairs wonderfully with these delicious recipes:
- Easy Cheese Garlic Pull-Apart Bread
- Cheesy Garlic Bread Bombs
- Crab Meat Casserole
- Easy Grilled Chicken & Ham Cobb Salad
Check out this video below to get the gist on how to make this in the pressure cooker!
Here’s the Recipe
Corn Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 cup vidalia onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 4 russet potatoes medium sized, diced
- 24 oz frozen corn Can also use fresh*
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt can be adjusted to taste
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
- 1/4 tsp black pepper can be adjusted to taste
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper can be adjusted to taste
- 1/4 tsp onion powder can be adjusted to taste
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder can be adjusted to taste
- 1/4 tsp paprika can be adjusted to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsps all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole milk
Instructions
- Prepare your pressure cooker by setting it to the high saute mode for 5 minutes to cook your bacon slices.
- Once the bacon slices are crisp, remove them from the pot and add them to a paper-towel lined plate; set aside.
- Add the chopped garlic and onion and saute for about 3 minutes.
- Turn off saute mode, and add the potatoes, corn, spices, and broth to the pot.
- Set the pressure cooker for 15 minutes pressure cook time on soup mode. Your model may vary.
- Make sure the pressure cooker cover is sealed and locked correctly, and the valve is set to airtight.
- Your pot will take a few extra minutes to get up to the pressure needed to cook. These times vary and are not worked into the actual cook time.
- Once soup is done being cooked, allow pressure to naturally release.
- After pressure is released, carefully open the pot.
- Add flour to milk and microwave for 1 minute, whisk thoroughly.
- Turn pot to saute mode, and add in milk and flour, stir until mixture is absorbed.
- Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Serve warm!
IT cooks in the beginning, but goes back right at the end! Sorry about that!
when does the bacon go back in I can’t see it mentioned after putting it on paper
I LOVE Corn chowder! This is the perfect meal to make on these cool fall nights!
I need to pull out my instant pot and make this chowder. I love corn and bacon! This would be the perfect hearty meal now that the weather is cooler.
My son would love that! Do you think I can make the same recipe in a slow cooker? I don’t have a pressure cooker, maybe I should get one!
Corn chowder is one of my favorite soup recipes. Your’s looks so warm and hearty. I cannot wait to make some for myself.
I am drooling over this chowder! I will try your recipe in the Pressure Cooker!
Wow. I bet this is tasty! I love all the ingredients added especially the bacon I’ll try this recipe out soon!
This looks really amazing! So comforting and delish!
This reminds me so much of the corn chowder my mom used to make when I was growing up! It’s amazing what pressure cookers can do, right?! I’ll need to try this out for my family!
This looks like an awesome recipe. I honestly don’t think I’ve tried corn chowder before. I can’t believe I haven’t because this looks amazing.
Amy, I love this recipe. Just updated my pressure cooker, as the old one just broke. Will test this soup out in a new machine!
I love corn chowder but I’ve never made it in the pressure cooker. This recipe looks delicious and I’m sure my family would love it!
You had me at bacon! This sounds SO good and I can’t wait to make it for the fam!
Time to start using my pressure cooker more. This soup sounds so yummy.