Chicken Chile Corn Chowder

A creamy, chunky, hearty chicken chowder with corn, carrots, celery, white beans, cream cheese and a bit of heat. It is, in a way, a cross between chowder and chili.

Yeah, I am in total soup mode now that winter is really upon us. The other day I was heating up my lunch and inquiring into what my coworkers were eating. Interestingly, one of my friends was having corn chowder for lunch. It was from a can, but he was pointing out all the yummy things that were in there … carrots and potatoes and … well, my limited memory fails me as to everything in his chowder, but suffice it to say it looked so creamy and good that it got my mind wandering off to chowder land. I knew right then that the next soup that would happen in my kitchen would be a chowder.

I intended my chowder to go in an entirely different direction, but once I started cooking, I ended up back at the chicken chowder. This is not something I’ve ever done. I’ve always thought of chowder as belonging with fish or seafood or just corn, but heck, why not chicken?

It turned out sooo lovely. A hint of heat really makes the chowder sing.

I hope you enjoy this lovely soup … I’m having it for lunch every day this week, unless I get the opportunity to share the joy of this simple chowder with my yoga friends. I really really do love sharing my food. If I keep it all to myself, I find I’m ready to move on too quickly and then I waste a lot of food. Also, this is how I let my friends know I love them, by giving them food.

Chicken Chile Corn Chowder

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: Over 2 1/2 quarts of soup 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 15-oz. can of cannellini beans
• 1 Tablespoon EACH: finely chopped serrano and jalapeno peppers
• 3 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks (2 heaping cups)
• 2 oz. Greek cream cheese (or Neufchatel)
• 2 – 4 Tablespoons tapioca flour (or all purpose flour if you prefer)
• 1 – 2 chicken breasts, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1 cup fat free half & half (or regular half & half)
• For garnish: pepper jack cheese & snipped green onions

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Instructions

1. In a soup pot, heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the butter is melted. Swirl the fats around to coat the bottom of the pot, then add the onion, garlic and celery and saute until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the carrots and saute a little longer.
2. Stir in the chicken broth, beans, peppers and potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let cook for about 20 minutes, until the potato is tender. Take about 2 cups of this soup and put it in the blender with the cream cheese and tapioca flour. Pour the blended mixture back into the soup and stir it in.
3. Add the chicken and corn and let cook for another 15 minutes or so until the chicken is done, then stir in the half & half and let cook just until hot. Serve hot, garnished with shredded pepper jack cheese and snipped green onions if desired.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2015, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursday, Clever Chicks Bloghop and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.