Creamy Corn and Potato Soup is hearty yet light, made with sweet corn, tender potatoes and savory chicken simmered together in a silky broth. A touch of half-and-half adds just the right amount of richness, while smoky paprika and crispy bacon boost the cozy, from-scratch flavor of this family-favorite soup.
If you are a fan of the hearty flavor in chowders like Crockpot Clam Chowder or Seafood Chowder, this soup recipe is for you!
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⭐ Why Melinda Loves Creamy Corn and Potato Soup
It's a comforting soup that's delicious any time of year! Make it using fresh corn, canned corn or frozen corn.
The soup tastes a lot like corn or potato chowder, but it has a lighter and silky texture. Great with homemade biscuits or crusty French bread.
The bacon and chicken combination add a wonderful, savory flavor to the hearty broth.
Note: Some of the links in this recipe post are Amazon affiliate links, which means I make a small commission from Amazon if you link to and purchase the item. The affiliate process never affects your cost and I only link to products that I use and highly recommend.
🌽 Ingredients to Have on Hand
Creamy Corn and Potato Soup is a one-pot soup recipe. It's easy to make and everything simmers together on the stove. Here's what you need to make it:
Corn: If corn is in season and you can buy it fresh, wonderful. Remove the kernels from the corn cobs (instructions for how to do that can be found on my recipe for Sweet Corn Pasta Salad) and cook as directed in the recipe below. Otherwise use canned or frozen whole kernel corn.
Yukon Gold Potatoes: What I love most about these potatoes is the thin peels! You can leave the peels on or off in this recipe. They also have a slightly sweet and buttery flavor that is delicious with the corn and bacon. If you buy a bag of Yukon Golds, be sure to make my recipe for Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, delicious!
Sweet Potato: You just need one sweet potato in this recipe and although it's not often that we combine two types of potatoes in one recipe, the combination here with Yukon Gold potatoes is fantastic!
Chicken Broth: I'm a big fan of using (affiliate link) Better Than Bouillon anytime I use chicken broth in a recipe. I like to use two teaspoons of the bouillon paste for every cup of water, it creates a savory chicken broth that is full of amazing flavor. Check out my recipe for Better Than Bouillon Gravy for an incredible, make ahead gravy!
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🍲 Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: After cooking the bacon, reserve a tablespoon of bacon drippings and brown the diced chicken. (See the notes in the recipe card for an option to using bacon grease.)
Step 2: Add the diced onion and celery and cook until tender.
⭐Pro Tip
If you'd rather not cook the chicken, onions and celery in bacon grease, you can replace that with 1-2 tablespoons of light olive oil or avocado oil instead. Although in full disclosure, the bacon grease adds incredible flavor to the soup.
Step 3: Add the corn, chicken broth and spices and heat until simmering.
Step 4: Stir in the diced Yukon Gold potatoes, sweet potato and creamed corn. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Step 5: Add the cooked bacon, parsley and half-and-half.
Step 6: Warm for a few more minutes to heat the newly added ingredients.
📖 Substitutions
Potatoes: Swap the Yukon Gold potatoes for the same amount of either Russet potatoes or red potatoes. I do recommend peeling the Russets since their skin is quite thick. The red potatoes will add a slightly different texture and flavor but are a firm potato that works well in soup.
Half-and-Half: You could use 2% milk, whole milk or even heavy cream in place of half-and-half. Scroll down to the Recipe FAQs for a suggestion on how to prepare the soup without using the dairy product.
(Affiliate Link) Smoked Paprika: I keep this ingredient on hand for several recipes that I make all the time. Smoked paprika adds a subtle smokiness that brings out the best in ingredients like bacon and chicken. I use a pinch of it in Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese, it's a key ingredient in my Homemade Taco Seasoning and it adds a great flavor twist to Homemade Fry Sauce (a Northwest favorite).
⭐Pro Tip
I like to make Creamy Corn and Potato Soup in a large Dutch oven on the stove, but any covered saucepan that will hold at least 4 quarts will work fine.
💭 Recipe FAQs
It's very similar to corn or potato chowder; the difference is the thickness of the creamy broth. In this recipe, the broth is light and silky and not as heavy as chowder.
Leave out the chicken and bacon, swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth and boost the amount of sweet potatoes to two instead of one. The added sweet potato ensures there's plenty of texture to the soup even without chicken or bacon.
Yes! The broth will be lighter and less creamy, but just as tasty. I recommend adding a little more creamed corn in place of the half-and-half.
🥣 Leftovers and Storage
Creamy Corn and Potato Soup will stay fresh and delicious for up to 5 days covered in an airtight container in the fridge. Heat leftovers in a pan on the stove or warm gently in the microwave.
It also freezes well. Store in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To defrost, set the soup in the fridge for one day before heating it in a pan over low heat on the stove or gradually warming it in the microwave.
🥘 What to Serve with Creamy Corn and Potato Soup
This soup recipe is ideal for feeding a hungry family and can be made ahead to warm up and serve after a busy day, after practice or any time you're in the mood for homemade soup!
Serve with Buttermilk Butter Biscuits or a side of Pan-Roasted Asparagus or Quick Pickled Cucumbers.
Don't forget dessert. Chocolate Zucchini Cake or homemade, tender Old Fashioned Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are always popular!
🍽 Other Tasty Soup and Chowder Recipes
Creamy Corn and Potato Soup is a classic and delicious way to enjoy the flavor combination of corn and potatoes. Here are more savory soup and chowder recipes for you!
If you make Creamy Corn and Potato Soup I'd love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟star rating and a comment below. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Recipe
Steven Daniel says
Call this what it is, ok meal on its own. This is not potato soup or even close to it. Why would you add meat and chicken broth to creamy potato. potato soup is one of the school bread bowl meals. Wife is a manager for oil field housing and cook for 100 to 200 people a night. the crew saw this and tried it. Put it on the food board as potato soup. Ended throwing most of it out. Next night made real potato soup and garlic bread and ran out.
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thanks for giving it a try.
bella benge says
Just made this without the meat and it’s super tasty! Great leftovers for the rest of the week!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Yay! Thank you, Bella, for coming back and leaving a five-star rating. I appreciate it. Enjoy the tasty leftovers!
Kyle Keckler says
Delicious! One of my favorite soups! 🙂
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Thank you, Kyle (my son!!), remind me to make this one for you when you get home for the holidays! 🙂
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
(From Melinda) This is a recipe I've made twice in the past few weeks. It's wonderful when corn is in season, but delicious any time of year!