Southwestern Corn Chowder is a warm and comforting easy to make vegetarian soup that’s got a little spicy kick from the chipotle and poblano peppers. It’s filled with veggies, and it’s a great meal the whole family will love.
Cozy Soup
This is one of my favorite soups. I make it all the time. I love how easy it is to make, and how delicious it is. It’s chock full of yummy veggies, and it’s warm and comforting.
This Southwestern Corn Chowder is a hearty bowl of soup that will warm your soul. And after all, soup is good food!
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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Soup weather
Some people look forward to pumpkin spice season. I look forward to soup season.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’d eat soup all year round, regardless of how hot it is outside. But, my husband isn’t a big believer in a nice big bowl of hot soup when it’s hot summer weather outside.
So, I have to patiently wait for soup season. I even declared once that I was “hopeful soup-ing” when I wanted it to be colder and I made soup even though it was hot outside!
Spice level
This soup is a medium-hot spice level.
There are two kinds of peppers adding heat to it. Both the poblano and the chipotle add a little spicy kick to the soup.
What’s a chipotle?
A chipotle is a dried and smoked jalapeño pepper.
And, when dried, the poblano pepper is called an ancho chili pepper (smoked or not). Sometimes you’ll see smoked poblanos erroneously called chipotles.
Chipotle paste or dried ground chipotle powder
Keep dried ground chipotle powder in the spice cupboard. It’s so shelf stable, and love the convenience of it.
I also love using chipotle paste that I make from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Find the full instructions here. But, basically, simply dump the whole can – peppers and sauce and all, in a blender and puree.
It makes all the spice level the same. No more pulling one chile out to find that it’s scorching hot while another one from the same can is medium spicy.
And I keep the chipotle paste in the freezer for longer storage.
Either the ground chipotle powder or the chipotle paste will work great in this recipe. And, it’s easy to measure either one.
Can I make it less spicy?
Want a more mild Southwestern Corn Chowder?
You can cut the poblano pepper in half and only use half in the soup.
Cut the chipotle amount in half as well.
Topping the soup with sour cream as a garnish will also mellow the heat level.
Keep in mind that some peppers grow hotter than others too, so one poblano pepper might be more mild than another.
Use your favorite broth
What already tastes good to you is what will end up being your favorite.
I use (affiliate link) Better Than Bouillon vegetable base for pretty much all of my cooking (if it’s not homemade broth). I like that it isn’t too salty, and how little space it takes to store so much broth.
Oh, and by the way, they have lots of different flavors of Better Than Bouillon to choose from.
If you aren’t used to vegetable broth, and you prefer chicken broth, use that.
Add-ins
There are lots of ways to add other flavors and textures to this soup.
Try adding a can of white beans for a little extra protein. Black beans would also work well.
Toss in a little shredded chicken
Mix in some shredded pepperjack cheese at the end for a cheesy soup
Add a handful of fresh spinach leaves to the soup for a fun green addition.
The red pepper and poblano sauteed in the pot with all the spices
I’ve added the corn and the cream-style corn and am ready to heat it through for the final 10 minutes.
Garnishes
Of course cilantro and lime wedges are delicious!
Sour cream and cheese are always welcome to the party. Try cotija cheese on top for even more southwestern flair.
Toss some broken chips on top for a fiesta soup.
Looking for more great soups?
I love soup, and have a ton of recipes for different ones. Some of my favorites are Red Pepper Gnocchi Soup, Mushroom Soup, Tomato Lentil Soup, and Slow Cooker Tomato Parmesan. And check out all of my soup recipes!
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Southwestern Corn Chowder Recipe
Southwestern Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 poblano pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or 1 teaspoon chipotle paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 pound baby potatoes quartered
- 3 carrots chopped
- 16 ounces frozen sweet corn
- 15 ounces canned cream-style corn
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the chopped poblano pepper, chopped red bell pepper, chipotle, cumin, thyme, oregano, and garlic powder, and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the peppers become soft.
- Stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the milk and vegetable broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan as you stir.
- Add the potatoes and carrots, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.
- Stir in the frozen corn and the cream-style corn. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until the soup is completely heated through. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro for garnish.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Liren Baker
Love the combination of peppers to add extra depth to this chowder!
Elizabeth Mateus
You mention carrots in the instruction, but not in the list of ingredients.
Debi
Elizabeth, yes, carrots are in the list of ingredients. 3 carrots, chopped. It’s right under potatoes, the 4th ingredient from the bottom. Hope that helps.
Vee
What is the serving size? I see it makes 6 servings, but what is the amount of each serving?
Debi
Vee, a serving of this soup is about 1 cup to 1.5 cups. Hope that helps.
Bonnie
I made the Southwesten Corn Chowder tonight and it was delicious. It was everything that I hoped that it would be. I found that the prep time was way more than 15 minutes with peeling carrots, cutting potato’s and chopping peppers. It is all well and good, but there is just no way that I could have prepped all this in 15 minutes…but I did double the recipe.
Kathy Walters
Just made this and it is delicious. I forgot to add the Lime and Cilantro at the end but it was still Yummy. Will add it with the next meal. I had a large hot Poblano so only used about 3/4 of it and it was perfect. So watch the heat unless you like really hot things