Mexican Chicken and Street Corn Chowder

If there’s any one type of recipe that you guys really seem to love, it’s bowls of delicious comfort food!  And you know what, I’m right there with you.

Even though we’re still in those dog days of summer, I’m dreaming about Fall. My favorite season, that’s filled with some of my favorite comfort foods!

This recipe is a perfect blend of a corn chowder, and a chicken chili.

Now while I love a good traditional chili, I find myself drawn to the chicken chilis.  My regular Creamy White Chicken Chili has become a true reader favorite, and is super popular at parties, potlucks and even chili cook-offs!

So I mixed that recipe with a street corn chowder and this absolutely amazing recipe was the result!

Plus, it’s such an easy, (mostly) dump and go slow cooker recipe, it’s perfect for when you don’t have a lot of time to make dinner.

How to make Mexican street corn chowder?

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Add chicken, veggies, and spices. There’s no particular order needed, since you’ll be stirring it.
2. Add broth. It may seem like not enough broth, but the chicken will give off liquid as it cooks too.
3. Stir, cover, and cook.
4. Shred chicken. I like to do this with two forks, but feel free to use any method you like best.
5. Make cream mixture. Add the cornstarch to heavy cream.
6. Whisk to combine. It’s important that you add the cornstarch this way, whisked into the cream, otherwise, it will clump up.
7. Add cream mixture. Stir it in to combine.
8. Cook. Cooking it on high, uncovered, will allow for the chowder to thicken up a bit.
9. Add chicken and cheese. Stir well, continuing to cook until chowder is thickened to your liking.

Variations of this recipe

• Heat level – to make this chowder spicier, feel free to use more jalapeños, use serrano peppers, and/or use hot diced green chiles. To make this chowder more mild, you can use poblano peppers instead of the jalapeños, and make sure you’re using mild diced green chiles.
• Other dairy – instead of heavy cream, feel free to use half and half, whole milk, or a mixture of those. You just need to have 2 total cups of dairy. I haven’t tested using evaporated milk, although I’m sure that would work just fine.
• Thicker/Thinner – everyone has their own idea of how thick a chowder should be. As written, this is the way we like it. However, you can easily adapt the recipe to make your chowder thicker or thinner than as written. Check the “chef tips” section of the recipe instructions for all the details.
• Vegetarian – to make a great vegetarian chowder, omit the chicken breasts and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth or stock.
• Other cooking methods – as written, this is a slow cooker soup, but you can easily make this recipe in other ways. Check out the “chef tips” section of the recipe for all the details (stovetop and Instant Pot versions).

Making corn chowder ahead of time

Not only can you make the whole chowder/chicken chili ahead of time (in fact, the flavors get even better!), you can also prep a lot of the ingredients ahead of time to really cut down on the prep time.

How to prep ahead for this recipe:

• Veggies – the onion, jalapeños, and garlic can be chopped/diced/minced ahead of time and kept refrigerated in separate containers.
• Spices – all of the spices can be measured out and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Storage

Leftover chowder should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-4 days.

Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of chicken broth or your preferred dairy to thin it out if needed.

Freezing

This corn chowder recipe can be frozen! Due to the dairy in it, I do recommend freezing it before adding the heavy cream and cornstarch.

Let the chowder cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container, label with the date, and freeze for up to 3-6 months.

Thaw in the refrigerator, then when heating, add the heavy cream/cornstarch mixture.