Kielbasa Corn Chowder
Kielbasa Corn Chowder is a creamy, flavorful, and comforting chowder featuring bacon, tender potatoes, smoked kielbasa and sweet corn!
A HEARTY WARM SOUP RECIPE
I love dinner soups. You can just whip it up and serve with some bread or a salad and it is a whole meal in one. I tend to pick up packages of kielbasa when they are on sale so I am always looking for ways to use it. This Kielbasa Corn Chowder was a HUGE hit! The corn adds just a small touch of sweetness to balance out the salty flavors of the kielbasa and bacon. It’s the ideal dish to whip up on those fall, chilly nights when you want a bowl of something cozy to fill your belly!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
While the bacon is optional, it does bring tons of flavor and a nice texture added to the chowder. But you can use just kielbasa if needed, you will need about 2-3 Tablespoons of butter or oil to brown the kielbasa in and then you can follow the rest of the recipe.
Sure, instead of the heavy cream, try using half and half or milk to lighten it up a bit. Just know that it won’t be quite as thick since heavy cream is a thicker liquid.
This typically happens once the chowder cools down, just add a splash of chicken broth to the chowder (or if you are out of chicken broth, just use water) when you go to reheat it to help thin it out just a tad.
So, any kind of smoked sausage should work with this recipe. Andouille sausage would be a great alternative. If you’re choosing a sausage that isn’t smoked, or isn’t already fully cooked, you’ll need to make sure to cook it beforehand. Bratwurst would be good in this chowder, but you’ll need to cook it first fully before adding it. Keep this in mind if you are choosing an uncooked option as this may change the required time needed for this entire recipe.
Once the chowder has cooled to room temperature, transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days, or you can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- thick cut bacon – it doesn’t necessarily have to be thick cut. You can use whatever bacon you have on hand.
- kielbasa – I just like a regular smoked kielbasa. You can use other flavors if you prefer.
- sweet onion
- garlic cloves – I always prefer fresh garlic – you get more bang for the buck but if all you have is the jarred stuff, you can use that instead. You may want to add a tad more though because the jarred stuff sometimes isn’t quite as strong as the fresh. I will leave that up to your taste buds. You can always try a little at first then taste and add more as desired.
- all-purpose flour
- chicken broth – if you need to cut down on the sodium, I would suggest a low or no sodium broth. Or if you really want to go all out, try making your own Homemade Chicken Broth.
- russet potatoes – you could use Yukon gold potatoes. I do find they don’t soak up the liquid quite as well as russet potatoes do so you can sometimes end up with a slightly more soupy consistency rather than chowder consistency.
- corn – you can use fresh or frozen corn kernels.
- heavy cream – I highly recommend the heavy cream. It adds thickness and creaminess. You could use milk (not skim milk) but just keep in mind, you will have a thinner chowder.
HOW TO MAKE KIELBASA CORN CHOWDER
In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy (about 8-10 minutes) stirring occasionally. Note: I do like to season my bacon with a little salt and pepper but that is not absolutely necessary. Take the bacon out and place it on a paper towel lined plate. Don’t remove any bacon grease from the pot. Add the cut-up kielbasa and brown it in the bacon grease for about 2-4 minutes.
Remove the kielbasa and place it on a plate for later. Next, add the diced onions to the pot with the leftover bacon grease and cook until softened and translucent. Add the minced garlic to the pot and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds.) Next, add the flour and stir as it absorbs the bacon grease.
While stirring constantly, slowly pour in the chicken broth. Scrape off all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (this will add flavor to the chowder.
Add the diced potatoes and black pepper into the pot, stir, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 10-15 minutes), stirring every few minutes to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom.
Once the potatoes are fork-tender, add in the corn and kielbasa back to the pot and stir. Then stir in the heavy cream. Bring back to a simmer over medium heat to warm everything through.
Serve with the reserved bacon for topping.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Kielbasa Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick cut bacon chopped
- 14 ounce package kielbasa cut into ¼ inch half moons
- 1 small sweet onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 32 ounce container chicken broth
- 4 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy (about 8-10 minutes) stirring occasionally. Note: I do like to season my bacon with a little salt and pepper while cooking but it is not absolutely necessary.
- Take the bacon out and place it on a paper towel lined plate. Don’t remove any bacon grease from the pot.
- Add the cut-up kielbasa and brown it in the bacon grease for about 2-4 minutes.
- Remove the kielbasa and place it on a plate for later.
- Next, add the diced onions to the pot with the leftover bacon grease and cook until softened and translucent.
- Add the minced garlic to the pot and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds.)
- Next, add the flour and stir as it absorbs the bacon grease.
- While stirring constantly, slowly pour in the chicken broth. Scrape off all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan (this will add flavor to the chowder.)
- Add the diced potatoes and black pepper into the pot, stir, then bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot.
- Simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 10-15 minutes), stirring every few minutes to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom.
- Once the potatoes are fork-tender, add in the corn and kielbasa back to the pot and stir.
- Then stir in the heavy cream. Bring back to a simmer over medium heat to warm everything through.
- Serve with the reserved bacon for topping.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I made this tonight for dinner – the fam loved it! The only thing I did differently was to add some celery and a few bay leaves. I mashed the potatoes a bit with a masher and added half and half. It was delicious!
EXCELLENT ❣️
Definitely a family favorite
Thanks so very much Ginny Lynn!
Made this for my wife tonight, loved it and can’t wait to have this again.
Thanks so much Bill!! Happy to hear your wife loved it!
Hi Brandie! Recipe says: “Serve with the reserved bacon for topping.”
When does the first part of the bacon get added, and how much?
Thanks! Ally in New Jersey
Sorry, that does sound confusing. So, you’re gonna cook the bacon so you’ll have bacon grease to cook the kielbasa and onions in. Then you are just going to use that cooked bacon as a topping when serving, it actually isn’t going to cook in the chowder itself. Now, you could do that if you wanted. You could take half the bacon and cook it with the chowder, but I like to keep the bacon crispy and if it cooks in the chowder it will soften a bit. You’d just put it in when you put the kielbasa back in. I hope thats a bit clearer. 🙂
Thank you Brandie! Yes it does!!