Creamy Homemade Sweet and Smoky Corn Soup Recipe
Soup season is almost over, but I am still on a soup kick. I randomly developed this recipe a few weeks ago when I was craving soup for lunch. When I opened the pantry corn is what caught my eye. Luckily I had all the main ingredients for a soup and if I am being honest, I am kind of surprised how good it turned out! So next time you have a craving for a warm and delicious soup with tender corn and sweet and smoky flavors, you have to try this easy creamy soup recipe. The good news is I am sharing my lunch time experiment which turned out to be a very delicious sweet corn soup. Full recipe card below.
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What is Corn Soup?
As the name suggests corn is the primary ingredient in this soup and has a sweet milky flavor. Corn soup is often mixed with liquids like milk, heavy cream, vegetable broth or chicken broth, and blended into a smooth soup. It is full of sweet and smoky flavor. Because of the smooth consistency of the pureed vegetable and chunks of corn, this soup might also be referred to as a corn bisque or corn chowder. Like many soups it is commonly served with crusty bread or a grilled cheese sandwich.
What is a Roux?
When making a soup it is very common to make it starting with a roux but what does that mean? A roux is a fancy way of saying to thicken a sauce. It is generally equal parts fat and flour. Often times the fat portion is butter but can sometimes also be oil. To successfully make a roux you start by melting your butter over medium-low heat in a sauce pan and slowly whisking in the flour to form a creamy paste like base. This is your roux and will be used as the base of the rest of the soup.
Why I Love This Recipe
I absolutely love making soups! They are easy to make, fill you up, and can be lunch, dinner, or a side dish. You can make soups with leftover ingredients or seasonal favorites. And since we often have snow late into spring here in Colorado, nothing beats a warm bowl of soup on a cold day!
Homemade Corn Soup Ingredients
This easy corn chowder recipe uses simple ingredients you might already have stocked in your pantry and if not, I will tell you where to find them and how to make it.
Butter – The first part of the roux is butter and very important to the process. While I have margarine in my fridge for things like toast, when it comes to cooking from scratch, I always use real butter. Margarine is very processed and doesn’t have the well rounded flavor that real butter has. Substitute at your own risk.
Flour – For this recipe all purpose flour is going to be the second step in the roux and the thickener of the sauce. You can also use corn starch if you are gluten free, just use one tablespoon instead of two.
Celery Salt – I know this one is a little less common so if you don’t have it, you can either use regular salt or onion salt in its place.
Cumin – This is one of my favorite spices and adds a lot of flavor! Cumin has an earthy flavor with a lot of depth. If you don’t have this, get some! It is a versatile spice and found in many styles of cooking and spice rubs.
Smoked Paprika – As the name suggests, smoked paprika has a very smoky flavor yet quite earthy. This will round out the sweetness of the corn in the soup. Try not to substitute this because it really has a high impact on the flavor. Regular paprika would be the closest substitute though.
Salt & Pepper – Like all dishes a little salt and pepper goes a long way with the flavor.
Chicken Broth – The base of this soup uses a combination of broth and milk. I use the low sodium chicken broth so keep that in mind when salting the soup if you don’t use reduced sodium. If you are looking for a vegetarian option you can also use vegetable broth. You can also substitute chicken broth for chicken stock, or vegetable stock for vegetable broth for but you may have to add more salt and pepper since stock usually contains no added seasonings.
Corn – Whole kernel corn is another primary ingredient in this recipe. I use one can of corn as part of the base of the soup and another to add corn to the top and add whole kernels to the soup itself. I have always used drained sweet canned corn but you can also use fresh corn or frozen corn. If you use frozen corn it will need to be thawed and drained.
Cream Style Corn – This recipe uses cream style corn which cannot be substituted. Cream corn is part of the base in this recipe and without it the soup would need more liquid. Any brand of cream style corn is fine here.
Jalapenos – To add a little extra flavor and spice I added a jalapeno. For a mild spice remove the seeds from the jalapeno before adding them to the soup. For a spicier soup leave the seeds in. If you do not like any spice, you can omit entirely.
Sugar – I added a little white sugar to bring out the natural sweetness in the corn.
Onion – I chose to use a white onion here since it gets cooked down. White onions are best for cooked dishes since they stand up to heat better and they become sweeter the longer they cook which is perfect for soups. You can also use a yellow onion or a sweet Vidalia onion. The yellow onion will be similar to the white and a Vidalia will be sweeter. I do not recommend using a red onion because they are really best for raw dishes or for pickling. They have a much spicier and sharp flavor.
Garlic – When I cook I almost always use jarred garlic because it’s easy and keeps a long time in the fridge. In this recipe I used jarred garlic but you can definitely use fresh if you prefer. The conversion is a 1:1 ratio of tsp to garlic cloves. This recipe calls for 2 tsp minced garlic so you would use 2 cloves of garlic. If you want to use garlic powder instead, you will only need 1/2 tsp for this recipe.
Milk – I always use 2% milk for cooking but you can use whole milk here too. I do not recommend skim milk because it is too runny. On the reverse, heavy cream is a bit too thick, but you could use half and half for similar results. For a vegan non-dairy version, I would use canned coconut milk.
Cheddar Cheese – Feel free to use freshly grated cheddar or bagged shredded cheddar (white or yellow). All will work just fine. I do recommend sticking to cheddar though since it has a bolder flavor than Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, or mozzarella. If you choose to shred your own cheese, I highly recommend this cheese grater attachment to speed up the process.
Limes – A little lime juice really helps brighten up this dish and adds a little acidity to balance it out. I use a few squeezes on top as I eat it.
Mixing Options
I recommend using a high powered blender for this soup recipe. I used my Ninja Foodi blender and it pureed the corn into a smooth and silky texture. You can also use a food processor or immersion blender, but depending on the amount of power, the soup may not come out as smooth. I used the spread mode on my Ninja and the consistency was perfect. For a thinner soup, use the smoothie mode.
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Creamy Homemade Sweet and Smoky Corn Soup Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
Description
Looking for a great soup for summer and winter? Try this easy creamy sweetcorn soup! Full of sweet and smoky flavors this simple recipe will have you coming back for more. No matter if you want a small bowl for lunch or a large bowl of soup for dinner on a cold day, this flavorful hot soup will hit the spot every time.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1/4 White Onion Diced
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
- 3/4 tsp Salt
- 3/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Celery Salt
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Jalapeno diced without seeds
- 2 can Whole Kernel Corn divided
- 1 can Creamed Corn
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- Tortilla Strips for topping
- Cheese for topping
- Cilantro for garnish
- Lime wedge for garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Reduce to medium low heat and slowly whisk in the flour stirring constantly. This should yield a smooth paste like texture. This is your roux.
- Reduce heat to low and add diced onion, garlic, and additional seasonings. Sauté until the onions are cooked through, about 5 minutes. This will be a clumpy paste. Be careful not to burn the garlic or it will taste bitter.
- Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. This will loosen all the seasonings stuck to the bottom of the pan and add flavor to the liquid. Cook for an additional 2 minutes on low.
- Add one can of corn, cream corn, jalapeno, and sugar, and simmer on low heat until the corn is soft. About 5 minutes. Do not boil.
- Transfer the contents of the pot to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the blended mixture back to the soup pot. Tip: To get all of the corn soup residue out of the blender, add the milk to the blender and shake with the lid on. Then pour into the pot with the rest of the mixture.
- Slowly stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and the additional can of corn until it is fully combined. Simmer over medium low heat for about 5 minutes or until soup is hot. Do not boil.
- Garnish with tortilla strips, cheese, lime, and cilantro.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Equipment
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American, Mexican
How to Reheat
If you have leftover corn soup you have a few options for reheating. I personally think reheating in the microwave works just fine. It is the quickest and easiest method. Microwave in 40 second intervals in a microwave safe bowl stirring in between until soup is hot all the way through. I recommend covering with a paper towel so the soup doesn’t splatter in the microwave.
You can also reheat leftovers the next day on the stove top. Add soup to a pot and heat over medium heat until the soup is hot. Do not boil.
When to Make Sweet and Smoky Corn Soup
This delicious sweet corn soup recipe is the perfect dish to make with fresh summer corn or with a leftover ear of corn. Or you can whip up a batch of this easy sweet corn soup with canned ingredients for a quick weeknight dinner. This easy recipe only takes 25 minutes to make and can be served with a half a sandwich or garlic bread for lunch. No matter when you decide to make it, the whole family will love this creamy sweet corn soup recipe.
Looking for more tasty soup recipes? Try my easy slow cooker taco soup with Rotel, creamy and chunky loaded baked potato soup, creamy tomato bail soup, or copycat Panera autumn squash soup recipe.
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