A quick and easy, creamy corn chowder made with veggies, sautéed in bacon drippings, cubed potatoes and shrimp.

Corn Chowder with Shrimp

I started off intending to make this chowder with some frozen crawfish tails, that I was sure I had in the freezer. Unfortunately, after having to hurriedly rearrange things and transfer stuff from the refrigerator freezer, to the deep freeze, courtesy Hurricane Zeta, it was just faster and easier to grab some shrimp. 

No worries. They are delicious too! The only difference really, is the flavor that comes from the fat in the crawfish, but honestly it's a good chowder either way. You can even use a combination of the two, or throw in some crab as well. Although not as popular down here, clams may also be substituted. Oysters as well.

It's such a quick and easy dish, loaded with flavor, that you'll love making this, whether it's with shrimp or crawfish. Frozen Louisiana crawfish tails are pricey, but worth it! Do you know how many crawfish you have to peel to get a pound of tails? A lot. Just make sure you're buying a quality product and one that is from Louisiana, not overseas. 

As always, full recipe text with measurements and instructions, as well as a printable document, are a little bit further down the page. Just swipe or scroll past the step by step pictures below.

Here's how to make my corn chowder with shrimp.

 

For this, I like the extra flavor boost that comes with bacon, so I start with a few slices chopped up and render out the fat. Add to that some butter and the veggies and cook those for a few minutes, until they begin to get tender. Sprinkle flour on top and cook that, stirring regularly for about 3 minutes. I don't take it dark. Just a nice, light blonde roux, cooked long enough to cook the flour.

Stir in some broth a little at a time. I usually use chicken, though vegetable or seafood stock will also work. The Kitchen Basics line of stock products is my pantry standby, though when I don't need a whole quart of it, I love using Better Than Bouillon, always in the fridge. Slowly mix in until mixture is smooth. I like to use cubed potatoes for this dish, as they retain their shape and texture a bit better than chopped. I'm using red-skinned potatoes, which have tender skins, so I just give them a good scrub and I don't peel them. Stir in the cubed potatoes, bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

 

Add the corn, seasonings and milk, increase heat to a near boil then reduce again to a simmer. Add the shrimp, green onion and parsley. Continue simmering for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

I have a Kitchen Aid food processor with a dicing attachment, but I've also had this slicer dicer {affil link} for a long, long time and it comes in handy when you only need to cube dice a few things. I think I bought it from QVC and though I'm sure they don't have this one anymore, you can find a wide variety of them around on Amazon too. {affil link}

Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with a pinch of additional green onion and Cajun seasoning, or red pepper flakes, if desired.

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Recipe: Corn Chowder with Shrimp

©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: About 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 slices bacon, cut up
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1-1/2 cups diced raw potato
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama {affil link}), or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay {affil link}, or to taste seasoning 
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 cups warmed whole milk
• 1 pound (51/70 count) peeled and deveined shrimp 
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion
• 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley
• Reserved green onion and extra sprinkle of Cajun seasoning, for garnish

Instructions

Cut the bacon into small pieces and sauté until fat is rendered. Add the butter, onion and celery and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in the flour, until well blended, cooking and stirring continuously for about 3 minutes to cook the flour. Stir in the broth a little at a time until mixture is smooth. Add the potatoes, increase heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring several times.

Stir in the corn, seasonings and milk; bring up to a near boil, reduce heat and stir in shrimp, green onion and parsley; simmer for about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spoon into individual soup bowls and garnish with a pinch of green onion and a sprinkle of Cajun seasoning.

Crawfish Corn Chowder: Substitute a one-pound package of frozen, Louisiana crawfish tails, thawed, for the shrimp. Include the fat from the package, however, please note that the chowder will take on an orange or pinkish tinge. May also use a mix of crawfish tails and shrimp.

Clam Chowder: Prepare as above except substitute clam juice for the chicken broth and 1 pound cooked clams, minced, for the shrimp.

Cook's Notes: For a basic corn chowder, simply omit the seafood. May also substitute frozen corn, but if you are making this in the midst of fresh corn season, definitely use fresh shucked, corn cut right off of the cob. It is especially good when roasted in the oven first. Clean, brush generously with butter and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Let cool and cut off from the husks. Add one carrot, chopped, with the onion and celery if you like for a base mirepoix. May also substitute heavy cream or half and half for the whole milk, or use a combination of any of them. If you like, add in one link of andouille or milder smoked sausage, chopped.

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