Slow Cooker Mexican Street Corn Chowder

The savory flavors of Mexican street corn come together in an easy crockpot corn chowder. Slow Cooker Mexican Street Corn Chowder is slightly spicy, slightly smoky, and topped with avocado, bacon, cilantro, and cotija cheese!

Course Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 20

Servings servings

Calories 546kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

Ingredients

1 to 2 medium jalapeños seeds & membranes removed
½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves plus additional for serving
3 pounds frozen corn thawed & DIVIDED
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth OR vegetable broth DIVIDED
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle chile pepper powder plus more to taste (for extra heat)
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup half-and-half
16 ounces bacon cooked until crispy, drained, & diced
2 ripe avocados cubed (and tossed with lime juice to prevent them from turning brown)
Crumbled cotija cheese
Sliced jalapeños for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a large food processor or blender, pulse the jalapeños and cilantro until they are minced. Add half of the corn (1 ½ pounds), half of the broth (2 cups), the cumin, chipotle chile pepper powder, salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Purée the mixture until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large slow cooker and stir in the remaining corn and chicken broth. Cover and cook for 4 to 6 hours on LOW (or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH).
Stir the half-and-half into the chowder and adjust the seasonings, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary. Cover and cook for a few more minutes or until heated through. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with diced bacon, cubed avocado, crumbled cotija, minced cilantro, and a light (optional) sprinkle of chipotle chile pepper powder (for extra smoky heat) or smoked paprika (for smokiness without heat).

Notes

Chipotle chile pepper powder is what gives this recipe its heat. If you like things milder, you can cut the amount in half. Or if you prefer no heat at all, you could swap out the chipotle chile powder for regular chili powder (which isn't spicy), plus ¼ teaspoon or so of smoked paprika (so you don’t lose the smokiness).
Another way to make this soup spicier is to leave the seeds and membranes in the jalapeños intact, as that's where most of the heat is found in a jalapeño.
If you desire a thicker chowder, you may whisk ½ cup all-purpose flour into the half-and-half at the end of the recipe. Stir this into the soup as directed, then cover and cook on HIGH for 15 to 30 more minutes or until thickened (just watch that it doesn't stick around the edges).
For a special touch, I found fire-roasted frozen corn at my grocery store and used a bag of it for a portion of the corn for this recipe.

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