Slow Cooker Corn and Bacon Chowder

Slow Cooker Corn and Bacon Chowder with Del Monte

By Rachel // November 19, 2012 // 98 comments //

When colder weather becomes the norm, I like cozying up with a bowl of soup or cup of hot chocolate. A blanket and a movie or a good book is a bonus. And let’s not forget the fire. Last year we didn’t have any fires, so this year we will absolutely make better use of the fireplace.

But what’s better than soup? Easy and incredibly tasty soup, that’s also good for you! Okay so there’s bacon, but you can’t have corn chowder without bacon. You just can’t. I used fresh packed whole kernel corn from Del Monte. They boast about their freshly packed veggie which preserve both flavor and nutrients and they are also primarily grown in the US. Bonus points. You could make this even creamier and thicker by adding their creamy style corn.

When I previously made a corn chowder, it was good but had room for improvement as nearly anything does. The Mr requested that this time I add some tiny shrimp. I’m personally not a huge fan of seafood so I tasted the soup prior to that addition and holy moly… you need this soup in your life. I’m not kidding. Pull out your slow cooker and get crackin’ right now.

This chowder is packed with flavor. It’s a creamy corn chowder with hearty chunks of tender potatoes, shrimp and crumbled bacon. It doesn’t get any better.

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Yield: Serves 6-8

Cook Time: 4.5 hours

Slow Cooker Corn and Bacon Chowder

Ingredients:

5C potatoes, cubed
1 16oz can Del Monte whole kernel corn, drained
1C onion, diced
6 slices of bacon
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3C chicken stock
1 can tiny shrimp, drained
1/4C flour
1 1/2C heavy cream

Directions:

Peel, rinse and cube potatoes into bite size pieces. Add potatoes, drained whole kernel corn, salt, pepper and thyme to slow cooker.

In a large skillet over medium heat, fry bacon until crisp. Drain and chop into desired size. Reserve 1/4 cup of bacon for topping, transfer remaining chopped bacon to slow cooker.

Add diced onion to skillet, cook in bacon grease over medium-low heat until nearly translucent or roughly 5 minutes. Transfer onion to slow cooker. Top off with chicken stock. Gently stir, cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until potatoes are fork tender.

Combine heavy cream and flour, whisking until smooth, pour into slow cooker along with drained shrimp. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes

Serve with reserved bacon.

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*Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post for Del Monte and BlogHer. All opinions are my own.

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