Chicken and Corn Chowder is so creamy, quick, and easy in the Instant Pot! The addition of sweet potato here turns the same ol' boring chowder into Dynamite Healthy Pow Chow!
The second the weather starts to turn late summer, I start busting out my favorite soups, stews, and chilis, like a crazy person. At the top of my “must make before the end of the endless Utah winter” list are Magic Sunshine Soup, Enchilada Soup, Tomato Basil Soup, and Triple Bean Chili.
The number one on that list for 10 years running is this Chicken and Corn Chowder recipe from Mel's Kitchen. Oh my heavens, it is AMAZING!!!
Our first year of marriage, my husband made it clear to me that soup WAS NOT a meal, it was an appetizer. I immediately set out to prove him dead wrong.
The road wasn't easy. I recall one night that I presented the most glorious French Onion Soup ever, and he walked right out the door and got a Mcdonald's hamburger. Sparks flew that night, but not in the happy “honeymoon stage” kind of way.
The first soup to finally win his heart was Mel's corn chowder recipe, and quite frankly I was shocked. He despised sweet potatoes at the time so when he exclaimed, “The carrots in this soup are so good!” I just smiled and ran with it.
I have been trying to Instant Pot-atize this recipe for 2 years now. Every trial left me with overcooked sweet potatoes, chewy chicken, and overly sweet, watered-down flavor. Which is just so disappointing, when you know how it SHOULD taste.
I'm proud to say that I've finally FIGURED IT OUT!
For this new Instant Pot version, I swap chicken breasts for cubed chicken tenders, cook the sweet potatoes in a steamer basket above the chicken and use a homemade cornbread mix instead of the overly sweet box of Jiffy.
The results? Perfectly sweet, creamy, healthy corn chowder with a mind-blowing pressure cooking time of 2 minutes! Are you onboard?
WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS EASY CORN CHOWDER
- Perfect results in half the time AND half the hands-on effort
- Every wholesome bite is like a big hug of love
- With the nix of typical heavy corn chowder ingredients like bacon grease and heavy cream, you can joyfully devour three bowls
- It will convince all the doubters that soup is, indeed, a meal
HOW TO MAKE A CREAMY, HEALTHY CORN CHOWDER WITHOUT THE CREAM
- Mix up a whole grain, sugar-free, cornbread mix
- Combine it with skim or low-fat milk – set aside for later
- Saute your onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of butter
- Add seasonings and sweat the onions a few minutes to get them goin'
- Add your cubed chicken tenders and broth
- Top with a steamer basket full of sweet potatoes and cook for 2 minutes
- After you release the pressure, bring it to a simmer and whisk in the milk mixture, it will thicken quite quickly
- Add the sweet potatoes back in, along with some sweet corn, cheese, and parsley
- Eat up!
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Serve it with some Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread and a big salad. I believe we will all agree (including my anti-soup meal husband) that this is one seriously rockin' meal.
HOW TO STORE, REHEAT, AND FREEZE CORN CHOWDER
- Store: Cool leftovers and store in the fridge for up to five days.
- Reheat: Gently reheat in a pan on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Freeze: This soup becomes a little grainy after it's frozen, so I do not suggest freezing it.
VARIATIONS OF CORN CHOWDER
- Top with bacon – Okay, I know what I said about bacon above, but if you cook the bacon in the microwave, oven, or skillet, you'll be leaving all the grease behind. It's totally not a must, but salty, crunchy bacon on top is nothing short of amazing
- If you reallllyyyyy don't like sweet potatoes, you could swap for russet or Yukon potatoes. I suspect the cooking time would need to increase 3 – 4 minutes.
- If you've got boxes of Jiffy hangin' around that you really want to use, substitute 1 cup of Jiffy mix in place of the homemade version, in the recipe
MORE CREAMY INSTANT POT SOUP RECIPES
- Instant Pot Creamy Asparagus Soup
- Instant Pot Creamy Cauliflower Soup
- Instant Pot Creamy Ravioli Butternut Squash Soup
TOOLS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT CORN CHOWDER
PrintInstant Pot Creamy Chicken and Corn Chowder Recipe
Healthy, Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder with a delicious twist of sweet potatoes, whipped up in minutes in the Instant Pot
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Homemade Cornbread Mix (may substitute with 1 cup of Jiffy)
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
For the Chowder
- 3 cups skim, 1%, or 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 2 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small bite-size pieces
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (I like sharp, but any kind will work)
- 2 cups frozen corn or 1 15 oz can, drained
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in milk. Set aside.
- Select saute on the pressure cooker and add butter. When melted, add onions and garlic and stir. Place lid on pot, allow onions to sweat 3-4 minutes until soft, checking on them after 2 minutes to make sure they don't burn. Add salt, cumin, and oregano, stir.
- Add chicken tenderloins and chicken broth.
- Place a steamer basket inside and place chopped sweet potatoes in it
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 2 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a natural release for 5 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Set steamer basket with sweet potatoes aside.
- Select saute and bring soup to a light simmer. Give the cornmeal/milk mixture (from step 1) an extra stir, then pour into the pot while whisking. Let the soup simmer until thick, 3-5 minutes, stirring often.
- Return sweet potatoes to the pot with the cheese, corn, and parsley, stir until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. May add extra broth to thin, if desired.
- Refrigerate leftovers for 3-5 days. This soup does not freeze well.
Notes
- Chicken tenderloins and boneless, skinless chicken thighs have the most tender results in comparison to chicken breast. If using bite-size pieces of chicken breast, the cooking time will remain the same
- May use 1 cup of dry Jiffy or Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix in place of the homemade mix.
Keywords: instant pot soup, chicken corn chowder, healthy corn chowder
This is my new favorite soup EVER!. I told my daughter I was making soup and to come by and join us or pick some up. It was all I could do to get my husband (and me) to stop eating it so I could save some for her. Just got a text from her wanting the recipe for the fabulous Chowder!
★★★★★
Pam, Isn’t the best?! It’s the first soup I think of when the weather cools down. I love that your daughter texted you for the recipe 🙂
Folliwed the recipe exactly…well, almost. Added 2 cups of frozen vegies and sliced up sime chicken breasts.
Neighbor got the first pot and said she ate 2-bowls. She is quarantining with her sick 21 year old son. She loved it on her sore throat.🤒
Meanwhile, I made a second pot for my family. My wife ate a whole bowl and scraped the bottom. That’s a good sign.
Thanks for the recipe. 😋😋😋
★★★★★
Ernest, Oh I love hearing that! What a great neighbor you are. And tell your wife her “bowl scraper” approval means everything :).
Very intrigued so had to try it since my husband hates sweet potatoes. But not an easy recipe to follow. So confusing… Doesn’t appear to have been updated so the milk is with the cornmeal mix. Very creative using jiffy mix as a thickener & to add more corn flavor but it made soup way too thick, so I used 1/2 as much the next time. I made a vegetarian version too, dropped the chicken & used veggie broth & added 1c water. Flavor was bland so added a diced red pepper & a few stalks of diced celery while sautéing & smoked paprika to offset the sweetness. I was short on milk so I used 1/2 milk & 1/2 sour cream in the cornmeal mix & it worked well, made it creamy. Added an extra 1/2 c of cheese. A good base just needed tweaked a bit to kick it up a bit.
★★★
Marci, I am not a fan of cumin so will leave that out. I am wondering if it can be tasty without the cornbread ingredients? I don’t have any corn meal or Jiffy, etc but would love to try the soup otherwise. It might be thinner but good?
Nancy, you can definitely leave the cumin out, that will be fine. I’ve never made it without the cornmeal, but I still think it would be delicious. More of a chicken stew vibe than a chowder. Let me know if you try it!
This was a huge hit with my family!! So delicious and easy to do! I too successfully made the recipe by cooking the sweet potatoes directly in the broth (sans steamer basket)! Thank you for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Cher, that is so great to hear! It’s 100 degrees where I live now so I can’t say I’m craving this soup yet, but as soon as it cools down, this will be the first one I make. I’m excited to try it without the steamer! I”m so glad you guys enjoyed it 🙂
Such a good chowder. This was so flavorful and very filling. I don’t have a steamer basket and ended up cooking the potatoes wit the chicken—turned out perfect! Thanks for a delicious, comforting meal!
Stephanie, good to know! I might try it next time. I worried they’d be complete mush.
I don’t have a steamer basket. Will the sweet potatoes be okay left in the whole time or will they become mushy?
Kaitlyn, Someone told me they did it without the steamer basket and that it worked great so I’d say go for it!
Can regular white flour be used in place of the white whole wheat flour? If so, in the same quantity? I know it’s not as healthy, but it’s what I have. Can’t wait to try this!
Susan, Yes, that will work great! Use the same amount. You’ll love this one!
Made this tonight after work. It turned out great! The only thing I changed was I used butternut squash because I was out of sweet potatoes. The squash was a bit soft so I just blended it in. Can’t wait to try again with sweet potatoes!
Pamela, what a great idea, and that probably made it incredibly creamy. Thanks for sharing your tweak!
So I have to say, this came out AMAZING!! I have a father who doesn’t believe that soup can be considered a meal either, and he was full after a single bowl! I did make a moderation however. After cooking everything for 2 minutes, I removed the chicken and then poured the sweet potatoes back into the pot, and used an immersion blender to blend the sweet potatoes and onions. I then poured the corn meal mixture along with the chicken back into the pot and allowed that to thicken. Before serving, I mixed in the cup of corn and sharp cheddar cheese. Family loved it! Thanks so much for all that you do! Your recipes are amazing!
Ellie, ooooh, I’m intrigued, that sounds amazing. I’m totally going to try this next time! I’m glad you could enjoy it! It is very filling.
My husband & I loved this, thank you so much for the recipe!! I did not have sweet potatoes so I used russets, still was delicious!!
★★★★★
Marcy, that’s good to know, I’ve never tried it with russet. Love the name 🙂 . People have been trying to spell my name with a Y my whole life, haha.
My boys (son and husband) don’t eat sweet potatoes no matter what I try. But they ate this one! (I didn’t tell them!). This soup was great! It turned out thinner than I wanted…but maybe I should have thawed the frozen corn longer, or up the cornmeal quantity? It’s another keeper from Marci.. Thanks!
★★★★★
Shelley, Hahahaha! That’s just too funny! The sweet potatoes are really just that good in this. It may have been the corn, or perhaps it needed to simmer a bit longer.
Made this chicken corn chowder last night and it was yummy. I halfed the recipe and did it in my 3qt mini. My husband is not crazy about sweet potatoes so I used russets and carrots as well as Lactaid 2%. A winner in this house! Thank you!
★★★★★
Barbara, Thanks for letting me know about your adjustments. That’s so great to have that feedback for others. I’m so glad you guys loved it!
I also find this recipe confusing because it lists the cornmeal mixture separately from the chowder and the picture shows cornbread served with the chowder. I didn’t want to make cornbread to go with it so I assumed that I didn’t need to make the entire first portion of the recipe. Maybe not such a distinct separation of the ingredients in the listing of the recipe, or not pairing it with cornbread in the pic, would make this more clear.
Brandy, I didn’t think about that. I didn’t mention baking cornbread in the recipe so I didn’t think that would be a problem. I listed them separately to try and clear up the confusion. Did I make it worse?
So is the cornbread mixture being used as a thickening agent? When it says add “milk mixture” it means the cornbread mixture?
Heather, Yes exactly. I’ll add “milk and cornmeal mixture” to the recipe so that is more clear. Thanks!
Awesome! Now I can check to see if when I add a recipe to my CopyCat app, if there is a change to the recipe after I’ve added it, will it show up on my app with the change? I’ve been wondering about this!
Heather, I’m not sure. I use Paprika, and I’ve wondered that as well
if we sub for 1 cup of Jiffy mix, do we still need flour? TIA!
Jacqui, The 1 cup of Jiffy will replace the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in the recipe. I’ll add that to the notes in the recipe so that is more clear, thanks!
This sounds absolutely wonderful, but I have a question about the cornbread mixture. In step 1, we mix the dry ingredients together and set aside. In step 8, it says to give the milk mixture a stir and pour into the pot while whisking. Does this mean the 3 cups milk gets added to the dry ingredients in step 1, and then the cornbread mixture is basically being used to thicken the soup (rather than cooking it as cornbread)? Sorry to be dense, but I want to make sure I get it right! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!
I think pic #2 about is the flour/dry mix with milk.
above…not about.
Teresa, Haha, I’m the dense one here. I fixed the recipe. The milk gets added to the cornbread mix. Sorry about that and thanks for helping me catch that early.
Ok, did I miss something? It says to add milk mixture but I don’t see where you added the milk to anything…the cornbread mix? Thanks for clearing that up. It sounds so amazing. I’ll be trying this one out for sure!
Oops, we apparently submitted the same question at about the same time!
Cecilia, Sorry, I missed the milk step. I fixed the recipe! Thanks for the heads up 🙂