Zucchini Corn Chowder
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Use up all that lingering zucchini for a filling, colorful and cozy soup you can make all year long, topped with crisp bacon bits!
It’s definitely summertime in California.
No, wait. It’s always summertime in California, particularly Los Angeles, except for maybe 5 days out of the year when it actually gets cold.
But I went on an impromptu road trip to San Francisco for July 4th, and guys, it was 52 degrees F.
I know. 52 is summertime for those living in the east coast. But for me, THIS. IS. TOO. COLD.
Like I’m wearing double layered pants, ski socks, and probably a beanie to bed.
So hence. I have this summer chowder for all summers.
It’s light and filling, with plenty of bacon bits to go around.
Plus, you can slurp on this while in your bubble jacket or in a bikini.
Best of all, it uses up that abundant summer squash in your garden! Win.
Zucchini Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup 2% milk
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 ½ cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Melt butter in the stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme, basil and rosemary until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth, milk, bay leaf, zucchini and corn. Cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the chowder is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with Parmesan, parsley and bacon, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Chungah! This is amazing and I was afraid my husband wouldn’t like it bc he “hates” zucchini!! BUT he loved it! Thanks so much for sharing ANOTHER amazing recipe with us! Love your recipes and beautiful pics!
Made this tonight pretty much as the recipe specifies, although I added a couple of Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled and diced) for extra body. Â I also added some heavy cream, just because. Â So yummy!Â
This was absolutely perfect to finish off my garden grown zucchini. The entire family enjoyed to the last spoonful. Definitely using this recipe again and sharing with friends and family.
Delicious! I used half and half instead of 2% because it’s what I had on hand, and I added a squeeze of lemon at the end. This is the perfect summer soup!
Could I use heavy whipping cream instead of milk? If so, what amount?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Can I add chicken? If so we should I add it already cooked, and when?
What a great idea! You can saute the chicken beforehand, set it aside, and stir it back in during the last few minutes of cooking time. Hope that helps!
I made this yesterday for dinner and we ate again today for lunch – it reheats beautifully! The following adjustments were made (and I’d make again using the same modifications):
-Before adding the flour, reserve a cup of the sauteed veg.
-Add one large yukon potato (cut into 1/2″ chunks)
-Add flour and chicken broth and cook for 15 minutes – until the potatoes are fork tender.
-Blend broth & potatoes ( immersion blender recommended)
-Add milk, reserved veggies, corn and zucchini
-Serve as instructed, but add a sprinkle of cayenne on top!
We served waffle-pressed grilled cheese (an idea also found on damn delicious!) on the side for dipping. It was scrumptious!
Sounds so delicious! Thanks for sharing your version.
I just tried this – added a can of green chilis and some cayenne for a little extra heat. It’s amazing! I can’t believe how creamy and delicious it is without any cream or cheese.
Yum! Â Just made it…added fresh roasted hatch green chilies for a nice heat!
This is my third recipe of yours (2nd this week).
Thanks for the great blog! Â
This chowder is so incredibly delicious. I’m not sure why, but it just wasn’t willing to thicken up for me, so I threw in a few handfuls of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and that did the trick, not to mention cheese just makes everything even better! This was a big hit, and tasted great re-heated the next day for lunch too. Served it with warm dinner rolls. Yum!
Excellent recipe. Super simple and a nice blend of flavors and textures. I tweaked it at the very last second by adding one or two tablespoons of Old Bay, which really gave the veggies that extra bit of kick. Everyone loved this soup served alongside a nice, hot Cuban sandwich. Thanks for the inspiration!
Just made this tonite. VERY good, & easy, but it took me a good hour for prep, after washing & dicing all the veggies. I also grilled corn on cob (3 cobs was perfect amt) for extra flavor. Â SO good with crumbled bacon on top. Did not use parsley. Will freeze leftovers. Oh, & I pureed about 1/3 of the soup in blender, then added it back to the pot.
Don’t forget to remove Bay leaf (not mentioned in directions)
I made this this week; definitely worth standing over a hot stove! Great flavors, full of veggies, a perfect for lunch with a hearty roll. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Had this for dinner tonight. It was very good with vegetarian bacon bits. Even without the cheese, it was a 9 out of 10. I forgot the cheese, but hubby seemed really happy.
Lots of chopping, but the food processor helped.
This was sooooo delishcious. Â Goes together very quickly, too. Â Thanks for the recipe.
Do you think you could replace almond milk instead of 2%? I know almond milk heats up a little differently…
This looks amazing though.Â
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Is this freezer friendly?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I’m gonna make this just now. Already got print of this page. Thanks Chungah…
Colorful, healthy and including zucchinis – ain’t that the perfect recipe? 🙂
I made this for a light dinner last night and loved it! Even my boyfriend who literally picks pieces of zucchini out of anything I make with it went back for thirds (including the zucchini). I also added some rotisserie chicken in once boiling (I did 1.5 of the broth recipe to compensate – 6 cups broth and 1.5 cups milk) to add some protein. I loved that it tasted like a chowder, but wasn’t as thick and heavy as you might associate with most chowders – made it perfect for summer!
This looks amazing!! Can I do this in a crockpot?? how??
It is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Hope that helps!
To make this a full meal or lunch, what would you suggest to pair it with?
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
This looks awesome!! I love finding recipes that use seasonal ingredients that we can grow in our garden. Absolutely gorgeous pictures, too!
I made this chowder this morning for lunch, I added some cooked chicken I had in the frig. It was sooo good. Yes it is very hot in South Carolina too.
Yep, it’s hot/humid here in NC, but I’m like you Chaugha, I can eat soup anytime no matter
the outside temp. Soup looks delish and I’m definitely giving it a try real soon…..all that zucchini keeps on coming!
I really like that it’s meatless, too! Thanks for another lovely recipe…..
This recipe sounds good but does it keep to serve again or at another time? I take it that it will thicken up but you could thin it down but do not want to go through the trouble to make it and have to waste it as there is only me here to eat it. thanks
Yes, it reheats well.
Do you have a suggestion for making this gluten-free? I have celiac and won’t be able to use anything that has wheat, barley, or rye in it. Sometimes, the substitute flours just don’t work and I’m wondering if there’s a way to just make it paleo so I don’t have to experiment. My husband absolutely raved over the lemon butter scallops I made last night, so definitely want to stay in touch. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment.
Arrow root flour can be used as a thicker.Â
Have you tried arrowroot?
I used corn starch instead and it was delicious!Â
Fyi it’s 90 degree on th east coast! And humid!!
LOL I thought the same thing! If it were 52 degrees here in Pennsylvania in July I’d be freezing too! It was like 70 and raining on the fourth of July and that was too cold for me too! Must be nice to live in California and be oblivious to actual weather hahahaha. Â
But hey, soup is good no matter what the temp is, especially when it involves corn. 😛
I lived in Tennessee before returning to Southern Calif. The same temperature is colder in CA because its so close to the cold Pacific Ocean. It gets quite cold at night in summer because of the marine layer.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. Love them. You are very talented at what you do.
Cheers,
MarLou