Shrimp and Corn Chowder
An easy, creamy chowder that’s incredibly smoky, sweet and packed with tons of flavor!
I’ve still been wearing flip flops here in Southern California but that doesn’t mean I can’t make a pot of piping hot soup in this 80 degree weather.
Especially when that soup has sautéed shrimp, sweet corn kernels and, of course, bacon. All in one smoky, creamy bowl of goodness.
And that bacon. Did I mention all that crisp bacon bits right there on top?
Best of all, you can control the heat levels by adding more or less paprika, to taste – although I say the more the better because that smokiness is the true star in this soup!
Shrimp and Corn Chowder
An easy, creamy chowder that’s incredibly smoky, sweet and packed with tons of flavor!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 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. Drain excess fat, reserving 1 tablespoon.
- Add shrimp to the stockpot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add garlic and onion to the stockpot, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in paprika, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Whisk in chicken stock, corn and bay leaf. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 12-15 minutes; discard bay leaf. Add heavy cream and puree with an immersion blender.
- Serve immediately with shrimp, garnished with bacon and parsley leaves, if desired.
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I have made this many times and it is fabulous. I add some red bell pepper when I am sautéing the onions. Everyone loves it and it is beautiful as well . Serve with s toasted slice of French bread.
That sounds very yummy!
what if I use veal instead of chicken stock? I ave a family member who is allergic to chicken
Vegetable stock would be a great substitute.
I would like to serve this at a large gathering of about 25 people. Can I just quadruple the recipe?
Yes, absolutely.
So I’m wondering how this would be with a few red potatoes. I would think it would help with the creaminess and give it a little more filler – any thoughts?
Yes, absolutely!
Hi, if I am completely out of milk or heavy cream, do you think I could try using cream of shrimp soup? Thank you so much!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
i looked up subs for heavy cream and found a quick ‘recipe’ of butter and milk. worked great!
Does your cookbook have this recipe for Shrimp and Corn Chowder in it? Thanks!
No, it does not. The cookbook is mostly comprised of exclusive, never-seen-before recipes! 🙂
Looking forward to making this – question I have is on the “oregano” I don’t have dry but a powder version would that work – I’m going to town so I can pick up some dry – but before I do would ground oregano work.
Yes! 🙂
Made this and it was wonderful. I did however reduce the amount of broth by half.
This recipe is AMAZING! Made it for a dinner party tonight and there was not a drop left! 🙂 It helps that I was able to make it with shrimp fresh off the boat this weekend but seriously it was good. The flavors were incredible. The only thing I did was make a little extra bacon for the top!
Will this soup freeze well? Do you think?
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
have froze this soup before and have no problems. When ready to reheat remove soup and bring to room temp before reheating. This helps with overcooking the shrimp.
Do you have the calorie count on this per serving? I can’t find it anywhere. 🙁
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, it is best that you use free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
I can’t seem to get the whole recipe
Do I cook the bacon in the stockpot then cook the shrimp in the dry pot or is should some bacon grease be present to cook it? Also you said to reserve some bacon grease but do not mention it again
Laura, please refer to steps 1-2:
1. 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. Drain excess fat, reserving 1 tablespoon.
2. Add shrimp to the stockpot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
The shrimp is cooked in the same stockpot where the excess fat is reserved.
I will be cutting corn from the cob. Will I need to cook it some way before adding?
There’s no need to – it will cook with the soup.
Bruh… I have this soup on the burner right now… out of this world! Can’t wait to eat. Upped the corn factor by one cup to reserve for the end because I insist on corn chunks 🙂 Fairly certain this shall wind up (adapted and credited, naturally) on my blog one of these days. Thanks!
this recipe looks delicious…I don’t eat red meat or pork. is there any substitute for the bacon? maybe turkey bacon?
Yes, absolutely.
This is delicious! And easy! I roasted the shrimp in the oven and diced instead of using the blender. Also added some sherry, yummm!
Made this tonight. After blending, added 2 more cups of corn to make it thicker then blended again. Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. It was awesome. Will be making for my family for the holidays!
Can I blend together with a ninja blender? I don’t have an immersion blender. Maybe Santa will bring me one? 😉
Also, can I substitute fresh herbs?
Yes, absolutely. You can use a blender and substitute fresh herbs. The ratio for dry to fresh herbs is typically 1:3.
It may be over 100 degrees here, but I LOVE soup and had to try your recipe tonight. I loved it! I roasted fresh corn first and added half the shrimp and bacon back to the pot when pureeing. I loved it! I will say, it was a little stiff (almost grit texture), so I’m wondering if canned corn would have a better texture since it’s softer than roasted. Anyways, thanks for the fantastic recipe!!
I tried this recipe as written. Drained the corn, did everything correctly except the red peppers since my wife can’t handle anything hot. It was not very thick, but all I care about is taste. We both liked it and decided it was a keeper. There was enough for another serving for me and this time I added a good dose of Siracha and mixed well and lemme tell ya- it was fantastic!!
Excellent recipe!. thank you. It went to another taste level with the hot sauce added.