How to Make the Best Instant Pot Corn Chowder
Instant Pot corn chowder is a hearty vegetarian recipe perfect for kicking off soup season. This corn and potato chowder comes together quick thanks to your pressure cooker but still tastes slow cooked and cozy. Learn how to make this quick recipe.
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Something happens to me every year in mid to late August.
I just am over all the summer salads and ready for some heartier fare and comfort food.
Bring on soup season! And what better way to start soup season than with this Instant Pot corn chowder?
This soup doesn’t mean you’ll be wasting the last of the summer sunshine slaving in your kitchen thanks to your Instant Pot.
Nope, it comes together in about 15 minutes of cooking time.
That’s practically nothing when you get a bowl that bursts with sweet corn, hearty potatoes and creamy goodness.
What’s the difference between corn chowder and corn soup anyway?
Ok, it’s not just a semantics thing. There is a real difference!
While both are delicious bowls of goodness, soups tend to be thinner and lighter than a chowder.
This corn chowder has hearty potatoes and a lot of cream and cheese.
A corn soup would be a thinner broth, likely wouldn’t have milk or cream, and may or may not have potatoes.
Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies
- Butter
- Onion- Go for a medium to large sweet or yellow onion and make sure to dice it.
- Peppers- Both green bell peppers and roasted red peppers give this soup a nice depth of flavor.
- Garlic- Fresh garlic, pressed, is best for this.
- Potatoes- I like red potatoes in this but you can also use baby yellow potatoes
- Salt and pepper- To taste
- Vegetable broth– Go for low sodium if you can find it. If you aren’t vegetarian, you can sub chicken stock or broth.
- Corn- Frozen or fresh.
- Flour and water- To make a roux and thicken the soup
- Half and half- Can use whole milk or cream as well. Avoid low fat milk.
- Cheddar cheese- The preshredded kind is fine or you can shred your own.
How to Make Instant Pot Corn Chowder
- Prep and saute the veggies.
Cut the potatoes, onion, and peppers to inch long pieces and crush the garlic. Turn on Saute mode and add the butter to the inner pot.
Once the butter is melted, add in the onions, peppers, potatoes, and garlic.
Saute the veggies for 5 minutes, stirring it often as it cooks so they don’t stick to the liner.
Pressure cook the veggies in broth.
When the veggies are fragrant and partially cooked, add the veggie broth to the inner pot. Then secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing. Set the pressure to high and cook for 5 minutes.
When the timer rings, do a quick release of pressure and remove the lid.
Add the roux and the corn.
Press cancel on the pot.
Then stir the flour and water together in a small bowl to create a roux.
Add the corn and rue to the inner pot and turn saute mode on. Allow the soup to come to a boil.
Boil for 2 to 3 minutes and then cancel saute mode.
Stir in the half and half and cheese. The soup will thicken as it sits.
Garnish with more cheese and scallions if desired. Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
Storing and Reheating
To store any leftovers, transfer any soup to an air tight plastic container. To reheat, I like to either crack the top on the container so it vents and microwave it or transfer it back to the Instant Pot liner and heat on saute, stirring until warm.
FAQs
Can I make this on the stove?
I have two stove top corn chowder soups that you can make. For full instructions check out my u003ca href=u0022https://seasonedsprinkles.com/cheesy-vegetarian-corn-chowder/u0022u003echeesy vegetarian corn chowderu003c/au003e and my end ofu003ca href=u0022https://seasonedsprinkles.com/end-summer-corn-zucchini-chowder/u0022u003e summer corn and zucchini chowderu003c/au003e. They both have full directions for cooking chowder on the stove.
How long will leftovers keep?
This soup is generally best within the first day of making it, but leftovers of corn chowder will stay good for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Can I freeze corn chowder?
You can, but it may not taste very good. Creamy soups don’t freeze well and neither do soups with lots of potatoes. The potatoes tend to get mushy on reheating and will create a less than pleasant gritty texture to the soup.
Hey! Where’s the bacon?
Yes, a lot of chowders use bacon as a base and cook the veggies in rendered bacon grease. This is a corn chowder without bacon. If you want to add bacon, you can either dice up 2-4 strips of uncooked bacon and saute it in the pot to render the fat and then cook the veggies as described. You could also crumble crushed bacon on top.
Is this vegetarian corn chowder?
Yes, unless you end up including bacon, which we do not.
Can you make this corn chowder without potatoes?
Yes, if you do, add extra corn to make up for the lack of potatoes and cut the pressure cook time down to 0 minutes followed by a quick release.
Tips and Tricks
- Want to make this spicy? Substitute a canned chipotle pepper for the roasted red pepper and enjoy a southwestern flare.
- We often serve it with bread but it’s also amazing with Homemade Tortilla Chips
- You don’t have to use fresh corn. Frozen also works.
Other Instant Pot Soups
This Instant Pot corn chowder is my favorite end of summer soup. It’s the perfect transition to soup season.
If you’re looking for other Instant Pot soup recipes, here are a few more favorites:
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Rice
- Minestrone Soup in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Did you make this recipe or one of my other recipes? Leave me a comment below or tag me @Seasonedsprinkles on Facebook or Instagram and show me what you made!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium to large onion
- 1 medium to large green pepper
- 1 roasted red peppers
- 4 to 6 garlic
- 5 red potatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups of vegetable broth
- 4 cups or 4 ears of corn
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup of half and half
- 2 cups of cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes, onion, and peppers to bite size pieces (about an inch long) and crush the garlic.
- Turn on Saute mode and add the butter to the inner pot.
- When the butter is hot and melted, add in the onions, peppers, potatoes, and garlic. Saute the veggies for 5 minutes, stirring as it cooks.
- Once the veggies are fragrant and partially cooked, add the veggie broth to the inner pot.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing. Set the pressure to high and cook for 5 minutes. When the timer on the Pot beeps, do a quick release of pressure.
- When the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid.
- Stir the flour and water together in a small bowl to create a roux.
- Add the corn and roux to the inner pot and turn saute mode on. Allow the soup to come to a boil. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Mix in the half and half and cheese. Cook on saute mode until the soup begins to thicken. Turn off saute mode.
- Garnish with green onions, crumbled bacon, or more cheese. Serve and enjoy!
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