Turkey Corn Chowder
Don’t toss your holiday leftovers! When you get tired of turkey sandwiches, transform that turkey into a rich delicious Turkey Corn Chowder. No turkey? No problem! Rotisserie chicken will work just as well.
I ain’t gonna lie… I love the day I have planned.
I’m doing some decorating for the holidays. I have another pot of Turkey Corn Chowder on the stove. Life is good!
What to make for dinner? Turkey Corn Chowder of course!
Yesterday I had the BEST brainstorming session with my buddy Jessica in Sacramento. Shopped for some fun Christmas Ornaments and bought 20 pounds of mandarins. Had a great facial. Perfect day!
It’s not very often you can steal some time for yourself and just do your own thing.
Truly I feel blessed!
I also love a meal that I can pull the ingredients out of the pantry & freezer and make something completely spectacular.
Like THIS chowder!
No turkey? No problem, you can also use rotisserie chicken. That works too!
You’ll start by sautéing the bacon. We’ve talked about this before, chop it into small chunks/lardons. Put the bacon in a cold pot (use the same one you’re going to make the stew in – no need to dirty another dish) and THEN turn the pot on over medium heat. Starting it off in a cold pot will help render off the fat. Takes about fifteen minutes. Not long – remove the bacon bits with a slotted spoon and put them on a paper towel to drain.
While the bacon is cooking, dice the onion, celery and peel and dice the potatoes. You’ll need about 4 cups – I recommend russet potatoes.
Making the chowder
After you remove the bacon, pour out most of the oil – but reserve all those brown bits in the pan. Add the butter & olive oil – then the veggies – onions and celery. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until they just begin to soften. Then add the potatoes and minced garlic. Cook for another minute or two.
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Add the flour and cook that for a couple minutes also. Then it’s time to add the tabasco sauce (don’t be afraid of the heat, tabasco adds a great flavor!) and chicken stock. When you add the chicken stock, take a spoon and scrape up all the bits off the bottom of the pan. They are gonna give you big flavor!! Increase the heat to high and bring everything to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
Cozy up with a delicious bowl of Turkey Corn Chowder
Next ladle about half the soup into the Blender
Here’s what you need to know…. this chowder is AMAZING! Big and bold over-the-top flavor! Again… don’t be afraid of the tabasco – it makes this chowder pop!
Are you ready? Let’s get cooking!
About 40 minutes from start to finish. Totally worth that time too!
More Great Chowder Recipes I know you’ll LOVE!!
Turkey Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick cut bacon
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 inch large russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2- cubes (about 4 cups diced potatoes)
- 2 cups cooked turkey or chicken
- 2 cups frozen corn*
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons tabasco sauce
- 1 teaspoon to 1 1/2 salt
- minced parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Dice the bacon and add them to a large stock pot. Next turn and cook over medium heat until crispy, remove from pan. Drain on a paper towel - set aside.
- In the same pot used to cook the bacon, drain off a bit of the oil. Add the butter & olive oil and the onion & celery. Season with salt. If using black pepper add it here.. Saute over medium heat until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute another minute. Stir in the flour & mix it well with the softened veggies - cook another two minutes. Add in the potatoes and give the ingredients a couple good stirs.
- Add the tabasco sauce and about 1/4 cup of the the chicken stock. Stir everything really well, scraping all of the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the remainder of the chicken stock, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium heat, stirring occasionally, the mixture will thicken.. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. (
- When the potatoes are done and you can easily puncture the potatoes with a fork, turn the heat off. Ladle about half the mixture into the blender and blend until smooth. (You can also use an immersion blender - I prefer using a stand blender because I want to keep good texture in the chowder.)
- Add the turkey and corn. Stir well to combine. Turn off the heat add cream & bacon, stir to combine & warm thru.
- Garnish with parsley and and serve!
Another favorite quick and easy soup is of course my 20 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup! Or if you’re looking for a delicious side to go along with this soup – cornbread. Always so yummy!
* Yellow frozen corn (rather than white) is my choice making this chowder. The yellow corn gives it a bright POP of color, love that!
Turkey Corn Chowder is an easy soup that you make from leftovers. Using a few things items from your pantry, fridge and freezer.
Turkey Corn Chowder is an easy soup that you make from leftovers. Grab a few things items from your pantry, fridge and freezer. Dinner is done!
This is a great way to use leftovers. I have always wanted to try a vegetarian version of corn chowder and maybe someday you can make one for me? 🙂 Your recipes and photos, as always, are enticing and delicious.
You betcha Rini, I’ll be working on that, YUM!! Thank you so much for stopping by!
This just look fantastic. Can’t wait to try it and looks so easy to.
I hope you try it soon, we sure enjoyed it! I bet you will too!
Well this is a keeper! Went to MIL’s for Thanksgiving so I actually have a whole turkey in the freezer right now. Probably going to make it next week so of course with the leftovers this recipe is going to come in handy. I am rating it already at a 5 star because it just looks fabulous and tasty and perfect for a cold day here in CA.
Awesome, you are set then Diana! It’s a cold day here too – great day for a bowl of soup!
Oh I am going to have to try this one! Looks so comforting!
Yes, comforting and delish – please come back and let me know what you think Suzy!
I can’t get enough soup this time of year! Thanks for sharing this one!
You bet – enjoy Mary!
I love chowders and smelling them cooking on the stove on a cool winter day 🙂 It’s also great to make time for yourself. We all need that to re-group.
I think taking time for yourself is always a tough thing, especially around the holidays. I hope you enjoy this soup Stephanie!
I love chowders..most any kind. I’ve made corn/potato chowder for years…never any recipe. The results are always tasty. It never occurred to me to add turkey. This will be my go-to chowder. Easy to adapt to gluten free and versatile. It won’t let me give the 5 stars it deserves.
I just love the turkey version – so hearty and delicious. I hope you enjoy too after adapting it for gluten free!! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day Amanda’s!
This soup would taste good any time of year! I like the addition of Tobasco! Just enough to make it interesting,.
Yes, I totally agree Dan, when I don’t have turkey I sub the rotisserie chicken, just as delish!
This sounds like a great combo I would never have thought of. The bacon will be great for flavor and sticking to your ribs in cold weather too. Yum!
I hope you give it a try Scarlet, the whole family will just love it!
This looks incredible — I’m a sucker for anything “chowder” — big chunks of potato and turkey in a creamy, thick chowder base! Yum!
Yup, I’m with you! Definitely a stick to your ribs kinda meal!
We always make corn chowder with our turkey leftovers, so yum!
Very smart, great way to repurpose leftovers!!
Great way to use leftover turkey! This looks yummy!
Thanks Evi, we just love this chowder!
What a fun and yummy twist on corn chowder! 🙂
Your chowder sounds wonderful and comforting and I love how easy it is too. I am featuring it at the Let’s Get Real Weekly Link Party this Thursday!
Thank you so much Patty for featuring it this week! Hope things are well your way – I’ll swing by and link up this week. I really appreciate the feature!
Delicious. I made it tonight with leftover turkey I had in the freezer. It was creamy and thick without a raw flour taste. My husband has a LVAD and is waiting for a heart/kidney transplant. He has to have a low sodium diet so we can’t open a can of soup. This was so easy and flavorful we didn’t miss the salt. Thank you for sharing.
How exciting Nancy, I’m so glad you enjoy this soup! But more importantly, my thoughts and prayers go to you & your husband. It sounds like you have some very challenging times ahead. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
This soup is great! I did something a little different that I wanted to share. I had leftover creamed corn from my Thanksgiving meal that I used instead of frozen corn. It turned out delicious! It added some extra creaminess, which was good because I also only had half and half leftover from our meal. I also added a little extra Texas Pete (instead of Tabasco) to give it a tad bit of heat. Thanks for sharing!
Great additions Whitney! I love cream style corn and I know that would taste just fantastic! Thanks so much for letting me know!