Corn Chowder is one of my favorite menu items to add to my family-friendly October meal plans. This lighter version of Corn Chowder is easy to pull together in the crockpot for a cool evening in the season, when the weather is always changing. It is hearty enough on a busy baseball night, and it is the perfect meal to have ready for trick-or-treaters. I usually serve it with frozen garlic bread or my jack-o-lantern quesadillas when feeling festive.
And, if you have too many leftovers, it’s easy to freeze for later or take to a friend who needs a night off preparing dinner. And, don’t tell your kids or husband, but it’s an easy way to sneak in some extra veggies, and they will never know. Try adding in shredded carrots or zucchini, and as long as corn and potatoes stay in the mix, they will be none the wiser.
This version is a little lightened up from what I eat in other places, but that corn relish topping makes all the difference! DO NOT leave it off!
Slow Cooker Lightened Up Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 3 potatoes cubed
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 stalks celery optional
- 1-2 zucchini shredded
- 3 pounds frozen corn
- 1 can cream corn or rolled tube corn
- 1 can water
- 1 can mild green chilies
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 3 teaspoons seasoning salt
- 1 Tablespoon dry ranch
- 1 heaping tablespoon Splenda
- 1 cup half-and-half or light milk
Corn Relish Topping
- 4 pieces of chicken bacon
- ½ red onion finely chopped
- ½ can whole kernel corn or southwest corn, drained
- 2 tablespoons lime juice optional
Instructions
- Chop onions, celery, and potatoes.
- Shred carrots and zucchini.
- Add all ingredients, except half and half, to the crockpot.
- Rinse out the cream corn can and pour over the ingredients.
- Cook on high for 6 hours.
- Remove ¾ of the vegetables and liquid to a bowl.
- Purée with an immersion blender.
- Return to crockpot.
- Add half and half.
- Stir together and replace the lid.
- In a separate bowl, stir together ingredients for topping.
- Serve by the bowl with corn relish on top.
Here are some of my favorite slow cooker dinners for busy weeknights when planning ahead for dinner is your greatest accomplishment of the day!
- Crockpot Freezer Meals
- Crockpot Turkey Tacos
- Crockpot Apple Butter
- Skinny Lasagna Soup
- Crockpot Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili
- Green Chile Chicken Chili
- KMac’s Crockpot Gumbo
- Mexican Chicken and Roasted Tomato Soup
- Mama Sue’s Kitchen Cabinet Gumbo
- Stockpile Stew (7 Can Soup)
- Slow Cooker Mock Gumbo (WW friendly)
- Slow Cooker Venison Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Venison Swiss Steak
- Rustic Italian Chicken Stew
- Green Chile Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
