Corn Chowder

Lactose-free Smoked Chicken and Roasted Corn Chowder

Ingredients for Corn Chowder

This chowder recipe was inspired by Mexican street corn (Elotes), an abundance of leftover baked potatoes and smoked chicken, and a student in my O-Week group who is lactose intolerant.  It makes a huge batch so everyone in my O-Week group can enjoy a cup, but the recipe is easy to cut in half for a smaller group. Enjoy!

  • 1 very large onion, chopped
  • 5 large baked potatoes, skinned and chopped
  • 20 oz (two 10 oz bags) frozen roasted corn kernels
  • 3-4 cups chopped smoked chicken
  • 32-64 oz. vegetable or chicken broth
  • 2  jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Garnishes

  • 1 bunch cilantro (leaves only, discard stems)
  • 4 limes

Chop all the vegetables before you begin cooking.

Prepare the chowder base by adding 3 of the chopped potatoes to a food processor and grinding to small bits. Add 1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth and process 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup more broth and process 30 seconds. Repeat until you have achieved a smooth, mashed-potato base in the food processor. Set aside until the end.

Pour the remaining broth into a very large soup pot, add the remaining chopped potatoes, corn, chicken, jalapeño peppers, salt, and pepper and turn on high heat.

In a medium skillet, brown the chopped onions in the olive oil over high heat until the onions are the color of caramel. Add to the boiling soup in the large pot.

Cook on high heat for 5-10 minutes more. I use this time to pull the leaves off the cilantro.

Leave the soup boiling on high and add in the mashed-potato style chowder base. Stir to combine and remove from heat. The base is quick to stick to the bottom of the pan if you keep cooking it.Corn Chowder

Serve hot with chopped cilantro leaves and lime wedges. Real street corn has a few more ingredients, but this is a lactose-free recipe, so I left off the cotija cheese, and I’ve never been a big fan of mayo. But feel free to sprinkle with chili powder if doesn’t already have enough kick for you!