crockpot smoky chipotle corn chowder

hello, friends!

please accept this as a ceremonial peace offering as new recipes might be a tad scant as i’m in the midst of packing up my entire tiny life and doing some truly wild mental gymnastics trying to figure out how to squash all my belongings in the backseat of my CRV.

in normal times, i’d be obsessed with this time of year - ad nauseam, i love winter. i love the crisp nip in the air and the way the sun reflects off the snow and how everything just is cozier because it has to be. i love every daring sneak outside and every fresh snowfall that arrives as a gentle reminder that we are, in fact, deep in the north. -40 with the windchill? buckle up, folx, this is usually my time to shine. but, in these not so normal times, i’m taking this little life across the country in 9 days, and so my days have been cluttered with boxes and job interviews and significantly questioning how i ever categorized myself as a ‘minimalist,’ and, the super fun game: operation kitchen cleanout. which leads me tooooooo…. !

crockpot smoky chipotle corn chowder!

the game goes like this: you have to try to use up, consume, find a use for, and tuck everything that remains in the cupboards, freezer, and fridge into your meals before you move, and avoid buying more supplementary ingredients if you can. like a chopped challenge, but less helpful. i’m staring down several boxes of elbow macaroni that i panic-bought at the beginning of quarantine and see many nights of buttered noodles coming way.

this chowder was born from freezer corn, a can of coconut milk, and a few pesky leftover chipotles in adobo sauce. you know, the kind that come in the tiny can that you can only ever use one of? i pop the leftover ones into a stasher bag and freeze them, but they don’t crop up too often. until now, that is, and we’re making smoky spicy crockpot corn chowder to keep our hearts and bellies warm at night.

(if you’re wondering what the heck to do with your leftover chipotles in adobo, i’ve got a couple other recipes on honey street that just might fit the bill.)

chipotle chicken salad
sheet pan chipotle sweet potato taco bowls

a few things before we get started:

- a full-blown kitchen cleanout is not required to enjoy this recipe, i promise
- this recipe is vegan (if you’re using vegan butter.) woooooo!
- this recipe is also spicy. like the warm kind that fills the roof of your mouth in a pleasant, but definitely heat-y way. if you’re spice-averse, use only one chipotle in adobo
- i cooked my chowder for two hours on high, but if you’re not pinched for time, longer is just fine
- don’t skip the blending. you want the chowder to be creamy, rather than soupy
- cheese, lime, bacon?!, would all be delicious toppings, too. go nuts, friends!

crockpot smoky chipotle corn chowder
makes 4-6 servings
prep time: 5 minutes
cook time: 2.5-4 hours

3c corn (frozen works just fine!)
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1lb baby potatoes, quartered
4 cloves of garlic
2 chipotles in adobo, minced
3c broth or stock
1 15oz can full-fat coconut milk
1tsp paprika
1 1/2tsp salt
1tbsp butter or ghee
2tsp olive oil
scallions and black pepper, for topping

turn the base of the crockpot to the ‘brown’ setting. add the butter and olive oil, and let it melt. then add the corn, onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the base, and saute for 5 minutes until the onion becomes translucent. then add the potatoes, chipotles, and spices. saute for another 5 minutes. add the broth, the close the lid and set the crockpot for 2-4 hours on high.

one hour before the chowder is finished cooking, add the coconut milk and stir to combine.

once the soup is finished, transfer half the chowder to a high-speed blender and blend until thick and creamy (be very careful when doing this - the soup will be extremely hot so it will try and force itself out the top; i always like to hold a towel and my hand over the lid just to be safe.) alternately, if you have an immersion blender, blend about half the soup in the base of the crockpot. pour the blended chowder back in with the remaining half, and stir.

season to taste if needed, then ladle the chowder into bowls and top with scallions and a few turns of freshly cracked pepper.