Texas Corn Chowder with Smoked Gouda (Shrimp or Chicken)

Our family just returned from our summer vacation in British Columbia and aside from being one of the most beautiful places on earth, it was chilly!  Coming from the insane Texas heat, we were beyond thrilled to wear fleece jackets most days. It instantly put me in the soup mood and I lived off of all of the great Pacific Northwest chowders almost every day. Today, I’m sharing our recipe for Texas corn chowder.

When we returned, I stayed in my soup/fall/cool frame of mind and made one of our favorite soups.  Our recipe for Texas Chowder has evolved over several years with lots of tweaks and I finally have it exactly where I want it and the best part is that it’s really easy but is the most flavorful soup. It’s also my basic recipe without any meat but it can be easily be adjusted for meat/fish simply by adding shrimp, crawfish or chicken and I tell you in the recipe when to add. The smoked gouda melted down in the soup really takes this to another level! (I could hurt myself on smoked gouda!)

FYI, since this is a Texas Chowder, it does have a very, very mild kick to it with the Mexicorn but you can easily switch out with regular corn and not add the Tony Chachere’s spice if you prefer to skip the mild kick.

Here’s the recipe;

Texas Corn Chowder with Smoked Gouda (serves 4-6)

1-22oz. Frozen Package of PictSweet 3 Pepper and Onion Mix (found in the frozen vegetable section)
4 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
2-11oz. Cans of Green Giant Mexicorn
1-32oz. Container of Chicken Broth (I like Swanson’s)
2 Cups of Grated Smoked Gouda Cheese
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

If you are not familiar with the PictSweet frozen diced peppers and onions, it’s found in the frozen vegetable section and it looks like this;

Directions;

Allow the PictSweet mix to thaw out completely to room temperature ahead of time. You can put the bag in water to quicken the thawing out.  Once the mix has thawed to room temperature, puree the bag in the blender with 3/4ths of the container of chicken broth.  Puree for at least 3 minutes and if you have a liquify option on your blender, liquify for an additional minute.

On medium-high heat, melt the butter in a soup pot and when the butter has melted,  add the flour and whisk continuously until the flour begins to bubble and get a golden color.  Add your pureed PictSweet mix and add the rest of the chicken broth.  Allow the mix to begin boiling and reduce heat to low boil once it begins to boil.  Low boil for 15-20 minutes stirring frequently.

After 15 minutes of low boil, add the spices and Mexicorn and low boil for an additional 10 minutes (if you want to add shrimp or crawfish, this would be the time to add; peeled and deveined)(you can add shredded cooked chicken at this point as well).  Next, add the shredded cheese and reduce heat to low-medium (no more low boil) until the cheese has completely melted.

Serve immediately and top with shredded gouda and Texas Toast Tortilla Strips found in the salad topping section (I love the chipotlee flavor).  If you love cilantro or jalapeno’s, you can also top with that as well. You can also add jalapeno to the soup like I do if you really want to kick it up!  

I hope you guys give this recipe a try because it really is so good and so flavorful.  I have another crab/corn chowder recipe with a kick that is more of a New England chowder with a twist recipe that I’ll share later this fall that is also really yummy.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheers!

Cyndy

Texas Corn Chowder with Bacon and Smoked Gouda

A yummy twist on the traditional corn chowder with smoked gouda making this Texas corn chowder recipe a big sized good.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 529kcal

Equipment

• Soup Pot
• Blender

Ingredients

• 22 oz frozen pepper and onion mix thawed
• 6 slices bacon cut into 1" chunks
• 2 cups gold potatoes cut into 1" cubes
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 - 11 oz cans Green Giant mexicorn see notes
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups smoked gouda cheese shredded
• 1 tsp Tony Chachere seasoning see notes
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt

Instructions

• Allow the pepper and onion mix to thaw completely to room temperature.
• Once thawed, add the pepper and onions to a blender along with 3 cups of the chicken broth. Puree for at least 3 minutes until liquid.
• Saute the bacon and potatoes in a soup pot on medium high heat until the bacon is neatly cooked through.
• Add the flour and stir continuously until bacon and potatoes are thoroughly coated and flour turns slightly golden in color.
• Add the purred peppers and onion mixture as well as the remaining chicken broth. Allow the soup to begin to boil and then reduce heat to a low boil for 15-20 minutes stirring frequently.
• Add the corn, cream, and spices and cook at a low boil for an additional 10 minutes.
• Turn the soup down to low and add the cheese stirring until the cheese is completely melted.
• Serve immediately with desired toppings and enjoy!

Notes

• Place the bag of peppers and onions in water ahead of time to quicken thawing time.
• If adding cooked chicken, shrimp, or crawfish, add it to the soup when adding in the corn.

 

Substitutions:

• The Green Giant Mexicorn can be substituted for 2 cans of regular corn plus one diced red or green bell pepper. Another great substitute is also using frozen fire roasted corn as it adds to the delicious smokey flavor.
• The Tony Chachere seasoning can be substituted for chili powder.

Nutrition

Calories: 529kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 1419mg | Potassium: 825mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1040IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 586mg | Iron: 2mg