Southwestern Corn & Cheese Chowder
Submitted by kgiglio
Loaded Southwestern corn and cheese chowder with sweet potatoes, bacon, beer, green chiles, and melted Monterey Jack. Thick, creamy, and ready in 45 minutes.
YIELD
11 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
35 minREADY
45 minThis chowder is thick, smoky, and loaded with so many layers of flavor it practically eats like a meal.
Sweet potatoes simmer in chicken broth and beer with cumin until just tender. Meanwhile, bacon crisps up in a stockpot and lays the smoky foundation. Creamed corn, green chiles, milk, and cream join the party before a full pound of Monterey Jack gets stirred in until the whole pot turns silky and golden.
Fresh cilantro and little cubes of cheese dropped into each bowl right before serving make every spoonful interesting.
Pro Tips
- Stir the cheese in on low heat so it melts smoothly instead of clumping or turning stringy.
- Use a lager or pale ale for the beer. Anything too hoppy will turn bitter in the broth.
- Don’t skip the bacon. Even a small amount adds a smoky richness that ties the sweet potatoes and cheese together.
- This chowder thickens as it sits. Add a splash of broth when reheating leftovers to loosen it back up.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the sweet potatoes, 3 cups of chicken broth, the beer, cumin, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are crisp-tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Discard the bay leaf.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp in a large stockpot.
Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels; when it is cool, chop or crumble it.
Add the onion and garlic to the fat remaining in the pot; sauté over medium-high heat until quite soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes with the cooking liquid to the onion and stir in the remaining 3 cups broth as well.
Add the creamed corn and green chiles to the soup and season with the chili powder and cayenne.
Gradually stir in the milk and cream.
Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Shred 12 ounces of the cheese and cut the remaining 4 ounces into small dice.
Reduce the heat under the soup to low and add the shredded cheese, stirring just until melted.
Season the soup with salt and stir in the cilantro.
Ladle into bowls, stirring a tablespoon of diced cheese into each.
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