Home-Style Country Chowder
I threw this Country Chowder together using some of my all-time favorite flavors. It’s packed with hearty veggies (including my personal favorite, turnip greens!) all simmered in a rich, creamy broth. Much like my Potato Corn Chowder, this recipe is totally forgiving, so feel free to use whatever you’ve got on hand! It’s the kinda meal that makes your stomach happy, and is even better the next day.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Country Chowder
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: chicken broth, mild or spicy pork breakfast sausage, Russet Potatoes, carrots, bag frozen pepper and onion blend -, corn, chopped turnip greens, heavy cream
- Why You'll Love It: Country Chowder is a hearty meal and has some of my favorite flavors cooked up together in a rich and creamy broth filled with flavor.
A Creamy, Hearty Chowder You’ll Make on Repeat
If you’re looking for an ultra-comforting dish that captures the essence of warm Southern cuisine, this country chowder is IT. Prepared with a rich, creamy broth as its base, this delightful soup showcases a medley of warm, hearty ingredients. Enjoy it on its own or paired with a crusty bread roll or this amazing Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread!
I absolutely love how accessible this recipe is. You can use whatever substitutions your heart, or the hearts of your family, desires! No matter what you use, this country chowder will be a cherished comfort food at your dinner table. We always have this one in rotation with our Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup, Easy Vegetable Soup, and Quick Italian Meatball Soup!
What Folks Are Saying
“This is my favorite soup! I’ve taken it to several gatherings, and it’s always a hit. The only change I make is to use collards instead of turnips. You can leave out the cream, and it’s still delicious!” – Valerie
Ingredients
- Chicken broth
- Pork breakfast sausage (mild or spicy… your choice!)
- Russet potatoes
- Carrots
- Frozen pepper and onion blend (fresh works too)
- Corn
- Chopped turnip greens (fresh or frozen, or use spinach instead)
- Heavy cream
- Potato flakes
- Seasoning (parsley, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, & crushed red pepper)
Tips Before You Get Started
- For my broth, I like to use a chicken base paste, which makes 2 quarts of broth with just 1 ½ tablespoons of base. I often use things like this or bouillon cubes to save money and storage space. I also like that I can make my broth more concentrated if I want for even more flavor.
- Don’t rush the sausage browning process. Getting a good sear on it adds so much more flavor to the whole pot.
- If your chowder looks too thick, just add a splash more broth. Too thin? A few extra potato flakes will fix it right up.
- To avoid curdling your cream, I always let it sit out at room temperature before adding it to the pot, as adding cold cream can cause it to separate. You also want to keep the heat low once you add ot. A hard boil at this stage can make your chowder lose that silky smooth texture.
How to Make a Delicious Country Chowder
1. Boil the Vegetables
Start by placing your chicken broth in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Then add your potatoes, carrots, and onions. Bring this to a light boil, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the sausage.
2. Cook the Sausage, Peppers, & Onions
While that cooks, chop up and brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until fully cooked and no longer pink in the center.
When your sausage is cooked, push it to the side of the pan and add in the frozen pepper and onion blend.
Let that cook for a few minutes, stirring every now and then, until completely thawed. Once thawed, stir it up good and continue cooking until tender for about 3 or 4 more minutes.
3. Add to the Pot & Simmer
Now add the sausage, peppers, and onions to your pot.
Note: If your potatoes and carrots aren’t tender by this time, that’s okay… they’ll keep cooking!
Add the turnip greens and all the seasonings, and stir well. Bring it to a light boil once again, then let it simmer for 15 more minutes.
4. Add Corn, Cream, & Potato Flakes
Next, add your corn to the pot. Then pour in cream and stir in those potato flakes. Stir well and cook for 5 to 10 more minutes.
All finished! Serve your country chowder hot with a good hearty bread, or try my famous Southern Cathead Biscuits – so good!
Storage
This country chowder is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day! I always store my leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, and it’ll keep for 3 to 4 days.
Country Chowder FAQs
Definitely adding your cream too early. I’ve made this mistake myself and ended up with a grainy, curdled mess. Not exactly the creamy chowder I was going for. Make sure you add the cream toward the end of cooking, and whatever you do, don’t let it boil after you’ve added it. Just keep it at a gentle simmer, and you’ll be just fine.
A roux, a starch slurry, or mashed potatoes all do the trick! In this recipe, I actually add potato flakes right in the pot, so you shouldn’t run into any thickening issues.
Yes, this recipe works really well in a slow cooker. I’d still brown the sausage and cook the peppers and onions in a skillet first since it adds so much flavor. Then throw everything except the cream and potato flakes into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Stir in the cream and potato flakes in the last 30 minutes.
This chowder is even better the next day… but I want to know if it made it that far in your house! Leave a comment and a star rating below.
Country Chowder
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 4 russet potatoes washed and cubed with skins on
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
- 2 cups corn
- 1 pound mild or spicy pork breakfast sausage
- 12- ounce bag frozen pepper and onion blend or ½ cup diced onion & 1 diced bell pepper
- 2 cups chopped turnip greens fresh or frozen, can substitute spinach
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (go easy here if you use hot sausage)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup instant potato flakes
Instructions
- Place chicken broth in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, carrots, and corn.8 cups chicken broth, 4 russet potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 cups corn
- In a large skillet also over medium-high heat, chop up and brown sausage until fully cooked and no longer pink in the center.1 pound mild or spicy pork breakfast sausage
- Move sausage to the side of the skillet and add in frozen pepper blend to the other side. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until fully thawed.12- ounce bag frozen pepper and onion blend
- Stir together the sausage and pepper blend and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes before adding to the stockpot. Stir well.
- Add in turnip greens and all other seasonings and bring to a gentle boil.2 cups chopped turnip greens, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- Allow to simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the cream and add potato flakes. Stir well. Simmer for 5-10 minutes more.2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup instant potato flakes
- Serve hot with a hearty bread.
cant wait to try this, it really looks good.
Mmmmm, definitely soup weather! We took a family vote last night, fall won out as the favorite season by a landslide! : )
Sounds like dinner tonight! I have everything except for the cream, any idea if you could substitute it with canned milk?
You sure can! I talk about that in the post right beneath the first ingredients picture.
Enjoy!
Sounds soooo good! Have you ever tried it with hamburger instead of sausage?
I haven’t but it would work just fine! You might want to taste it and up the seasonings a little bit because it gets a lot of flavor from the already-seasoned sausage. I love using ground beef in things!
I can’t handle the heavier stuff, (potato flakes and cream). What can I do? Is it a totally different dish without those two ingredients?
Nope! Just leave em out and call it soup! It’ll be fine! 🙂
We are finally getting cooler weather here in New Mexico so this is on the plans for the weekend. It is so different and so like my grandmother made. Thank you.
Oh Martha, I bet you had a wonderful grandmother! I wish I could have tasted her delicious cooking!
Sounds delish!
Thank you so much Meghan! I am about to sit down to a bowl of it now 🙂 Hope you’re having a great day!
Gratefully,
Christy
Christy, this is 5 stars!! Thank you so much. Of course I messed with it a little by adding mushrooms and a container of prechopped celery onion and carrots, and some seasoned garlic salt, but the rest was yours and is one of the best soups/stews I’ve ever eaten. You are terrific!!!
Thank you, Christy for a wonderful recipe. I made this tonight and just downed the warm tasty goodness! What’s absolutely fabulous about this one is that every cook can easily keep the spirit of the basics and still make it her/his own. Thanks for encouraging everyone to do that! My subtle changes were using two boxes of chicken stock, used red, orange and green organic bell peppers plus a smaller whole onion, organic fresh spinach, drained a can of sweet kernal corn, and left out the carrots and red pepper flakes. It’s like WOW in my mouth. My husband added hot sauce to his bowl to make up for the heat. It was remarkable and one that goes into the file of “keepers”. Yummy in the tummy!
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Adrienne!!! And I love that you changed it up and made it your own!!