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.
I need to report I’ve made Country Chowder twice since my last post. First time I used regular sausage but second time I used the hot. It was not hot at all. Just right. I did use the canned “Glory” brand of turnip greens drained and oh so good. Took the second making to covered dish @ the church and didn’t bring a drop home. This is a keeper!! 🙂
This looks awesome and with cooler weather blowing in it’s time for soups & chowders. Will make this soon along with jalapeno corn bread thin and crispy. I keep “Glory” brand turnip greens on hand and would be delish in this recipe.
Can’t wait to try.
Oh, yes your new floor looks fantastic too!
Thanks for all the good recipes.
Christy, I just made this and it’s some count! (as my family says ’round here.) Perfect for this cool Alabama high school football night. Oh yeah, I didn’t have any heavy cream, so I added a block of cream cheese which I found scrounging around the deep freeze looking for corn and bell peppers. I don’t know it it would have been any better with the heavy cream. Now if I can just get somebody to run to Wal-Mart and buy some bread.
This sounds so yummy! I am making it today. Perfect for a high of 63 degrees. I am reacquainting myself to your site today and am laughing out loud at some of your stories! It’s been good for my soul…thank you!
Hi there! We got this recipe from a friend of ours who is gluten-intolerant and also keeps vegetarian — she adapted this recipe for herself and her household (subbed in TVP+spices for the sausage) and it was a HUGE hit. It looked so delicious that I asked her for the recipe, and she sent us here. 🙂
My partner and I made this last night for his birthday, and it turned out wonderful, with lots of leftovers! In fact, he’s heating up a big bowl for lunch right now.
We keep the pepper-and-onion blend on hand all the time — such a great deal! — and we used canned diced potatoes and canned corn, as well as frozen chopped spinach, since we had that on hand. (And omitted the carrots…I’m mildly allergic. 🙁 )
I may have measured our chicken stock wrong and put too much in (we had homemade in the freezer that needed using), because our soup took nearly three cups of potato flakes to thicken up to “chowder” consistency! No matter, though, and an easy fix.
Thanks again, and I’ll be browsing through your other recipes! Your “Southern Sayings” post had me rolling, reading through the comments. 🙂
Welcome to Southern Plate Nebet!!! Tell your friend I said thank you so much for sending you over! I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe and I look forward to seeing you around more!!
This looks so fantastic that I wish I had some now. I may wait another month as it is still hot here in So. FL, but I have to remember this. I love soups. This one looks good. Not sure how I’ll like the turnip greens, though I love to eat them by themselves but my spouse isn’t enthused by them, but he does like spinach. I hate to change the recipe though until I try it at least once as it looks so very good. Do you have a total calorie count and sodium count? Those are both important to us. Thanks.
What a cozy, fall meal! I love things like this to warm me up as the temperature drops! I’m loving this weather, too.
Blessings,
Leslie
Blessings to you Leslie! I hope you enjoy the Country Chowder…and the cool weather!