I had a huge organic sweet potato left over from making baby food for my daughter. Â I also had some sweet onions and an opened package of bacon that needed to be used. Â I’m not sure what the mental process was that ultimately led me to the idea of incorporating these items into a chowder, but chowder was the end result. Â And what a nice result it was!
I usually use yellow onions when I make chowders, but the sweet onions in this were fantastic! Â The sweetness of the onions, corn and sweet potatoes made for a perfect combination. Â Add some red bell pepper and green onions for flavor and color, and voila!, you have a deliciously different corn chowder!
What do lilacs have to do with chowder, you ask?  Absolutely nothing.  I just love lilacs, have some in my garden, and thought they were too pretty to go un-photographed :)
This is a great year-round soup and as long as you like sweet potatoes, bell peppers, corn and bacon, you’re going to love this chowder!
Let’s get started, shall we?
Dice the bacon.
Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven or soup pot until crisp and transfer it to a plate. Â Leave the bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
Chop the sweet onions.
Chop the bell pepper.
In a Dutch oven (I use and love Lodge), saute the sweet onions in the bacon grease over medium high heat until tender and translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
Add the bell pepper and saute for another 4-5 minutes or until tender.
Peel and wash the sweet potato.
Dice the sweet potato in 1/4 inch chunks.
Add the sweet potatoes to the Dutch oven and cook for another 4 minutes.
Add the flour and stir to combine.
Add the broth, corn, thyme and marjoram. Â Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15-18 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
In the meantime, chop the green onions.
Look at that delicious chowder broth! Â Eagerly waiting for the final ingredients…
Add the cream, green onions and bacon. Â Stir to combine and let it heat through. Â Serve.
Note: Â For a creamier texture, blend 1/3 of the soup before adding the bacon and green onions.
- 4 thick-cut bacon slices, diced
- 1 sweet onion (like Vidalia or Walla Walla)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups diced sweet potato
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (15 oz) can corn, drained
- 3½ cups chicken broth
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half for less calories)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven or stock pot. Transfer to the bacon to a plate, leaving the bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
- Saute the onions in the bacon grease over medium-high heat until tender and translucent, about 7-8 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and cook for another 4 minutes. Add the sweet potato and cook for another 4 minutes. Add the flour and stir until dissolved.
- Add the broth, corn, thyme and marjoram. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender. If you prefer a creamier texture, puree about ⅓ of the mixture and return it to the pot.
- Add the cream, green onions and bacon and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Â
sharon says
its a keeper yummy i used butternut squash and half pork half chicken broth as that’s what i had on hand. the squash pureed itself and made a hardy filling broth. thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, thanks so much, Sharon!
Sharon Crawford says
Hi Kimberly! I noticed this recipe on Food 52 and wanted to pin it to my Stew & Soup board . After reading through the recipe I realized that the sweet potato was missing. So I’ve arrived at your blog to advise you of the error on Food 52. I’m glad to see that you are on Pinterest ! I will be following you. Cheers ! Sharon
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sharon, thanks so much for bringing that to my attention! And so happy to have you on board, welcome!
Anonymous says
Made this soup tonight, and it is divine! We loved it. Thanks for sharing such wonderful and healthy recipes.
The Daring Gourmet says
Oh, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for making it and for taking the time to leave some feedback!
Jeanie says
I’m making this chowder for dinner tonight and I noticed that in the bottom portion where the recipe is that there is no mention of when to add the flour in the directions. Although in the upper portion with the pictures it shows you adding the flower with the sweet potatoes. It looks yummy, so I’ll let you know how John likes it, as he is my biggest critic.
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jeanie! Thanks for noticing that omission – it’s been updated. Thanks for making this and be sure to let me know what your in-home food critic thinks :)
Jeanie says
Yep, comments were all good. He asked me if it was an old family recipe handed down through the ages! I told him, absolutely, handed down through the family, just not that old. :o) I made it with the half&half, and it was delicious.
The Daring Gourmet says
Haha, leave it to John to come up with a classic comment like that one! :) Thanks for giving it a try and I’m happy it met with his, and everyone else’s, approval!
Susan says
Made this tonight for company visiting and it was delicious. Thank you!
The Daring Gourmet says
Yayyy!! You took a risk in making something you hadn’t tried before for your guests – so glad you liked it! :) Thanks for making it and for your feedback!
Susan says
P.S. Your lilacs look gorgeous! I can only imagine how wonderful they smell too. :)
The Daring Gourmet says
Mmmmm, heavenly! Lilacs, hyacinths, jasmine, orange blossoms, English roses…some of the best smells in the world.
Susan says
Hey Kimberly! This looks fantastic and I can’t wait to make it. Quick question that I’ve always wondered: what’s the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? I thought they were the same, but then I’ve seen them advertised as two different things at the grocery store. Or maybe I read the labels wrong… Any thoughts? Thanks.
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Susan! That’s a fantastic question! This is something I was curious about a while back and looked into it. It turns out there is a lot of confusion about yams and sweet potatoes in the U.S., and that’s largely due to the USDA’s mislabeling of them. Sweet potatoes and yams are two entirely different things – two different species of root vegetables that aren’t even related. In a nutshell, there are two types of sweet potatoes, one with creamy white flesh and one with orange flesh. Two distinguish the two, Americans have been calling the former “sweet potatoes” and the latter “yams” since colonial times, but in fact they aren’t yams at all. True yams are native to tropical regions of Africa and Asia and have a much darker, almost black, scaly bark-like skin with reddish/sometimes purplish flesh and can usually only be found in international markets specializing in Caribbean foods. So, whenever we purchase “yams” over here, we’re really eating sweet potatoes.
Susan says
Thank you so much!!!! This really clears it up. How interesting! All these years I’ve been lied to (or deceived) about yams and I’ve never eaten a real one. ;) Thank you for the education.
The Daring Gourmet says
I know, we’ve been lied to as a whole NATION! Justice won’t be met until the USDA hand delivers a box of authentic yams to every doorstep in America!! ;)
Mark says
Not to go all botany geek on you, but yams (Dioscroea spp.) are actually tubers, which are storage stems, not roots.
The Daring Gourmet says
Yep, that’s absolutely correct! Thanks for the botany geek input! :)
huntfortheverybest says
the soup looks wonderful. i love sweet potato and corn. yum!
The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you! It turned out to be a great combination – especially with the sweet onions. Thanks for visiting! :)
Kathleen Richardson says
I pinned this one on my Corn Board at Pinterest.com. Beautiful blend of ingredients. If I was inclined to wash a few extra dishes, I might puree a small portion of it, then stir it back in.
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kathleen! You know, it’s for that very reason that I ended buying a blender stick a few years ago. Bed Bath and Beyond, 20% off coupon, voila! It’s a great little gadget that eliminates the need for extra dirtying ;)