Best Potato Zucchini Corn Chowder

Several summers ago I was swimming in zucchini from my garden (common story, right!?) and I was experimenting with some recipes to use them up. In mixing and matching some different corn chowder recipes, I came up with a recipe that remains one of my family’s all-time favorites today! Seriously, every single one of my 5 children (aged 3-13) gobbles this up and that’s a rare occasion to have such shared love for a meal in my home. 

Here are some reasons why I love this chowder recipe:

1. It is delicious year-round
2. It is Packed with veggies
3. It is gluten-tree
4. It’s incredibly flexible (this can easily be adapted to be vegetarian and dairy free, and you can omit the chipotle if you don’t want any heat)
5. It’s a great meal to feed or a crowd or bring to family that needs meal support
6. It is so hearty and filling while remaking incredibly nutritious and healthy 

So that being said, let’s get rolling on making this corn chowder! Here’s the recipe below. 

Zucchini potato and corn chowder with chipotle
Makes very large batch, approximately 10-12 servings

• One jumbo zucchini, or two medium zucchini, cut into 1 inch cubes
• Three large or six small potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
• Two medium white onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• One can of corn, drained, or freshly shaved corn (or 1-2 cups of frozen corn!)
• 1 chipotle in adobo sauce for a very mild heat, or 2 for more heat, diced
• One package bacon
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups of water
• 1-2 teaspoons oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 cups shredded cheddar, optional
• Half cup cream, optional

Directions: preheat oven to 400°, and place bacon on foil-lined baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes or until done. Meanwhile, in large stock pot or Dutch oven heat olive oil and put onion in pot. Cook for five minutes or so, then add garlic, chipotle, oregano and thyme and cook for one or two more minutes. Next add zucchini and half the potato, along with broth and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until both potato and zucchini are soft. Use an immersion blender to purée soup. Once bacon is done, spoon a few tablespoons of grease into the soup for added flavor (optional). Chop bacon into pieces, reserve some for soup topping. Add remaining potato to the soup and continue to simmer until potato is softened to desired doneness. Add drained corn, bacon pieces, and salt and pepper to taste. For extra creaminess, add 1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar and half cup cream (optional). Top with chopped green onion, extra bacon pieces, shredded cheddar, and/or sour cream.