Country Chowder
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For country chowder, I took some of my favorite flavors and cooked them up together in a rich and creamy broth filled with flavor. This is a hearty meal that just makes your stomach happy and it’s even better the next day!
Country chowder is a hearty and comforting dish that epitomizes the essence of warm, Southern cuisine. Prepared with a rich, creamy broth as its base, this delightful soup showcases a medley of warm hearty ingredients. Whether enjoyed as a meal on its own or paired with a crusty bread roll, country chowder embodies the simple, wholesome goodness of traditional countryside cooking.
This recipe is super versatile, allowing for whatever substitutions your heart, or the hearts of your family, desires! Regardless of the specific ingredients used, country chowder will be a cherished comfort food at your dinner table!
Check out some of our other comfort food meals like Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup, Easy Vegetable Soup, Easy Chicken and Rice Soup, and Quick Italian Meatball Soup
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Country Chowder:
For the country chowder you’ll need:
- Heavy Cream
- frozen pepper and onion blend*
- corn
- potatoes
- carrots
- a roll of breakfast sausage*
- chopped turnip greens*
- chicken broth (or some form of that) as a cooking base*
- Potato flakes
- Garlic Powder
- Dried Parsley
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt
- Pepper
Substitutions are aplenty on this recipe!
*Pepper and Onion Blend – I use frozen because a bag is just a dollar and I get three colors of bell pepper strips as well as onions so this saves money and gives me variety. If you’d rather use fresh, just chop up 1/2 an onion and 1 bell pepper (any color) as a substitute.
*Breakfast Sausage – if you want a slightly spicier soup, use hot breakfast pork sausage. I’m using mild. You could also use Italian sausage and substitute the dried Parsley with dried Italian seasoning for a different flavor direction.
*Turnip Greens – Spinach will work just as well or you can omit the greens entirely.
*Chicken Broth – I’m using a chicken base paste which makes 2 quarts of broth with just 1 1/2 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. However, you can use actual chicken broth if you like, or any of the things I use. Exact quantities are in the recipe at the end of this post.
This recipe is VERSATILE! Don’t like carrots or corn? Leave ’em out! Don’t have russet potatoes? use red! Don’t have heavy cream? Heavy cream is best but evaporated milk and even whole milk will work as a substitution.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make Country Chowder:
Peel carrots and wash potatoes, then slice carrots and cut potatoes into cubes.
I like to leave the skin on my potatoes but you can peel it off if you prefer.
Another shortcut when making Country Chowder is to just use a bag of frozen cubed hash browns and even frozen carrots!
Okay this is my chicken broth all assembled. Add your potatoes, carrots, and onions. Put this over medium high heat and bring it to a light boil, stirring every now and then, while you prepare sausage.
***If you are looking for fabulous pots and pans, check out Caraway! We love making all our recipes with Caraway pots and pans. They are the absolute BEST!***
While that is cooking, chop up and brown sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat until it is 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 frozen pepper and onion blend.
I love this frozen pepper and onion blend!
Let that cook for a few minutes, stirring every now and then, until completely thawed.
Once it’s thawed, stir it up good and continue cooking until tender, three or four more minutes.
Add that to your pot.
If your potatoes and carrots aren’t tender by this time, it’s okay, they’ll keep cooking.
Add in turnip greens ….
…and all seasonings and stir well.
Bring it to a light boil once again and let simmer for fifteen more minutes.
Add corn to pot.
Pour in cream…
and add potato flakes.
Stir well and cook five to ten minutes more.
Serve Country Chowder hot with a good hearty bread.
Even better the next day!
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken broth see post on economical ways to get this
- 1 pound mild or spicy pork breakfast sausage
- 4 Russet Potatoes washed and cubed with skins on
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
- 12 ounce bag frozen pepper and onion blend - or 1/2 cup diced onion & 1 diced bell pepper
- 2 cups corn
- 2 cups chopped turnip greens fresh or frozen, can substitute spinach
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup instant potato flakes
Seasonings
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 +1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper Go easy here if you use hot sausage
Instructions
- Place chicken broth in a large stock pot over medium high heat. Add potatoes, carrots, and 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. Move sausage to side of the skillet and add in frozen pepper blend to the other side. Cook for three to four minutes, or until fully thawed.
- Stir together sausage and pepper blend and cook for another three or four minutes before adding to stock pot. Stir well.
- Add in turnip greens and all other seasonings and bring to a gentle boil.
- Allow to simmer fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in cream and add potato flakes. Stir well. Simmer five to ten minutes more.
Serve hot with a hearty bread. Leftovers are even better the next day.
Nutrition
“When you carry out acts of kindness you get a wonderful feeling inside.
It is as though something inside your body responds and says, yes, this is how I ought to feel.”
~Harold Kushner
I made this last night and it was outstanding! My 2 year old loved it!! Now my 5 year old wouldn’t even try it but she is incredibly picky so what does she know! Thanks for such a great recipe!
I am so glad to hear it was a hit Amy!! I have a picky one too and completely understand!!
Made this tonight, or an adapted version, and my husband just LOVED it. He said he’d eaten many, many wonderful meals I’ve made, but this is one of the top. Used Jimmy Dean’s Italian sausage, cut up fresh onion & peppers. Also had some fresh Kale and spinach on hand so used that. Didn’t have cream so used a can of Cream of Chicken soup instead. Oh my goodness. Oh and the real kicker was a new spice I just got from Penzeys spices, smoked paprika – to die for. Christy I also have a chop/stir and love it. I’m so glad you and your website are in my life.
making this in my crock pot. brown sausage in skillet then add to pot with everything cept milk and potato flakes. cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. then add room temp milk, i used canned, and potato flakes. stir, cover and cook on high at least 30 min to 1 hour. serve
That sounds great Barbara! Thanks for sharing!!
This recipe looks to be YUM! YUM! There is nothing like homemade soup in the colder months! Christy, can you tell me what that gadget is, that is shown as a “chopper” in your sausage picture? I’ve never seen one before and it looks to be super handy for chopping up all ground meat as it cooks (IE. Taco meat. I hate the extra step of putting the ground beef through the food processor for finer meat!) Also, any idea where I can get one?
PS. GREAT looking floor!
Hi Sheryle! It is called a Pampered Chef Mix and Chop. You can also get one on Amazon. I have bought about 5 so far because when folks come over they have a fit oer it and I always end up just giving it to them and replacing mine. Hope you can find one, they are fabulous!!
neat little gadget! ty
This is a fabulous chopper! You have to get one!!! And you most likely will be giving someone else one for Christmas too once you use it. As Christy says, it is perfect!
Your floors look great, and so does this soup! Thanks again.
Hello, recipes looks delicious. Any suggestions on how to turn this into a crockpot meal? Thanks so much!
Made this today and it is just perfect for a cool day in south Georgia! And it makes a lot, so I’m freezing some in serving size containers for those days I need a chowder fix. Love it!