Salmon Corn Chowder

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Salmon Corn Chowder is a healthy, easy weeknight meal using canned salmon that can be on the table in about 40 minutes!

This post is sponsored by Hood® Cream. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the organizations and brands that make A Dish of Daily Life possible!

It’s hard to believe the summer is almost over, especially when we keep having these crazy heat waves. The schools had early dismissals for heat twice this week!

But cooler weather will be here before we know it, and for me, that means soup and chowder will be on the menu a lot more often. I don’t know about you, but soups and chowders are one of my favorite things to make! My family loves them, they’re quick and easy, and they’re also hard to mess up. Most of the year, I’ll make a batch or two of different soups or chowders on a Sunday night and my family enjoys them throughout the week. I used to make them with dinner in mind for a couple of the days but my family would often finish one pot off before we ever had it for dinner, so I’ve pretty much given up on that. Now I just hope to get a dinner out of it, but I don’t plan for it.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SOUP AND A CHOWDER

A soup is a thinner, broth based soup, while a chowder is thicker, chunkier, and cream based. There are lots of chunks in this Salmon Corn Chowder…chunks of salmon, potato, and I’ve included carrots and corn as well. I used canned salmon, because this is meant to be an easy weeknight meal.

I always use Hood® Cream products. Hood is one of the largest branded dairy operators in the United States, and they’re the number one dairy brand in New England! If you live in the Northeast, and you haven’t tried Hood, you need to! Their quality is top notch…both chefs and home cooks alike trust Hood. I like Hood Cream because it always withstands heat well, and I know I can always count on the quality. Hood Cream always takes my dishes to the next level! I’ve been cooking with them for as long as I can remember.

I cook with cream quite a bit, and if you follow me, you’ve probably heard my opinions on full fat dairy loud and clear. I’m not anti low-fat, but I cook a lot more with full fat dairy than I do with low fat. Full fat dairy might be higher in calories, but there are benefits to that. It fills us up quicker, which means that we’re less likely to overeat. Interestingly enough, people that eat full fat dairy are less likely to suffer from obesity than those who eat low fat. That’s probably because low fat dairy products rely heavily on sugar and other additives to give them better taste.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST SALMON CORN CHOWDER

-You can use any kind of potatoes, but Red Bliss are my top choice because they’re less starchy. Starchy potatoes like the Russet don’t hold up as well in soups.

-Pick fresh or frozen corn over canned. I’ll use fresh as long as I can get it at the farmer’s market. Don’t cook it first…just cut it right off the cob and add it to the chowder.

-Canned salmon is the perfect choice for a fast and easy weeknight meal. You could use a comparable amount of fresh, but canned salmon is just as good of a source of protein as fresh and less expensive as well! It has comparable levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good fats that may lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, canned salmon delivers a good dose of calcium as well, if you eat the soft little bones. (You can remove them before adding the salmon to the soup, but I keep most of them as they don’t bother me). Most canned salmon that I see is wild caught, which is something you also want to look for, as wild caught salmon contains no antibiotics, and has lower levels of pollutants and contaminants.

-Use a high quality cream like Hood Cream and make sure to temper it by adding warm broth to the cream to warm the cream before adding it to the soup.

-I like to add a dash of cayenne at the end because it enhances the other flavors in the dish.

HOW TO MAKE SALMON CORN CHOWDER

Start by cooking 4 strips of bacon in a large stockpot. When bacon is cooked, remove and drain on paper towels. Chop coarsely. In the meantime, add the onion and then the garlic to the stockpot and cook until the onion is translucent, which will take 2-3 minutes or so. Then add a tablespoon of cornstarch and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. This is important because the cornstarch helps thicken the soup up a little. If you want a thicker chowder, you can experiment with adding a little more cornstarch. But if you’re using flour, use twice as much.

Whisk in the seafood stock. Bring to a simmer at medium heat, then reduce the heat to low. Add drained salmon, potatoes, carrots, corn, celery, Old Bay Seasoning and thyme and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. I don’t chop my celery because my family doesn’t like it, but I like the flavor it gives soups, so I put in an entire stalk and then just take it out before serving. The potatoes should be fork tender.

Now you want to warm, or temper, the cream before adding it to the chowder. Add about a half of a cup of the hot liquid to it, whisking while you do so. Then add the cream to the chowder. Simmer for another 2 minutes or so, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, and serve!

HOW LONG WILL SALMON CORN CHOWDER LAST?

The Salmon Corn Chowder should last about 3 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it once it cools.

For more cream-inspired recipes, visit Hood.com.

FOR MORE EASY RECIPES USING CREAM

• Creamy Pasta with Ham and Peas
• Southwestern Clam Chowder
• Steamed Mussels with Cream Sauce and Leeks

Let’s start cooking! Salmon Corn Chowder is a great recipe to add to your weekly dinner rotation because it’s so easy, delicious, and healthy!