Crab & Corn Chowder
Is there anything as comforting as a big bowl of nourishing soup after a long day? Not in my book!
I like to make a giant pot of soup every week throughout the fall and winter. In addition to making a delicious dinner, there are always plenty of leftovers to bring for lunch the rest of the week. It’s also a great way to get a few extra servings of vegetables when it seems like there isn’t much in season. One of the first soups that I make every fall is crab and corn chowder. We look forward to it all summer! Sweet end-of-summer corn pairs perfectly with smokey poblano peppers and spicy Old Bay seasoning to make a deeply satisfying meal (especially when you serve it with cheddar & green onion biscuits).
I usually buy 4-ounce cans of crab from the tuna fish aisle for this soup, but I recently discovered the Chicken of the Sea crabmeat that was in the refrigerator case near the seafood counter and I couldn’t be happier with it. A 16-ounce can costs me $8.99, which was cheaper than buying the smaller cans, and the can is jam-packed with big, sweet pieces of claw meat. I did find a few pieces of shell in my can though, so you’ll want to be sure to take a good look at it before adding it to the pot.
I’m always taken back by the price of the crab when I make this chowder, but the rest of the ingredients are super cheap and the cost per serving is a lot less than canned soup. And yes, I consider 1 serving of soup to be 1 can of soup — whoever decided there are 2.5 servings in those cans in nuts! 😉
I never have a problem finishing the whole pot in a few days, but the leftovers do freeze well. The cream might separate and look a little funny, but once you reheat it, it should look normal again.
Crab & Corn Chowder
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 Tbs butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 2 potatoes, cubed
- 2 Tbs old bay
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 Tbs flour
- 2 oz sherry
- 32 oz fish stock
- 16 oz crab (claw meat)
- 3 ears corn, cut away from the ear (about 1.5 cups)
- 2 c. fat free half and half
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 2 green onions, chopped
Place a large soup pot over high heat. Add the poblano and cook, turning occasionally, until the skin begins to blacken and blister — about 5 minutes. Remove the pepper and chop.
Reduce the heat to medium and melt the butter. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften. Add the celery, red pepper, potatoes, old bay, cayenne, and flour. Stir to coat the vegetables with the spices. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Add the sherry and scrape up any bits of vegetables that stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the fish stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and cooked through. Add the crab, corn, and half and half. Heat through. Stir in lemon juice. Garnish with green onions and additional Old Bay, if desired.
Yields 10 servings (about 2 cups each)
Approx. 175 calories, 3 grams fat, 2.5 grams fiber, 13 grams protein
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I’m submitting this recipe to Souper Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen
This is great stuff! It seemed it might be a little thin, so we cooked 1/3 of the potatoes and corn in the fish stock and puréed once cooked. It worked perfectly, and next time we can probably even leave out the cream.
This looks amazing! I have one question though. Im allergic to fish but not shellfish. Can I substitute the fish stock with Vegetable stock? Would it change the taste so much? Any thoughts?
Yup! I’m very picky about vegetable stock though – some it it has a really, really strong mushroom or carrot flavor that wouldn’t really go well in this. A mild vegetable stock would work though. I’ve also made it with chicken stock before with very good results.
I think this will be a perfect dish for our dinner tonight. I’m going to give this a try.:)
This was really good! However, we were wondering if there was a typo with the cayenne? Should it be 1 teaspoon, instead of 1 tablespoon? We ended up using only a 1/2 tablespoon, and it was a lot hotter than we expected…But it was nothing the cheddar & green onion biscuits couldn’t fix 🙂 Thanks for both great recipes!
No mistake, but we do like it really spicy! Feel free to adjust to your own taste. 🙂
I made this soup yesterday to RAVE reviews. I had to make a few substitutions because I couldn’t find things and didn’t have time to go to other stores (left shopping until last minute!) In lieu of fish stock I used 3 bottles of clam juice, water, and white wine. And we don’t seem to have Old Bay at standard stores in the midwest so I used Emeril’s and some crushed red pepper. The base of the soup was the same and it was delicious! I definitely want to try it again with the true ingredients and I’m sure it’ll be even better!
Love corn and crab together and love your lighter chowder. I am with you on the big pot of soup thing–except I pretty much do it all year round–alhough the bigger, heartier soups come in the fall/winter. 😉
Thanks for sending it to Souper Sundays–the round up is now posted.
Looks great! I love those bowls!
You’re so right girl! There is nothing like a comforting bowl of soup. This one looks like it won’t disappoint as crab and corn are a perfect flavor combination.
I am dying over how gorgeous the photo is. Great bowl, good colors.. and crab? YUM!
Oh this sounds perfect for an easy weekday dinner! Do you make your own fish stock?