This light turkey or chicken corn chowder recipe is my family's favorite leftovers recipe. It's hearty, satisfying and healthy. 223 calories and 3 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
Whether you have leftover turkey from your Thanksgiving feast or an extra rotisserie chicken lying around, this light corn chowder is a hearty meal without all of the extra calories. It's creamy and thick without adding cream, and the flavors of the turkey and corn shine through, alongside a kick from green chiles and cayenne pepper. If you have leftover chicken, that will work, too.
When I'm cooking with chicken breasts or thighs during the week, I try to cook extras so that I can have extras to whip up an easy meal like this. It also works well in some of my other meals that star leftovers.
And what did my family think of this soup? Well, each and every one of them went back for seconds. This is going to be a regular meal in our house!
Here are some of my favorite leftovers recipes that we'll be making this weekend.
Now, let's get to this light corn chowder recipe.
The turkey (or chicken) corn recipe:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat.
Add the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic and cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the green chiles and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in the chicken broth, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the corn and simmer for 3 minutes.
Place the flour in a medium bowl and slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth.
Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the soup, along with the salt and pepper. Cook, whisking frequently, until the soup is thickened, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the turkey (or chicken), Cheddar cheese and cayenne pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted.
Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with green onions and serve.
Other Thanksgiving leftovers recipes:
Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Lasagna Rolls with Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Spinach (Low Fat) {Cookin' Canuck}
Turkey, Brie, Pear & Cherry Chipotle Panini {Cookin' Canuck}
Baked Tortellini with Turkey, Butternut Squash & Chard {Cookin' Canuck}
Light Turkey (or Chicken) & Corn Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 ¼ cups frozen corn kernels
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups skim milk
- 2 ½ cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken
- ¾ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- green onion thinly sliced (for garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic and cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the green chiles and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the chicken broth, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the corn and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Place the flour in a medium bowl and slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth.
- Slowly whisk the milk mixture into the soup, along with the salt and pepper. Cook, whisking frequently, until the soup is thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the turkey (or chicken), Cheddar cheese and cayenne pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted.
- Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with green onions and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Stephanie Marsh
We LOVE this recipe. It isn’t as thick and creamy as most chowders, which is precisely why we like it so well. I have made the dish as written and I have also added a couple of diced baked potatoes that I had in the fridge, a couple of large handfuls of baby spinach and a couple of dashes of smoked paprika… also quite delicious. Thank you for a recipe that I will use for years.
Kay
This is a favorite but I was the only one eating the leftovers. I decided to thicken it, add carrots, peas and come bacon. Then made chicken pot pie. It was a hit again!
Kathleen
This has become one of my husband's favorite soups. It's perfect for a cold winter's night. All you need a a loaf of crusty bread to go with it. The leftovers are great too.
Janet E
This is sooooo good and so easy! Thank you for a winter warming chowder that is delicious without the heavy creams or butter. It is now one of my favorites!
Frances
Have been wanting to make this for awhile, and the left over turkey seemed like a good time to try it. We loved it, simple to do. Great recipe with just a hint of heat. We even went very light on cheese, two wedges laughing cow lite cheese at the end. Will make again, and we liked it better the just the turkey.
Kathleen Adey
Made this for my husband, and now he says it's one of his favorites.
I love Croatia
Absolutely stunning! Thank you on a detailed recipe!
N Bickner
I found this recipe 5 or 6 years ago and it became our favorite soup recipe. I do adjust the cans of mild green chilis to 3 because we like the flavor and I adjust the cayenne, depending on who is eating. We've loved it with both leftover turkey and chicken. It does freeze well but I add a little more cheese before serving. Be sure to serve it with a good bread for sopping up the bottom of the bowl!
Rosa
I made this soup last night and it is excellent! Loved it! The only comment I would add for those who don't have a lot of cooking experience, is that you have to let the soup come to a boil again after adding the milk/flour mixture in order for it to thicken. That isn't clear in the recipe. This is definitely going to go into my winter soup rotation. Thank you, Dara!
DogRescuer
Hi Dara, I know this is an older recipe, but I have just made it, and I got to say it turned out FABULOUS. It's been cold and windy here, and this is the perfect filling soul food that I need right now and can eat without worrying about calories. I will definitely make it again. Cheers from Hungary. 🙂
Thank you,
Viktoria
Marcia
Going to make this today. Can leftovers be frozen? If there are any, that is!
Dara
Hi Marcia, soups with milk or cream don't tend to do well in the freezer. Once defrosted, they tend to have a grainy texture.
Maret
Delicious soup! One of our favorites after Thanksgiving but it's good anytime! I add a carrot and use half the salt. I might try some smoked paprika since there's no bacon. Thanks for a great recipe!
Patty
Delish!
I did make this in the crockpot without cooking all the veggies first. I used ground turkey because that is what I had (it was already cooked from a previous days recipe and just made extra knowing I would need it for something!) Here's what I did:
Made the chicken broth from bouillon and put in crockpot on high. Chopped all the listed veggies and dumped in along with the spices, can of chilies and a mix of frozen and canned corn (because that is what I had). After a couple of hours when it was good and hot I mixed the flour/milk and whisked in. At that time I added the cooked ground turkey. About 30 minutes before it was done I added 3/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese (because it was pepper jack I did not add the cayenne pepper nor did it need the green onion garnish). The spice was perfect and the taste was a hit with all. Served with sourdough bread.
SallyBR
I know this is an old post of yours, but wanted to say thank you for inspiring me...
I just blogged on a version I made a couple of weeks ago... if you'd like, here is the link - I gave you credit of course! 😉
https://bewitchingkitchen.com/2017/10/21/soup-saturday-regional-soups/
Maret
I discovered this recipe last year....and we enjoyed it so much that it was the first soup I made with the batch of broth made from the turkey carcass this year. Thank you for an easy and healthy chowder...it goes together so quickly which is a real treat after all the Thanksgiving cooking! I added a carrot this time and halved the salt and it is still delicious!
Patty
I made "this recipe" and it was delicious! I say, "this recipe" because I started to follow it but made it the lazy man's way. (using cream of chicken soup instead of flour, etc.) First of all, I threw it all in the crockpot, raw chicken and all. I did not cook any of the veggies ahead of time. I substituted and deleted items based on what I had in my fridge/cabinet. I pretty much did not measure anything. Here is what I did:
Threw all this in the crockpot on high for 3-4 hours (to cook chicken) then lowered until ready to serve a couple hours later) Chopped up 2 chicken breasts, red and orange bell pepper, yellow onion, asparagus, a clump (literally it was clumped together and at least 1 1/4 cup) of frozen corn, 1 can ortega chiles, 2 cans cream of chicken soup, filled 1 can with water, filled 1 can 2 times with almond milk, 2 tsp granulated chicken broth, 2 pinches cayenne pepper, 1 tsp ground pepper.
Served with sourdough baguette. It was so good and family loved it. Enjoy!