Super Easy Homemade Sweet Corn Soup

Delicious and so easy to make this simple homemade vegetarian sweet corn soup is rich and creamy but with a bit of crunch too from the fabulously fresh salsa you serve with it.

What’s to love about this soup recipe

• Although this corn soup is rich and creamy there is no cream involved so this is a healthy soup.
• My corn soup recipe is quick to make, start to finish in less than half an hour.
• The taste – this is a flavour-packed soup and you can really jazz it up with all sorts of extra goodies to make it really special.
• This sweet corn soup is a great store-cupboard recipe to whip up any time of year.

What is corn?

Late summer is corn season. Whether you call it sweetcorn (or sweet corn), corn on the cob, summer corn or just plain old corn we are talking about that gorgeous golden veggie with all those tasty little kernals that have a sweetness all of their own.

I love using fresh corn and always make this soup and my sweet corn relish too every summer.

Ingredients for corn soup

• Corn – the most important ingredient of course is the sweetcorn in this soup. You can use either fresh summer corn when it’s available or go for frozen corn. You can even use canned corn if that is all you have.
• Onion, celery and garlic make the base for this delicious soup. The corn itself is very sweet so you really want to add a bit of depth here and these great veggies do the job perfectly.
• Potato – this adds a bit of body to your corn soup. It helps to make your sweetcorn soup all luscious and creamy without actually adding any cream at all.
• Stock – you have a choice here, you can use vegetable stock or chicken stock to make sweet corn soup. It is entirely up to you.
• Flavourings – Lime juice really sparks up the flavour of sweetcorn as does chilli. Thyme is a great herb here and a wee bit of smoked paprika just adds the finishing touch of a little smokiness.

How to remove corn from the cob

If you are using fresh corn on the cob you will have to remove the corn kernels first. Please take care doing this.

If the corn still has it’s outer leaves then pull them back and bunch them up in your hand to use as a handle to hold the corn cob pointing downwards with the pointed end on your chopping board.

If it doesn’t have leaves then just stand the corn cob up on the chopping board and hold firmly.

Using a small sharp knife carefully insert it at the top of the corn cob right where the kernels join the cob and slice downwards. The little kernels of corn will pop off easily. Do this all the way around the corn cob to remove all the kernels.

How to make corn soup

Prepare the corn as above if you are using fresh corn for your soup. If not just defrost a bag of sweet corn and you are good to go. Save some of the corn to use to finish off the soup.

Saute the onion with the celery then add the garlic for just a minute as it cooks so quickly. Now add the potato and sweet corn along with your herbs and spices.

Cook this wonderfully colourful mixture for about 5 minutes and then add the stock and lime juice. Bring it to the boil then lower the temperature to a simmer for 20 minutes till the potatoes are completely cooked through.

Use a stick blender (immersion blender) to turn this into the creamiest corn soup.

Serving corn soup

If you want your corn soup to have more texture in the soup itself. You can hold back half the corn and after you have cooked and blended the soup just add the remaining corn and cook the corn soup for a further 5 minutes.

Personally, I like to serve my corn soup with a little homemade salsa on the top. I keep some corn kernels and mix these with a chopped tomato, chives (or spring onion/scallion), chilli and fresh herbs. This little fresh salsa adds both texture and crunch with an explosion of flavour that really makes the corn soup sing, especially with a squeeze of fresh lime!

I also add little dollops of Greek/natural yogurt to my corn soup when serving. This cools down that hot salsa I’ve put on top of my soup.

If you want to keep things really simple but still want to add some real kick to your sweet corn soup then simply serve it with a dash of tabasco sauce or sriracha sauce. I’ve even got a recipe for homemade sriracha hot sauce.

Storage

Your corn soup will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze sweetcorn soup for up to 3 months. Simply defrost thoroughly and when heating make sure it is piping hot.

Recipe FAQ

Is corn soup healthy?

Yes it is. This sweetcorn soup has good carbs but no added heavy carbs like pasta, rice etc. This corn soup recipe is low in calories too at only around 200 calories per serving.

Can corn soup be vegan?

Yes, simply use a vegetable/vegan stock cube and omit the Greek yogurt when serving your corn soup.

Can you use frozen corn?

Yes, this sweet corn soup is a great store cupboard recipe you can make all year round to give you the taste of summer sunshine.

What’s in corn soup?

Sweet corn (either fresh or frozen), onion, garlic and celery plus stock (either chicken or vegetable stock), herbs and spices and lime juice to bring out the flavours.

What is the difference between corn soup and corn chowder?

A chowder is a really thick soup, almost like a stew. If you want this corn soup to be a corn chowder then scoop out the cooked potatoes before you blend it and have extra corn to add alomng with the potato chunks.

Cooking notes

If you are using an Aga simply bring the corn soup to a boil then pop it into the baking oven with a lid on the pan for 20 minutes. Then remove from oven and blitz the soup with blender as in the standard recipe.

You can make this corn soup in a slow cooker/crock pot too.

Additions

Want to add more veggies to your corn soup? Then why not add some chopped red pepper. Green peppers are rather bitter so the sweeter red pepper is a better addition.

Looking for more delicious soup recipes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Quick and easy Mediterranean vegetable soup

Easy traditional Scotch broth (Vegetarian!)

20 minute Spring minestrone soup

Roasted red pepper soup

Or check out my Super Soups section for lots more ideas.

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.