Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Turkey Chowder
Turkey chowder offers creamy broth with tender potatoes and sweet corn, plus a gentle smoky warmth. Shredded turkey gives each spoonful something substantial to enjoy. It's a welcoming bowl for an evening when you'd like your dinner warm and spoonable, with a little peppery edge.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 13 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Dinner
- Primary protein
- Turkey
- Cuisine
- American
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Soups · Soups & stews
A few quick notes
1. Dice the potatoes small
Keep the potatoes smaller than 1/2 inch as written. They only get a short boil before the longer simmer, so small pieces help them soften evenly in the creamy chowder.
2. Scrape up the bottom
When the stock goes in, take a moment to scrape the bottom of the pot. The onion, garlic, butter and flour leave good flavor there, and it also helps the thickener blend into the broth.
3. Stir now and then
After the turkey, corn, cream, peppers and seasonings go in, the chowder comes back to a boil briefly before simmering. Stir occasionally so the creamy base stays smooth and nothing settles heavily on the bottom.
Get to know the ingredients
Cooked turkey
Use turkey that's already cooked and shredded. It goes in near the end with the cream and corn, so this step warms it through rather than cooking raw meat.
Frozen sweet corn
The corn goes in frozen with the remaining ingredients. No need to cook it separately first; it has time to heat through as the chowder returns to a boil and then simmers.
Chili peppers
Choose mild or medium canned chili peppers, depending on how much warmth you want. They bring gentle heat to the creamy chowder without changing the main cooking steps.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 8 steps completeMake room for Turkey Chowder
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Serve it once the simmer is done
After the 30 minute simmer, the chowder is ready to ladle up. Give it a stir from the bottom before serving so the turkey, vegetables and creamy broth are evenly mixed.
A little more help as you go
Build the base smoothly
After the garlic turns fragrant, stir the flour into the buttery onion mixture until it looks smooth. That minute in the pot helps the chowder thicken evenly once the stock is added.
Add the cream with the rest
The heavy cream is added along with the turkey, corn, peppers and seasonings, then the pot returns to a boil before simmering. Keep the heat lower for the final simmer.
A few questions you might have
Can I start with raw turkey?
No, use cooked, shredded turkey here. The turkey is added late in the recipe and only simmers with the chowder, so the directions are built around meat that's already cooked.
Why does the flour go in before the stock?
The flour is stirred into the butter, onion and garlic before liquid is added so it can smooth out in the fat. That helps thicken the stock into a chowder base instead of leaving floury bits.
Do the carrots need to be diced like the potatoes?
Use sliced carrots and potatoes diced smaller than 1/2 inch. Keep that difference: the potatoes need the small dice, while the carrots are meant to go in sliced.
When do the smoked paprika and poultry seasoning go in?
They go in with the remaining ingredients after the stock, potatoes and carrots have come to a boil. That means they simmer with the turkey, corn, cream and chili peppers.
Should the chowder boil the whole time?
No. Bring it back to a boil after adding the remaining ingredients, cook for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: sugarspunrun.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
