Summer Corn Soup
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Smooth, creamy, and made without a drop of cream, this fresh corn soup is just as delicious hot as it is chilled.
With just a few simple ingredients, this corn soup is packed with fresh corn flavor and tastes like summer in a bowl. It’s delicious as is but easy to customize—try different fresh herbs, top it with chopped tomatoes or crisp bacon, or swirl in a little heavy cream for extra richness.
“What an easy and super tasty soup this was… it DOES taste like summer, and we enjoyed every bite.”
What You’ll Need To Make Summer Corn Soup
- Unsalted butter: Used to gently sauté the shallots and adds richness to the soup.
- Shallots: Provide a mild, slightly sweet onion flavor that complements the corn without overpowering it.
- Fresh corn: White or yellow corn both work well, though yellow corn gives the soup a prettier golden color. The cobs are simmered along with the kernels to extract as much corn flavor as possible.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: Forms the base of the soup. Using low-sodium broth lets you control the seasoning.
- Salt & black pepper: Season the soup and bring out the sweetness of the corn.
- Fresh basil & thyme: Stirred in at the end for freshness and a pop of herbal flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the corn: Husk the corn and remove the silks. Set one ear aside. Working one ear at a time, stand the corn upright in a large bowl and slice downward with a sharp knife to remove the kernels—the bowl will catch them as they fall. Break the scraped cobs in half and set aside.
Cook the shallots and corn: Melt the butter in a large pot and cook the shallots until soft and translucent. Add the stock, corn kernels, broken cobs, reserved whole ear of corn, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Blend the soup: Remove the whole ear of corn and set aside to cool. Continue simmering the soup for another 10 minutes, then remove and discard the cobs. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until completely smooth. This takes a few minutes, so be patient.
Strain the soup: Set a fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl and pour in the soup. Using the back of a ladle, press the soup through the sieve in a circular motion, then discard the fibrous bits left behind.
Finish the soup: Return the strained soup to a clean pot. It should be smooth and creamy; if it’s too thick, add a little water or stock, and if it’s too thin, simmer until it reaches the desired consistency. Cut the kernels from the reserved ear of corn and stir them into the soup along with the herbs. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a pinch of sugar if the corn needs a little boost of sweetness.
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Summer Corn Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 heaping cup chopped shallots, from 3 to 4 shallots
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson's
- 6 ears fresh corn (white or yellow are both fine, but yellow makes for a prettier soup)
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, for garnish
- 1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, for garnish
Instructions
- Remove the husks and silks from the corn. Set one ear of corn aside. Use a knife to cut the kernels off of the remaining 5 cobs, then break the scraped cobs in half. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, corn kernels, broken cobs, whole ear of corn, salt, and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove the whole ear of corn and set aside to cool. Cook the soup for 10 minutes more, then remove the broken cobs from the pot and discard.
- Off the heat, use a hand held immersion blender to purée the soup until very smooth. It will take a few minutes. (Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and purée it in batches in a blender. Be sure to crack the lid or remove the center cap to allow steam to escape and cover with a dishtowel so it won't splatter.) Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pass the soup through, using a back of a ladle to push the soup through in circular motions. Discard the fibers and bits of kernels in the sieve. Return the strained soup to a clean pot. It should have a creamy consistency. If it's too thick, thin it with water or chicken stock; if it's too thin, cook over medium heat until thickened.
- Use a knife to cut the cooked kernels off of the cooled whole cob, then add the kernels to the soup along with the herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper (if necessary, you can add a bit of sugar to bring out the corn's natural sweetness). Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with tiny sprigs of fresh basil and thyme, if desired. Serve hot or cold.
Notes
- If you have a high-powered blender, like a Vitamix, you may be able to skip the step of straining the soup.
- Be sure to get fresh-picked corn and cook it as soon as possible. As soon as it is picked, corn starts converting sugar to starch, which reduces sweetness. If you're not going to cook it right away, store it in the refrigerator, as it slows down the conversion process.
- Freezing Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is another scrumptious soup that my family loved. The method is very close to the lemon asparagus soup. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
This was not a hit with my family. I have loved all the other recipes I tried on this website, but I won’t be making this again. The soup was super labour intensive (I made my own chicken broth, so that added another layer to it) and the result was blah. Kids left it in their bowls, my husband said it was way too sweet for a soup. We would much rather have eaten the corn simply boiled.
Would a Foley mill work instead of a fine sieve?
Sure, Carol – that should work.
Jenn, this was wonderful. I wanted to serve it cold in mugs on a 90 degree day, so I simmered it an extra 10 minutes. When cold, it was thicker than I had planned. Should I shorten the extra simmering time or not thicken at all as it obviously gets thicker on its own?
That’s a nice idea for a hot day! It depends upon how thick you want the soup to be. If it was a little thicker than you’d liked this past go-round, I’d skip the extra simmering next time.
I made this soup tonight and it took an hour and a half from going to the farm stand to buy the corn to serving it. I thought it was delicious. I did not use the ground pepper since that would have introduced dark specks into a light soup. Instead, in these instances, I prefer to use green Tabasco, which offers lots of forgiveness as you add heat. The soup really changes after going through the sieve, but is still thick enough. Opps, I forgot to say, after the shallots were sauteed, I added two tablespoons of flour to ensure the finished soup did not separate.
Comments, anyone?
Delicious!! My soup didn’t turn out as thick as yours, Jenn, and I didn’t have time to cook it down. Next time I’ll leave myself more time as necessary; and next time I will add the kernels of two cob, not one. The kernels (and herbs) really did make this a very special soup! My Blend Tech made fast work of the finished product. :0)
Terrific soup Jenn. I had a similar corn soup a year ago in the dining room of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and was delighted to try your recipe. I used a mix of shallots and leeks because we have leeks and basil from our CSA. And cooking the corn cobs amplifies the corn flavor. It was like tasting liquid sunshine in a bowl! Thank you for another winning recipe.
THIS SOUP IS AWESOME. I simplified it by cooking the cobs separately and cutting off all the kernels, saving a cup of them for the end. Threw out the cobs. I also added dried basil and thyme right away before simmering. You get the taste of fresh garden corn in this recipe. If you like summer harvest corn you will love this soup. I have never left a comment on a recipe EVER. That’s how good this is.
Hi Jenn – I love your recipes and have just started to try them! I have come across your blog and can’t seem to tear myself away. With corn so cheap on sale at my local store, this was the perfect time to make my first corn soup from scratch. Good-bye canned corn!! It took more work to make than opening a can – but so delicious. I used my hand immersion blender but after tasting, I also decided to strain it through a sieve. This made it so creamy and hubby said he really enjoyed the soup with those kernels added for texture. Igre my own herb garden this year and I was happy to run out and snip herbs for this soup to sprinkle on top. Tasted like something you would get at fancy restaurant! So yummy! Thank you! This is my 3rd recipe I made and you are my favorite chef!
I love this soup! I had to use a strainer because I could not get all of the kernel shells to puree, but it still worked and tasted great! Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
Jenn, You’re going to love this. Last week we were having friends over for dinner. She is from Napoli and he is from India. They are serious food lovers, and as you know, it is such fun to cook for people who appreciate your efforts. Knowing how Italians LOVE their lemons, I decided to prepare an “Italian Meyer lemon cake.” I don’t know where I had found the recipe, but it was in my enormous pile of “things to try.” It required considerable work, expense, (had to find and buy Fiori di Sicilia), and time. I followed the recipe EXACTLY! I made it early in the morning — fortunately. After it was completely cooled, being concerned since it was something new, I cut into the cake only to find that the center of each slice looked like solidified jelly. It was disgusting, to say the least. The entire cake went directly into the trash. So here it is 1:30 PM, and I have no dessert for my dinner. I ran to the computer, dashed to your website and found your lemon bundt cake recipe. I dashed to the store, bought the buttermilk and more lemons, hurried home and made your cake; it was — OF COURSE– spectacular. My friends were so impressed; I even gave them part of the cake to take home. When I told my husband the whole story, he said, “Why didn’t you use her recipe in the first place? Everything you have ever made from her collection was good.” Duh. When will I learn? Once again, Jenn to the rescue. My three adult children are all cooks (as well as their spouses) and all are Jenn Segal fans. I have ordered your cookbook for myself and all three kids. Thank you, again, for making me look good.
I’m so happy it worked out, Susan — and thank you so much for supporting me! 💜