Summer fresh Sweet Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Guacamole. Flavors reminiscent of corn chowder, but with a lighter texture. Bright and fresh, this soup really shines during fresh sweet corn season. But make this one year round using frozen corn. Don’t skip the topping of Roasted Corn Guacamole, it’s out of this world.
I could eat fresh sweet corn for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And as a matter of fact it seems like I do once Colorado sweet corn arrives in our markets. So When I moved to the Denver area from Kansas, one of my first questions for the locals was “where do I get the freshest sweet corn?”
Lucky for me, someone steered me in the right direction. About 40 miles Northeast of Highlands Ranch, you’ll find the town of Brighton and surrounding Brighton you’ll find fields and fields of vegetable farms growing everything from okra to tomatoes to some of the best sweet corn I’ve ever tasted.
You’ll find farm stands like Palombo Farms selling that fresh fare. So totally worth that drive.
For my latest fresh sweet corn adventure I decided on a fresh sweet corn soup recipe.
And to elevate that this corn soup recipe to a higher level, it’s topped it with with Roasted Corn Guacamole.
As if fresh sweet corn isn’t the ultimate Summer treat on its own, this recipe takes those luscious kernels and roasts them in the oven to caramelize them into something I would call bliss. The first time I caramelized sweet corn was on the stove top. I fried it for this Grilled Flank Steak with Charred Sweet Corn.
Fried or oven roasted, caramelized sweet corn is something you definitely need in your life.
Roasting the corn kernels takes the already natural sugars into a caramelized state and intensifies its flavor.
Mix that roasted corn with traditional ingredients to make a unique corn guacamole and a topping for sweet corn soup that takes this recipe over the top.
Let’s take a look.
Colorado Sweet Corn: Colorado is well known for producing some of the best conventional and organic sweet corn in the United States. Colorado produces more than 133 million pounds of sweet corn annually. Unique growing climate and soils combined with innovative farming practices, including controlled irrigation, ensure consistent quality and superior flavor.
Ingredients You’ll Need For The Soup
- Fresh Sweet Corn: Kernels removed from the cob.
- Chicken Broth: Or use vegetable to broth to make this a vegetarian sweet corn soup
- Cilantro
- Onion: Use a sweet or yellow onion.
- Olive Oil: You can also use vegetable or canola oil.
- Chile Powder: A single blend chile powder, New Mexico preferred. Don’t use a chili (with an “i”) seasoning, as it’s a blend of seasonings used to season Chili Soups.
- Jalapeno Pepper: For a milder seasoned soup, use a poblano pepper.
- Garlic
Note: You can make this recipe with boxed chicken broth, canned green chiles and frozen corn and it will be fine. But there are a few extra steps you can take to make this soup more flavorful.
Ingredients For The Roasted Corn Guacamole
- Sweet Corn Kernels, removed from the cob.
- Onion: Use a sweet, yellow or red onion.
- Olive oil
- Lime: For the juice and zest.
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Jalapeno Pepper: For a less spicy guacamole, use a poblano pepper.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Please excuse my mistake. I accidentally photographed the cherry tomatoes in the upper photo. Thsey should be used for this guacamole.
How To Make Sweet Corn Soup, Step by Step
- Step 1: Using a sharp chef’s knife, stand the corn up and then use the knife to slice downwards to remove the kernels from the cob.
- Step 2: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the corn with the oil and place them on a sheet pan. Roast the corn, until it’s just starting to golden, about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Pro Tip Knife Skills: Always keep the hand that’s gripping the knife clean and dry. A wet hand could cause slips resulting in nicks or worse a nasty slice on your hand.
- Step 3: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and when hot, add the chopped onion and chopped jalapeno pepper. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and stir until fragrant. This will take just a few seconds.
- Step 4: Place 3 cups of the roasted corn kernels (saving the rest for the guacamole) into a food processor. Add the cooked onion and jalapeno. Puree until almost smooth. You want a few chunks of corn to show.
- Step 5: Pour the sweet corn puree into the soup pot and place over medium-low heat. Stir constantly for a two minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.
- Step 6: In the meantime make the roasted corn guacamole. Combine the remainder of the roasted corn (which should be about 1 ½ cups), chopped onion, cilantro, lime zest and juice, tomatoes and jalapeno. Gently stir in the avocado. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Step 7: Ladle the soup into bowls and place a generous amount of the guacamole in the center of each bowl. Garnish with a small sprig of cilantro and a dusting of New Mexico Chile Powder if you wish.
Common Questions About Sweet Corn Soup
A good sharp chef knife is your best tool. Just stand the cob upright on a large cutting board and cut down the side of the cob, removing the first rows. Then quarter turn the cob and slice off the next row of kernels. Repeat. Voila. A naked-ish cob.
Sweet corn is considered to be a low fat food. The fat in sweet corn is a mix of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The polyunsaturated fat, has heart health benefits. There are only 5g of natural sugar in a medium ear of corn. An ear of sweet corn has a third of the sugar than a banana, and only about ⅕ of the sugar in an apple. Corn has several health benefits that may benefit eye and heart health. Source: Eating Well, a great article about Sweet Corn myths.
Yes, all of the fresh ingredients are naturally gluten free.
Yes, substitute equal amounts of canned corn, drained. You can also use canned cream corn, undrained. But please, save this recipe for fresh corn season.
Tips for Success
- If you’re going to use frozen corn to make this recipe please choose a quality brand. Some of the less expensive brands can be tough in texture, which can make the soup chewy, and not as sweet. Always choose quality ingredients.
Fun Add Ons
- If you’re looking for a creamy sweet corn soup. Swirl in a couple tablespoons of Mexican Crema once the soup is cooked. Mexican Crema is a thinner version of our American sour cream with a tangier flavor. Or you can drizzle in some heavy cream. Which ever you use, the starchy liquid will welcome and combine the cream.
Sweet Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Guacamole
If you’re looking for fresh sweet corn recipes, I hope you give this recipe a try. It’s a wonderful way to take advantage of fresh sweet corn season. And once the kernels are removed from the cob, an easy dinner recipe.
More Fresh Sweet Corn Recipes
I consider soup recipes to be my specialty, so if you’re looking for more, don’t miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of slurp worthy recipes, including the most popular on my site for Hatch Green Chili, Colorado Style.
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Sweet Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Guacamole
Ingredients
- 8-10 ears fresh sweet corn kernels removed. About 4 ½ cups of kernels.
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- For The Sweet Corn Soup
- 3 cups roasted sweet corn
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1 cup onion sweet or Vidalia, chopped
- 1 jalapeno stemmed, deveined, seeded and chopped
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 2 cups Chicken broth
- For The Roasted Corn Guacamole
- 1 – 1 ½ cups roasted corn kernels
- 5-6 cherry tomatoes chopped
- 2 Tablespoons onion sweet or Vidalia, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro fine chopped
- 1 lime zest and juice
- 1 jalapeno seeded, deveined and fine chopped
- 1 avocado pitted and chopped
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- Cilantro sprigs for garnish
- ½ teaspoon New Mexico Red Chile Powder for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place all of the corn kernels on the baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and some salt and pepper.
- Spread the corn out evenly and roast for about 30 minutes or until the corn starts to turn a golden brown and caramelized and slightly crunchy. Stir the kernels every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
- For The Soup
- Place 3 cups of roasted corn kernels in a food processor.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium and add the onion and jalapeno. Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Salt and pepper and add the garlic. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, which will only take a few seconds.
- Transfer this mixture to the food processor with the corn and puree until almost smooth. You want a few chunks of corn to show.
- Pour the puree into the soup pot and place over medium heat. Str constantly for a few minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.
- For the Roasted Corn Guacamole
- While the soup is cooking, make the roasted corn guacamole by combining the remainder of the roasted corn (which should be about 1 ½ cups), chopped onion, cilantro, lime zest and juice, tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and jalapeno. Gently stir in the avocado. Season with salt and pepper.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and place a generous amount of the guacamole in the center of each bowl. Garnish with a small sprig of cilantro and a dusting of New Mexico Chile Powder if you wish.
Notes
- If you’re going to use frozen corn to make this recipe please choose a quality brand. Some of the less expensive brands can be tough in texture, which can make the soup chewy, and not as sweet. Always choose quality ingredients.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published May of 2019 and republished August 2023 with step by step instructions.
Sweet Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Guacamole … It’s What’s for Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
I love corn every which way and this sounds fabulous!
Lea Ann, how did I miss this one?! This has to be the most interesting soup recipe I’ve seen in ages. Sounds delicious. I need to have this really soon!
Hi Jean! How did you miss it? 😉 We loved this soup recipe and it’s perfect for sweet corn season.
There was a saying in New England about corn, it was about knee high by the 4th of July. We waited eagerly for the farm stands to open in August…it was a long wait for sweet corn but it was worth it. Your soup certainly does sound good.
We have a later growing season here also. It’s August for us sweet corn lovers in Colorado.
Colorado sweet corn really IS special. Always look forward to seeing it in our grocery store. And I’d look forward to seeing a nice big bowl of this on my dinner table! Great looking recipe — thanks.
Yum! This looks like something I’d order at a restaurant, but I’m thrilled I’ll get a chance to make it at home! Have a great weekend!!!
Wow, that’s quite a compliment Liz. Let me know if you make it and what you think.
As a Kansas farm girl I can imagine this dish being right up your alley – it looks very good.
Thanks Larry.