The Canned Vegetable You Should Be Tossing Into Potato Soup

At one time, potato soup may have been viewed as either low-brow, strictly peasant food, or just plain unexciting. Thankfully, the soup renaissance and the reclaiming of peasant dishes is in full swing, and potato soup is now as hip as it is classic. That said, sometimes the starchy concoction needs a little nudge toward the exceptional. For the easiest upgrade, try tossing canned corn into your potato soup.

It should come as no surprise that corn and potato pair well together. Corn chowder is a popular dish that makes good use of the potato to elevate the texture and taste of the chowder. The exact same principle applies here. The sweetness of canned corn, along with its slight saltiness, add an extra flavor element to the rich creaminess of the often underwhelming potato soup. The textural element that the corn can give, a varied yet slight crunch, can also diversify your potato soup in a beneficial way. Use this potato and sweet corn chowder recipe as a jumping-off point for inspiration, or simply open a can of corn and mix it into your canned cream of potato soup on the stovetop, draining out excess liquid beforehand.

This hack is so easy it almost defies explanation. It does not, however, defy elaboration. To begin, if you don't already have a particular soup already selected, browse this list of 14 potato soup recipes to jump-start the operation. From a timeless Vichyssoise to a spicy sweet potato soup, there are many intuitive choices on the list that could use the salty-sweetness and crunch factor canned corn offers.

If you want to impart a little extra flavor to your canned corn before adding it to a potato soup, roast it. Follow this guide for the perfect roast corn with a pinch of paprika and citrus to extract more value from each and every kernel. You could also try crafting a take on Mexican street corn by taking the canned variety, roasting it, sprinkling it with a chili-lime seasoning mix and cilantro, and adding it to caldo de queso, a hearty, cheesy potato soup that hails from the Sonora region of Mexico. However you choose to incorporate canned corn into your potato soup, this upgrade is the most expedient way to utilize pantry staples to please the masses.