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Home Soups

Cold Corn Soup for summer!

By:Nagi
Published:30 Jun '21Updated:5 Jul '21
57 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

It’s the essence of summer: This is a silky and smooth Cold Corn Soup that’s creamy, sweet and utterly refreshing. It’s a soup intended to be served chilled or at room temperature, but it’s just as sensational served warm.

For the best results, use fresh corn ears when they’re at their prime (and cheapest!) But if frozen corn is all you’ve got, you can use that instead!

Spoon scooping up Cold Corn Soup for summer

Cold Corn Soup – refreshing summer soup!

The concept of a cold soup might sound unusual if you’ve never tried one before. However chilled soups feature in a surprising number of cultures around the world! The best known might be gazpacho, the Spanish cold soup of pureed tomatoes and raw vegetables. But the Koreans have naengmyeon, a cold beef broth and noodle soup, while even the French sometimes serve vichyssoise (leek and potato soup) cold rather than hot.

Cold soups provide a light and refreshing escape from sweltering, muggy weather in a meal. If you’re sweating through summer right now, that sounds pretty good, right??

If, on the other hand, you’re shivering through a brisk winter (hello Australia), the good news is that this soup is just as delicious served warm. It’s a soup for all seasons!!

Overhead photo of bowls of Cold Corn Soup for summer
Cold corn soup garnished with kernels sautéed in butter, green onions and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

What goes in Cold Corn Soup

1. Fresh corn ears

A corn-centric dish is always going to taste better made from fresh corn! The other reason is we can pull maximum flavour from whole corn ears, because after cutting the kernels off the cobs are used to make a simple homemade corn stock. No store-bought stock can rival that!

Frozen corn alternative: Use 10 cups of frozen corn and store-bought chicken stock instead of homemade corn stock.

Ears of corn for Cold Corn Soup for summer
  • Cooking corn for Cold Corn Soup for summer
  • Corn stock for Cold Corn Soup

2. Other ingredients in Cold Corn Soup

In addition to (lots!) of corn kernels, here are the other ingredients that go into this corn soup:

Ingredients in Cold Corn Soup for summer
  • Garlic and onion – Standard aromatic flavour base that appears in most savoury dishes on this site!;

  • Leek – Adds a slightly sweeter, more delicate onion flavour to the soup instead of just using onion. Substitute with more onion;

  • Butter – For sautéing. You could use olive oil if you prefer, but the buttery flavour is better!

  • Cream – Adds a lovely rich mouthfeel to the soup; and

  • Herb and spice sachet (see below) – Whole spices and herbs wrapped up in a cheesecloth. This is used to infuse flavour into the soup without ending up with little bits of spices in the soup that could otherwise mar the soup’s clean look.

    Don’t have cheesecloth? It’s not the end of the world! Use ground coriander instead of whole seeds, ground white pepper instead of black peppercorns (so you don’t end up with black bits in the soup). Add the thyme and bay leaves into the soup, and remove before blitzing. The soup is strained at the end so it will catch any little bits.

Ingredients in Cold Corn Soup for summer
Herb spice sachet for Corn Soup

How to make Cold Corn Soup

Here’s a rundown of how to make Cold Corn Soup:

  • Cut kernels off corn cobs;

  • Simmer corn cobs in water to make corn stock;

  • Sauté garlic, onion and corn, and simmer with the corn stock; then

  • Blitz, strain, chill … and slurp!

Part 1 – Corn stock and soup

How to make Cold Corn Soup
  1. Cut kernels off corn – I find the easiest way to do this without the kernels flying everywhere is to prop the corn upright on an inverted ramekin or wide mug sitting inside a large bowl. Then cut the kernels off in a downward motion with a small knife. The ramekin ensures you can cut all the way to the bottom and the bowl will catch the kernels as they fall off. ;

  2. Corn stock – Cut the leftover cobs in half. Place in a large pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid off;

  3. Measure stock – Strain corn stock, then measure the liquid. It should be around 2 litres / 2 quarts. If it’s much more, simmer to reduce (otherwise the flavour is too diluted). If less, top up with water;

  4. Sauté aromatics – Use a large pot, as this makes around 3 litres / 3 quarts of soup! Cook onion, celery, leek and garlic on a medium-low heat for 4 – 5 minutes until soft and sweet. Don’t let them turn golden brown otherwise it will affect the colour of the soup;

  5. Cook corn – Add corn kernels then cook for 6 to 7 minutes. The corn basically “steam cooks” due to the moisture as opposed to sautéing, which is what we want. As above with the onion etc, we don’t want to make the corn golden (like I insist on for things like Mexican Corn Salad!) because it will make the soup brown rather than a lovely pastel yellow and will lose its freshness;

  6. Add corn stock – Add the corn stock and the herb/spice sachet;

  7. Simmer – Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Finally, add the cream and simmer for 3 minutes. Don’t let it boil as it might split the cream;

  8. Ready to blend! It will smell lovely at this stage, but now we’re going to blend it to really release all the sweet flavour locked up in the corn kernels!

Part 2: Blend, strain and chill

How to make Cold Corn Soup
  1. Blend until smooth – Blend right in the pot using a stick blender, or in batches in a blender on high speed until smooth.

    CAUTION! Hot liquid + tightly sealed blender lid = soup explosion! To avoid this, cool before blending OR remove the lid of the feeding tube in the blender lid. Cover the exposed hole with a folded tea towel as you blend hot liquid. You will see me do this in the recipe video.

  2. Strain – With a fine mesh strainer set over a large bowl or pot, strain the soup;

  3. Press out liquid – Use a rubber spatula to press out as much liquid as you can;

  4. Chill then serve – Cool the soup on the counter (never put a big bowl of steaming hot soup straight in the fridge, it will heat up your fridge and melt foods around it!). Then transfer it into the fridge to chill. See next section for how to serve this soup.

Bowl of Cold Corn Soup for summer
Dipping bread into a bowl of Cold Corn Soup for summer

How to serve Cold Corn Soup

This is a rare soup that is intended specifically to be served cold. Serve it fully chilled straight from the fridge, just moderately cool or at room temperature.

Having said that, it’s also terrific warm as well. Warming the soup up brings the flavour of the corn out even more!

Serving vessels: Shot glasses or bowls!

Serving this soup in shot glasses makes a fun canapé to pass around. Try serving in tea cups if making a small starter, or in bowls as a first course.

Garnish

To pretty it up, sprinkle on a garnish of reserved corn kernels sautéed in a little butter until golden, and a spray of green onion slices for colour. I also added a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Basil oil would have been even more amazing – imagine the splash of colour and hint of fresh basil flavour!

So, if you’re a first timer to cold soups, what do you think?? Will you give this a go? – Nagi x

PS. The correct answer to leave below is YES!! 😂


Watch how to make it

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Spoon scooping up Cold Corn Soup for summer

Cold Corn Soup for Summer

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 45 minutes mins
Chilling: 4 hours hrs
canape, Main, Starter
Western
5 from 8 votes
Servings6
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Corn Soup is one of those rare soups best served cold. For all those days when it's too hot to even contemplate eating hot food!
Sweet summer corn is the star here that makes a simple corn stock that drives home the corn flavour. If you can't get good fresh corn where you are, use frozen corn instead but prop the flavour up with chicken or vegetable stock.
Serve cold as a canape in shot glasses, tea cups as a starter, or bowls as a meal. Serves 6 as a meal.

Ingredients

Corn stock:

  • 8 ears yellow corn (Note 1 for frozen corn)
  • 3 litres / 3 quarts water

Corn soup:

  • 100g/ 7 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 garlic cloves , chopped
  • 1/2 onion , finely sliced
  • 1 celery stalk , sliced
  • 1/2 leek , white part only, finely sliced (sub 1/2 onion)
  • 1 tsp salt , cooking/kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 1 cup cream , full fat

Herb Spice Sachet (Note 2):

  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 1 bay leaf , preferably fresh otherwise dried
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds

Optional Garnish:

  • Extra corn kernels , sautéed in butter until golden with a pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1/4 cup green onion , finely sliced

Instructions

  • Cut off kernels: Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and transfer to a bowl.
  • Corn stock: Cut the cobs in half. Place in a large pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain – it should be 2 litres. If it's much more , simmer to reduce. If less, top up with water.
  • Sachet: Bundle the bay leaf, thyme, black peppercorns and coriander seeds loosely in a small piece of cheesecloth to create a sachet. Tie with cooking twine to secure.
  • Sauté aromatics: Melt butter in a pot over medium high heat. Add onion, celery, leek and garlic. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes until soft.
  • Cook corn: Add corn kernels then cook for 6 to 7 minutes.
  • Simmer: Add the corn stock and the sachet. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
  • Cream: Add the cream and cook for 3 minutes.
  • Blend and sieve: Remove the Sachet. Blend in batches in a blender on high speed until smooth.
    CAUTION! Hot liquid + tightly sealed blender lid = soup explosion! To avoid this, either cool before blending. OR remove the lid of the feeding tube in the blender lid. Cover the exposed hole with a folded tea towel as you blend hot liquid. You will see me do this in the recipe video.
  • Strain: Pass through a fine sieve.
  • Adjust salt: Taste and add more salt if needed.
  • Chill and serve: Cool, then transfer to the fridge to chill completely. Intended to be served chilled or cool, but also great at room temperture or warm!
  • How to serve: In shot glasses as a canape, tea cups as a small starter, or bowls as a meal with hunks of crusty bread. Garnish with kernels sauteed in butter with green onion slices and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (basil oil would be even more incredible!).

Recipe Notes:

1. Corn – Or 10 cups frozen corn, and instead of making corn stock, simmer the soup with 2 litres of low sodium chicken stock instead.
2. Sachet alternatives – Using a sachet allows us to infuse the soup with the herb and spice flavours without ending up with dark specks in the otherwise nearly pure-white soup.
If you don’t have cheesecloth to make a sachet (what, you mean you haven’t tried Palak Paneer yet? 😂), then do as follows: Put bay leaf and thyme into soup, and 1/8 tsp coriander powder plus use ground white pepper instead of black (so you don’t end up with black bits in the soup). Remove bay leaf and thyme stem before blending.
3. Storage – Refrigerate for up to 5 days. 
4. Nutrition per serving, assuming 6 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 374cal (19%)Carbohydrates: 27g (9%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 30g (46%)Saturated Fat: 18g (113%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 90mg (30%)Sodium: 543mg (24%)Potassium: 416mg (12%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 8g (9%)Vitamin A: 1397IU (28%)Vitamin C: 11mg (13%)Calcium: 50mg (5%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: chilled soup, chinese corn soup, Cold corn soup, fresh corn soup, summer soup
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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57 Comments

  1. Elaine Brown says

    August 8, 2023 at 6:01 am

    I have made this soup–it’s delicious!
    At this time in the summer, the only fresh corn available to me is the yellow and white “peaches and cream” variety. It’s a delicious sweet corn that makes a lovely chilled soup, but the colour is very pale. I am thinking of adding turmeric to the soup to enhance the colour. How much turmeric would you recommend, and when would you add it?

    Reply
  2. Ashleigh says

    March 17, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    5 stars
    Corn soup doesn’t really scream exciting to me, but this taste of this is just mind-blowing!
    Have just made it this morning for a cold dinner, with it being a solid 35 degrees in the shade I didn’t feel like sweating while eating dinner.
    I will definitely be making this again! The corn stock just hits next level!

    Reply
  3. Renata says

    July 20, 2022 at 9:21 am

    Heaven on earth! The best cold soup for summer. Thank you for this wonderful recipe

    Reply
  4. Samantha says

    November 24, 2021 at 10:10 pm

    Looks AMAZING, but I was wondering if I could use something else rather than butter, perhaps olive oil or coconut oil??? Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 26, 2021 at 4:30 pm

      I haven’t tried those Samantha. Butter adds a good bit of flavour here so let me know how it goes if you try it with oil. N x

      Reply
  5. Gretchen says

    September 19, 2021 at 9:11 am

    This has been one of my favorite things to make this summer. I drizzle chili oil on top (heat oil, pour hot oil over red pepper flakes, strain) and top with cilantro!

    Reply
  6. BRENDA says

    August 30, 2021 at 1:30 am

    this looks good, but I was wondering if it would turn out ok without blending/straining it? I would just cook it as described and refrigerate it without blending. Do you think this would work? It’s corn season here in Michigan so I’d love to try it

    Reply
  7. Jacqui says

    August 2, 2021 at 2:10 am

    I discovered your blog three years ago, and you’ve since become my favorite food blogger❤️ This cold corn soup is delicious! Refreshing, creamy, so flavorful, and unexpected. It was a big hit as the starter of a summer bbq dinner. Many thanks from NYC!

    Reply
  8. lynne says

    July 30, 2021 at 9:34 pm

    5 stars
    LOVE this soup,, made almost exactly as written (no leeks, used scallions and spring onions instead) but beware it does take more than an hour total, even for an experienced cook in a well equipped kitchen. The end result reminds me of a very old recipe for “Velvet Corn Soup” from a vintage chinese cook book! Very yummy and elegant, a great use of “summer” corn here in NA. Thanks, Nagi! And golden dog Wally sends a shout out to Dozer🐾💕!

    Reply
  9. Sandra says

    July 29, 2021 at 9:34 pm

    Husband had a tooth out yesterday. Advice was no hot or cold liquids for a day or two. This soup appeared on my fb this morning.

    Made in a soupmaker. Used tinned corn and a stock cube. Absolutely delicious. Thank you for posting.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 30, 2021 at 1:01 pm

      Oh that’s awesome, I’m so glad you loved it – I hope he recovers quickly!! N x

      Reply
  10. Nancy Carlson says

    July 17, 2021 at 4:34 am

    5 stars
    My Lord!! This is next level! I am ecstatic at how incredibly delicious this is. I made it exactly as you wrote it, corn stock and all. It was time consuming but seriously so worth it! I used basil oil and that just took it over the top! I can’t wait to show off with this at my dinner party. It will make a ton which is great because I can’t stop sampling it! Thank you for this recipe!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 17, 2021 at 8:07 pm

      Woah what a compliment, thanks so much Nancy!! N x

      Reply
  11. Carol Weber says

    July 6, 2021 at 4:04 am

    That is indeed what I mean, and I’m so embarrassed that I missed that in the directions… I thought I had read them carefully. Thanks, everyone, for the answers.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 7, 2021 at 9:27 am

      No problems at all Carol!!! N x

      Reply
  12. Donna says

    July 5, 2021 at 2:46 am

    Could this be made when corn is at its peak and frozen, to be enjoyed later (hot or cold) ?
    There is something special about food, made with in-season produce, that you pull out of the freezer in the dead of winter. It makes a Canadian winter almost bearable! LOL

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 5, 2021 at 5:27 pm

      Yes 100% Donna!! N x

      Reply
  13. Emily says

    July 4, 2021 at 8:06 am

    5 stars
    This was soooo delicious and a perfect way to highlight sweet summer corn! I wanted to drink it straight from the pot! I am really curious about that Korean cold beef broth soup though!!!:)

    Reply
  14. Christine Roberts says

    July 3, 2021 at 11:08 pm

    I have been searching high and low at corn chowder or some type of corn soup vegetarian I want hot but this is a great start I can’t wait to try this thank you put me on your list

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 6, 2021 at 11:24 am

      I hope you try it and love it Christine – keep me updated on what you think! N x

      Reply
  15. Chelsea Valencia says

    July 2, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    Is it summer???? Girl you slippin. Bring back the old stuff my love.
    Ps we need some white choc desserts up in here.
    Still love you, hope tas is good xx

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 3, 2021 at 4:23 pm

      For people on the other side of the pond – yes it’s summer! 😉 N x

      Reply
  16. Lesley Wee says

    July 2, 2021 at 2:33 pm

    Looks so good. Another one to add to my recipe tin. Perfect timing for our freaky hot summer here in Vancouver.
    The meal you prepared in Tazzie looked so beautiful chef Nagi.
    You are so hardworking and so talented!!
    Im sure Dozer would not complain if you guys moved down there🐾😊

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 2, 2021 at 7:24 pm

      I hope you love it Lesley!! N x

      Reply
  17. Christopher says

    July 1, 2021 at 3:45 pm

    Even the phrase “Corn Soup is one of those rare soups best served cold.” makes me quiver. Blech. But, in the spirit of “Nagi said” (eat your anchovies), we’ll give this a go in July, when the first of the season’s corn appears at the farmers’ market. Yay Tazzie!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 3, 2021 at 4:23 pm

      You can have it warm too Christopher! Try it both ways and let me know what you prefer!! N x

      Reply
  18. Deanna says

    July 1, 2021 at 3:22 pm

    OMG what a glorious reunion that will be with you and Dozer. The lunch at the end of the trip was inspired, lucky fellow foodies!

    Reply
  19. Colin Lewington says

    July 1, 2021 at 10:14 am

    Great recipe as always – and story of your travels

    warm regards colin

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 6, 2021 at 11:25 am

      Thanks so much Colin!!! N x

      Reply
  20. Eha says

    July 1, 2021 at 9:48 am

    5 stars
    What a fabulous lunch at Meadowbank ! Am valiantly trying to decipher the menu with eyes which definitely need new glasses ! You worked damn hard on your ‘holiday’ and truly did lay the foundation for creating a delicious foodie tour for your aficionados when brighter and more secure days arrive – they will !!! Love the sound of the soup and it is so appetizing to look at 🙂 ! I make about 4 cold soups to 1 hot one the year around . . . yes, vichyssoise rather than the hot Parmentier almost always ! Cold soups are so elegant a first course !! Thanks for all the excitement . . . take care . . .

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 1, 2021 at 10:22 am

      Oh it was amazing Eha, I’ll put together a foodie tour guide so everyone knows where to go when they visit Tassie!! I agree with the cold soup as a starter, it’s something so different and a little bit fancy!! N x

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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