Indiana Chowder

This Midwestern chowder is pure Indiana comfort food: ground beef, diced potatoes, carrots, and celery simmered together and made creamy with a can of cheddar cheese soup. No fancy technique, no long ingredient list, just honest food that sticks to your ribs.

The vegetables get a head start in a separate pan, cooking in just enough water to cover them. That starchy, veggie-infused cooking water then goes into the pot with the browned beef, becoming the base of the chowder. The cheddar cheese soup melts into everything during the final simmer, turning the broth thick and cheesy without having to mess with a roux or grate a block of cheese.

Half an hour of low simmering lets the potatoes soften completely and the flavors meld together into something that tastes like it took way longer than it did.

Pro Tips

• Brown the beef in a single layer without stirring for the first couple minutes. Real browning adds savory depth that crumbled-and-stirred gray meat can’t match.
• Dice the vegetables to a similar size so they cook evenly. Big potato chunks surrounded by tiny carrot bits means uneven texture.
• Don’t skip draining the beef fat. This chowder gets plenty of richness from the cheese soup. Extra grease just makes it heavy.

Variations

• Add a can of corn during the last 10 minutes for extra sweetness and color.
• Stir in a splash of hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne for a spicier version.
• Top each bowl with shredded sharp cheddar and crumbled crackers for a classic Midwestern finish.