Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder—a colorful and flavorful summer chowder with garlic, smoked sausage, parmesan cheese, corn, potatoes, green beans and carrots. Your whole family will love this soup!
Get the INSTANT POT Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder recipe here

Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder
Is it time for soup yet? No? Well this is chowder, so does that count? This summer chowder is so colorful and flavorful, you’re really going to love it. I loved the purple, red and yellow potatoes, the yellow corn, the green beans and the orange carrots. Plus I loved how there was no sauteing or browning. It took just a few minutes to get started.
Here are a few notes about the ingredients I used:
Potatoes: I found a bag of mini colorful potatoes at Walmart. They were in a mesh bag that had red, purple and yellow potatoes. If you can’t find these potatoes then just use a pound of red potatoes and cut them into chunks. I love the color that the potatoes add to the chowder.
Sausage: I used Hillshire Farms Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage that I purchased from Smith’s (Kroger). You can also use regular smoked sausage.
Baby Carrots: For sake of easy I just threw in half a bag of baby carrots. But you can peel and cut large carrots if you prefer.
Corn: I just threw in a cup of frozen corn. But if you have a can of corn just drain it and throw the corn in.
Green Beans: I used low sodium canned green beans. You can use fresh green beans too. Just wash, trim and slice them in half. Then add them in at the same time as the corn. Let them just sit on top of the corn. They’ll cook and get fairly soft.
Half and half: Half and half is just half cream and half whole milk. You can also use milk, cream or even evaporated milk.
Parmesan Cheese: I used pre-grated parmesan cheese that I buy in a big bag from Costco. You can also grate it yourself or use the stuff from the green can.

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What Slow Cooker Did You Use?
To make Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder I used my Ninja Auto-iQ 6 Quart Slow Cooker.* My favorite feature of this slow cooker is that it has a stove top function. This is perfect for sauteing or browning before you slow cook. This slow cooker has four manual cooking functions: slow cook, stove top sear/Saute, steam, and bake.

Slow Cooker Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4-6 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
A colorful and flavorful summer chowder with garlic, smoked sausage, parmesan cheese, corn, potatoes, green beans and carrots. Your whole family will love this soup!
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound mini colorful potatoes (see note)
- 1 (12 oz) package of smoked sausage, sliced thinly (I used smoked chicken sausage)
- 1 rib of celery, diced
- 1 cup diced onion
- 8 oz baby carrots (or you can cut 3–4 large carrots)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup frozen corn or 1 can of corn, drained
- 1 (14 oz) can green beans, drained
- 2/3 cup half and half (you can also use milk or cream)
- 4 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add broth, potatoes, sausage, celery, onion, carrots, garlic powder, parsley, thyme, pepper, salt and corn to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours, or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
- Stir in the green beans. In a small bowl stir together the half and half and the cornstarch together until very smooth. Stir a few tablespoons of hot soup into the mixture. This will help prevent curdling. Then add the mixture into the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to high. In a few minutes your soup will thicken a bit.
- Add in the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve the chowder and enjoy!
Notes
Potatoes: I found a bag of mini colorful potatoes at Walmart. They were in a mesh bag that had red, purple and yellow potatoes. If you can’t find these potatoes then just use a pound of red potatoes and cut them into chunks. I like the color that the potatoes add to the chowder.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooker

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Made this a while a go and loved it – so simple yet so delicious! I used chicken sausage as well but I’m thinking of waiting to put it in until a little later in the cooking process as it tasted a bit over cooked – thoughts?
Also I’m making it again tonight but was going to try fresh green beans….do I need to change up the process at all?
Thanks!
★★★★★
I would add the beans in at the beginning and yes perhaps adding the sausage half way through it a good idea!
I would love to see this as a Pressure Cooker recipe.
Thanks
Here is the instant pot version: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-garlic-parmesan-sausage-chowder/
Do you add the sliced sausage uncooked, or do you cook it first.
It’s the smoked sausage so it’s precooked and I just unwrapped it and cut it and threw it in.
Could you use hot Italian sausage thanks
yes you could