Quick, easy, healthy and delicious. This chowder is a celebration of late summer harvest corn and buttery baby potatoes. And it’s unassumingly vegan and gluten-free! With a handful of ingredients and one pot (or an Instant Pot!), this wholesome meal can be on the table in less than 25 minutes.
Corn and potato chowder has to be the coziest summer meal. And while I don’t mind having a pot bubbling away on the stove, I know some of you really love your Instant pots and pressure cookers. So I’ve included instructions for both the stove-top method and the Instant Pot method.
This has quickly become one of our favorite weeknight meals. So simple, nutritious and the kids love it, too. Any leftovers are amazing the next day, and this chowder freezes well, too!
How To Make Corn and Potato Chowder Vegan?
If you’re newer to vegan cooking, you might be wondering how to make chowder without heavy cream. For this corn and potato chowder, a couple of tricks create the body and creaminess, and the dairy won’t be missed! And because we’re not using flour either, this recipe is also naturally gluten-free.
A small amount of raw cashews blended with water create a plant-based cream, as well as blending a bit of the chowder at the end of cooking. You can either scoop out a cup or two of the chowder out and blend it, or pulse an immersion blender in the soup a few of times. This blends up some of the corn and potatoes, while leaving some intact for texture and hearty bites. Both of these veggies have a lot of natural starches which, when blended, release into the chowder. The result is a thickened broth and a creamy (even buttery!) base.
If you make this corn and potato chowder, let me know in the comments below or give it a rating in the recipe card! I love connecting on Instagram where you can tag me in your creations using my recipes. Follow along with me on Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for reading along!
Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder – Vegan & Gluten-free
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen (about 2 ears of corn)
- 4 cups baby potatoes, skin on, cut up into equal sized pieces (quartered, halved etc) (1.5 lbs)
- 4 cups vegan soup stock
- ⅓ cup raw cashew pieces* (about 50g)
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tsp dried basil (or handful minced fresh basil)
Instructions
Stove-Top Method:
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When glistening, add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, cooking for 30 seconds. Add in the red bell pepper, corn, potatoes, dried basil (if using fresh basil, add it later), and soup stock. Stir, put on the lid and turn the heat up to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for 5-8 minutes or until the potatoes are barely fork-tender.
- In the meantime, blend the cashews with the hot water until smooth. Add the cashew cream to the pot, stir and return to a simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add 2 cups of the chowder to a blender, and process until creamy then add back to the pot. Alternately, use an immersion blender, and pulse 3 or 4 times or until desired consistency. The chowder is best when only some of it is blended (not completely puréed) and chucks of potatoes and corn remain intact. Stir in the fresh basil if using. Lade into bowls and serve with fresh basil if desired.
Instant Pot Method:
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Heat the olive oil. When glistening, add the onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until softened and translucent. Add the garlic, cooking for 30 seconds. Add in the red bell pepper, corn, potatoes, dried basil (if using fresh basil, add it later), and soup stock. Stir, cover and select the manual setting. Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes.
- In the meantime, blend the cashews with the hot water until smooth. At the end of the cooking, release the steam with Quick Release, carefully take off the cover and set to Sauté. Add the cashew cream to the pot, stir and return to a simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of the chowder to a blender, and process until creamy then add back to the pot. Alternately, use an immersion blender, and pulse 3 or 4 times or until desired consistency. The chowder is best when only some of it is blended (not completely purée and chucks of potatoes and corn remain intact. Stir in the fresh basil if using. Ladle into bowls and serve with fresh basil if desired.
Jeannie
Sunday 21st of January 2024
Love this recipe! Modified by adding sea salt, crushed red pepper, nutritional yeast and kale.
Bronwyn Fraser | Crumbs & Caramel
Tuesday 13th of February 2024
Hi Jeannie, thanks for taking the time to share your modifications! Sounds delicious! ~ Bronwyn
Debbi
Monday 17th of January 2022
I liked this recipe a lot. Loved the chunky consistency; it was loaded with onion, potato and corn. We ate it on a cold winter night and found it quite hearty. Allow plenty of time for chopping. Super simple to make. I will add salt and pepper when I reheat it to enhance flavor.
Crumbs & Caramel
Tuesday 25th of January 2022
Thank you for taking the time to share, Debbi! I'm so happy you enjoyed the chowder! ~Bronwyn