This vegan corn chowder is creamy, delicious, and super easy to make using canned goods. Saute your vegetables in vegetable broth, and you’ve got an oil-free quick and delicious vegan corn chowder.
Dear readers, forgive me, please. You see, I’m taking all the short-cuts today. Between work and family obligations, I’m done today. Done. Yet, I still need to get something on the table this chilly autumn night.
It’s okay to take a few shortcuts when you are home cooking! If you are not a vegan eater, it’s easy enough to find a nice nutritious soup at your local deli or grocery store to just grab on the way home from work and serve to your family. It’s pretty impossible as a vegan though! The recipe for this corn chowder is almost as easy as it gets!
For all of my delicious vegan soups, stews, and chowders – click here! You’ll find comforting, warm, and heartwarming vegan soup served with bread, sandwiches, or salads for a complete hearty meal.
Reasons to love this easy creamy vegan corn chowder recipe
- Made creamy with coconut milk. Perfect for dairy-free eaters.
- Super easy to make using frozen and canned goods. From start to finish, you’ll have soup on the table in under 45 minutes.
- Quick and easy but tastes like you spent all afternoon.
- The cheesy and smoky flavor from the nutritional yeast and smoked paprika.
- Oil-free if you saute the vegetables in broth.
- Even the kids like this one!
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Ingredients needed to make vegan corn chowder
- vegetable broth – you will be using four cups (32 ounces) of broth but will be diving it and using it to saute the vegetables and using it in the body of the soup. You can easily find vegetable broth at the store or make your own vegetable stock out of your ends and pieces and discarded vegetables.
- diced onion – Use yellow or white onion. If you can find chopped onion then go for it!
- diced celery – To make life easy, I buy celery that has been prewashed and cut down to size -or even chopped if I can find it.
- sliced carrots – I don’t actually like the flavor of carrots that you can buy pre-sliced. If you are trying to save time then use baby carrots. Line them up and slice through!
- diced potatoes – I use Rose white potatoes with creamy flesh and thin skin. Yukon gold potatoes are another great option for creamy flesh and thin skin. Just wash and remove any weird spots. I do not peel my potatoes. But if potato peels bother you then go ahead with that!
- frozen corn – Use a 16-ounce bag. I love the fire-roasted corn I can find at Trader Joe’s! There are two cups of corn in a 16-ounce bag. You can certainly substitute in a fresh corn cob and slice off the corn kernels. Be aware though that you will need a full two cups which is about 2-3 ears of fresh corn.
- coconut milk – You will be using canned coconut milk to make things nice and creamy. LIght coconut milk works for this recipe and keeps the amount of fat lower. Some people don’t like to consume the fat found in canned coconut milk. In that case, substitute coconut milk with unsweetened plant milk of choice. Oat milk would be my first choice for its neutral flavor and creamy texture. Be aware though that it won’t be as creamy.
- salt, ground black pepper, smoked paprika
- 1/4-1/3 cup nutritional yeast, optional for a cheesy flavor
- You will also need an immersion blender to blend the cooked soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, then blend in batched using your counter-top blender.
- I both saute and cook in a large soup pot
MORE ABOUT THE COCONUT MILK
Coconut milk does indeed include fat but this is considered a whole-food fat and is accepted by many whole-food plant-based no-oil (WFPBNO) experts.
I’ve tested with both the lite coconut milk and the full-fat coconut milk. I think this particular soup tastes best with the lower fat coconut milk. If you want to cut the fat further, substitute coconut milk with your favorite non-sweetened plant milk and add in about a Tablespoon of corn starch. It will still be flavorful, but not as rich and creamy.
How to make stress-free, easy Vegan Corn Chowder:
The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.
Step 1: Prepare the vegetables
Start with prechopped vegetables if you can find them. I used prechopped onions and celery and frozen corn. I think it would be really tasty with fire-roasted corn if you can find it.
Some more short-cuts
- I don’t peel the potatoes. Just give them a good scrub and dice.
- I also use pre-washed baby carrots. I realize some people are purists and choose to use the whole carrot. That’s great if you have time. With my baby carrot method, there is no washing or peeling. Just line about ten up and start slicing from one side to the other.
Step 2: Saute the vegetables IN OIL
I try to avoid processed oil when I can. Just line a non-stick large soup pot with veggie broth and saute the vegetables, adding in more broth if necessary so that your pan doesn’t burn. Saute the onions, celery, and carrots in vegetable broth for about five minutes until softened.
If you prefer to use oil, my choice would be robust-flavored extra virgin olive oil. Be aware though that the nutritional information found at the bottom of the recipe card will not be the same.
Step 3: Cook the soup
Add in the rest of the broth along with the potatoes and frozen corn. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes until all vegetables have softened.
After the soup has cooked then stir in the coconut milk and seasonings. Give it a little taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Step 4: Blending the Corn Chowder
After the vegetables have softened, the seasonings and liquid added, it’s time to blend up the corn chowder to make it extra thick and creamy preferable with a hand-held immersion blender. Remember though that you will still want it a little chunky, so don’t over-blend. There are two methods – either use a standard blender or a hand-held immersion blender (affiliate link).
If you use a standard blender, blend one cup at a time and only blend about three-quarters of the soup. Remember to leave a few chunks for texture.
A hand-held immersion blender (affiliate link) is the best choice so that you can see and control the texture of your soup. Blend in the large soup pot until blended just right!
Final Step: a little more seasoning and simmering
Simmer for another 15 minutes uncovered. This will allow some of the liquid to evaporate and will thicken your soup.
Optional: For a cheesy flavor, stir in nutritional yeast while the soup is simmering. Or, if you are not opposed to vegan cheese you can stir in a little bit too. Keep in mind though that the flavor of non-dairy cheese goes a long way and you will need far less than if you were using dairy cheese.
Or, sprinkle a little non-dairy cheese on the top of your soup before serving.
Serving suggestions
Top with vegan cheese if desired. I also like to top my soup with a little paprika, chives, and red pepper flakes for flavor and appearance.
This soup will save well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. Just take it out and heat it on the stovetop or microwave for a couple of minutes when you are ready to eat.
I like to serve my creamy corn soup with fresh bread, either a crusty loaf of French bread or my wheat bread, olive oil herb bread, or beer bread – all delicious!
This soup makes five to six hearty servings and is perfect for meal prep. I love these little containers because they fit perfectly in my lunch box along with a chunky piece of bread or fruit. The lids screw on so you don’t have to worry about spilling. They can be found in most grocery stores near plastic wraps and such.
The printable recipe card
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Easy Corn Chowder, Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 32 ounce container vegetable broth divided
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup carrots sliced
- 2 medium potatoes diced
- 16 ounces corn frozen
- 1 13.5 ounces lite coconut milk canned
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- more salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4-1/3 cup nutritional yeast, optional for a cheesy flavor
Instructions
- Cut all the vegetables (with the exception of the bagged frozen corn). Feel free to use shortcuts such as vegetables pre-cut from your grocer's produce department. See note.
- Line the bottom of a saute pan with about 1 cup of vegetable broth. Saute onions, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes or until they have just begun to soften. Watch your pan carefully so that it doesn't burn. Add in more broth if necessary.
- Add in the rest of the broth along with the potatoes and frozen corn. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes until all vegetables have softened.
- Stir in the lite coconut milk, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Either work in batches and blend a cup at a time in a blender just until it's barely blended (You'll want to leave it a little chunky) Or use an immersion blender.
- Simmer for another 15 minutes uncovered.
- Optional: For a cheesy flavor, stir in nutritional yeast while the soup is simmering.
Notes
- For ease of preparation, I use baby carrots. I line up about 10 baby carrots and slice through all to get 1/2 a cup.
- Top with paprika, chives, or parsley.
- For a cheesy taste, sprinkle a little nutritional yeast on top or vegan shredded cheese of choice.
I love corn chowder! This looks great, I’ll have to try it!
Thanks, I hope you can give it a try.
Yum… I love corn chowder!
I hope you can try this one. It’s quick, easy, and delicious!
Does this freeze well?
Hmmm I’ve never had it last long enough to freeze. I don’t know why it wouldn’t. Let me know if you ended up freezing it and if it worked.
Made this last night. It is wonderful!!
Thank you!!