Potato Corn Chowder Recipe (Dairy Free!)
This potato corn chowder recipe is creamy, tummy-warming, and totally comforting.
On the news, I’ve been hearing reports about arctic chills, people literally freezing to death around the country, and the feet upon feet of snow that many states are getting right now.
Meanwhile, in California, we are getting four days of rain and are wondering if we will ever see the sunshine, ever, ever again.
Yep, we are totally pampered by our weather here. We “freeze” when it gets into the ’60s or ’50s and swear that this is the worst winter ever. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the country would be wearing shorts and tank tops in what we refer to as winter weather.
Yes, we are absolutely spoiled by mother nature in these parts. I know this. I’ve lived in other areas enough to know just how good we have it here most of the time (fire season with weeks of toxic smoke, and resulting winter mudslides notwithstanding.).
But when you’re cold, you’re cold. It doesn’t matter if it’s 70 degrees outside or 70 below zero. If you feel cold, you feel cold, and nothing beats a great bowl of hot, creamy chowder to help warm you up.
Now many of you know at this point that I’ve got plant-based. But even before that, I had difficulties with dairy. Dairy was most definitely not my friend. And before attending my plant-based culinary program, I would have avoided a recipe like this simply because it would have required so much fatty dairy. (Heavy cream, anyone?)
But these days, I have a very different approach to clean eating than I did when I first started out, and the plant-based approach to food has definitely taken that switch to a whole new level. I guess you could say it’s been sort of a natural evolution, but I’m not arguing. Not when I can enjoy a potato corn chowder like this one. Holy smokes!!
Rich, thick, and creamy, this chowder is simply a little taste of heaven, in my opinion, and I’m super glad that I made as much as I did because I totally want leftovers tomorrow.
How To Make This Potato Corn Chowder Recipe
- Collect all your ingredients, clean, cut and measure them and have them at the ready.
- Get everything that needs cooking in the pot first. Then start on the blended portion.
- Lastly, you’ll combine everything and end up with this marvelous chowder.
- This is not a difficult or complicated recipe. It just helps to be organized if time is a concern.
- Don’t skimp on the green onions for your garnish. It’s so crazy yummy!
- I try not to add too much salt to things, but this soup will need it due to the potatoes. But you can salt it at the end to your liking.
About Cashew Cream
The cashew cream is what makes this recipe so thick and creamy. But you do have to do a little prep work the night before. You must purchase RAW cashews, and soak them overnight in a lot of water (a little more than double the amount of nuts in your bowl), in the fridge. Then simply strain them and use them in recipes like this one. You can freeze them if you want to avoid this step in the future. I will often purchase two bags of cashews at a time, bring them home, soak them overnight, strain them and then place them in the freezer for whenever I want to make something like this soup (or even some cashew cream alfredo for pasta night!) It’s a necessary step for a truly rich, cashew cream. I promise, it’s not hard, but it’s totally worth it!
More Healthy Chowder Recipes
Potato Corn Chowder Recipe
Healthy Potato Corn Chowder
Ingredients
To Cook:
- 1 lb. frozen corn kernels
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup thinly sliced celery
- 2 lb. potatoes (cleaned and diced)
- 4 medium garlic cloves (minced)
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme (you’ll remove these after cooking)
- 2 tsp. onion powder
To Blend:
- 2 cups soaked, raw cashews (soaked overnight – or at least for 2 hours)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. nutritional yeast
- ¼ tsp. salt
To Serve:
- green onions (sliced thin at an angle.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients that need cooking into a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Cook with a vented lid for about 15 minutes at a steady, medium boil.
- While that cooks, place all blending ingredients into a blender and blend until totally smooth. Note that if you don’t have a high-powered blender, you may end up having a small amount of texture in the cashew cream. It’s not bad, just a texture difference worth noting. Your chowder will just have more texture from the nuts.
- When the cooking ingredients are cooked through (the potatoes are totally cooked and soft), remove from heat and stir in the cashew cream.
- Season the chowder with salt and pepper as needed and serve garnished with fresh, sliced, green onions.
I use 2cups well drained cooked northern beans instead of cashews, cheaper & you will not know the difference
Juanita – Really!!! Oh, I’ll have to try that. Thanks for the tip! 😀