A hearty, warm, comforting bowl of Smoky Vegan Corn and Potato Chowder is exactly what you need to start your healthy New Year!
Happy New Year! Are you ready to get healthier, happier, and fitter? I sure am. But I’m not willing to give up on comfort, flavor, or warmth. How about you?
2016 is going to be about eating healthy and smart but not sacrificing taste. Sound good? Yep, I thought so.
To start the year off right—and because cold temperatures look like they’ve finally found their way to Chicagoland—I created a warm, creamy, cozy, and delicious smoky vegan corn and potato chowder.
Most chowders are filled with heavy cream, butter, and oil. Not mine. This corn and potato chowder recipe doesn’t even have plant-based milk. It doesn’t have any thickeners at all. The potatoes make it creamy and thick.
I didn’t even use oil to sauté the sweet yellow onion. Don’t tell my husband. He is a firm believer in cooking with oil, yet he loved this soup. In this case, what he doesn’t know definitely won’t hurt him.
As we begin our third year of Veganosity—Happy Birthday to us—my goal is to create the healthiest recipes I can, without skimping on taste. Because let’s be real, life’s too short to eat boring food.
This smoky vegan corn and potato chowder is the perfect way to start the year off right. You’ll want to begin with a sweet onion. Dice it and sauté it in three tablespoons of low-sodium vegetable broth. Stir the onion often until the pieces begin to brown and crisp around the edges.
Once the onions are slightly caramelized add ¼ cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. This will also add a nice depth of flavor to the chowder. Once the pan is deglazed add the rest of the broth, the corn, and the potatoes. I used three cups of non-GMO frozen corn and three small Yukon peeled potatoes cubed into half-inch pieces.
Bring the broth to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Now add the smoked paprika, white pepper, sea salt, and liquid smoke. Stir until the spices are well combined and let it cook for thirty minutes or so.
When the soup is ready the potatoes should be easy to pierce with a fork, but not too mushy.
Scoop up two cups of the soup from the pot and reserve in a small bowl. Now take out your hand held immersion blender (you can use a stand-up blender too, just be careful if you use it when the soup is hot) and blend the remaining soup in the pot until it’s creamy and almost smooth. You’ll have a few larger pieces of potato and corn. That’s okay.
Now put the two cups of soup that you reserved and put them back in the soup pot. This will give you a mix of creamy chowder along with chunky pieces of potato and corn. The perfect texture combination.
I made some of my coconut “bacon” and finely chopped some baby arugula to sprinkle on top. The coconut “bacon” adds another layer of smoky goodness as well as a crispy texture. And the chopped arugula adds a nice peppery flavor. SO GOOD!
My smoky vegan corn and potato chowder is one of my favorite winter soups. It warms my soul and tastes like it should be bad for you, but it’s not. The ULTIMATE comfort food.
If you like a spicy zip to your food then do what I did and add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the mix. You can also add as much or as little sea salt as you want. I work out a lot so I don’t have an issue with adding a little salt to my food. If you can’t or don’t want to add salt, then do your own thing. It’s still going to be delicious.
What’s up with corn and potatoes?
Corn:
Healthy antioxidants.
High fiber.
Vitamins and minerals.
Potatoes:
Great source of Vitamin B-6.
Good source of potassium. Copper, vitamin C, and more vital nutrients.
Blood pressure lowering potential.
Tell me:
Have you ever made your own chowder?
What’s your favorite soup?
Are you ready to make 2016 your best year ever?
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Smoky Vegan Corn and Potato Chowder (Dairy Free and Oil Free)
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet yellow onion – peeled and finely chopped
- 2 quarts of low-sodium vegetable broth
- ¼ cup of white wine optional, you can use a little vegetable broth to deglaze the pan
- 3 cups of frozen yellow corn
- 3 medium potatoes is used Yukon gold – peeled and cubed into ½ inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon of ground white pepper
- 3 teaspoons of liquid smoke
- 1 and ½ teaspoons of finely ground sea salt season as you like
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper only if you like spicy food
Instructions
- In a large soup pot heat the three tablespoons of vegetable broth on medium high heat. When the broth is hot add the onions and stir well. Stir the onions occasionally so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. When they are slightly caramelized add the wine or vegetable broth and deglaze the pan) The wine will add a nice flavor.
- Once the pot is deglazed add the remaining vegetable broth, corn, and potatoes. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and add the paprika, pepper, liquid smoke, salt, and cayenne pepper if you want the chowder to be spicy. Stir well to combine.
- Cook for approximately thirty minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
- Remove two cups of the soup from the pot and place in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the remaining soup in the pot. It should be thick and creamy. There might be a few visible pieces of corn and potato. That’s fine. Now put the two cups of the soup that you removed back into the soup pot and stir to combine.
- Garnish with coconut “bacon” and finely chopped baby arugula if desired.
- NOTE: If you don’t have an immersion blender you can use a free standing blender. Blend small batches at a time to avoid burning yourself. I like to put a dish towel over the cover just in case some of the hot soup overflows during the blending process.
Rebecca says
Wow! I’ve never had Smokey flavored corn chowder! This recipe opened my eyes to delicious flavors! I’m so glad I found this recipe!
Linda & Alex says
Hey Rebecca,
Thank you so much for the lovely comment! We're so happy that you liked the smokey chowder too : ) It's definitely one of our favorite flavors to add to our dishes. Hope you have a great week!
Alex & Linda
Melanie says
Hey Linda, thanks for posting this recipe. I'm working on it right now and ran into major confusion as my Yukon Gold potatoes from a bag from Trader Joe's appear much smaller than yours. I really wish you had described the total weight or volume needed.
Based on my love for chowder, I proceeded with 1 cup serving of potato per soup serving, therefore 4 cups of potato. My potatoes are about 60 grams each and I'm using about 16 total. I hope I didn't hamper the recipe too much or make mashed potatoes with corn instead.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Melanie, great suggestion! We don't use a scale to measure our ingredients, but reading your comment makes us realize that it would be so much more helpful for our readers. I hope the chowder turned out for you. Best, Linda
Aimee says
Hello. How many people does this serve? Can I double it ? Want to make a big batch for leftovers.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Aimee, it yields approximately 4 (2 cup) servings. You can definitely double it, just add the liquid smoke 1 more teaspoon at a time than the original recipe so you don't overdo it. Let me know how you like it. 🙂
Tish says
2016 is my year to go vegan. Had this soup last week and loved it - and brought extra to work for lunch. My 14 year old was less enamored of the smoky flavor, so will try without next time. Looking forward to more vegan recipes!
Linda Meyer says
Hi Tish! That's a fantastic goal for 2016. Please let us know if you have questions or if we can help in any way. I'm so happy you liked the soup, and I completely understand that the smoky flavor was too much for your fourteen-year-old. My kids probably would have thought the same thing when they were that age. 🙂
Natalie says
Yay I can leave a comment now! What I wanted to say was coconut bacon is genius, because growing up we always had bacon in corn chowder, and i love the half blended half chunky thing. Also I just learned that corn has a heck of a lot of protein, who knew?? Gives me even more reason to eat it! Yum, I love everything about this cozy bowl <3 And I'm glad that you blocked that girl in the PB recipe club because that was just ridiculous ugh.
Linda Meyer says
Thanks you, Natalie! I'm so happy you like the recipe and the addition of the coco-bacon. Can you believe how much protein corn has in it? Crazy! I had to block her. She obviously isn't a plant-based foodie so she didn't have any business being in the group, especially if she was going to start being rude.
Jyothi@currytrail.in says
Soup looks amazing Linda, I'm a sucker for good flavorful soup. Potato and corn combination makes me want to this it soon. Never heard of liquid smoke before, can I leave that out to make this soup Linda?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Jyothi! Liquid smoke gives the soup a nice smoky flavor. You could add extra smoked paprika to enhance the flavor as well. Thanks for asking.