No dairy, no problems with my corn chowder! This recipe for smoky vegan corn chowder with potatoes combines fresh corn, smoked paprika, sun dried tomatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, thyme, non-dairy milk, and lemon for a robust and silky corn chowder. This vegan soup bubbles away on the stove top before a portion of it is purรฉed in the blender for a creamy texture (without coconut milk!). With an optional step of steeping the corn cobs in vegetable stock, this recipe takes about 1 hour to cook up.
This vegan potato corn chowder is inspired by a version in my cookbook! In this recipe, we give the classic soup an extra flavor bump with smoked paprika, minced sun dried tomatoes, and miso (umami!). These ingredients are admittedly not typical, but they work SO well. Fresh thyme and lemon are tried and true flavor partners for corn that play their role perfectly.
To really enhance the corn flavor, I like to simmer the shaved corn cobs with the vegetable stock for 20 minutes prior to starting the chowder. The cobs have a lot of corn-y essence to give after youโve cut the kernels off.
How to thicken corn chowder:
- I donโt use flour or vegan โcreamโ substitutes to thicken my corn chowder.
- I simply purรฉe about one third of the fully cooked soup with a small amount of non-dairy milk. The speed of the blender activates the starch in the potatoes and corn, making for a thicker texture.
- I like to use a rich non-dairy milk here, like unsweetened soy or cashew.
I love to take advantage of sweet summer corn with this recipe! The soup keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for about 5 days. You can freeze it for up to 6 months. Iโm telling you, thawing out a container of this chowder in the depths of winter feels like such a gift!
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Smoky Vegan Corn Chowder with Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 cobs corn (about 5 cups kernels total)
- 5-6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium-large sweet onion, small dice
- 1 stick celery, small dice
- 1 small red bell pepper, small dice
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ยผ cup finely chopped sun dried tomatoes (the ones packed in oil)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
- 1 ยฝ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ยฝ teaspoon chili flakes or ground chillies (optional)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- ยพ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 teaspoons light miso
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- chopped chives or parsley, for garnish
Equipment
Notes
- If youโre pressed for time, you can skip the cob stock step and the chowder will still be pretty good ;)
- If using frozen corn, youโll need 5 cups of corn kernels total.
Instructions
Optional Cob Stock Step
- Cut the corn kernels off of the cobs and place the shaved cobs in a large pot. Pour 5 cups of the vegetable stock into the pot, and place it on the stove over high heat. Once the stock is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and let it go for 20 minutes, covered. After 20 minutes, remove the cobs and set the stock aside.
For the Chowder
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Once itโs hot, pour in the olive oil and swirl it around. Add the onions, celery, and red bell pepper all at once. Sautรฉ until onions are translucent and vegetables are quite soft, about 10 full minutes. If the vegetables are browning too fast, lower the heat. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the sun dried tomatoes, thyme, smoked paprika, chili flakes, and garlic to the pot. Stir until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the potatoes and corn to the pot and stir. Season generously with salt and pepper. Pour in 5 cups of vegetable stock and stir. Bring the pot up to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until the potatoes are quite tender, about 25 minutes.
- Remove about a โ of the soup and place it in an upright blender. Add the non-dairy milk and miso to the blender as well and then blend this mixture on high until completely smooth. Pour the purรฉed potion of chowder back into the pot and stir, bringing it back up to a simmer.
- At this point, if the chowder is too thick for your liking, add some more vegetable stock to loosen it up. Stir in the lemon juice.
- Check the chowder for seasoning and adjust to suit your taste (more salt, pepper, chili, lemon etc). Serve the corn chowder hot with chopped chives/parsley on top and extra black pepper.
The instructions are unclear about the corn stock. Should the kernels remain on the cobs or be cut off before making the stock?
Itโs called cob stock, but the instructions say to cut the kernels off of the cobs.
Also this โWith an optional step of steeping the corn cobs in vegetable stockโ, but then later โThe cobs have a lot of corn-y essence to give after youโve cut the kernels off.โ
Hi Christina,
The kernels are cut off. To make the cob stock, cut the kernels off of the raw cobs and set those kernels aside for making the finished chowder. Then, youโll simmer the scraped cobs in vegetable stock. The scraped cobs still have a lot of corn flavor that help to deepen the finished chowderโs overall flavor. The corn kernels that you scrape off will cook in the sautรฉing and simmering steps of the soup process. I guess calling it โscraped corn cob stockโ might be more accurate, but hopefully this clarifies a few things! As I mention in the notes, this is an optional step if you donโt want to spend the extra 20 minutes or so waiting for the cob stock to simmer. Please let me know if you have follow up questions.
-L
Love this chowder! Iโm not a corn chowder person, but this sounded so good that I had to try it. Everyone loved it and I froze some for later. I took it out on a cold, rainy day this week and it was so cozy. Today we ate the last of it and it had a bit more kick from the freezer and fridge rest. This is a keeper! Thanks so much.
We are currently eating this for dinner and my entire family is already obsessed. I should have made a double batch. THANK YOU for the recipe..
Iโve made this twice now. I substituted carrots for the onions & added extra of the other veggies the first time, and same this time plus the addition of some chard from my garden towards the end. Itโs delicious! Thank you!
Fabulous recipe. Just the right spice (even without the pepper & onion). This will be a regular in my home this winter. Iโm serving it with a homemade sourdough fresh roasted chili & Manachego cheese bread.
Thank you for the recipe!
I bet the chili, Manchego bread is fantastic with this!
This is a great recipe! I had to do a little improvising because I really wanted to try it but didnโt quite have everything:
-red potatoes instead of yukon gold
-carrot instead of red bell pepper
-only had maybe 3.5c corn (mix of frozen and canned)
-included some cashews in with the blended portion to add creaminess
-added a few handfuls of mixed greens at the end
Still turned out wonderfully!
My partner has made this a couple times for us and I loved it, I just made it this time and as always, itโs fantastic. I didnโt do any blending because I like it more soupy than Chowdery, and added twice as much miso because umami AF. Honestly, I think this would go great with bao or gyoza on the side, especially in winter time.
Perfect for a cold, rainy day! I added some Beyond Sausage and vegan parmesan, and it was absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making again!
This was an amazing recipe! Everybody loved it.
Quick question: Can you kindly tell me where I can find the nutritional information for this soup? i.e calories per serving etc.
Thanks again!
take a picture of ingredients and AI, Chat GPT will give you full nutritional information. Easy peasy. You can ask for any metrics you want such as how much magnesium is in this?
This is an excellent tip! Thanks Janine.
-L
This was great. I used canned lite coconut milk. I served it with bacon and grilled chicken as toppings for the no vegans in the family. Itโs nice to have one dish we can all eat together.
I have made this probably a dozen times, and it comes out perfectly every time. Itโs good to feed a crowd, but I personally like to make it just for myself :) with plenty to eat for days. I eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinnerโฆhonestly. Even for breakfast. Itโs that good.
Wonderful! I love this recipe. Wouldnโt change a thing.
Fantastic soup recipe! So full of deliciousness!
This soup is perfection! Rich, deeply comforting and so much umami. You really nailed it. Incredibly delicious.
Iโm not vegan but love Lauraโs recipes. I tried this tonight and it turned out great! Iโll definitely be making again when fresh corn is in season.
Thanks for this review, Tracee! The chowder really is special with summer corn :)
-L
This is absolutely delicious. Because I made it in November I used frozen corn with homemade veg broth; I omitted thyme for personal preference and used cows milk because my husband brought home vanilla almond milk lol. Next time Iโll make a vegan version. I just had a bowl from the batch I made 4 days ago. Yum!
We definitely donโt want vanilla almond milk in the corn chowder haha. So glad you enjoyed it, and great to hear that frozen corn worked in the recipe! :)
-L
Spectacular, and going into my routine meals. We are trying to increase protein intake so we really appreciated the silken tofu aspect. Didnโt have potatoes on hand so used cauliflower, a great (and less calorific) substitute. Loved the silky texture and rich flavor.
This soup is an excellent bridge from summer into autumn, really a celebration of both seasons. Weโve made it twice, once using tamari as a miso substitute which was also great (but its better with the miso). Fingers crossed local corn season lasts long enough to make it one more time!
I donโt know how Iโve not made this before. Hands down, best corn chowder ever. Love the smoked paprika and sundried tomatoes! So flavorful! Will make again soon!
My non-vegan Irish husband loved it โ corn and potatoes, what could be better? This was delicious. I used oat milk as I had it on hand โ it was great but I will try coconut next time. The fresh corn made it amazing. Thank you Laura, this one is definitely going into the regular rotation!
This is a pre-review / question since Iโm super stoked about making this recipe and Iโm sure its going to be spectacular.
I was wondering, is there any reason why the โOPTIONAL COB STOCK STEPโ, canโt be bypassed by adding the cobs in step 3 of โFOR THE CHOWDERโ, and then removing after that step?
Also โ I typically look out for vegan recipes for my wife who is dairy free, but since weโre not vegetarian, my step 0 for โFOR THE CHOWDERโ is. going to be to cook a lb of hot itallian sausage, remove, cook the vegetables from step 1, and then add the sausage back prior to step 3.
Hi Daniel,
You can definitely simmer the cobs with the chowder as a whole before the blending step! You should definitely get a nice boost of corn flavour from that.
-L
Delicious! I added a bit more salt and a bunch more smoked paprika (Iโm paprika obsessed I put it on everything ) super pleased with this recipe, well written and wonderful the first try. Thank you!
This chowder was sooooo delicious. I used frozen corn and three teaspoons of veggie paste. Just my personal opinion: it didnโt really need the plant milk and miso the broth was so flavorful that I feel as tho I couldโve just blended it up as is and added it back to the pot. I used the milk and miso and it was still delicious. I bet the leftovers for lunch tomorrow will be out of this world as the flavors mingle.
I didnโt have sundried tomatoes and had to use frozen corn, and this was still so delicious! Iโll be making this with fresh corn as soon as itโs back in season. The miso and the lemon juice added at the end really elevate this recipe.
Delicious! Canโt eat tomatoes, but added chopped mushrooms for umami. And used a leek instead of an onion. Family loved it!!
I eat WFPB, but my husband is a serious carnivore. I continually offer my food to him and he turns up his nose at it. I made this last night and he actually tired it and liked it! My blender was in use, so I didnโt have an opportunity to blend it, but I will blend the leftovers tonight and see what kind of difference it makes. This is a beautiful dish!
Hi Kim! So glad that you both approve of the vegan corn chowder. My guy is a meat eater, so I relate to this a lot :)
-L
Left out the bell pepper but this was delicious! We can rarely get fresh corn in winter but Whole Foods had organic, bi-color sweet corn which ended up having a slightly crunchy texture, mixed with the bright flavors and soft veg of the soup. My family and I loved it!
I want to know what non dairy milk you used. Can I use regular milk if Iโm not worried about it being vegan??
Hi Carol!
You can definitely use dairy milk if thatโs what you have on hand :)
-L
Iโm making this as we speak and wondered if coconut milk was a good option for the cashew or soy milkโฆ.which I donโt have in my pantry. Love smoked paprika and sun dried tomatoes in this recipe!
Coconut milk is fine if you donโt mind a bit of coconut flavour! It will work with the other components :)
-L
I love this recipe. It was great with coconut milk. I now make it every year for our 12th Night party. This year with DIY cashew milk. Delicious with both milks! Thank you!
Seriously so beautiful. I blended some cooked white beans into the soup as well for extra creaminess.
Made this tonight before all the fresh corn is done for the season! I really liked the addition of the miso and the sundried tomatoes! Would definitely make this again!
Super yummy and creamy. Just the right amount of heat. I didnโt have fresh corn so used frozen. Very very good!
Wow! Iโve made this twice now and itโs such an excellent blend of spices and textures. Absolutely love this. I make it oil free, with fresh field corn and potatoes. Mostly made as is, but I added more sun dried tomatoes and I sautรฉed the veggies in white wine,
Thank you. This is one of the best chowders Iโve ever tasted.
Just made this today and bragged to my friends that I made the BEST corn chowder ever! A keeper, for sure!
Made this today and I am blown away by how delicious it is!!!
My daughter surprised us with this chowder for dinner this weekend, andโฆOH MY GOODNESS! Itโs the most delicious thing Iโve eaten in a while. The depth of flavor and creaminessโฆitโs just so satisfying. Weโve already decided that weโre buying up as much corn from the stand as we can this season to make this on repeat until fall! (And to freeze some for the winter) :) Love all of your recipes, Laura! Thank you!
Absolutely perfect!!
The flavours on this were outstanding! Made it mostly as written (subbed sundried tomatoes for a homemade tomato confit I already had) & was blown away by how flavourful this was! I will be making this every corn season for sure! Thanks Laura for another great, reliable recipe :)
Oooooh I bet tomato confit would be so good in this! Thanks for this comment and review, Kelsey!
-L
Hey! Canโt wait to make this for my friend this weekend. Do you think I could use russet or white potatoes, that all I have?
Hi Kate!
Both russets or white potatoes would be great! I would probably go for the white potatoes myself.
-L
An absolute spectacular chowder! A recipe that I just kept looking at until I finally had to make it. Your main photo is so beautiful! The chowder is wonderfully filling but not heavy. The flavor profile hits all the notes: sweet corn, savory sun dried tomatoes, smoky paprika, salty miso all surrounding some comforting, golden potatoes. Iโm so happy this makes quite a lot, as Iโll be happy to pull some from the freezer to brighten a cold, winter day. An easy recipe with simple ingredients, the smoky flavor has made me crave it again tonight for dinner. Thank you, Laura for the great recipe!
so tasty!
Made this last night and it was really lovely. I added some diced summer squash and fresh basil, as well. Delicious!
I am really excited to make this, I havenโt made any corn chowder yet this season!
Would coconut milk be unappealing in this? I stay away from soy and nuts (stupid food sensitivity and allergy) so for me itโs either coconut or oat milk. What do you recommend?
Thanks!
Hi Lauren!
Unsweetened oat milk would be fine and so would coconut. As long as youโre used to the flavour of coconut in soups like this and you enjoy it, it would work great with the other flavours going on :)
-L
I saw this recipe this morning and went to our local farm immediately to buy fresh corn. I made a double batch and have no regrets. Itโs delicious! I plan to freeze portions of it and enjoy the flavors of summer on a cold autumn or winter evening. Yum!
I included the step of simmering the corn cobs in the broth first. Made the recipe as written except sautรฉed the veggies in vegetable broth instead of oil. Itโs a keeper. Comforting and delicious! Thank you, Laura!
Christina,
Thanks for leaving your review here! Iโm so glad that you enjoyed the chowder :)
-L
This looks so good! Your photos are phenomenal as always. I just made the corn chowder from your book last week โ itโs a staple here. I canโt wait to try this one as well.
Iโve been following your blog for many years (10?) and I have your cookbook as well. Your recipes are definitely the ones I use most in my kitchen. Many seasonal favorites have been on repeat for years and I look forward to them now as the weather changes. Thank you for bringing such delicious, reliable, wholesome recipes to my table, Laura!
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you for this kind comment and for your support over the years! This chowder is a slightly new and improved version of that one from the bookโI hope that you love it!
-L
Excellent deep layers of flavor!!! A winner!!!
I altered the recipe very slightly by eliminating the oil to sautรฉ the vegetables and instead sautรฉed using a few tablespoons of vegetable broth. I also used dried tomatoes and reconstituted them with a small amount of hot water. I used the tomatoes and the soaking water in the soup. I stick to a WFPB diet, hence the elimination of oil.
Looking forward to enjoying the leftover soup over the next couple days.
Hi Anne,
Iโm so glad that you were able to make the recipe work without oil and with dried tomatoes. I know that your comment will be helpful to WFPB folks cooking this in the future! :)
-L
This was positively sensational! When I saw this recipe publish this morning, I immediately went to the nearby farm stand and got what I needed. Love the smokiness from the paprika my husband loves it, too!
Hi Lexie,
Thanks so much for leaving this comment and review! So pleased that the chowder worked out for you.
-L
Delicious! I did not have time/patience to make corn cob stock or pick 1 T of fresh thyme leaves. Both would have been great flavor enhancers, but this chowder is still so tasty with standard veg broth and dried thyme. Also, I cut down the smoked paprika to 1 t โ just my own preference. This recipe made 12 cups of finished chowder, so I immediately froze half. I am definitely looking forward to fresh corn chowder in the cooler months (if it doesnโt get eaten before then). Thanks, Laura!!
Hi Kim!
Thanks so much for leaving this comment and review! Love that the recipe worked with dried thyme and regular veg broth. I know that this comment will be helpful to folks looking to make the same substitutions.
-L
Made this last night. Enjoyed a Spaghett (beer, campari lime wedge) while cooking to use the open beer. A match made in heaven. The soup is so delicious and surprisingly hearty. The smoked paprika is brilliant. Iโll be grabbing more corn at the farmers market and freezing this as you suggested. Perfect for apres ski this winter. Thank you.
Denise,
So glad that you enjoyed the chowder and a little bev too! It really would be a great and cozy apres ski meal :)
-L