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Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
An Easy Recipe For Vegan Vegetable Chowder With Potatoes
By Alexandra Caspero on November 8, 2022
A plant-based chowder without the cream. Hearty and packed with flavor and texture.
Serves 4
Vegan Vegetable Chowder with potatoes! You are going to love this healthy and hearty vegetable corn chowder. Vegan and Gluten-Free.
A cozy chowder soup packed with potatoes, vegetables and corn. If you love my slow cooker vegetable chowder, then you will love this simple stove top version.
After visiting Boston earlier this month, I’m tempted to call this one Potato chowdah instead of chowder. But, then I remember that I’m firmly planted in the middle of the country– so chowder it is.
A few weeks ago, BL asked for potato soup for dinner. Creamy potato soup is a favorite of his, not so much of mine. While I love potatoes in just about every form, I really like my soups to have some bite to them. Chunky, stew-like soups are preferred to creamy soups. Unless that creamy soup has a loaf of freshly baked bread to go with it, then all bets are off.
Everything you need for this chowder recipe:
Vegetable Chowder Ingredients
Produce: This vegetable chowder recipe starts like most others. A sauté of the holy trinity: carrots, onion and celery. It’s how 99% of my soups start, and you know the saying if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
You’ll also need:
- Red Bell peppers
- Corn kernels
- Potatoes
This soup recipe is very adaptable and can be tweaked to add in whatever veggies you have in your fridge. Cauliflower, broccoli or even sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes will work.
For soup recipes, I prefer small creamer potatoes over russet potatoes but it’s OK if that’s all you’ve got. Thinner skinned, golden potatoes are so creamy and luscious, especially when blended back into the soup.
Fresh Herbs: I’ve always been drawn to the combination of dill and potato, so I threw in a few sprigs near the end for added flavor. Isn’t it amazing the difference fresh herbs make? I planted a few herbs last spring (basil, rosemary, sage, chives and dill) and thankfully, they are still going strong.
Dried dill will work in a pinch if that’s all you have.
A simple trick for creamy potato chowder without cream
Most potato corn chowder recipes use heavy cream or sour cream to achieve that thick texture, but you don’t need either! To transform this soup into a chowder, simply blend some of the soup to create a creamy base.
An immersion blender is the easiest way to do this; stick the immersion blender into the soup, then puree until you get the consistency you want. If you don’t have one, then remove ~2 cups of the cooked chowder into a regular blender and puree until super smooth and creamy.
I’d recommend letting the soup cool slightly before pureeing, so the steam doesn’t explode the top off.
Instructions: How to Make this Vegetable Chowder with Potatoes
- Cook the vegetables
Start by heating the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the onions, carrots and celery and cook until tender and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add in the rest of the vegetables: potatoes, garlic and pepper then cook until vegetables have started to soften. - Stir in the rest of the ingredients
Add in the corn, thyme, cumin, paprika, cayenne and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until thickened
reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, for roughly 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through. To finish, remove ~2 cups of the chowder and place in a blender and puree until creamy and smooth.
- Finish cooking and garnish
Return the thickened puree back to the pot along with the fresh dill, seasoning to taste by adding in more salt and pepper if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to store leftover chowder?
Refrigerator: Leftovers will keep for 4 – 5 days in the refrigerator, stored in a covered container.
Freezer: This vegetable chowder is freezer friendly and can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely then place in freezer safe containers or freezer safe bags, leaving ½ inch head space for expansion. Thaw before reheating.
Reheat: Reheat this soup on the stove over low heat until warm, or in the microwave with 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until warmed through.
Is this vegetable chowder healthy?
Soups are a great way to focus on nutrient densityu002du002d packing in many plant foods into one delicious meal! A serving of this recipe is 300 calories, with 9 grams of fiber and 8 grams of protein. The filling combo of both protein and fiber means this soup is incredibly satisfying.
Does a chowder have to have potatoes?
A chowder doesn’t have to have potatoes, but it typically includes potatoes, onions and cream. Instead of dairy, this option purees a bit of the soup to add in a traditional creamy texture.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
Enjoy this one! We arrived into Florence late last night, and I’m itching to explore the city again. It’s been a few years since BL and I were here and I can’t wait to show my mom favorite spots and eats. Mangiamo!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Vegan Vegetable Chowder with Potatoes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: soup, chowder, vegan, gluten-free
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Vegan Vegetable Chowder with potatoes! You are going to love this healthy and hearty vegetable corn chowder. Vegan and Gluten-Free.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: soup, chowder, vegan, gluten-free
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: soup, chowder, vegan, gluten-free
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 1 pound small potatoes, quartered or halved depending on size
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels (or fresh if making this in late summer)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (can sub 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- Salt to taste (depending on the saltiness of your broth, I usually start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there)
- Freshly ground pepper (I start with 1/4 teaspoon and go from there)
- 3 tablespoons chopped dill
Instructions
- First, in a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook until tender and onion is translucent, about 5-6 minutes.
- Next, add the potatoes, red bell pepper, garlic and cook another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Then, add in the corn, thyme, cumin, paprika, cayenne and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Next, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally for ~20 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
- Then, remove 2 cups of soup and place in a blender; puree until smooth and creamy then return back to the pot. Stir in the dill and season to taste, adding more salt/pepper if needed.
- Finally, continue to cook over low heat or serve. I like to let it cook at least an additional 15 minutes for flavors to develop. As with most soups, this gets better the longer it sits.
did you make this?
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This recipe was first published in 2016 and updated in 2022.
(28 comments) leave a comment
I love this soup. I cut back a little on some of the seasoning and replace some of the broth with milk.
This was delicious! This past week I’ve tried a few of your recipes now. This, the vegan tikka masala, and black bean burgers, all delicious. We are growing veggies and I’m making large batches of food and freezing it for winter, so I needed new recipes to try. For this recipe, I didn’t have any dill and only a small amount of fresh thyme, so I subbed a couple teaspoons of a mixed herbs blend I had on hand that has thyme, sage, and marjoram in it. I was skeptical but even still it was so good. I added in extra corn and some cannellini beans just because, and served it with some bread I made, toasted with vegan butter. I definitely recommend bread and butter. Yum!
★★★★★
Love this recipe. Can you tell me if the potatoes become soggy after freezing? I have had that problem with potato soups previously.
Thank you
★★★★★
A little– but not as noticeable as a potato chowder or creamy potato soup.
This was so good! I ended up blending a whole bowl for my daughter that refuses to eat veggies, and she devoured it.
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!
two questions. what do you do with the seasoning pack from the little potato creamer package and how much cream added at the end?
Hi Wendy- if you are using the potatoes that come packaged with a seasoning pack, then I’d recommend saving it for another recipe/next time you buy potatoes as you don’t need it in this recipe. I don’t use cream in this recipe, but you are welcome to add in ~1/4-1/3 cup or so if you want a creamier soup!
great thanks! I saw a comment about cashew cream which is why asked.
Yes! If you want to use cashew cream, then I’d recommend starting with ~1/4-1/3 cup and go from there. The blending of the soup makes it really creamy already; but if you want more rich flavor– then you can add in cashew cream! Here’s my recipe for it: https://www.delishknowledge.com/how-to-cashew-cream/
how long do you think this lasts in the fridge? 🙂
About 4-5 days! Thanks.
Going to make this today. Exactly what was looking for! I saw in the comments above the addition of cashew cream. Is that added in addition to the rest of the soup at then end? Or instead of something else?
Looking forward to it!
Hi Judy- it’s added at the end.
Made this for a friend who just had her 2nd kiddo — I wanted to find something she could stash in her freezer, and also something that was vegan since she tries to eat that way. It’s perfect! Not to mention, SO TASTY! I even thought it would be easy to add a spicy Italian sausage after the fact if someone wanted to include meat. I’m saving this recipe for sure!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it! Thanks Susie!
My family loves this! My husband said to keep this recipe. It’s hearty, warm and so flavorful!
★★★★★
So glad to hear! Thanks Joy!
This recipe sounds delicious! I’m coming off of maternity leave and was looking to make this as a freezer meal, would you recommend making it all and freezing in individual servings or freezing the ingredients together before cooking? Thanks!
Hi Lauren, congrats! I haven’t made it as a freezer meal, but I would start making it as is and then freezing it already made. You might need to add additional seasoning after it thaws/reheats but I do this all the time with soups!