This easy vegan corn chowder recipe is one of our all-time favorite soups! Smoky, sweet & creamy, it's destined for your regular meal rotation.
It’s hard for me to pick favorites, but I’ll come out and say it: this vegan corn chowder recipe is one of my favorite soups on the blog. I don’t care what temperature it might be outside – I could eat a bowl of this creamy, smoky corn chowder anytime.
Vegan Corn Chowder Recipe Ingredients
This vegan corn chowder recipe uses veggies and spices to get a delicious creamy texture and smoky flavor without any meat or dairy. Here’s what’s in it:
- Onion, garlic, and celery make up its aromatic base.
- Sweet corn is the star of the show! It contributes to the creamy texture, adds essential sweetness, and dots the soup with crispy kernels.
- Potatoes thicken the soup’s creamy base and add chunky texture.
- Red bell pepper adds great veggie flavor and deepens the golden color.
- Light coconut milk works with the corn and potato to perfect the creamy texture. If you’re not vegan, you can swap in whole milk to make this a vegetarian corn chowder.
- Sherry vinegar brightens it up!
- And smoked paprika and celery salt add rich, smoky flavor without any meat!
How to Make the Best Vegan Corn Chowder
Great veggie ingredients are the base of this soup, but these steps are essential for making it smoky, satisfying, and delicious:
- After you slice the kernels off cobs of fresh sweet corn, use the back of your knife to scrape the juices off the cob. Add this starchy, milky liquid to the chowder to make it extra creamy and rich.
- Blend half the soup, and leave the rest chunky. Because of the starches in fresh corn and potatoes, these vegetables blend into a luscious creamy broth. I like to blend part of the chowder to create this creamy base and leave the rest chunky for texture.
- Don’t forget to garnish. Save a few raw corn kernels and pieces of diced red pepper to sprinkle over bowls of chowder. They’ll create the perfect crispy contrast to the creamy soup. For extra smoky flavor, try topping it with coconut bacon or tempeh bacon bits!
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this plant-based corn chowder, try one of these delicious soup recipes next:
- Yellow Split Pea Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup
- Carrot Ginger Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup
Or find more of my favorite soups here!
Vegan Corn Chowder
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 Yukon gold potato, chopped
- 4 ears fresh sweet corn, husked
- 1 red pepper, diced
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk (or 1¾ cups whole milk)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Chopped chives, for garnish
- Reserve some corn kernels and diced red pepper for garnish (optional)
- Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and a few pinches of salt.
- Cook until soft, then add the garlic, celery, and potatoes.
- Slice the kernels off the corn, then use the back of your knife to scrape the juices off of the corn cob and add to the pot. Add the red pepper, celery salt, paprika, a pinch of salt, black pepper, and stir. Cook until the potatoes are slightly softened, about 5 minutes, then add the sherry vinegar, vegetable broth, and coconut milk.
- Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 more minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer half the soup to a blender. Blend until creamy then return it back to the pot and stir.
- Taste and adjust seasonings and serve with chopped chives.
This is a staple recipe for my family when fresh corn is available. I usually use 4 pre-husked ears, but they’re not full-sized. Used 7 short ears tonight and the soup was thick and creamy. Sooo good!
hi, i made this with leftover grilled corn and it was delicious! i didn’t have potatoes so left them out, and used water and instead of broth and regular coconut milk – what a great way to transition from summer to fall thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!