This creamy vegan potato corn chowder is the kind of meal that makes you feel like you're wrapped in your favorite blanket on a chilly night. It's comforting, filling, and made from simple plant-based ingredients you probably already have.
Best of all, it's a one-pot wonder you can make in your Instant Pot or on the stove in about 30 minutes.
No dairy, no unusual ingredients. Just a cozy bowl of plant-based soup with tender potatoes, sweet corn, and a velvety cashew cream that will remind you of the chowders you grew up eating.
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I made this chowder exactly to the recipe, and it passes the East coast gal test with flying colors! Cashew cream is the bomb. You could not tell it was vegan.
- Julie K.
Ingredients
- Onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Potatoes (Yukon gold or other yellow potatoes work the best)
- Bay leaf
- Dried thyme
- Vegetable broth
- Frozen corn
- Raw cashews (Like in my vegan wild rice and chickpea soup, these blend into a luscious dairy-free cream.)
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete ingredients, measurements, and instructions.
Instant Pot instructions
- Using the Saute function, add the onion with a splash of water. Cook until softened and slightly translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, carrots, and celery and saute for a couple more minutes until softened.
- Hit Cancel. Add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme.
- And in the vegetable broth and stir to combine. Seal the lid and set to Manual (High Pressure) for 4 minutes. While the soup cooks, blend cashews with water until completely smooth.
- Carefully quick release the pressure once done.
- Stir in the defrosted frozen corn.
- Stir in the cashew cream.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
Stove-top instructions
Don't have an Instant Pot? No worries! Follow these simple steps to make vegan potato corn chowder on the stove:
- Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and broth. Simmer until potatoes are nearly fork-tender.
- Stir in the corn and continue cooking until the potatoes are fully tender.
- Pour in the cashew cream, season to taste, and serve.
Serving suggestions
This vegan potato corn chowder is hearty enough to serve as a meal on its own. Or pair it with a fresh side salad like:
- A simple green salad tossed with creamy lemony hummus dressing
- Fruity spinach and pomegranate salad
- Mediterranean white bean salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives
Whether you go with salad or keep it solo, it's always a satisfying choice.
Made this recipe? Have a question? Please leave a comment below. 💙 And for even more recipes, join my email list for community, inspiration & to chat directly with me!
Love and Veggies,
Amy
📋 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Potato Corn Chowder (Instant Pot + Stovetop)
Equipment
- high speed blender (If your blender isn't high-speed, soak the cashews in hot water for 30 minutes or longer to soften before blending.)
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 6 cups diced yellow or gold potatoes, (about 6 medium potatoes)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- 2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot instructions:
- Using the Saute function, add the onion with a splash of water. Cook until softened and slightly translucent. Then stir in the garlic, carrots, and celery and saute for a few more minutes until softened.1 cup diced onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup diced carrots, 1 cup diced celery
- Hit the Cancel button. Add the potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine.1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 4 cups vegetable broth, 6 cups diced yellow or gold potatoes
- Seal the lid and set to Manual (High Pressure) for 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the cashews and water in a high-speed blender to make the cashew cream. Blend until completely smooth.½ cup raw cashews, ½ cup water
- Once the 4 minutes is up, quick release the pressure by turning the valve. Once the pressure has been released, carefully remove the lid.
- Stir in the corn and cashew cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!2 cups frozen corn, salt and pepper
Stovetop instructions:
- Saute the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery in a large pot over medium heat until softened.1 cup diced onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup diced carrots, 1 cup diced celery
- Add the potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and broth and bring to a low boil. Simmer until the potatoes are nearly fork-tender.6 cups diced yellow or gold potatoes, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 4 cups vegetable broth
- While the soup cooks, blend cashews with water until completely smooth.½ cup raw cashews, ½ cup water
- Stir in the corn and continue cooking until the potatoes are fully tender.2 cups frozen corn
- Stir in the cashew cream, season to taste, and serve.salt and pepper
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Sabrina says
Made this in my IP tonight. We pre-chopped everything up, then just had to go through the steps - all in all less than 20 mins from turning the IP on to turning it off! I am not vegan and making cashew cream seemed like an extra step, so we used normal heavy cream - it would have been nice to see a measurement for how much "cream" you should have ended up with, but I think we guessed pretty well! Additionally, instead of just defrosting the corn, we got the steamfresh bags and steamed them before adding to the soup.
Delicious, done quickly, and vegan and vegetarian friendly!
Colleen says
You are an instantpot/soup genius. This was delicious.
Amy says
You made my day, Colleen! 🙂
Lindsey says
This recipe sounds amazing! I have all of the ingredients except for the yellow or gold potatoes. Can I use Idaho potatoes, or will they just turn into mush??
Amy says
Thanks Lindsey! I would wait until you can get the yellow or gold potatoes for a better texture. Enjoy!
Jeanette M Cluf says
I prepared this last night for my family and everyone loved it! I have a 10, 8, and 6 year old so that says a lot! I added about 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper at the very end and it was simply amazing. Tasted as good as non-vegan chowder. Thank you so much!!
Amy says
Thank you, Jeanette! That is a huge compliment!
MEGAN says
If I want to double the recipe, do I change the cooking time?
Amy says
Hi Megan, the cooking time remains the same, but it will take longer to come up to pressure.
Candace says
How long will this keep in the fridge?
Amy says
Hi Candace, it will keep for about 3 days.
Candace says
Thank you for such a fast response. I judt finished making your recipe and im 3 bowls in to enjoying it. Its so good! Im sending my sister the recipe now 😘
Amy says
Thank you so much, Candace! You made my day. 🙂
Annleasa says
Made this today since I was home sick from work, follow the directions to the T and it was the most delicious soup I’ve had in forever. Instant pot is an amazing tool to create such beautiful recipes as this. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m a vegan and miss a type of corn chowder, so this hit the mark.
Amy says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Annleasa! I hope you feel better soon!
Lori says
Delicious. Didn't make cashew cream because I don't have a high speed blender. Didn't need it - just used my immersion blender at the end for a few seconds. Cut the recipe in half since there are just two of us (both kids in college). Lori
Amy says
That's fantastic! Thanks Lori!
Carolyn says
FANTASTIC! Just scooped some out of the instant pot. Absolutely delicious! I have so many bags of frozen corn in my freezer and was wondering what to do with it. This is going to be put in the winter dinner rotation. Thank you so much!
Amy says
I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Carolyn! I need to make it again soon, too!
Tracy says
This recipe is delicious! Coming from a dairy loving vegetarian. I had to go vegan due to my breastfeeding son not tolerating dairy protein in my milk. This recipe doesn’t disappoint!
Amy says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Tracy!
Lyn Misener says
This looks delicious. Do you think that it would be alright to freeze the leftovers?
Lyn
Amy says
Thanks Lyn! You can freeze the leftovers, but when you reheat the soup, the cashew cream might look a little "broken". It's fine to eat, it just won't look as appetizing.
Cathie says
I'm allergic to tree nuts. Any substitution for the raw cashew "cream"?
Amy says
Hi Cathie, you can try using something else creamy, such as coconut milk or unsweetened soy creamer. Another option is to take out a little of the cooked soup and blend it, then return it to the rest of the soup. I hope this helps!
Cathie says
Thank you Amy. I'm going to try some silken tofu. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Cathie
Kurt Galloway says
Thanks for your replys. i will make this after my farm fresh to you box comes in next week. Also wouldn't it be fun to do a potato soup inception idea for this vegan corn chowder. by making your own vegtable broth using all the type of vegtables in this reciept other then the potatoes and corn, (like the , onions, carrots, celery and stuff) in simple homemade broth and using the broth with another bunch of the vegtables called for. Of course after that, just doing it as called for?
also sorry, what sized pot did you do this in. i miss qouted what i had but i have the duo mini 3 quart, not 2 quart. so i still half everything?
Amy says
You're welcome! I use the standard 6 quart. I think all the ingredients would fit in the 3 quart.
Kurt Galloway says
So how much would i have to change the receipt to fit a duo mini 2 quart.
Also would chicken broth change the taste too much?
So do i cook the corn before putting it in the soup or just let it defrost naturally?
also you have cashew cream listed in the instructions but cashew cream in the
instructions, does it effect the tasty too much if i leave them out?
Amy says
You can reduce the quantities of the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same. And you can use whatever broth you want. I'm vegan, so I don't personally use chicken broth, but I don't think it will change the taste of the soup much. The corn shouldn't be cooked first. If you leave out the cashew cream, the soup will have a clear broth instead of being creamy. Another alternative is to blend a little of the soup with an immersion blender or by carefully placing it in a blender before returning it to the rest of the soup. I hope this helps!
Kurt Galloway says
Yea, my thing is, what would i have to do if i wanted to add the corn after i immersion blend most of the vegetables other then some potatoes, rather then add the cream?
Amy says
I would defrost the corn at room temperature and add it to the hot soup at the end.
Lauren Vaught says
Lovely recipe and so easy in the IP! I've made tons of chowders. I added kale strips to this one, and used TJ's roasted corn. Wish I could show you a photo....
Amy says
I love the addition of kale! I saw your photo in Instagram. Your version looks so delicious!