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
More vegan potato soup recipes
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.
C. De Spain says
We’ve had a silly fear of making something in my Instant Pot besides rice and quinoa. We were intimidated and thought we’d mess something up with the extreme pressure. Tonight we finally got over it & made this Vegan Potato Corn Chowder! It turned out so delicious & was fun to make. Thank you, Veggies Save The Day, for sharing yet another amazing recipe & for helping us finally use our IP as intended. You’re THE BEST!
Amy Katz says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! And I'm glad you are feeling more confident using your IP. It's an amazing appliance.
Cecelia says
Looks delicious! So glad I found your site :). I recently stocked up on a ton of fresh corn from our local farm stand that I would really like to use, do you think I should add it to the soup before pressure cooking?
Amy Katz says
Thank you, Cecelia! I haven't tried this recipe with fresh corn, but I would still add it in at the end and close the lid for a couple of minutes. The soup should be hot enough to quickly cook the corn.
Jamie Balderas says
This is my favorite vegan potato corn chowder. It is on our menu often. I really like the texture and flavor of the blended cashews. One extra thing I do when I make this recipe is blend about half of the cooked soup in with the cashew mixture and then add it back to the pot. It makes the chowder thicker and creamier. Another thing I tried the last time I made it (yesterday) was adding some liquid smoke for a bacon flavor, and it was really good! Thank you for this recipe!
Amy Katz says
I love these ideas, Jamie! Thanks so much for sharing.
Heidi says
Wondering if I could swap out the cashews for white beans? Has anyone tried that? Thanks
Adora says
I just got an instant pot today and this was the first recipe I made. It is DELICIOUS!!!! Great introduction to this new device as well. I did not have corn so I simply made the soup without it and it was still so good. Definitely something I’ll come back to if I get sick, it has those warm and nourishing vibes lol. Thank you Amy!!!! Can’t wait to try some more of your vegan instant pot recipes.
Amy Katz says
Congratulations on getting an IP, Adora! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chowder.
Lyndsey says
SO GOOD!!! 12/10!!! I am a teen that was on dinner for a family of 6 and wade this within 30 minutes. It was SO easy and SO delicious!!! Will be making it again! Didn’t even taste vegan.
Amy Katz says
That's fantastic, Lyndsey! I'm so happy everyone enjoyed it.
Hannah says
Great! Super easy and delicious! I increased the amount of garlic and onion per my tastes, added in a bit of sweet potato alongside the regular potato, added a jalapeno for a little kick, increased the broth to accommodate the extra veggie bulk, and added some paprika as well. Really delicious, I'll definitely be making it again.
Amy Katz says
So glad you enjoyed it, Hannah! And thanks for sharing your additions. They sound wonderful.
Julie K. says
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. I love the simple, healthy, easy to find, whole food ingredients. This is going to be one that I make regularly.
Amy Katz says
Thank you so much, Julie! I am thrilled it passed your test!
Marge Teilhaber says
I followed the recipe but did more of everything. I did a whole head of garlic chopped. 6 potatoes = 2 pounds, didn’t measure how many cups of diced potatoes that produced. 9 cups of my DIY broth. I overdid it with the veggies and it seemed to need more liquid. Fennel instead of celery. A full can of unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 fl oz) + 2T corn starch mixed thoroughly. 3T vadouvan spice, 1T thyme, 5 bay leaves, black pepper and 1/2t salt. I ended up with 4 containers, 4¾C each, plus a few bowls that I ate and thoroughly enjoyed. And later today after 8 hours in the fridge, it'll be even better. I’ll make quinoa or maybe oat groats and throw some in each bowl I eat to make each bowl an even more filling meal. SO GOOD! Looking forward to buying more cashews so I can try it with cashew cream. And your other soup recipes, Amy, look fab. I’ll be trying them all. You’re fantastic!!
Amy Katz says
This is fabulous, Marge! I love your additions and substitutions.
Marge Teilhaber says
You meant to say "Blend 1/2 cup raw cashews (not almonds) with 1/2 cup water until completely smooth" in answer to the Q of how to make cashew cream.
Amy Katz says
You are right! Thanks Marge!
Katie says
do the cashews need to be soaked first?
Amy Katz says
If you have a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, you don't need to soak the cashews. Otherwise I suggest soaking them in hot water for at least 30 minutes.
Nicole says
Absolutely delicious. I used most of a can of coconut milk and about two tablespoons of cornstarch instead of the cashew cream. So good.
Amy Katz says
Hi Nicole! I am so happy to hear it worked well with coconut milk. Thank you so much!
Janell Hall says
This was really delicious on a rainy day. My family lives it. I did take a couple of cups of the cooked soup and blessed it to make the soup a little thicker.
Amy Katz says
I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it, Janell! That's a great idea to blend some of the soup.
Emily says
This is the first time I've ever bothered to make a review for a recipe. I really felt like it deserved some recognition. I made it tonight for by family and everyone loved it. The only addition I made was a touch of apple cider vinegar for a little depth, but it honestly was amazing before this. Thanks for the great recipe, I will be making again soon.
Amy Katz says
Thank you so much, Emily! I will have to try it with the ACV next time.
Marissa Williams says
How do you make the cashew cream?
Amy Katz says
Hi Marissa! Blend 1/2 cup raw almonds with 1/2 cup water until completely smooth.