A Dairy-Free Corn Chowder with Roasted Green Chilies to Bridge Between Summer and Fall
Sweet corn, meet sweater weather
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When the Venn diagram of “late summer produce still in the market” overlaps with “the first suggestions of sweater weather,” you’re going to want to make this soup. It highlights beautiful summer sweet corn, but transforms it into a rich (but not heavy) and warming bowl. Any variety of corn on the cob will work for this vegan corn chowder recipe, but the Silver Queen variety is particularly good if you see some around or grow your own in your garden.
We call for anaheim or poblano chilies, though you could also use Hatch if you’re really nailing that seasonal produce Venn diagram. Use whatever method you prefer; we like Chef Andy Zambrano’s method, described here.
If you’re particularly clever and have freezer space to spare, you could stash a few ears of late-summer corn in the freeze to break out in a few months when it’s peak soup season but the corn’s not as good as it is right now. While chowders are often loaded up with dairy, we’ve found some easy swaps to veganize this seasonal favorite. Coconut cream adds body to the chowder. You could omit it to create a lower-fat take on the soup, but note that the result will have a more thin and loose consistency.
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Vegan Corn Chowder with Roasted Green Chilies
Ingredients
- 2 fresh, mild green anaheim or poblano chiles
- 2 Tbs. unrefined corn oil or other vegetable oil
- 2 Tbs. unsalted vegan butter
- 1 large onion, minced
- 3 cups corn kernels, scraped from the cob (about 6 medium ears), fresh or frozen
- 3 cups unsweetened rice milk
- 12- to 14-oz. russet baking potato, peeled and diced
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt, or more to taste
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- About 1/4 cup pepitas, dry-roasted, optional
Preparation
- Roast and peel green chiles. Set aside.
- To prepare chowder: Heat oil and butter in large, heavy saucepan over medium. Stir in onion, and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- In blender, purée 1 cup corn with 1 cup milk. Pour mixture into pan and add remaining milk with remaining corn, potato and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until potato is tender. Adjust heat, if necessary, to keep soup from boiling.
- Stir in cream and heat through. Add more salt, if desired, and pepper.
- Ladle into shallow bowls. Top with green chiles. Scatter pepitas over soup, if using. Serve hot.