Creamy, warm, and comforting
Even without dairy and oil, this WFPB Sweet Corn Chowder is oh so thick, creamy, warm, and comforting. It's also a colorful treat for the eyes with its red-skinned potatoes, celery, corn, red pepper, and green onion.
This chowder recipe was initially inspired by a non-plant-based corn chowder recipe by Chef Billy Parisi. This "Creamy Rustic WFPB Sweet Corn Chowder" recipe is completely oil-free, dairy-free, and includes no animal products. It makes about six 2-cup servings as a main meal or about twelve 1-cup servings as a side dish. It's simply perfect for fall and winter weather but could certainly be enjoyed throughout the year!
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Prep your ingredients
This recipe does require a little prep work but prepping ahead of time will make the relatively easy cooking process so much more enjoyable! I love to play some of my favorite music while I'm measuring ingredients out and doing my chopping and slicing. It makes this prepping step so much more fun and relaxing!
Here are the ingredients for this recipe (see details in the recipe card below):
- small yellow onion
- celery
- red bell pepper
- sea salt
- garlic
- cream sherry
- sweet corn kernels
- red-skinned potatoes (or a mixture of red and yellow as I used above)
- low sodium vegetable broth
- corn starch
- water
- unsweetened plant-milk
- pepper
- Franks Red Hot sauce
- Vegan Worchestershire sauce
- green onions
Onions, celery, and peppers
Begin by preheating a large (at least 6 quart) pot to medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the diced onion, celery, red pepper, and a pinch of sea salt. Stir almost constantly until the onion turns translucent (about 5-6 minutes). You're not trying to brown the onion here, you're just cooking them through. Next, add the minced garlic and stir for just one minute more.
Pour in the cream sherry
After you've sauteed the garlic for about one minute, bring the heat back up to medium and add the cream sherry. You'll continue to saute over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Most of the alcohol of the cream sherry should be cooked off while leaving its sweet and toasty flavor behind.
Add the corn, potatoes, and broth
Next, add the corn, potatoes, and broth to the pot. Stir and bring up to a boil before lowering the heat again down to a nice simmer. Stir occasionally and allow to simmer steadily for about 10-12 minutes or so, or until the potatoes are cooked through (When the potatoes are cooked through, they'll be easy to pierce with a fork). Between each stir, be sure the potatoes remain submerged in the vegetable broth.
Begin to thicken the soup
Once the potatoes are cooked through and easy to pierce with a fork, you'll whisk the water and corn starch together in a small bowl to make a slurry. While the chowder is still simmering, drizzle the slurry into the pot as you continue stirring. Stir for about a minute or so. The liquid of the chowder will begin to thicken a bit after adding the corn starch.
Pour in the plant milk
Next, pour in the plant milk and simmer for about 3 more minutes. You'll really see the chowder begin to change to a lighter & creamier color at this point.
Blend to a creamier consistency
Then, use an immersion blender to blend your chowder to a creamier consistency. I really like my chowder to be a balanced amount of creamy with a little bit of chunkiness remaining. Though I don't prefer large chunks of potato in this chowder, keeping some of the small vegetables partially intact throughout helps add another layer of texture and color.
If you don't have access to an immersion blender, you could carefully scoop some of the soup into a regular blender, in batches, to briefly pulse and make it more smooth.
Stir in your final flavorings
Last but not least, you'll stir in your final flavorings. These include salt (or salt substitute), black pepper, vegan Worcestershire, and Franks Red Hot sauce. Just a little bit of each of these ingredients completes the dish nicely. This is a very small amount of hot sauce for this recipe so it just adds a very subtle kick without being too spicy.
Finally, remove the chowder from the heat and allow it to cool a bit before serving. Garnish the Creamy Rustic WFPB Sweet Corn Chowder with a bit of sliced green onion just before serving. The green onion adds more flavor and another layer of color to this lovely chowder.
Taste the chowder and add a bit more sea salt or salt-free seasoning, to enhance the flavor, if desired. Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Creamy Rustic WFPB Sweet Corn Chowder
Equipment
- large pot (6 quarts or larger)
- colander
- whisk
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, diced small (about 1 cup diced)
- 2 stalks of celery, diced small (about 1 cup diced)
- ½ red bell pepper, seeded and diced small (about ¾ - 1 cup diced)
- 1 pinch sea salt (to help the vegetables release their juices)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup cream sherry
- 3 cups frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed
- 2 ½ lbs red-skinned potatoes, diced, skin on* (about ¾ inch dice, submerge in water after slicing to prevent browning. Then, drain before using)
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (preferably oil-free)
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 cup unsweetened plant-milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
- 1 tsp sea salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1 tsp Franks Red Hot sauce
- 2 tsp Vegan Worchestershire sauce
- 2 green onions, sliced (preferably slice & use as a garnish just prior to serving)
- additional sea salt or salt-free seasoning, to taste (add just prior to serving, if desired)
Instructions
- Begin by heating a large pot (6 quarts or larger) to medium heat. Then, turn the heat down to medium-low and add the diced onions, celery, and peppers along with a pinch of sea salt. Saute the vegetables, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent (about 5-6 minutes). Then, add the minced garlic and saute for about 1 minute more.
- Bring the heat back up to medium, add the sherry, and continue to saute for about 2 minutes.
- Add the thawed corn kernels and diced potatoes (drain the potatoes first if you were soaking them in water) to the pot. Then, pour in the vegetable stock, turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a nice simmer and stir occasionally, keeping the potatoes submerged in the liquid. Allow to simmer for about 10-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through.
- In a small bowl, whisk the corn starch with the water to create a slurry that will help thicken the chowder. While the soup is still simmering, drizzle in the slurry and stir almost constantly as the liquid of the soup begins to thicken up (about 1 minute). Next, stir in the unsweetened plant milk and allow to simmer for about 3 minutes more.
- Then, turn the heat down to low. Use an immersion blender (OR, carefully transfer some of the soup to a blender) at this point to bring the soup to the texture of your liking. I enjoy a creamy but still somewhat hearty texture, so I leave some small chunks of potatoes and the other vegetables intact.
- Lastly, stir in the salt and pepper, tabasco, and vegan Worcestershire sauce.
- Finally, remove from heat and allow to cool a bit before serving. Garnish with the sliced green onions. Taste & add a bit of sea salt or salt-free seasoning, if desired.
Made this tonight and everyone enjoyed. Made a few modifications. I used all gold potatoes because that’s all I had. I added a handful of mushrooms that needed to be used. I didn’t have cream sherry so I subbed a sweet white wine. It came out really well and I’ll definitely be making it again.
I ran into an issue. I had trouble keeping the potatoes in the broth so I had to cover the pot to get them to cook. Next time I’ll probably cook it in the instant pot to make sure the potatoes cook.
Thank you for your comment, Karen! I'm really glad you enjoyed this sweet corn chowder. The amount of vegetable broth has always been just enough for me to keep the 2.5 lbs of diced potatoes covered in the liquid while simmering. Trying this in an instant pot sounds like a great idea, through. I hope you'll let us know how it turns out! 🙂
Any sub for the Sherry?? None in my house.
Great question, Louann! Here’s a resource I found that may be helpful: https://www.acouplecooks.com/dry-sherry-substitute/