Chipotle corn chowder

We were celebrating the 2 year anniversary of Free Spirited Sisters and I wanted to make something vegan and yummy that (hopefully!) everyone would like. And what better than a creamy corn chowder in the Fall?  It was very well received, even by the non-veggos!

The secret sauce in this delish corn chowder is the cashew cream. It adds a wonderful creaminess to the spicy chipotle kick.

Cashew cream is extremely versatile and can be used in many recipes. We use it as a base for vegan sour cream, as a substitute for cream and butter in mashed potatoes, in smoothies as a dairy milk alternative and we’re currently testing a recipe for vegan creamer.

This soup is best made in the slow cooker or the Instantpot (you can saute and slow cook and only clean one bowl – winning!), but can be adapted to the stovetop also. After sauteing the onions and garlic, add all of the ingredients (except the cashew cream) to a large heavy-based pot, bring to a low boil and simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft when poked with a fork. Blend per the recipe below then stir in the cashew cream.

Enjoy! Print

Chipotle Corn Chowder

Course Main Course  Cuisine Vegan  Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 6 hours Servings 8 Author Claire Bartlett

Ingredients

Corn Chowder

• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
• 4 stalks celery, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 4 cans sweet corn or 5 cups frozen corn
• 4 tsp Better than Bouillon vegetable paste Or omit paste and boiling water and use 4 cups of vegetable stock
• 4 cups boiling water
• 1 Tbsp chipotle chili seasoning Adjust for desired spicy level. This amount has a little kick.
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• Small handfull chives, finely chopped for garnish

Cashew Cream

• 1/2 cup cashews plus enough water to cover for soaking
• 1 cup water

Instructions

Corn Chowder

1. Prepare the vegetables as indicated.
2. Saute onions and garlic for a couple of minutes until soft and fragrant. 
3. Add everything (except cashew cream) to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. 
4. Use an immersion/stick blender to roughly blend soup. Leave some chunky for that good texture. You could also add half or more of the soup to a blender (in small batches to avoid issues with steam), then recombine in the slow cooker. 
5. Add cashew cream and stir to combine. 
6. Serve in big, fun bowls and garnish with chives.

Cashew cream – soak cashews before everything else goes into the slow cooker

1. Cover cashews with water and soak for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
2. Discard soaking water and add 1 cup of water to a blender with the cashews.
3. Blend until smooth.