Wrap your hands around a bowl of this ultra-comforting Vegetable Chowder made with healthy, whole food ingredients. It's so savory, nourishing, and easy to customize with your favorite veggies! (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.)
This vegetable chowder reminds me of veggie pot pie... but in cozy soup form!
It's really the best of both worlds because it's EASY to prepare, yet richly flavorful. We simmer up vegetables with tender chickpeas in a savory broth accented with a simple "cream" sauce. (Yum!)
Plus it's completely dairy-free, gluten-free, oil-free, and made with healthy whole food ingredients.
Feel free to add your own favorite veggies to the mix, or whatever's in season. It's fun and easy to customize. I truly hope you love this comforting recipe as much as I do!
Ingredients for Vegetable Chowder
For this recipe, you'll simmer in a pot on the stove:
- Onion: You'll need one small yellow onion. Or you can use white or sweet onion instead.
- Carrot
- Potato: I like Yukon gold potato in this recipe for it's "buttery" taste and texture, but you can swap in white or russet potatoes if desired.
- Fresh garlic cloves: Feel free to add extra if you love garlic!
- Vegetable broth: Be sure to use low sodium if needed.
- Garbanzo beans: These add hearty texture and extra plant-based protein and fiber to the soup.
- Peas, green beans, and sweet corn: For convenience, I use frozen veggies for these. But you can opt for fresh if preferred!
- Italian seasoning: As always, be sure your pantry spices are fresh (not expired) for best & brightest flavor.
- Raw cashews: We use these as the base of the creamy sauce to achieve a rich, luxurious texture. I like to "quick soak" my nuts before blending to help them blend smoother. (See notes below recipe for guidance.)
- Nutritional yeast: This adds a rich, savory, slightly "cheesy" flavor to the cashew cream and broth.
- Tamari: Or you can substitute soy sauce, but use tamari for gluten-free.
- Cornstarch: You can leave this out if preferred, but the broth will be slightly less thick.
Customizing
Vegetables: Make this chowder your own with your favorite veggies or whatever you have on hand. Things like broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, bell pepper, celery, zucchini, butternut squash, sweet potato, asparagus, or fresh baby spinach would be great.
Herbs: Change up the seasonings as you see fit! Instead of Italian seasoning, stir in dried oregano, basil, ground sage, poultry seasoning, rosemary, or thyme. You could even give it a warm, smoky flavor with smoked paprika. Or for even brighter flavor, stir in fresh herbs towards the end of cooking time.
Flavors: In the cashew cream sauce, you can also add a couple teaspoons apple cider vinegar for a hint of tanginess, or white miso for even more depth and umami flavor.
Nut-free: I haven't tested this yet, but instead of the cashew cream you could add 1 cup dairy-free milk (plain, unsweetened, and nut-free) with a tablespoon of cornstarch to help thicken the broth. (Or flour could be used to thicken as well.) I would also still include the nutritional yeast and tamari for depth of flavor. (Or simply try this Vegan Corn & Potato Chowder with a nut-free milk!)
Serving
Garnish: Top your bowl with salt and black pepper to taste before serving. Fresh chives and parsley are wonderful as well! (Chives are my favorite.) For extra heartiness, stir in cooked grains like brown rice, wild rice, or quinoa.
Storing
Let the soup cool, then store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator. I find it keeps for about 4-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave when ready to enjoy.
For more inspiration, also browse all vegan comfort food recipes or soup recipes.
Vegetable Chowder (Easy, Vegan!)
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 medium carrot
- 8 oz. gold potato (about 1 large)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
- 1 cup sweet peas (I use frozen)
- 1 cup cut green beans (I use frozen)
- 1 cup sweet corn (I use frozen)
- 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- Garnish (optional): chives, fresh parsley
For the cashew cream:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked*
- 1 cup water
- 2 1/2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp. tamari
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Prepare veggies: Dice onion, carrot, and potato. Mince garlic.
- Begin soup: In a stockpot over medium-high heat, sauté onion and carrot for 7-8 minutes. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/broth for no-oil sauté method, adding more as needed.) When onion is soft, add potato, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Stir and sauté 2-3 minutes.
- Cook soup: Add broth, garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained), peas, green beans, and corn. Bring to a light boil. Then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Make cashew cream: Meanwhile, place all cashew cream ingredients in a small high-speed blender. (I use a NutriBullet which works great.) Blend for 20-30 seconds until smooth.
- Combine: After the soup simmers for 20 minutes, add cashew cream. Heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. (The soup will continue to thicken as it sits.) Serve warm with salt & pepper to taste or chopped chives or parsley if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Andrea
Excellent soup!! Made it for dinner and everyone loved it. We can't wait to make it again!
Kaitlin
That's amazing, Andrea! So happy you all loved it. Thanks so much for coming back to share your thoughts!
Heather
This turned out so amazing!! The whole family loved it... even the meat eaters! Thanks for posting such an easy, delicious recipe!
Kaitlin
Thrilled to hear your family enjoyed it, Heather! Thanks for giving it a try and sharing your very kind feedback!