Sweet corn and poblano peppers make the dreamiest summer chowder-creamy, gently smoky, and finished with fresh lime and cilantro. Dairy-free. Video.
Sweet corn and poblano peppers were made for each other. This creamy Poblano Corn Chowder brings them together with tender potatoes, red bell pepper, warm spices, and a bright finish of lime and cilantro.
Instead of relying on heavy cream, we blend some of the sweet corn with plant-based milk to create a naturally creamy broth that’s rich and silky without feeling heavy. It’s one of my favorite soups for that delicious transition from late summer into fall, when fresh corn is still abundant but the evenings are starting to cool.
This was another winning recipe. I made it as written sans one of the poblanos. My wife doesn't like spicy. I used some Aleppo flakes in my bowl. This was a great warming chowder for a chilly January night. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes.
Why you’ll love this Corn Chowder Recipe
Creamy without heavy cream. Blending some of the sweet corn with plant-based milk creates a silky, creamy broth that feels comforting without being overly rich.
Made in one pot. This easy corn chowder comes together in just over 30 minutes, with minimal prep and cleanup-perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Celebrates late-summer produce. Sweet corn, poblano peppers, red bell pepper, and potatoes make the most of the season’s bounty, while lime and cilantro keep everything fresh and bright.
Cozy, but not too heavy. It’s the perfect soup for that transition from late summer into fall-hearty and satisfying, yet still vibrant and veggie-packed.
Corn Chowder Recipe Ingredients
- Corn: The star of the chowder! Fresh summer corn is especially delicious, but frozen or canned corn works year-round. Some of the corn is blended with milk to create the creamy broth.
- Poblano peppers: Add earthy, subtly smoky flavor and gentle heat that mellows as the peppers cook.
- Potatoes: Yukon Gold, red, or baby potatoes add heartiness and help naturally thicken the chowder.
- Red bell pepper: Adds sweetness, color, and a nice contrast to the earthy poblanos.
- Onion and garlic: Create the savory, aromatic base of the soup.
- Milk: Unsweetened plant-based milk ( soy, oat, or cashew) – Whole milk works too. It’s blended with some of the corn to create a creamy broth without heavy cream.
- Vegetable broth: Use a flavorful vegetable broth or bouillon. Chicken broth works too if the soup doesn’t need to be vegetarian.
- Spices: Cumin, coriander, oregano, and bay leaf add warmth and savory depth.
- Olive oil: For sautéing the vegetables and building the flavorful base of the chowder.
- Cilantro and lime: Add a fresh, bright finish that balances the creamy, savory flavors.
- Optional garnishes: Sour cream, extra cilantro, scallions, avocado, or cheese are all delicious on top.
How to Make Corn Chowder
Sauté the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Lower the heat to medium and add the bell pepper, poblano peppers, and garlic. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until fragrant.
Add the potatoes, broth, and spices. Add the potatoes, broth, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, oregano, and bay leaf. There should be enough liquid to cover the potatoes. If not, add a little more. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle simmer, cooking until the potatoes are tender. This should take about 10 minutes.
Layer in the corn. Divide the corn into two halves. Place half of the corn in a blender with the milk. Blend until silky smooth.
Pour into the soup pot. Add the remaining corn and stir.
Taste. Taste and adjust the salt to your desired preference. Add a squeeze of lime, if needed.
Serve. Serve the corn chowder with lime wedges and cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream for extra richness if you like.
Corn chowder Tips
- Adjust the heat. Poblanos are generally mild, but their heat can vary. For a milder chowder, remove the seeds and membranes before chopping. For more heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or a jalapeño.
- Blend just enough. Blend only a portion of the corn with the milk, leaving plenty of whole kernels in the soup. This creates a naturally creamy broth while keeping lots of texture.
- Don’t overcook the potatoes. Simmer just until fork-tender so they hold their shape. For an even thicker chowder, gently mash a few potatoes against the side of the pot.
- Finish with lime. Add fresh lime juice at the end rather than while the soup simmers. That little burst of acidity brightens the sweet corn and creamy broth and really makes the flavors pop.
- Fresh corn is wonderful, but not essential. When corn is in season, use it! Otherwise, frozen corn works beautifully-there’s no need to wait for summer to make this chowder.
Storing & Reheating
Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze this recipe for 2-3 months.
To reheat, add the soup to a saucepan over medium heat until it is warm throughout. You can also heat the soup in the microwave for a few minutes.
What to Serve with Corn Chowder
Here are some of our favorite pairings; my favorites are the classic cornbread or cornbread muffins.
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card. For another delicious corn recipe, try our Fresh Corn Fritters!
Poblano Corn chowder VidEo
Creamy Poblano Corn Chowder
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10 cups 1x
- Category: 30 minute Dinner, easy dinner idea, Soup, vegetarian comfort food, weeknight dinner
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten Free, Gluten-Free, high fiber, Vegan, Vegetarian
Description
This Corn Chowder recipe is creamy, vegan, and full of summertime flavor. Corn, potatoes, and poblano peppers with Mexican spices in a creamy vegan base. Easy to make and deliciously addicting.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- one onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1–2 large poblano peppers, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 3 cups potatoes, diced small – yukon, baby, red, or peeled
- 3 cups veggie broth (or use water and 2 teaspoons broth base or boullion cubes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups corn (divided), fresh or frozen.
- 2 cups milk (whole milk, soy milk, cashew, almond, or oat). I used soy milk and loved it.
Garnish with cilantro and lime; optional sour cream
Instructions
- Saute. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute onion, 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Lower heat to medium, add bell pepper, poblano peppers and garlic, saute 4-5 minutes until fragrant. Add potatoes and broth and salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, oregano and bay leaf. You should have just enough liquid to cover potatoes- if not, add a little more.
- Simmer. Cover and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes, depending on size.
- Blend half the corn. Place half of the corn in a blender with the milk. Blend until silky smooth. Pour this into the soup pot, along with the remaining corn kernels. Simmer for a few minutes until heated through.
- Season. Taste and adjust the salt to taste. Add a squeeze of lime, if needed.
- Serve with lime wedges and cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream for extra richness if you like.
Notes
Leftover corn chowder will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ¼ cup
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 11.2 g
- Sodium: 691.1 mg
- Fat: 4.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.5 g
- Fiber: 4.1 g
- Protein: 6.2 g
- Cholesterol: 1.2 mg
FAQs
Yes! You can make this recipe 1-2 days in advance. Once made, cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Reheat the chowder in a large pot over medium-low heat until warm all the way through.
This recipe can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat by letting the soup thaw in the fridge overnight first. Then reheat on the stovetop in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat until warmed to 145F.
Waxy potatoes are best! They have a medium level of starch and are subtly sweet. We love using Yukon Gold potatoes, but baby and red potatoes work well here too.
No. The skins on the potatoes help to make this soup even more rustic. They are flavorful too!
Traditionally, chowder is made with cream and flour to create a thick and rich texture. We simply blend half of the corn with milk to create a creamy consistency that’s still light and healthy.
This soup is AMAZING! The recipe in the notes says cooked corn which I saw in the middle of cooking so a bit of a mess. Def recommend using fresh corn. I used half the coriander, less salt, whole milk, and I emulsified some of the broth to thicken it. I am so happy I doubled this recipe!
Awesome- love that you made it work for you!
Making this for the second time in 2 weeks. I added turkey sausage and some red pepper flakes and used chicken stock instead of Veggie broth. Delicious!
Sounds perfect Erica!
Thanks so much for sharing this lovely recipe. I made it tonight for dinner it was so so good!! I live in the Pacific Northwest as well so I really love soups in the winter and today was a rainy day so it was perfect for dinner tonight thanks so much again!!
So happy you enjoyed this!
Lovely soup & so easy to make! Made exactly as specified in the recipe & will definitely make again. I’m not the biggest fan of oregano, so will probably use less next time. Do you have any suggestions for an alternative? Cilantro or basil? Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Hi Mary, Thanks for the review! How about marjoram instead of oregano- a little less pungent. Fresh cilantro would be nice to add before serving.
Easy to make, and so delicious! My husband went back for THIRDS! Will absolutely make again.
Awesome Keaven! So happy you both enjoyed this! YAY!
Rave reviews in my house! End of summer corn and New Mexico chiles put to use. Perfect for weekday lunch meal prep.
Awesome Jen!
Delicious. Husband and daughter both said they enjoyed the soup. Great flavors. This will be on repeat for a fall/winter soup.
Awesome Cindy – so happy you enjoyed this!
5 stars!
Yay Monica! Thanks so much for reporting back!
Absolutely delicious. I made the soup exactly as instructed, and it made a terrific supper, served with sourdough toasts.
Great to hear!
Just made this Sunday. SO GOOD! (As is everything from Sylvia Feasting at Home!) Used 4 smaller poblanos. frozen corn and Country Crock Plant Creamer (which is amazing btw).
Perfect Sandra! thanks so much. 🙂
Absolutely delicious soup! I used 2 poblano peppers (without seeds), and it was the perfect amount of heat. If you don’t like a bit of kick, 1 poblano is probably enough. I opted for frozen corn, red potatoes, and unsweetened soy milk. 10/10!
Awesome Rachelle!
The recipe indicates that the corn is raw as it does not say to add it to the vegetables. Is this correct?
Yes, just add it to the pot with the blended corn/milk mixture, then simmer for a few minutes.
Soooo good, sorry bit I rendered bacon to cook onion, instead of olive oil. Wish I could pay the aroma! How to post photo?
I bet that was so good with the smokey bacon flavor! Glad you enjoyed. You can tag us on Instagram- we love seeing what you make!
This is so good. The spice combination is remarkable. So glad I made it.
Thanks so much LisaRose!
So good! I loved it with soy milk too 🙂 today I fried an egg and placed it on top of the soup – delicious! Thank you Sylvia!!
Yum, sounds delicious!
As a lover of any home made dish I made this…..fantastic!! Do you have any idea of the calories? Thanks
Scroll down to the bottom of the recipe card, the nutritional info is there. 🙂
what plant based milk is preferred? and i don’t know if using cashew milk will work with this cream chowder?
Cashew would be yummy! Nice and rich. We have used soy and loved it.
Loved this recipe! I used purple potatoes and they came out amazing. I also used almond milk, and it came out great. I added a little more spice to balance out the sweet corn. Very nice recipe to start off the autumn!
Perfect, so glad you enjoyed Allison!
Delicious way to use season’s corn. I was low in potatoes so I threw some cauliflower florets in there too. I have fresh epazote so I used 6-7 leaves of that toward the end instead of the bay leaf. The soup has a nice creamy texture that sits easier than super heavy chowders. I froze a few portions for yummmmy lunches— my future self is thanking me!
Oooo yum! Love all your additions Angela.
So delicious — perfect way to feature what we are harvesting in the garden and receiving in our CSA share this season! I used whole milk, and added some whole coriander seeds, which create a satisfying pop of flavor!
Yum, love all that Tina!
So yummy!!
Thank you for the recipe!
So happy you enjoyed Nichole!
Made this delicious chowder this evening and it was a big hit! Thank you for a great recipe, Sylvia!
So happy you all enjoyed it! Thanks Ginny.
Cumin & coriandre beautiful !!
Thanks so much!
We loved this chowder! The poblano gives it a depth of flavor that other chowders don’t typically have.
Thanks Janet! So happy you enjoyed this! Yes the poblano adds such a lovely flavor here.
If I use fresh corn on the cob do I need to cook it before blending it with the milk?
No, I would just blend it raw Terry!