Dairy-Free Chicken Corn Chowder
This dairy-free chicken corn chowder recipe is packed with veggies, protein, and a secret ingredient to make it extra creamy (yet completely dairy-free). It's also gluten-free and can be made vegan.
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1-1½ pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- kosher salt and black pepper
For the chowder
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced any color
- 2 small carrots, peeled and diced or 1 large
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 small ears of corn, kernels removed about 2 ¾ cups
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
- ½ cup cashew cream or substitute
- squeeze fresh lime juice
- salt & pepper, to taste
- chives for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Once hot, cook the chicken for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and set it aside.
- In the same pot, add the onion, bell pepper, carrots, garlic, and salt until the onion is translucent and the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the corn kernels, thyme sprigs, and broth and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Remove the thyme stems (the leaves will have mostly fallen off and infused into the soup) and either using an immersion blender or a regular blender, only blend half of the soup so it has some texture.
- Add the cooked chicken pieces back into the soup along with the cashew cream, add more salt and pepper to taste as needed, and a squeeze of lime juice. Garnish with chives before serving.
Notes
Make it vegan - omit the chicken and use any white beans instead. Just drain, rinse, and add them at the end.
No carrots? - use celery instead or extra bell pepper instead.
No fresh thyme? - use a couple of shakes of dried thyme.
No lime juice? - lemon juice also works.
No cashew cream? - use full-fat canned coconut milk.
Other proteins - bacon or salmon bites.