Instant Pot Corn Chowder

This Instant Pot Corn Chowder is super easy to make in the instant pot and a keeper for all your under 20 minute meals. No one would ever guess it’s naturally vegan. Trust me it tastes so much like the real deal, but there isn’t any cream involved or dairy. This creamy corn chowder recipe is something that the whole family will enjoy. Once you’ve tried it you know it’s on the to do list for all family dinner ideas and makes it even suitable for dinner ideas for kids.

You know by now I’m a fairly new lover of the instant pot. Only recently I brought you one of my first instant pot recipes, these Instant Pot Spaghetti with Simple Tomato Sauce which is ready in under 10 minutes.

I made this all the time, because it is so fast and simply tastes amazing. Whenever I made this for non vegan friends, the look on their faces tells they couldn’t believe it is a vegan instant pot recipe.

They expect cream, butter or something similar.

However that is not all. This vegan corn chowder is also naturally gluten free, made with healthy ingredients which you might already stock in your pantry. 

Now is the time for you to get really excited about this Instant Pot Corn Chowder.

It’s ultra creamy, ready in no time, packed with fantastic flavors, super easy to make, texture perfect, mouthwatering, satisfying and filling.

Also great for quick meals, healthy, any vegetarian recipes, easy healthy dinner ideas and for real easy instant pot recipes that the whole family will devour in no time.

What we have in the vegetarian corn chowder:

You only need 5 ingredients. As always I do not count salt and pepper as ingredient. So we have:

• chopped onions
• minced garlic
• cooked corn from the can, corn on the cob, or frozen corn will work
• vegan cream cheese
• almond or cashew milk

Feel free to add the other optionals:

• roasted red peppers
• cumin
• paprika spice
• nutritional yeast
• cashew butter
• hot sauce for serving

How to make corn chowder in the instant pot

I recommend making this chowder in a 6 quart instant pot. I find it is the right size, not to small or big. But feel free to use which one you have.

Use the sauté function of the instant pot. Add a bit of oil (or vegetable broth for oil free cooking) as well as the onions, minced garlic, and corn. Sauté for 2 minutes. Now take 1/2 cup of the sautéed corn back and reserve for later.

In the next step, add almond or cashew milk, season with salt and pepper, optional nutritional yeast, cashew butter, cumin, or paprika spice. Cover with the lid, set to high pressure for 5 minutes and seal. After that use the quick release to open the instant pot.

Finally, add vegan cream cheese and use the sauté function again for around 3 minutes until you’ve reached the desired consistency and thickness. Now you have 2 options: you can use your immersion blender and make a puree soup, or skip this step. In both ways mix in the optional roasted red peppers, divide into bowls and top with reserved corn.

Please note: 5 minutes is the cooking time, not including the time that the instant pot needs to reach high pressure. This will vary from model to model but shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes.

This amazingly easy corn chowder is perfect for lunch, dinner, meal prep, and so much more. If you’re new to instant pots, it can be a bit overwhelming at first. But once you’ve tried it and get the hang of it, you don’t want to miss this kitchen gadget.

Here you’ll find some Instant Pot safety and use tips everyone should know. 

Why is this Instant Pot Corn Chowder gluten free

You really don’t need any extra starch in this recipe because the starch from the corn will make a thick soup. The extra benefit is that this way we also have a gluten free chowder. So it is pretty simple to make a thick and cream soup. That’s all to know about how to thicken corn chowder, no other magic trick required.

Tips to make the best corn chowder

You don’t have an immersion blender but want a blended soup? You can skip that and don’t blend or you can use your standing blender for this step. Just make sure to let the soup base cool. Otherwise some blenders can’t deal with the heat and this could  cause damage to your device. So always cool down, and warm again until it reaches the desired heat.

Also you can make crock pot corn chowder. Just use the slow cooker function of the instant pot and you can make the perfect slow cooker corn chowder. Which might be worth a try. While you’re out in the morning, you can make this ahead and in the evening everything is ready and prepared. Just make sure to add everything at once, including the optional add ons. Only few steps and you’re already good to go for your easy crock pot meal. No need to reserve the corn, or blend the soup.

For more variety you can make an instant pot potato corn chowder. Just add potatoes. Note that you will definitely need more liquid (just add vegetable broth) and the cooking time will increase from 5 up to 8 minutes. So it definitely takes a bit longer to make a potato corn chowder.

If you give this Instant Pot Corn Chowder a try let me know with a tag on Instagram or Facebook.

As always I love seeing all your remakes with a picture.

Cheers, Florian.