This poblano corn chowder is the perfect comfort food. It's rich flavor, creamy base and healthy ingredients makes it the perfect choice.
This soup is amazing! A twist on traditional corn chowder to keep things exciting, you'll want to make this all season long!

This post was originally published on July 2, 2015.
This poblano corn chowder was based off my traditional vegan corn chowder. It can be made creamy like chowder or make like a traditional broth based soup!
Ingredients
The roasted poblano chilies give the perfect flavor and mild heat to this classic soup. You can either leave it all chunky, or create a comforting creamy base. It's all easy to do with simple whole food ingredients, making it a healthy and satisfying meal.
To make this vegan poblano corn chowder, you'll need the following ingredients:
- Poblano chiles
- Corn
- Potatoes
- Onion
- Garlic
- Veggie broth
- Lime Juice
- Cilantro
- Raw cashews - Optional for the creamy version!
How to Make Poblano Corn Chowder
The process for making this soup recipe is pretty simple. Here's what to do:
- Roast and peel the peppers.
- Sauté the potatoes, onion, garlic and salt.
- Add the roasted chiles and corn, then after a few minutes mix in the lime juice and cilantro.
- Add the veggie broth and simmer.
- If you like the broth version, you're done!
- For creamy soup, blend 1 cup of the soup with cashews and extra broth in a blender then stir back into the pot.
- Serve with toppings of choice!
Tips for roasting chilies
Below is an outline for roasting chilies. For a complete breakdown, check out my post all about How to Roast Peppers.
- To roast in the oven: place chiles on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil or broth and roast for 40 - 45 minutes at 400°F.
- Or, you can roast the chiles on the grill, for 5-7 minutes per side.
- Once roasted, seal the chiles in a plastic bag or wrap in foil to steam for 5 minutes.
- The easiest way to peel the skin off is to do it under running water.
Poblano Corn Chowder Toppings
We like to load this soup up with all sorts of extra toppings! Here are some of our favorites to try:
- Vegan sour cream
- Chopped cilantro
- Tortilla strips or chips
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime
- Avocado
- Radishes
- Vegan Cotija Cheese
What to Serve with Corn Chowder
This poblano soup is filling enough to be an entire meal, however it's also fun to pair with any of these vegan recipes:
- Vegan Quesadilla
- Vegan Chorizo Tacos
- The Best Vegan Taquitos
- Mexican Coleslaw with Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Healthy Vegan Taco Salad
- Gluten Free Cornbread
Preparation Tips
- For a sweeter flavor, roast the garlic in addition to the chilies and corn.
- You can use frozen corn, just skip the roasting and add it to the soup with the roasted vegetables.
- We also love skipping the cream and eating it as a broth based soup!
- If you choose to make the creamy version and don't have a high-speed blender you will need to prepare the cashews with one of these methods:
- Soak the cashews overnight
- Boil them for 30 minutes
- Grind them (without soaking) into a fine powder using a coffee grinder.
- Adjust the amount of cashews for how creamy you want the soup, add more for extra creaminess.
- Add in extra flavor and nutrition with bell peppers, spinach, chickpeas, or lentils.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- You can prep this poblano corn chowder ahead of time! Roast the chilies and corn, chop the veggies, and prep the toppings.
- Keep the prepared ingredients in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 3 days before cooking the soup.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- You can also freeze it! Just seal the soup in a freezer safe airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Common Questions
You can roast the peppers in a 400°F oven for 40-50 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Or, grill them for 5-7 minutes per side.
To make a vegan chowder, blend some of the soup along with cashews in a high speed blender. Stir in the mixture back into the soup until you get your desired level of creaminess.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
Once you've enjoyed this poblano corn chowder, keep the soup train going! Soups make excellent healthy and filling meals, and they're so easy! Next time try these other plant based soup recipes:
- Black Bean Soup
- Potato Leek Soup
- Greek Lentil Soup
- Cauliflower Soup
- Tortilla Soup
- Creamy Winter Squash Soup
- Healthy Carrot Soup
Healthy Poblano Corn Chowder
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 poblano chiles , can sub another chile too
- 3 cups corn , fresh or frozen, or about 3 ears
- Drizzle of oil or broth to roast and sauté
- 3 cups chopped Yukon gold potatoes , or other type you prefer (about 3 medium potatoes)
- 1 cup chopped sweet or yellow onion
- 3 - 5 medium cloves garlic , adjust for your preference
- ¾ - 1 teaspoon sea salt , adjust for salt content of broth
- ¼ - ½ cup lime juice , adjust to your preference (about 3 limes)
- ¼ - ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 cups veggie broth , low sodium if needed (plus 1 extra for creamy version)
- ½ - ¾ cup raw cashews , optional (see note, you can also sub in a dairy free cream or thick milk like coconut)
To serve (optional)
- Vegan sour cream
- Chopped cilantro
- Tortilla strips or chips
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime
Instructions
- If using the oven to roast, pre heat oven to 400 F/ 205 C.
- Put chiles and corn on a parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil or broth and roast for 40 - 45 minutes until the skins are brown and popping. You can also roast the garlic here if you prefer a sweeter flavor.
- Alternatively, you can roast the chiles on the grill outside, this takes less time (about 5-7 minutes per side). This will work for the corn too if it is on the cob. If not, just saute it in the pot with the other veggies.
- When chile and corn are done roasting, put the chiles in a plastic bag or wrap in foil to steam. Then slice the kernels off of the cobs if you used cobs.
- After about 5 minutes of steaming, carefully peel as much skin off the chilies as you can. It helps to do this under running water. You can see my post on roasting peppers for step by step directions.
- Chop the chilies.
- Saute the potatoes, onion, garlic and salt in a large pot over medium heat with oil or broth until the begin to get brown (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add the roasted chile and corn. Saute a few more minutes.
- Add lime juice and cilantro. Saute about 3-4 more minutes.
- Add the veggie broth and simmer 5 more minutes.
- If making the creamy version, add about 1 cup of the soup, cashews and extra broth in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Put back into the pot and mix well.
- Serve with toppings of choice!
Notes
- If you use frozen corn, add it to the soup with the roasted vegetables.
- The cashews are optional for a creamy version.
- If you are not using a high-speed blender you can either soak the cashews overnight, boil them for 30 minutes or grind them into a fine powder using a coffee grinder.
- Adjust the amount of cashews for how creamy you prefer it.
- Chop all veggies. Roast the chiles and corn. Make the toppings.
- Pulse/blend roasted veggies. Older baby can also gum corn on the cob. If you use a non spicy pepper, you can add that too.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Sarah
The roasted peppers add the BEST flavor to this soup, never going back!
Ryan @ Feed by Round Pond
Comfort food, indeed! Can't wait for it to cool down so that we can try this soup.
veggiesdontbite
Oh man you and I both!! Where is fall??
Susan
This sounds amazing. I'm gonna try it with the Anaheims I grew.
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Susan! It's awesome with Anaheims! I tried it with a few different types of peppers and they were all great. Hope you love it!
Sina @ Vegan Heaven
This looks so delicious, Sophia!! Perfect for fall. And I love your spoon. 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thanks so much Sina! I love the spoon too, got it custom made for my pictures!