One of those comforting feel-good meals, Dairy-Free Chicken Corn Chowder is creamy, sweet and savory and so easy to make! Make the most of corn season with this dairy-free and gluten-free version of classic corn chowder.
While I don’t eat corn frequently, I always get excited when I see fresh corn in the produce section. Black Bean Corn Salad is always a favorite because it can be incorporated into my green salads, or used as a condiment or side dish.
But the Greatest Of All Time is corn chowder.
Thick, sweet, savory, creamy, lusciously enticing.
While classic corn chowder is tough to beat, I make it gluten-free and dairy-free. In fact, the method I use to do so I first showed in my Vegan Corn Chowder recipe many years ago.
So how do we make corn chowder gluten-free and dairy-free but still nice and thick and creamy? Potatoes and coconut milk!
We blend a potato into the chowder along with full-fat canned coconut milk, thus replacing flour, butter and milk without sacrificing that lusciously thick and creamy iconic chowder consistency.
Serve it up with Gluten-Free Cornbread with honey for a real showstopper!
Let’s make it!
How to Make Dairy-Free Corn Chowder:
Fill a pot with water and bring to a full boil. Remove the husks from the corn and boil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they turn puffy and are cooked but not too soft. Transfer the corn to a cutting board and allow them to cool while preparing the rest of the recipe.
Peel and chop both of the red potatoes in quarters and carefully place it into the same pot of boiling water you used to cook the corn. Allow potatoes to cook until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the cooked potatoes to a cutting board and chop one of them into smaller bite-sized chunks. This one will be added to the chowder, and the other potato (larger chunks) will be blended into a broth with the corn.
Heat the avocado oil in a large stock pot (I use my Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to turn brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Stir in the chopped celery, bell pepper, carrots, seasonings (if adding) and sea salt. Cover the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
By this time, the corn and potatoes should be finished cooking and cooling. Use a knife to remove the corn kernels from all of the ears of corn. Transfer half of the corn to a blender, along with one of the cooked potatoes (save the other one to add to the chowder in chunks).
Add the coconut milk and water (or broth) to the blender, and blend until completely smooth. This may take two or three rounds of blending.
Transfer the chowder mixture to the stock pot along with the other chopped potato and chopped chicken.
Bring to a full boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables have reached desired doneness, and chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.
While the corn chowder is simmering, cook bacon until crispy. Transfer to a cutting board and chop.
Taste the corn chowder for flavor and add sea salt to taste. Serve with chopped bacon on top along with any other desired toppings.
Recipe Adaptations:
- If you aren’t dairy-free, replace the full-fat coconut milk with half & half. Also serve the chowder with cheese on top!
- Use leftover cooked and chopped chicken. Grilled Chicken Thighs, Smoked Chicken Thighs, and Instant Pot Garlic Herb Rotisserie Chicken work great!
- Use 1 large or 2 small jewel yams instead of red potatoes if you’d like.
- Add 1 to 2 jalapenos or serranos or add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sriracha to make the corn chowder spicy.
Enjoy this corny delight!
Dairy-Free Chicken Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 ears corn shucked and steamed*
- 2 large red potatoes peeled and chopped
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups carrots peeled and chopped (3 large carrots)
- 3 stalks celery chopped (⅔ cup)
- 1 large red bell pepper cored and chopped
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅔ cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 2 cups water
- 2 large chicken breasts chopped into bite sizes
- 4 strips thick cut bacon cooked and chopped
Instructions
- Fill a pot with water and bring to a full boil. Remove the husks from the corn and boil for 5 to 8 minutes, or until they turn puffy and are cooked but not too soft. Transfer the corn to a cutting board and allow them to cool while preparing the rest of the recipe.
- Peel and chop both of the red potatoes in quarters and carefully place it into the same pot of boiling water you used to cook the corn. Allow potatoes to cook until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cooked potatoes to a cutting board and chop one of them into smaller bite-sized chunks. This one will be added to the chowder, and the other potato (larger chunks) will be blended into a broth with the corn.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large stock pot (I use my Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to turn brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped celery, bell pepper, carrots, seasonings (if adding) and sea salt. Cover the Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- By this time, the corn and potatoes should be finished cooking and cooling. Use a knife to remove the corn kernels from all of the ears of corn. Transfer half of the corn to a blender, along with one of the cooked potatoes (save the other one to add to the chowder in chunks).
- Add the coconut milk and water (or broth) to the blender, and blend until completely smooth. This may take two or three rounds of blending.
- Transfer the chowder mixture to the stock pot along with the other chopped potato and chopped chicken. Bring to a full boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables have reached desired doneness, and chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.
- While the corn chowder is simmering, cook bacon until crispy. Transfer to a cutting board and chop.
- Taste the corn chowder for flavor and add sea salt to taste. Serve with chopped bacon on top along with any other desired toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
I made this tonight and wonder if I can freeze left overs?
Absolutely! When I freeze leftovers, I double bag the soup in a large zip lock bag. It will keep for up to 3 months.
I made this tonight and it was over the top delicious! The consistency was perfect for chowder. I followed the directions and was very happy with the results. I will definitely make this again!
Aww that’s great to hear! Thank you for sharing, Therese!
Is there anything you could suggest to use in place of the coconut milk?
Hi Natalie! Any higher fat non-dairy milk will work, such as oat milk or cashew milk. Just be sure it is designed to be higher in fat. For instance, a great oat milk option is the Barista Blend by Califia Farms. I wouldn’t recommend using a lower fat milk or almond milk, as the chowder won’t taste as rich and almond milk has a pretty distinct flavor. The chowder won’t turn out quite as thick without the coconut milk, so I’d recommend adding 2-3 teaspoons of gluten-free flour or cornstarch to thicken it up to your liking. Hope this helps!
Can you use cooked frozen corn or canned corn instead of fresh to make it easier? If so, what would those quantities be?
Hi Cindy! I read here that one (15-oz) can of corn is equivalent to 1 and 3/4 ears of corn. https://www.thekitchn.com/how-many-cobs-in-can-of-corn-youtube-23006135 Going off of this amount, you would need 2.5 cans of corn, but using all three wouldn’t be the end of the world too 🙂 If using frozen corn, you need 3.5 cups. Happy cooking!
Super yummy recipe but it didn’t thicken up at all! I couldn’t cook it longer than 15 minutes because the chicken was already done and I didn’t want it to be overcooked. How should I get it thicker?
Hi Christa! Did you blend the potatoes? The blended potato is what I use to thicken the chowder. To make it thicker, you can make a cornstarch slurry or add regular all-purpose flour, gluten-free all-purpose flour, or tapioca flour until it reaches your desired thickness. I would start with 2 tablespoons of any of those options and go from there depending on how thick you want the chowder.
I made this as close to the original as possible (I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs). I made 1/4 of a recipe and it was SO tasty, but the coconut milk curdled, and the corn and potato weren’t completely pureed. Not creamy looking but still very good. How do I get the coconut milk to not curdle? (I used full fat coconut milk in the can, without gum thickeners.) It still is SO tasty. Oh, I also added just a pinch of Old Bay seasoning instead of Cajun seasoning and cumin, both of which I can only take in tiny doses.
Hi there! I’ve actually never experienced coconut milk curdling so I’m not sure what could have happened. I also use coconut milk without gums or emulsifiers and haven’t seen this in recipes. It sometimes looks chunky but then all melts once heated. Are you using a high powered blender and are you making sure the potatoes are cooked completely? This would affect their ability to blend 🙂
If using frozen corn, how much would replace 4 cobs of corn?