To start the chowder, heat a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the butter/oil (either would work), followed by the onions, celery, carrots, and a good pinch of salt.

Cook the mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots) for approximately 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have just started to become a bit soft.
Next, add the garlic and let cook for 30 seconds or so and then add the flour. The amount of flour will depend on how thick you want the final chowder to be and also how much you are making etc. Start with 2 tbsp and go up from there — if following the recipe, we often use the full 1/4 cup of flour. To add the flour, simply sprinkle it over the mirepoix and then stir to coat the vegetables with the flour. Note: The flour can be left out all together. To thicken the soup, you can either purée a bit of the soup and/or add more cashew cream.

Next, add the liquid — we like to use a flavorful stock but water would also work. If using water, you may want to add a tablespoon or so of a vegetable or chickenless chicken stock base, such as this Faux Chicken Bouillon Powder to make a quick stock.

In terms of how much liquid to add, start with 4 or 5 cups and then go up from there once the liquid comes to a boil.

Bring the liquid to a simmer for a minute or so — the flour needs to come to a simmer to thicken the chowder. Once the flour has been fully incorporated and the liquid has thickened a bit, add the potatoes. If needed, add a bit more liquid.

Note: For the potatoes, we like to use Yukon or red potatoes as russet potatoes can sometimes be a bit grainy in the chowder (we know, we tested it).

Cook the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are almost 3/4’s of the way cooked.

In the meantime, go ahead and make the Cashew-Corn Cream.

To make the cashew-corn cream, simply add all of the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. For a less smooth and more corn purée texture, add the corn at the end, after the cashews have been fully blended, and then just pulse the corn a few times.

Note that fresh corn can be used here as well. It doesn’t even need to be cooked as it will be cooked in the chowder.

To finish the chowder, add the cashew-corn mixture to the chowder and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer (if it isn’t already) and then adjust the consistency as needed. If it’s a bit too thick, add a bit more stock or some non-dairy milk. Ultimately, the consistency depends on how thick you like your chowder.

Next, add the corn. Note: If adding fresh corn, add it with the cashew cream to give it a bit more time to cook.

Once you are happy with the consistency, taste the chowder for seasoning, adding salt, pepper, cumin and/or nutritional yeast or Dijon as desired.

The chowder is ready when the vegetables have cooked all the way through. Taste one last time for seasoning and then serve.

If desired, top the chowder with some finely chopped chives, or green onions and a bit of paprika (smoked paprika can also be used) and some freshly ground black pepper.