Hearty red lentils and sweet summer corn are simmered up with southwestern spices in a coconut milk broth to make this hearty and totally meal-worthy vegan chowder.
Every year about this time, I start going on about how bad I am at vegetable gardening. This year, I decided to keep things simple. I didn’t plant much, and stuck with stuff that I don’t expect to get too out of control. I also planted a little citronella plant to keep whatever awful biting insects invaded last year’s garden at bay. It’s been a bit of a struggle keeping up with the weeds, and while they haven’t gotten too out of control, there’s a few plants taking off, which, I’m embarrassed to say, could be weeds, or they could just as likely be vegetables that I planted. I’m not sure!
They’re about the same size as my tomato plants, and they have a very vegetabley look to them, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what they might be. They’re nicely spaced out too, just like the would be if I’d stuck them in the ground intentionally. Obviously I didn’t do a very good job of keeping great track of what I planted. I’ve been repeatedly telling myself that tomorrow, they’ll reveal what they are by sprouting something recognizable, at which point I’ll slap my forehead and either promptly remove them or start to relax and eagerly await their delicious crop.
I’m lucky to live in an area with plenty of farmer’s markets and farm stands. Not that I’d ever attempt to plant corn (it sounds tough – is it?), but there’s plenty of it available for buying.
I used my first corn purchase of the season to whip up this soup. I did the same with my second. Made it twice! It was tasty! And I wanted to try it both with and without the addition of beer. As much as I can’t stand drinking the stuff, beer makes most food taste better, and the beer version of this soup was my favorite, though the version without was delicious too. Go with whichever version suits your tastes, and serve it up with lots of toppings and some crusty bread.
Red Lentil Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. ancho chile powder
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 2 to 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup coconut milk, regular or light
- 1 cup ale, or another cup of broth
- 1 cup split red lentils
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup corn kernels, about 2 ears
- 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper hot sauce, or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings (optional - pick your favorites)
- fresh cilantro
- chopped scallions
- diced red onion
- cayenne pepper hot sauce
- diced avocado
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a medium pot with oil and place over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onion and jalapeño, if using. Sauté until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, ancho chile powder and oregano, and sauté about 1 minute more, until very fragrant.
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Add 2 cups broth, coconut milk, beer (or another cup of broth), and lentils. Bring to a simmer and lower heat. Allow to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn and tomatoes to pot allow to continue simmering unit the lentils fall apart and corn has reached desired tenderness, about 10 minutes more. Add up to an additional cup of broth during cooking if the mixture becomes too thick.
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Remove from heat and season with hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into bowls and top with toppings of choice. Serve.
I have some raised beds back behind my garage, which is also where my compost bin is. We keep a tub by the back door for composting that holds a bit, so we don’t have to empty it constantly. I was taking the tub back to the compost bin and turned the corner around my garage and there was a huge squash plant that had volunteered in front of my compost bin (likely from under it). I have no idea what kind of squash it is. This should be interesting. There’s also a volunteered tomato on the other side of the bin. Gardening is full of surprises!
That’s awesome! Last fall I had a couple of surprise broccoli plants pop up. They only managed to produce the tiniest little florettes before it got really cold, but I was still excited to have some bonus broccoli. :)
This soup looks delicious! I will definitely try it.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)
Corn chowder looks great.
Thanks Maria!
Holy shit this is the BEST soup i have EVER made. Thank you!! I put a tiny bit more corn in and just cooked the cilantro with the tomato and corn. Also garnished with avocado rolled in chipotle powder. Holy. Mole!! Love your blog.
I’m so glad to hear that!! Thanks so much Claire!
Omigosh, Alissa, this soup was absolutely delicious! Thank you for another winning recipe.
Just wanted to say thanks for this. Just made it and I think it’s going to be a regular in our winter / fall soup rotation. I improvised on it slightly adding smoked paprika, celery, and extra corn. Also added lime wedges to go with the sides / toppings. Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! And those all sound like delicious modifications! :)
Is the one tablespoon of cayenne a typo? I doubled the recipe but kept the cayenne at 1 tbsp and it was still super hot. Delicious though. Haven’t had a bad recipe from this site yet.
Did you use powedered cayenne pepper? That would make it super hot! Most cayenne pepper hot sauces aren’t nearly as hot – try Franks or Louisiana Crystal. I’m glad you still think it’s tasty though!
Do you prefer cook the red lentils or just throw them in?
Throw them in there. They cook while it simmers. Thanks for the question! Enjoy!
The mystery plans might have been potatoes – similar look to tomatoes, from the same family. And corn is easy as long as you keep it watered.
I made this recipe with brown lentils – more fibre and nutrition, and still really nice.
This was really good. I added a poblano and then roasted the poblano and jalepeno before adding to the soup. This was so easy and a great way to utilize all of the fresh corn that is easy to find right now. Even though I live in Arizona and it wa 110 degrees today, this really hit the spot!
That sounds delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made it and added potatoes and bell pepper instead of jalapeno. Added a squeeze of lime and cilantro as garnish. Great stuff.
Sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed it!
will try this one!! should be delicious..will add indian spices to it..
Enjoy!
Is it freezable? It looks delish!
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I don’t see why not!