My red lentil corn chowder is rich, hearty, and loaded with spicy Southwestern flavors! It’s super easy to make and a delicious way to use up fresh summer corn — but it works just as well with frozen when it’s out of season.
This red lentil corn chowder is basically the love child of my red lentil soup and my vegan corn chowder. Those are two of my all-time favorites. Combine them, and you get something pretty magical! It’s also got a flavor profile similar to my Southwestern corn chowder, making it even better. So if you liked any of those soups, you're going to LOVE this one.
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I get it: soup can be a hard sell during the summer. But some of the best summer veggies are SO GOOD in soup, so it's worth it. My red lentil corn chowder also features summery flavors, like fiery jalapeño, creamy coconut milk, and zesty lime juice, all in a hearty one-pot meal that won’t heat up your kitchen. It’s quick, easy, and absolutely delicious whether you use fresh or frozen corn.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Olive oil. You could get away with using another high-heat oil, if you'd like.
- Red onion. Trusty old yellow onion will also work in a pinch!
- Garlic.
- Jalapeño pepper. This is optional. Just include it if you like your soup spicy!
- Spices. You'll need ground cumin, ancho chile powder, and oregano. You should be able to find them all in the spice aisle of the grocery store, but if the ancho chile powder eludes you, feel free to use regular old mild chili powder.
- Vegetable broth.
- Split red lentils.
- Coconut milk. I use full-fat coconut milk, for maximum creaminess. You can, however, use light coconut milk if you'd like to reduce the fat and calorie content of the soup.
- Canned diced tomatoes.
- Corn. The recipe calls for fresh corn. If you'd like to make this soup when corn isn't in season, feel free to substitute thawed frozen corn. Add it about five minutes later than the recipe step where it’s added, since frozen corn is partially cooked.
- Lime juice.
- Hot sauce. Skip this, or reduce, the amount if you'd like a milder soup.
- Salt and pepper.
- Toppings. I go simple with some chopped fresh cilantro and scallions, but you're welcome to get creative! Diced avocado, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, pico de gallo, or crushed tortilla chips would all be great on this soup!
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Cook the onion. Add your diced red onion to a pot with some hot olive oil. Cook it for a few minutes, just to start softening it up.
Step 2: Add spices and aromatics. Stir in minced garlic, jalapeño, and your spices. Cook everything very briefly, stirring and being careful to avoid burning anything.
Step 3: Simmer the lentils. Stir in the broth and lentils, then simmer the mixture for about ten minutes, until the lentils are starting to soften.
Step 4: Add the rest. Coconut milk, tomatoes, and corn go in next. Let the soup continue to simmer for about ten minutes longer.
Step 5: Finish the soup. Take the pot off of heat and add lime juice, hot sauce, and some salt and pepper. You can really adjust any seasonings to your liking at this point!
Step 6: Serve. Your red lentil corn chowder is ready! Ladle it into bowls, then pile on toppings of your choice.
Variations
- Extra creamy soup. The combination of coconut milk with starch from the corn and lentils makes this soup naturally creamy, but if you'd like it to be extra creamy, just blend a portion of it.
- Add beer. I love this one. Replace up to a cup of the broth with ale or lager. Just make sure to run your beer through Barnivore before buying, to ensure it's vegan!
- Smoky red lentil corn chowder. Stir in some smoked paprika or chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (just note: they’ll also add heat!).
- Add greens. Stir in some of your favorite leafy greens, like spinach, kale, or collards. Keep in mind that harder greens like kale and collards will take longer to cook (fifteen minutes or so), while spinach will wilt in just a few (two to three).
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure is!
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days, or in the freezer for up to three months. The soup will continue to thicken during storage, so you may want to add a splash of water when you reheat it.
It can be, if you include the jalapeño pepper and hot sauce. Skip these ingredients for a heat-free version, or just start with a dash of hot sauce and add more to taste.
You can, although the texture of the soup will be totally different. Brown lentils will also require five or ten minutes more cook time than red.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Red Lentil Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ red onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ¼ cups split red lentils
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 (14.5 ounce/411 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels, about 2 ears
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper hot sauce, or to taste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional Toppings
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Chopped scallions
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a medium pot with the oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, jalapeño, cumin, ancho chile powder, and oregano. Sauté the mixture with the onion for about one minute, stirring constantly, until the garlic and spices become very fragrant.
- Stir in the vegetable broth and lentils. Raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil, then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils begin to soften but are not yet fully cooked.
- Stir in the coconut milk, diced tomatoes, and corn. Bring the soup back to a simmer and let it cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the lentils are very soft. You can add some water or additional broth to the pot if the soup gets too thick at any point.
- Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lime juice and hot sauce, then season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and top with toppings of choice. Serve.
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Delicious and so easy to make, especially great recipe for very large quantity (soup kitchen). I added a pack of frozen vegetables for extra nutrition and was still great.
Is it freezable? It looks delish!
I haven't tried freezing it, but I don't see why not!
will try this one!! should be delicious..will add indian spices to it..
Enjoy!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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! :)
Omigosh, Alissa, this soup was absolutely delicious! Thank you for another winning recipe.
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!
Corn chowder looks great.
Thanks Maria!
This soup looks delicious! I will definitely try it.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)
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. :)