This Vegan Clam Chowder is going to be your new favourite comfort food! It’s rich and creamy, packed with veggies and served in an adorable bread bowl!
This Vegan Clam Chowder starts off with leek, onion, carrot and celery, which give off the most amazing fragrance when frying and make your kitchen smell amazing.
I decided to use mushrooms as a plant-based clam replacement, as they have a similarly chewy texture, not to mention a noteworthy flavour. If you hate mushrooms, you could substitute them with a tin of white beans.
I like to use king oyster mushrooms – they have a particularly suitable texture as they’re a little chewier than other types of mushrooms, but you can use any mushrooms you like.
Another key ingredient is the potatoes, which amp up the comfort food factor, and work well to soak up all the other delicious flavours.
The creaminess comes from unsweetened almond milk thickened with cornflour, which creates a seriously velvety texture without the need for blending up cashews. This chowder can also easily be made nut-free by using unsweetened oat milk in place of the almond milk.
Now, you’re probably wondering how to make the cute bread bowls. They may look fiddly, but they’re actually super easy to make…if I can do it, so can you!
All you need to do is slice off the top, then hollow out the centre with your fingers. And there’s no need to waste the hollowed-out centre either, as you can crumble it up into breadcrumbs and toast those in the oven at the same time as the bread bowls themselves.
These crispy breadcrumbs are so delicious sprinkled over the piping hot soup, as they add a great layer of texture. I also like to finish off the soup with a sprinkling of fresh parsley and some sweet and smoky almond or coconut bacon!
For more vegan soup recipes, check out my:
- Creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi Soup
- Pea Pasta Minestrone Soup
- Creamy Tomato Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Sweet Potato Peanut Soup
- Creamy Corn Chowder
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Helpful tools to make this Vegan Clam Chowder:
measuring jug
Vegan Clam Chowder (GF)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive, rapeseed or coconut oil
- 1 leek, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced
- 1 celery stick, thinly sliced
- 200 g (7oz) mushrooms, roughly chopped (I like king oyster mushrooms but you can use any other type you like)
- 800 g (28oz) potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 vegetable stock cube (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 415 ml (1 3/4 cups) unsweetened almond milk (or sub unsweetened oat milk for nut-free)
- Salt + pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
For the bread bowls:
- 4 bread rolls (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
To serve:
- Fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan and add the leek, garlic, carrot and celery once hot
- Fry for around 10 minutes until softened
- Add the mushrooms, potatoes, stock cube, almond milk and salt + pepper, along with 600ml (2 1/2 cups) water
- Bring to the boil and simmer for around 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft enough to pierce easily with a fork
- Place the cornflour in a small bowl and dissolve in a splash of water
- Carefully stir the dissolved cornflour mixture into the soup, and heat for another few minutes until nicely thickened. It's important that you stir the cornflour in gently, otherwise you will end up with clumps
- Add extra water or almond milk if necessary
For the bread bowls:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees (350 degrees)
- Carefully slice the tops off the bread rolls and use your fingers to hollow out the centre
- Place the hollowed-out bread rolls and the tops on a baking tray
- Use your fingers to crumble the hollowed-out centres into breadcrumbs and place these in a small baking dish
- Bake all of these in the oven for around 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown - be careful that they don’t burn
To serve:
- Ladle the soup into the bread bowls and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and fresh parsley
- Enjoy immediately!
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Anonymous
Yum!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Phoebe
Love the bread bowl!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!
Bee - Bites 'N Pieces
Great recipe! I featured it in a recipe roundup here: https://bitesnpieces.co/best-winter-soup-recipes/
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much!