Instant Pot Corn Chowder {Dairy Free}

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Instant Pot Corn Chowder is easy to make in your pressure cooker. This is a hearty soup is great for a cozy and warm bowl on busy weeknights. Creamy, full of flavor and bound to be a family pleaser!

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Why This Recipe Works
Ingredients for this Recipe
How to Make This Recipe
Expert Tips
FAQs
Related Recipes
Instant Pot Corn Chowder

It's that weird time of the year when all of the fall harvest goodies are coming but it's still quite hot! I can't help but want a cozy bowl of soup, sometimes even in the warmer days of fall.

Instant Pot Corn Chowder is the perfect bridge from summer to fall. Using fresh seasonal corn, this pressure cooker soup is delicious, fresh and super easy to make.

Hearty soups are where it's at for the fall season! There is nothing better than coming home to an easy meal that fills you up and makes you warm!

Just add a side salad and dinner is done! And if you like corn, be sure to try this healthy corn casserole too!

Why This Recipe Works

Healthy comfort food at it's finest! This cozy soup bowl will warm you up on cold nights.
Super quick to make! Especially when you're too busy for weeknight meals or you forgot to set your crockpot.
Fresh grilled corn tastes amazing in this recipe!
Customizable! You can add whatever extra veggies (celery, carrots, sweet potatoes) or meats (crab, tuna, ham) to your pressure cooker or Ninja Foodi to make this recipe a winner in your house!

Ingredients for this Recipe

Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.

Corn: cut from the cobs, fresh or frozen work well.
Dairy free Greek Yogurt: Not pictured but highly recommended to make soup creamy. You can also use coconut milk or dairy milk if preferred, however Greek yogurt makes it more thick and creamy.
Cooked bacon: (I highly recommend ButcherBox bacon!) You can also add in cooked chicken or ham.
Potatoes: fingerling or yellow potatoes work well. You may also try sweet potatoes.
Thyme: Fresh or dried work in this recipe

How to Make This Recipe

Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.

This soup is super easy to make and great for using all of the fresh produce of late summer. To begin your soup, grab your ingredients and pressure cooker.

I like to cook my bacon in the oven to ensure proper doneness. If you are opting for less mess, you can fry your bacon right in the instant pot using the saute function.

I recommend cutting the bacon up prior to cooking it in the instant pot (if you choose to cook the bacon that way). It will cook up faster and you can just leave it in the pot.

Saute the onion in a bit of olive oil (or reserved bacon fat) and then add in the corn. Once the flavors have incorporated for a few minutes, add in the remainder of the ingredients except for the coconut milk.

Cook your soup on manual mode for 10 minutes and then do a quick release. Add in ¾ cup dairy free plain Greek yogurt, stir and serve.

Expert Tips

To make soup even more thick, mash potatoes a bit after cooking. You could also add in some cornstarch if you prefer.
If you want to skip the step of cutting the raw corn from the cobs you can leave the whole cobs in the soup while cooking (it gives great flavor) and then cutting the cooked corn off of the cob. Make sure you discard the cobs prior to serving.
Add a bit of peppers like jalapenos or red bell peppers or some cayenne and paprika for a spicy, smoky version.
Bump up the veggies by adding in some celery, carrots, cauliflower or other veggies you like.
Top with additional bacon and some cheddar cheese or dairy free cheddar if desired.
Be sure to taste the recipe prior to serving and add in additional salt & pepper to taste. Potatoes tend to need generous salting so you will want to make sure you do not skip this step.
This recipe does not freeze well due to the yogurt which tend to separate when reheated. To freeze make soup as directed but do not add in Greek yogurt when making it. Stir in Greek yogurt once you have reheated the defrosted soup on the stovetop.
I used an 8-quart Instant Pot for testing this recipe.
If you prefer a creamier soup try leaving out the bacon and using an immersion blender to blend. Then, stir in the bacon once you are going to eat it.

FAQs

What kind of corn should I use?

I used fresh corn on the cob that I bought in-season from a local farmer's market.
Frozen corn is the next best thing to fresh corn on the cob. I do recommend frozen over canned since frozen tends to hold its shape better than canned.

Can I make it without bacon?

You can absolutely make it without bacon. If you want to include meat, consider adding in cooked chicken or ham. Rotisserie chicken works really well in this soup. If opting for vegetarian or vegan, leave out the meat, use vegetable broth and use dairy free yogurt.

Can I make it without potatoes?

You can make it without potatoes but I wouldn't recommend it. I like to include potatoes because it bulks up the soup, especially if you're opting for the vegetarian version.
I like using fingerling potatoes because I like the way they taste and they are already pretty small. If the fingerling potatoes are too large, just cut them in half.