One-Pot Veggie Chowder

Baby, it’s cold outside!  Here’s an easy recipe for delicious, hot vegan chowder to warm you up!

I love hot soup filled with vegetables on a cold day!  This recipe provides all of the comfort and warmth of a traditional chowder without any of the guilt!  The secret to an insanely healthy chowder base?  Cauliflower!  Yep, good old cauliflower- what can’t this vegetable do?!  I smooth it out with almond milk and vegetable broth and add in some beans to make it extra creamy!

I wanted this to be a no-stress soup recipe.  It’s the middle of winter and fresh veggies aren’t always available or affordable, but thankfully frozen options are still full of nutrition, color, and texture!  In addition, this recipe was a great way to use a bunch of odd partial bags of frozen vegetables we had hanging out in the freezer.  The recipe can also be easily adapted to fit most eating preferences.  Nuts are a no-no?  No problem!  Use rice or soy milk.  Not into beans?  Skip them!  Just reduce the amount of liquids by about 1/2 cup.  Enjoy!

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30 minutes
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Ingredients

• 1 sweet white onion, chopped
• 1-3 tbsp minced garlic (you know what you like)
• 1 15.5 oz bag frozen cauliflower
• 1 14.5 oz can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 c unsweetened almond milk
• 1 1/2 c vegetable broth
• 1/4-1/2 c nutritional yeast
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp old bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 5 c assorted frozen vegetables
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
• hot sauce

Directions

1. Saute the onion and garlic over medium heat in a non-stick pot (add vegetable broth 1 tbsp at a time to prevent sticking) for 3 minutes
2. Add frozen cauliflower and almond milk to pot. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for about 5 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. Turn off heat.
3. Add beans, then use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer ingredients to a blender.  Blend until smooth and then transfer back to pot)
4. Stir in vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and seasonings. Add in frozen vegetables and cook over low-medium heat stirring occassionally for 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
5. Serve warm and top with hot sauce if desired.