Dairy-Free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder (with vegan option!)
You won’t miss the heavy cream in this dairy-free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder that’s loaded with flavor, veggies, & a kick of spice. This easy Instant Pot summer recipe can be made year-round with organic, frozen sweet corn, too. And, there’s even a vegan option!
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Summer and sweet corn are a quintessential combination!
And when you’ve got organic, juicy corn kernels coming out of your ears…
When you’ve just about eaten all the corn on the cob you can handle…
It’s time for corn chowder!
This Dairy-Free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeno Corn Chowder is where it’s at, y’all.
It’s a flavor explosion with smoky bacon, spicy peppers, creamy potatoes, and sweet corn. Doesn’t get any better!
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How to Make Dairy-Free Corn Chowder
Typical chowder recipes have loads of butter and cream in them. And while I’ve got nothing against butter and cream, like you, I simply can’t eat them.
Through food intolerance testing, I’ve discovered that dairy is my primary intolerance. Not just lactose — ALL dairy. That means ghee, butter, cream, milk, yogurt, kefir… all of it.
At first, it was difficult for me to figure out life without dairy; I didn’t realize how dependent upon it I was!
But now? I feel like a dairy-free pro because…
Cauliflower.
What?! Cauliflower?
Yup. 🙂 It’s how I fake that creamy, like-heavy-cream texture in soups without adding heavy cream!
Furthermore, many dairy-free chowders and other recipes use cashew cream in place of dairy. Again, no problem here with cashews, but nuts are an issue for many.
Here at All The Nourishing Things, I like to keep my recipes uncomplicated and as suitable for as many diets, food intolerances, and food allergies as possible.
Plus, you just can’t argue with a recipe that adds MORE veggies, can you? 😉
So… cauliflower.
Learn how to make cauliflower “cream” here.
How to Make This Dairy-Free Instant Pot Corn Chowder Vegan
You may have noticed “Bacon” in the title of this post — but right next to it is a vegan option! (Again, this is me trying to keep my recipes as versatile and suitable for as many of you as possible.) 😉
To make this dairy-free Instant Pot Jalapeño Corn Chowder vegan… simply don’t use bacon.
All the other ingredients are naturally vegan and vegetarian! Ta-da!
But, this Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder Isn’t Low-Carb/Keto…
Nope, you’re right. Even with the cauliflower cream as the dairy sub, corn and potatoes still aren’t low-carb, keto, or THM-friendly.
If you’d like to make this recipe and lower the carbs, you can sub peeled and diced celeriac (celery root) in place of the potatoes. But, you can’t have corn chowder without the corn, now can you?
I do make a lot of keto/low-carb recipes, but I also eat lots of carbs.
If you’ve got to stay keto, then this isn’t the recipe for you. I have tons of other keto recipes on my site though, so feel free to browse and find a few that do suit you. 😉
How spicy do you like it?
In the Dairy-Free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder recipe, I used 2 jalapeño peppers… because I loooooove spicy.
It was a tad too spicy for my kids, and they were chugging water during dinner. But, believe me, they were also still shoveling this delicious dairy-free corn chowder in their mouths. 🙂
It’s so hard to tell how spicy a pepper is going to be without biting into it or using it in a recipe. So, if you’re not a spicy person, then I would use 1 jalapeño, not 2.
If you’re a spicy food freak, then maybe you want to use 3 peppers. Hey, don’t let me tell you what’s too spicy.
Sometimes, you’ll use 2 peppers and they will be “duds” and not spicy at all. Again, it’s just so hard to tell. But 2 was just the right amount of spicy for me and my hubby, a little too spicy for the kids, but not inedible.
If you’re serving it to toddlers or very young kids or someone who’s very averse to hot ‘n spicy foods, then perhaps leave the jalapeños out all together.
How to Make Dairy-Free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder
This entire recipe can be made in your Instant Pot, from start to finish.
However, I won’t fault you if you want to cook the bacon on the stove instead of in the Instant Pot using the Saute feature. If you cook the bacon in a skillet instead, you can have the cauliflower cream cooking in the Instant Pot, and — BOOM! — multi-tasking!
So, it’s up to you.
Either way, you need to chop and cook some bacon until it’s crispy, then drain, and set aside. But, reserve a couple tablespoons of that bacon fat — you’re going to need it! (For the vegan option, use avocado oil and start the recipe from the step without the bacon.)
Cook the cauliflower WITH the jalapeños to make a jalapeño cream first. It’ll take you 2 minutes. Once the Instant Pot beeps, immediately release the pressure and transfer the contents of the Instant Pot to a blender. Add the nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth and set aside.
Then, add the bacon fat (or avocado oil for vegan) to the Instant Pot — you don’t even have to wash it!
Saute your onions, bell peppers, potatoes, and corn for a few minutes.
Next, pour in more broth and add that cauliflower cream you made earlier.
Put the lid on the pot, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button, and set the time to 7 minutes on high pressure.
Immediately release pressure when it beeps. And for the grand finale, stir in that bacon (if using)!
This is such an easy, whole food recipe. Don’t be afraid to make it with freshly shucked corn or frozen sweet corn. Just be sure to use organic corn so you avoid GMOs!
Dairy-Free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder (with vegan option)
You won't miss the heavy cream in this dairy-free Instant Pot Bacon Jalapeño Corn Chowder that's loaded with flavor, veggies, & a kick of spice. This easy Instant Pot summer recipe can be made year-round with organic, frozen sweet corn, too. And, there's even a vegan option!
Ingredients
Jalapeno Cauliflower Cream
- 2poundsfrozen cauliflower
- 2sliced jalapeno peppers
- 1cupbone broth
- 1/2cupnon-fortified nutritional yeast
Bacon Corn Chowder
- 1poundsugar-free, nitrate-free baconor bacon ends and pieces
- 2tablespoonsbacon fatreserved
- 1-1/2cupsdiced yellow onion
- 1-1/2poundsYukon gold potatoeschopped into 1/2" chunks
- 1poundfrozen sweet corn
- 1diced yellow bell pepper
- 1diced red bell pepper
- 1tablespoonsalt
- 2teaspoonsgarlic powder
- 2cupsbone broth
- 1recipeJalapeno Cauliflower Cream (above)
Instructions
For the Jalapeno Cauliflower Cream
Add the frozen cauliflower, sliced jalapeno, and bone broth to the stainless steel insert of your Instant Pot.
Press "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" and adjust the time to 2 minutes on high pressure. Immediately release pressure when it beeps.
Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and add nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth and set aside.
Assemble the Bacon Jalapeno Corn Chowder
Chop bacon. Either on the stove or in the Instant Pot with the Saute feature turned on, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel to drain and drain the bacon fat, reserving 2 tablespoons for cooking the chowder.
Press the "Saute" button and add the onion, potatoes, corn, and peppers to the Instant Pot.
Cook for 2 minutes. Then, press "Keep Warm/Cancel".
Add the bone broth, salt, garlic powder, and the Jalapeno Cauliflower Cream you set aside earlier to the pot and stir to combine.
Press the "Manual" or "Pressure Cook" button and adjust the time to 7 minutes on high pressure.
Immediately release pressure when it beeps.
Stir in the bacon you cooked earlier.
Serve and enjoy!
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Do you make corn chowder? Tell me if you like it spicy or not!
can you tell me what the nutritional yeast is and where I could find it? is it with the regular yeast?
Hi Shirley, the nutritional yeast I use is linked in the recipe. You can find it here on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ByoNVc