Serves 6 to 8
Total time: 35 minutes (not including soaking time for cashews)
Active time: 15 minutes
Photo by Vanessa Rees
This is for all you fishheads out there. A mix of mushrooms stand in for the clams to create a super satisfying chewiness, while some chopped up nori give this chowder a true taste of the sea. It’s thick and creamy and loaded with the finer things, like potatoes and carrots. Crumble some saltines over the top and you’ll be able to hear the Atlantic ocean lapping at your feet. For authenticity, make sure to serve this while talking like a character from a Stephen King movie.
Hope you love the video! Please read more about “Make It Vegan”, my new video series!
Notes
~How fishy do you like it? Nori is pretty mild as far as seaweeds go, but the potency varies depending on the brand, and how fresh the nori is. Start with one sheet, then taste after everything is added at the end. If you think it needs more sea, you can still add another chopped up sheet. Just mix it in and let the flavor meld, off the heat, for about 10 miuntes.
~If your nori is really fresh, you don’t even have to chop it (as evidenced in the video), simply crumble it right into the pot.
~To efficiently chop nori, it works to chiffonade it. That means roll up and slice! So tightly roll up your nori sheet like a cigar, and thinly slice. Then run your knife over the curled up bunches to get them into even smaller pieces.
~If you’d like it even more chewy and you have a million dollars to spend on fungi, then go ahead and replace all of the white mushrooms with shiitake.
Ingredients
1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
2 cups vegetable broth
4 teaspoons organic cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced medium
2 medium carrots, peeled, sliced into 1/4 inch thick half moons
3 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 oz white button mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
3/4 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Fresh black pepper
1 to 2 nori sheets, finely chopped (see note above)
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Optional: fresh chopped parsley or chives for garnish
Saltines for crushing over the top
Directions
Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Saute onion and carrots in the olive oil with a pinch of salt, for about 10 minutes, until carrots are softened.
In the meantime, we’ll make the cashew cream. Drain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the vegetable broth and cornstarch. Blend like crazy, until smooth. This can take anywhere from one to five minutes depending on your machine. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula every now and again to make sure you get everything.
Back to the soup. Add mushrooms and celery. Cook briefly, for about 3 minutes, just until mushrooms are softened. You want them to keep their texture.
Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, nori and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Be careful to keep a close eye so as not to overcook them or they will turn into mush.
Stir in the cashew cream mixture, and gently heat, uncovered, for about 7 minutes, until nicely thickened. Add the tomato paste and lemon juice and taste for salt and seasoning. Add a little extra water if it seems too thick. Serve garnished with parsley or chives, if you like, and a few saltine crackers. A wedge of lemon looks pretty, too.
What size nori sheets do you use? I see them in a variety of sizes, but mine are pretty tiny. Thus, I really have a hard time getting my flavor right and tend to go a bit overboard to make up for their size.
I thought your Mushroom Hot Pot was my all-time favorite soup, but now I’m not so sure! This chowder is fabulous!
just made this and I love it ! Do you have the calorie or nutritional analysis? By my calculation it was about 8 c at about 270 cal/cup.
Hi Isa,
I’ve just now finished making this great chowder recipe and it is going straight into my Tried, Tested, and True Vegan Recipes binder where many try out but few are chosen. I wonder if you find it annoying when commenters say things like…” I followed the recipe exactly except for the following changes” – sure hope not!. I enjoyed homemade creamy Boston Clam Chowder as a non-vegan but as I perused the recipe above I knew the chewiness of the clam was missing so I soaked some dried shitakes, drained and diced them and added them to the pot. Worked well for what I was looking for.
It was a really good soup, but it didn’t really remind me much of clam chowder. Maybe that’s just because the only clam chowder I ever tasted was out of a Campbell’s or Progresso can though. I think I would put in less lemon if I were to make it again. Tasted delicious with thick bread. Definitely a good cold weather soup.
Also, that lemon trick is one of the best things that has ever happened to me in the kitchen. Up until now, whenever a recipe called for lemon I was cutting them in half and squeezing them out with one of those manual lemon juicers and then measuring out the juice. Huge pain in the a$$. Now I just need to figure out the juice measurements without actually measuring. You made it look super easy, so I was all “Hey, I can just squeeze juice from the slice right into the pot too!” And then I ended up with a little too much lemon. Alas.
I made this tonight for my boyfriend and his mom. The first time I’ve ever cooked for her — kinda daunting. A LOT of chopping and prepping but soooo worth it and exactly like how I remember clam chowder is! They LOVED it. Thanks so much for the awesome recipe, Isa! Love the video too, congrats on the Breville sponsorship.
Hot Glam Damn! I am so happy that we bought your new cookbook. We just made this chowder tonight and it was freakin’ awesome! Thank you!
Sub suggestions for cashew allergy? what other nut might work?
This was awesome. Cashews and nori are miracle workers.
This recipe was so easy and SO delicious: creamy, flavorful, and without the bits of sand! This one is definitely a keeper. (And Trader Joes often carries shiitakes for a very reasonable price…. We dined like mushroom millionaires tonight).
Made this for dinner tonight. It is incredible. Thank you for the recipe.
Here on the other side of the ocean it’s really fall with storms and all. Made this last weekend, it was brilliant, loved it. Just bought Appetite for Reduction and cannot wait to try your other recipes.
Anyone have any suggestions as to what to have with this? I am making it next week and need something to go with it. Thanks!
How about the tempeh crab cakes? Seafood feast! http://www.theppk.com/2009/04/chesapeake-tempeh-cakes/
I used oyster mushrooms. It was like I really was eating dead mollusks, and I mean that in a good way. This recipe is just fantastic.
Wow! I’m from originally from Maine & know my chowdah, your chowdah is “wicked awesome”. Good idea about the saltines, although I’m a Celiac, my hubby will enjoy the familiarity of crushing some saltines over his chowdah. Post Punk Kitchen is my site of choice for vegan recipes, you rock!
Made this last week, using 1.5 nori sheets. Delicious! Thanks for posting it!
Wow! This is delicious! I used to love clam chowder and this soup is an amazing version – the creaminess, the richness, the sea-flavor. I didn’t have the tomato paste or lemon but the soup was still so great. And the best thing is that my 3-year-old is asking for seconds. Wonderful recipe – thank you!!
This is simply wonderful. As a lactose intolerant vegetarian who grew up in New England, I have missed clam chowder for the last 10 years. Eating this brought me back to when I was a kid.
What type of blender or food processes would you recommend getting?
Would it work use a crockpot on low for a few hours instead (I’m guessing at the stage where you add potatoes, salt, pepper, broth)? Or would that make the potatoes too mushy? It’d be great to throw together in the morning and have ready in the evening. Thanks!
This is AMAZING; we just made it tonight and it was wonderful, keep up the (as always) great work!
This is simply amazing!! It smells JUST like clam chowder! I didn’t really think the nori I would give it that seafood flavor/aroma, but it worked like magic. I added more mushrooms since I got carried away at the store, and also added a few glugs of Tapatio. Other than that, I didn’t stray from the recipe. I made this Friday and have been eating it all weekend… sooo good! Love, love LOVE your gorgeous new cookbook!
I made it last night……. You are my new favorite vegan cook!!
I’m about to buy your book. My kids loved it, my picky husband
Also loved it.
Great demo video, love your sense of humor!
This recipe was totally amazing! It is perfect to warm you up on a winter night and a great meal that sticks to your bones. Mmmmm!!! I also agree that it would be best made with all shiitake mushrooms!!
I made this about an hour ago and gave a bowl to my roommate (not a vegan) and she said “you know this kind of tastes like clam chowder.” Mission accomplished.
P.S. Your new book is my bible
This is truly gorgeous, thank you! I have never tasted clam chowder, although I know what it is from TV shows. I’ve eaten this many times now, it’s kind of addictive also it freezes well. Some omnis tried it and they said it tasted delicious ( and not just ‘nice for vegan food’) They also loved the Green Goddess dressing you created. Congratulations on another great recipe!
This was pretty good! I used 1/2 the corn starch and dulse flakes in lieu of nori. Served with some fresh homemade teff bread. Nice meal for a cool fall night!
I made this today and it is delicious. I accidentally bought way too many mushrooms but I used them all anyway. My nori was pretty old, so even 2 sheets didn’t add a lot of seaweedy flavor. I’m thinking I’ll add some kelp granules to the leftovers. Yum yum yum!
I made this last night and nearly cried when I first tasted it. So freakin’ good I can’t believe it!!!
Holy moly. I can’t even believe how much this is just like clam chowder. BETTER than how I remember it being. Unbelievable.
i made it and it’s good! i made a thing that’s good again! thanks!
Hi Isa! I was wondering if you had an idea of the weight of the potatoes needed for this recipe. I went shopping for all the stuff to make the chowder and the potatoes at my store really vary in size/weight. Thanks!
Should be about a pound.
I made this the other night and yum. You did it again! I did make a couple of substitutions. My husband is allergic to cashews so I used sunflower seeds. They were perfect. It wasn’t “fishy” enough for me so I just grabbed my kelp flakes and added some extra. Next time I may get lazy and just use them to save some prep time.
Thank you again!
Awesome… I did three sheets of nori but that worked for me,… Awesome.
Tried to get an arc of the cookbook a couple times…. Got denied… Its awesome… Am pushing at the Indy bookshop I work at…
Just made this last night – a revelation! How you come up with so many perfect recipes is beyond me every single one is better than the last (if that’s even possible). Thank you so much!
My oh my, Isa! Every time I make something from your recipes it’s just pure bliss. I usually just stand in the kitchen and go like whaaaat, why is she such a perfect cook? Why can’t I ever be this cool? Yum, just yum!
I made this last night and it was fantastic. I used only about one sheet of nori.. i probably could have done another half sheet. but overall, great recipe. With my vitamix i didnt need to soak the cashews and the blending took all of 30 seconds. According to my omni bf it was very chowder-like. The shitakes were spot on. Loved the texture. Heated up nicely for lunch today. Thanks for this share-worthy recipe. Love the new cookbook. Cheers.
It says to use the vegetable broth it in the cashew cream, then later to add it to the pot? How much vegetable broth total is required? Thanks.
Never mind. I need to learn to read, clearly. 🙂
Isa, I made this soup a couple of months ago, and have made it several times since then– I probably make it weekly. My family absolutely LOVES it, they cannot get enough of it! (and I’m the only vegan in the house!) It’s simply become “The Soup”. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!
Awesome, thanks for the feedback!
For those who have a nut allergy: try using boiled then drained cauliflower with cornstarch, salt, and milk processed in the blender. It won’t be as creamy or thick but it will achieve the same effect (got the idea from one of isa’s recipes the pesto soup). I used mostly the cauliflower with a very small handful of cashews to lower the fat content and it worked wonderfully.
Love your videos! Very Fun!
Odd question, but I’m in the middle of kitchen renovations and I was wondering
the name of your cook-top & oven. They look pretty durable. Thanks so much!
Made it today–Sunday lunch–AWESOME!
I am so excited to try this! I never thought to be able to make a vegan clam chowder…I love the stuff but the dairy is not so great with me! Cashews are such a godsend…I use them in a lot of sauces (basil/ lemon -Cilantro/lime) but didn’t think to use them as a cream soup base. Will definitely have to try this as soon as it actually gets cold here in SoCal!
And after learning about the insane health benefits of shiitake mushrooms, I highly encourage everyone to at least throw in a few! Your body will thank you!
Every once in a while, I jump off the wagon for a good cup of tradtional clam chowder…but never again. This chowder is amazing!!!!!
I made this with a friend over winter break (I’m pretty sure he used this recipe) and it was seriously amazing. We changed it only slightly by using oyster mushrooms (a much more chewy, oyster-esque mushroom to me. Also, white button are my least favorite so it worked out well) and didn’t use tomato paste because we forgot to get some. We also ate them in sourdough bread bowls. Clam chowder was one of my favorite soups as a kid and this is exactly what I remembered.
I’m a New England girl and grew up with lots of chowdah! I cannot wait to try this! It looks wicked yummy!!
Your site rocks! And loved the tunes in your video!
I made this recipe out of the cookbook, minus the nori ( I hate anything that tastes sea-ish) and it was one of the best soups (if not THE best) I have ever put in my mouth.