This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Warm up on a chilly night with this rich, creamy & hearty New England Vegan Clam Chowder. It takes 30 minutes to make & it's easy to prepare, too.
If anyone knows me, they know I'm a big soup fanatic. They are easy to prepare, filling, satisfying, inexpensive, and they're great make-ahead and freezable meals. Some family favorites in the rotation are my Vegan French Onion Soup, my Creamy Potato Leek Soup, and this New England Vegan Clam Chowder.
Vegan Clam Chowder? How is that possible?
People may wonder why some vegans want to recreate a recipe that is mostly animal-based. For me, I just like to enjoy flavors and textures that are familiar to me, and there's nothing else behind it. I also feel recipes like this are great for transitioning vegans, and they can change their diet without changing their palate.
Besides, most animal-based ingredients taste kind of bland on their own. It's the veggies, herbs, and spices that bring a recipe to life.
Clams have a chewy texture, are salty, and sometimes sandy. Yep, I've had clam chowder with sand in it, and it's not appetizing. Imagine just boiling clams in water without any flavoring - not so tasty anymore, right?
What makes clam chowder appealing is the creamy, buttery texture, the tender veggies, and the warm, comforting feeling you get when you eat it. So why not recreate the clam-like texture, saltiness and subtle sea-like flavor and make a tasty and cruelty-free version? Sounds good to me!
Does Vegan Clam Chowder Taste Like The Original?
Now I'm not going to say this tastes exactly like clam chowder, but it's pretty darn close. This vegan version will provide similar textures and flavors to the original without using dairy or clams.
It's creamy, rich, buttery, hearty, and worlds healthier, too.
You won't be missing flavor at all, but you'll be skipping out on unhealthy fat, antibiotics & other nasty stuff from the dairy. Plus, it will be sans mercury and other contaminants from the clams.
With this Vegan Clam Chowder, you can leave your friends in the ocean and cow’s udders alone.
What is Vegan Clam Chowder made of?
To create the clam-like texture, I sautéed white button mushrooms in vegan butter, garlic, and a bit of soy sauce. This will give them a nice depth and a hint of saltiness. Any mushrooms can be used, but I decided to use the most readily available and cheapest.
This goes well with oyster mushrooms or shiitake too, but those can be costly. You can also add a blend of your faves. There are no mushroom rules here!
Next, I sautéed onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and thyme together. Carrots aren't traditionally used in the New England version, but they're in the East Hampton one. I like the pop of color, flavor, and texture they add, so I use them. Feel free to omit them.
I'm not sure if this is traditionally used either, but I've gotta add some vino when possible. It adds another layer of flavor, plus it's a great excuse to have a glass while you're cooking. Check out Barnivore for a vegan wine selection.
To thicken the soup, I sprinkle in gluten-free flour, but you can use regular all-purpose flour. Now I add the vegetable broth, potatoes, and sea salt.
To give the chowder a subtle sea-like flavor, I use kelp or dulse flakes/granules. Broken up nori sheets can be used too. This ingredient isn't necessary but will make the flavor more reminiscent of clam chowder. It also provides a natural source of iodine too.
For the creamy finish, I blended raw cashews together with unsweetened soy milk. Any milk can be used, I just prefer soy because it has a richer texture. Full-fat coconut milk would be my next choice. Just make sure the milk is unsweetened.
Now ladle it into your favorite soup bowls, top with fresh-cut parsley, and side with classic saltine crackers or crispy bread.
Are you ready to give this a try? Let's do this!
I’d love to hear from you
If you make this Vegan Clam Chowder, I’d love to get your feedback. You can leave a comment below and let me know what you think. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Clam Chowder (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
Cream Base (see note for alternative)
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in water 2-4 hours (*See Note)
- ¾ cup unsweetened soy milk (or any plant-based milk)
Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter (or olive oil)
- 8 oz white button mushrooms, cut into ½-inch pieces (or any mushrooms)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon low sodium tamari (sub soy sauce)
Soup Base
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter (sub with olive oil)
- 1 medium yellow onion , diced
- 2 celery stalks , diced
- 2 medium carrots , diced or sliced ¼ inch thick
- 2-3 med/large cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ cup dry white wine (a vegan variety)
- 4 cups vegetable broth , low sodium
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (gluten-free or regular)
- 2 medium russet potatoes , peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons kelp granules or dulse flakes (*see note)
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt , more to taste
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (*optional)
- Fresh cracked pepper , to taste
Instructions
Cream Base
- Blend the soy milk & cashews (discard soaking water) together until very smooth. Set aside.
Mushrooms
- In a large sauce pot over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon butter. When heated, add mushrooms and sauté until the liquid evaporates (about 3 minutes). Now add 1 clove minced garlic and soy sauce. Sauté until the mushrooms are tender & lightly browned. About 2-4 minutes. Remove mushrooms and set aside.
Soup Base
- Wipe out the same pot and return to stove. Heat butter over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add celery, carrots, garlic & thyme. Sauté about 5-7 minutes or until veggies are tender.
- Add wine and turn heat up to medium-high to simmer. Once simmering turn heat back to medium. Cook wine down about 3-5 minutes. Stir often.
- Sprinkle flour over veggies and stir constantly for 30-60 seconds.
- Stir in broth and add potatoes, bay leaf, kelp granules, and salt. Bring to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Discard bay leaves.
- Turn heat to medium low and slowly stir in cashew cream. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed. Cook for 3-4 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in mushrooms, lemon juice and fresh cracked pepper.
- Place in your favorite soup bowls & garnish with fresh parsley. Side with crackers or crispy bread. Enjoy!
Notes
- To make this cashew-free, omit the Cream Base Step (soy milk and cashews)and replace it with 1 cup of canned lite coconut milk. Add to soup after removing from heat.
Nutrition
Mariya
My absolutely favorite recipe! Simply delicious 🤤 our family can eat it every day
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Mariya! We are glad to hear how much you love the clam chowder 🙂 Thank you for the review!
Kassandra
This was divine!!! I substituted veggie broth for vegan fish broth😋. Next time I will add more mushrooms and some corn. I am afraid to have this in my house. LOL!! I could eat the entire pot.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Kassandra! We're so happy to hear that you loved the recipe! It is very hard to stop eating, we agree 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
Kathy Marvelle
I made this tonight. It was really good! I didn’t have any mushrooms do I skipped that part, but it was creamy and tasty.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Kathy! We are happy to hear that you like the recipe and that it was still delicious without the mushrooms! Thanks so much for trying it out 🙂
Judy Turner
Just the best. Flavor is so much like a chowder made with clams. Loved by my vegan and non-vegan friends alike.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Judy! Thank you so much for the review! We are so happy to hear that you and your omni friends all loved it! 🙂
Brittany
One of the best soups I’ve ever had. I’m not vegan so I used chicken bone broth and grassfed butter and it was incredible!!!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Brittany! We are so happy to hear that you loved it - what a great compliment! Thanks for giving it a try!
mychael
Whoa. This soup is AMAZING. Like ridiculously good. I used Old Bay and indexed a little higher on the cashew cream and stock (I made a pretty big batch), and got rave rave reviews from my family (who are not vegan btw). Seriously one the best soups I’ve ever had. Thank you so much!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Mychael! What a great compliment! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try, we are so happy that it was a hit! 🙂
Jasmine Freedman
I have been vegan almost 5 years now and I have always wanted an alternative to clam chowder. I love soup and this was no exception to that love!! It is delicious, creamy and the vegetables were perfectly soft. My boyfriend is a cook and he could not tell me enough how much he loved this soup! I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce because soy bothers me and it worked perfectly. I also omitted the lemon juice because I did not feel it needed it. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Jasmine! What a compliment! Thank you so much for trying out the recipe, we are really happy to hear that you and your boyfriend both loved it 🙂
M
Thank you for sharing this! I followed the recipe pretty closely, aside from switching out the kelp for nori & adding some old bay seasoning.
I will absolutely be making this again. Heavenly !
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi! We are so happy to hear that you loved the recipe and that the seasoning swap worked well. Thanks so much for giving it a try 🙂
Hannah
This was fantastic! I couldn’t find kelp powder so just left it out but followed the rest exactly and hit was amazing. Can’t wait to try it again when I get my hands on the kelp!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Hannah! So happy that you loved the clam chowder! Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie
I have never left a review or comment on a recipe just because I'm lazy haha but oh my GOD I'm doing it for this recipe!! Im seriously in shock how is there no dairy??? This is the creamiest thing!! I also use old bay and nori! Will be making aging with kelp!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Stephanie! Thank you so much for the review! We are so happy to hear how much you loved the recipe, thank you for giving it a try! 🙂
Lauren S
Growing up near Cape Cod meant that one of our favorite summer activities was Chowder Fest. Yes - we literally just sampled tons of local clam chowders in an event dedicated to this soup! I went vegan nearly 6 years ago and hadn't really given chowder a thought until recently. I am SO happy to have stumbled across this recipe!! My fiance is allergic to cashews so I tried out a blend of white beans and oat milk and oh my gosh - this recipe came out absolutely amazing! I was always on team "thick clam chowder" as a kid so I will definitely play around to thicken it up a bit but this totally takes me right back to my summers on the Cape. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Lauren! That event sounds like so much fun 🙂 We are so happy you loved the recipe and that it was delicious with the substitutions! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Christina N Gibbs
I want to make this really bad but don't have a blender. Can someone recommend a way to make this minus the blender with raw cashews? Please help I'm craving this so badly 😭🤤
Melissa Huggins
Hi Christina, you can replace the cashew cream with 1 cup of canned lite coconut milk or you can use any store-bought unsweetened vegan cream.
Alaina
This soup was amazing! I left out the kelp because my kids aren’t a fan, but I’d love to try it another time. The flavor was still fantastic. My husband said so at least five times.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Alaina! We are so happy to hear that you all loved the recipe and hope you like it with the kelp next time too! Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Deeksha
this look so tasty and healthy. I love this recipe. thank you so much for the recipe.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Deeksha! We're so glad you love the recipe, thank you for sharing! 🙂
Cyn
I made this yesterday during a rainy Sunday and it was so delicious. It was really easy to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. I enjoyed it the next day for lunch and it was even better. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Cyn! This recipe is perfect for a rainy day, we are so glad you loved it! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Madison
Just made this to get rid of a bunch of frozen veggies in my freezer, so I added some broccoli I had as well, and oh MY GOD it is amazing. I used a crumpled up nori sheet for the seafood flavor and it was so delicious. Even my non vegan roommates and girlfriend loved it! 🙂 will definitely be making this again!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Madison, I'm so glad everyone loved it! It sounds perfect with the broccoli. Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
Kathy
I have a horrible tree nut allergy, so I can't have cashews. I can have coconut milk, that's fine! So, what would you suggest in place of the cashews to keep it creamy? Looks great!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Kathy, To make this nut-free, omit the soy milk and cashews and replace it with 1 cup of canned lite coconut milk. Add to the soup after removing from heat.
Karyn Quackenbush
Honestly, this recipe is ridiculously amazing!!! It literally tastes like New England Clam Chowder. So rich and creamy and sooooo flavorful!!!!
Love your recipes!!!
Karyn
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Karyn! Thank you for the kind words - we are so happy to hear that you love the clam chowder 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Amber
Love love love this recipe! I have made it at least 10 times and it turns out great every time! My husband is not vegan but he even asks me to make this. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us 🙂
Melissa Huggins
Yay! I'm so glad it's a hit in your home. It's one of my favorites. Thank you for making it and sharing your feedback. 🙂
maren
this soup is so good! Thanks for sharing this easy to follow and delicious recipe!
Melissa Huggins
Hi Maren, I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you so much!