quinoa corn chowder Vegan Gluten Free

Corn chowder and I have never been friends.  To be honest, I’m not sure I have ever had traditional corn chowder made with cream.  It always looked good, but I knew it wouldn’t make me feel good.

Problem solved…replace cream with quinoa!!!

This recipe uses blended quinoa to create a mock cream based soup (yet another reason to love quinoa!)

Using quinoa in place of cream (per cup) drastically cuts the amount of fat down by 40 grams, increases the fiber content by 5 grams, increases the protein content by 6 grams and it tastes great to boot!  I would say this is a winning situation!

Quinoa Corn Chowder

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup white onion, chopped

1 cup leek, sliced (white part only)

1 carrot, diced

1/2 cup quinoa (uncooked)

3 cups frozen corn (preferably organic)

3 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon saffron

1 cup red pepper, diced

parsley for garnish (optional)

-In a large saucepan, add olive oil, onions and leeks and sauté over medium heat until translucent.  Add carrots and sauté an additional 2 minutes.

-Add broth, uncooked quinoa, 2 cups of the corn, bay leaf, ground black pepper, sea salt, cayenne pepper and saffron.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa is cooked.

-Remove from heat, discard bay leaf and either use a hand-held immersion blender or blender/food processor to puree soup.  I used a vitamix.  (add more broth if soup is too thick)

-Return soup to saucepan over low heat.  Add remaining cup of corn and diced red pepper and cook until heated through.  Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

~Serve warm  and enjoy~