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This filling and hearty Vegetable Chowder recipe is full of veggies and flavor! It can be made with or without the dairy items, making it perfect for those (like me!) who are dairy free.

This recipe is similar to potato soup–filling and comforting. Instead of potatoes, you’ll keep the carbs down by using radishes. Surprisingly, radishes cook very similar to potatoes and lose that spicy taste they have when cooked!

vegetable chowder in a white bowl with text for pinterest

Where’s the recipe?

Here at My Crazy Good Life, our recipes are written out the same way for ease of cooking. In this post, you’ll find ingredient information, detailed cooking instructions, and information for Healthy Eating Plans such as 2B Mindset, the 21 Day Fix, and Weight Watchers.

Scroll down to the printable recipe at the bottom of the page for the printable recipe. You’ll find basic cooking instructions there along with nutrition information and links to supplies needed.

Ingredients in Vegetable Chowder

  • Avocado or Olive Oil (or vegetable broth if you’re oil-free)
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Seasonings
  • Radishes As I mentioned above, these surprised me when they cooked just like a potato! You won’t be able to tell it’s a radish when the soup is done!
  • Carrots Super hearty and filling!
  • Celery I love the crunch this adds
  • Yellow Squash You can swap this for zucchini if you’d like.
  • Cauliflower I love how this “quietly” adds extra veggies.
  • Broccoli
  • Vegetable Broth Low sodium, of course!
  • Brown Rice Flour This is used to thicken the chowder. You can also use corn starch.
  • Greek yogurt 2% unflavored is what I recommend. Add this after the soup cools a bit to prevent curdling.
  • Cheddar Cheese Optional!

The great thing about this vegetable chowder is that a lot of the delicious flavors come from all the vegetables. You won’t even miss the meat in this great recipe, it’s packed full of great flavors and those essential nutrients we all need.

Recipe Tips

  • Add salt and pepper to taste after you’ve made this.
  • Wait until the soup has cooled to add the dairy products, if you’re adding those. If the soup is too hot, they will curdle.
  • If you’d rather not use oil, you can use vegetable broth or melt butter in your pot to avoid sticking.
  • I’ve never added them, but some readers have mentioned adding black bean to this recipe and it sounds delicious!
  • If your vegetables are already cut up, this soup takes about 20 minutes to cook–perfect for a busy winter night!

How to make this Chowder in the Instant Pot

Time needed: 35 minutes

This recipe takes about 35 minutes from start to finish, not including the time it takes your pot to come to pressure. My pot typically takes less than 10 minutes but based on your elevation and the size of your pot, yours might take longer.

  1. Set up your pot.

    Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode.

    Add the avocado oil, or oil of choice, to the Instant Pot. When the oil is hot, saute the onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, pepper, and cayenne pepper for about 30 seconds until they are fragrant.

  2. Sauté veggies

    Add the radishes and carrots to the Instant Pot. Sauté the carrots and radishes for 3-5 minutes.

  3. Add veggies

    Next, mix in the celery, yellow squash, cauliflower, and broccoli. Add the broth, then close and secure the lid. Turn the pressure valve to sealing.

  4. Cook on high

    Cook on high pressure using the “manual” or “pressure cook” setting for 1 minute.
    This may not seem like enough time, but remember that the pot is cooking as it comes to pressure.

  5. Release the pressure intermittently

    Release the pressure by opening the pressure valve for a few seconds and then closing it. Repeat this motion until all the pressure is released. This will prevent the soup from spraying out the top.

  6. Remove the lid and thicken

    Remove the lid and turn the Instant Pot back to saute mode. Mix in the brown rice flour or cornstarch. This will thicken your soup.

  7. Turn off the pot

    Turn off the pot and allow the soup to cool for a few minutes. If the soup is too hot when you add the Greek yogurt and cheese, it will curdle. I typically wait 10 minutes or so before adding these ingredients.

  8. Enjoy!

    Serve and enjoy!

step by step pictures for how to cook this creamy vegetable soup

Stovetop Directions

  • Heat the avocado oil in a stock pot over high heat on the stove. Saute the onions, garlic, pepper, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper until fragrant.
  • Add the radishes and carrots to the stock pot. Allow the carrots and radishes to saute for 2-3 minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables to the stock pot.
  • Cover the vegetables with the broth and bring it to a boil.
  • Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium heat. Allow the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
  • Remove the lid and allow the soup to cool for a few minutes, then mix in the Greek yogurt, cheese, and brown rice flour.
  • Continue to stir the chowder until the cheese melts and the soup thickens.
  • Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Directions

Making this vegetable chowder in the slow cooker makes it so easy!

  • Combine all the ingredients in the crock pot except the Greek yogurt and cheese.
  • Cover the slow cooker with the lid. Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours or on high heat for 1-2 hours.
  • Remove the lid and allow to cool for a few minutes, then mix in the Greek yogurt and cheese until the cheese is melted. If you add these items while the soup is too hot they’ll curdle.
  • Serve and enjoy!
close up of vegetable soup in a white bowl

We could eat this creamy vegetable soup recipe year round (thank you Instant Pot for not heating up the whole house) but it’s definitely a great fall and winter soup.

This healthy soup recipe is creamy and delicious, and there are so many options for making this recipe friendly as a vegan or vegetarian soup as well as gluten free!

Healthy Eating Plans

Eating winter soups and stews is perfect for any healthy eating plan because they keep you full! Enjoy this soup–which is similar to cream of vegetable soup–any time of year.

21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix:

Counts for the entire recipe (I give you these so it’s easy for you to recalculate if you change something!): 11 green containers, 1 red container, 4 blue containers, 1 yellow container.

This recipe serves 4-6, depending on the size of your vegetables. I got 6 servings with mine, and the serving size is about 2 cups.

Per serving (if you get 6 servings): 1 3/4 green containers, negligible amount of red and yellow containers, so I don’t count those, 2/3 blue container.

Weight Watchers:

Making this chowder recipe with no Greek yogurt (or fat free Greek yogurt) and no cheese, which is my preferred way to make it, makes it only 1 2023 Point | 1 Blue Plan Point | 1 Green Plan Point | 1 Purple Plan point per serving!

As written, the recipe is 2 2023 Points | 5 Blue Plan Points | 5 Green Plan Points | 5 Purple Plan Points in each serving. You can enjoy this recipe for lunch or dinner and it is a great one to prep ahead of time for meals throughout the week.

2B Mindset:

This recipe is great for lunch, just add some whole wheat bread for your FFC and a quick protein side. It’s perfect as is for dinner.

More Healthy Stew and Soup Recipes

5 from 15 ratings
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Hearty Vegetable Chowder Recipe

Created by: Becca Ludlum
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Approximate Serving Size: 2 cups
Servings 6 Servings
This hearty vegetable chowder is packed with veggies! It's a creamy vegetable soup similar to potato soup, and can easily be adapted to plant based diets and made to be gluten free and dairy free. This is my favorite winter soup!

Equipment

  • Instant Pot 6 qt
  • Kitchen Knife
  • Sealing Rings

Ingredients 

  • 1 tsp avocado oil or olive oil, or broth
  • 1 onion yellow, chopped, about 1 cup
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper optional, for spice
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 lb radishes about 1 cup, cut into quarters
  • 4 carrots about 2 cups, chopped
  • 4 stalks celery about 2 cups
  • 1 yellow squash about 1 cup, chopped
  • 2 cups cauliflower florets
  • 2 cups broccoli florets
  • 3 cups vegetable broth low sodium
  • ¼ cup brown rice flour or whole wheat flour
  • ¾ cup Greek yogurt plain, 2%
  • 1 ⅓ cup cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

Instant Pot:

  • Turn the Instant Pot to saute mode. Add the oil to the Instant Pot. When the oil is hot, saute the onions, garlic, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and pepper for about 30 seconds until they are fragrant.
  • Add radishes and carrots to the Instant Pot. Saute them for 3-5 minutes.
  • Next, mix in the celery, yellow squash, cauliflower, and broccoli. Add the broth then close the lid.
  • Cook on high pressure using the “manual” or “pressure cook” setting for 1 minute. Release the pressure by opening the pressure valve for a few seconds and then closing it. Repeat this motion until all the pressure is released. This will prevent the soup from spraying out the top.
  • Remove the lid and turn the Instant Pot back to saute mode.
  • Stir the brown rice flour into the chowder. Continue to mix the soup for 2-3 minutes until the chowder reaches the desired thickness.
  • Turn off the Instant Pot and allow the vegetables chowder to cool for 10 minutes, then mix in the Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese. before serving.

Stove top:

  • Heat the oil in a stock pot over high heat on the stove. Saute the onions, garlic, pepper, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper until fragrant.
  • Add the radishes and carrots to the stock pot. Saute the carrots and radishes for 2-3 minutes then add the rest of the vegetables to the stock pot.
  • Cover the vegetables with the broth and bring it to a boil.
  • Cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium low heat. Allow the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the carrots and radishes have softened.
  • Remove the lid and mix in the brown rice flour.
  • Continue to stir the chowder until the cheese melts and the soup thickens.
  • Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then stir in Greek yogurt and cheese before serving.

Slow cooker:

  • Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker except the Greek yogurt and cheese.
  • Cover the slow cooker with the lid. Cook on low heat for 3-4 hours.
  • Allow the soup to cool for 10 minutes before serving, then mix in the Greek yogurt and cheese until the cheese is melted.

Video

Notes

21 Day Fix
Serves 4-6, depending on the size of your vegetables. I counted 6 servings.
Serving size is about 2 cups Per serving (if you get 6 servings): 1 3/4 green containers, negligible red and yellow containers, 2/3 blue container.
Per serving (if you get 4 servings): 2 3/4 green containers, 1/4 red containers, 1 blue container, 1/4 yellow container
Serves:4-6
Serving Size: approximately 2 cups
Weight Watchers:
Making this chowder recipe with no Greek yogurt (or fat free Greek yogurt) and no cheese makes it only 1 2023 Point | 1 Blue Plan Point | 1 Green Plan Point | 1 Purple Plan point per serving!
As written, the recipe is 2 2023 Points | 5 Blue Plan Points | 5 Green Plan Points | 5 Purple Plan Points in each serving. You can enjoy this recipe for lunch or dinner and it is a great one to prep ahead of time for meals throughout the week.

Nutrition

Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 734mg | Potassium: 768mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 7518IU | Vitamin C: 65mg | Calcium: 215mg | Iron: 1mg

Make This Recipe?

Make sure to follow on Pinterest @bludlum and on Instagram @beccaludlum

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19 Comments

  1. Ooooh, this looks like my kind of comfort food and it’s a bonus that it can be made in an Instant Pot. I want to try the Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup recipe too!

      1. 5 stars
        This came out great! Thanks for the recipe. I’ll be trying this in a slow cooker next.

  2. I love how healthy this is and all of the different options for making it! Adding this to our meal plan for the coming month!

  3. I don’t have avocado oil. I have olive, coconut, and the usual vegetable and canola. Which do you suggest?

  4. Hi!

    For 2B Mindset, do I need to add a FFC for lunch? Also, do the greek yogurt and cheese in the recipe fulfill the protein serving for 2B? Thank you!

  5. 5 stars
    My mouth is watering at the idea of this. Can’t wait to try it!

  6. Hi! I made this as described in my Instant Pot and the Greek yogurt curdled when I added it to the broth and veggies. What did I do wrong?

    1. Maybe wait until the recipe cools a bit to add the milk :)

  7. If non-dairy can I use coconut milk (like from the can) instead of the greek yogurt? This recipe sounds amazing!

    1. I haven’t done this, but it’s an ingredient swap I’d definitely try! You can also leave all cream out of this recipe, I actually prefer it that way!

  8. Hi Becca,

    Can I put this in food prep containers to freeze? I am sorry if you already addressed this Andi overlooked it! Thank you!

  9. Thank you so much for your quick response Becca and another great recipe! I made 2 batches yesterday and I just wanted to make sure. Since I am not a big fan of squash, I substituted more of the other vegetables as you have suggested in many of your other recipes and it worked out perfectly.😀

  10. Anonymous says:

    can i use regular flour gf

    1. You can. If you’re on a healthy eating plan, just check to see if this changes your points/containers/calories.

5 from 15 votes (13 ratings without comment)

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