Slow Cooker Dairy Free Corn Chowder

Though this recipe doesn’t originally call for this to be dairy free, I decided to try and make it work- and honestly I loved it! And it made this meal SO much healthier (without the heavy cream and cheese).

We originally made this last year for our Superbowl party (GO PATS!!!) and included the dairy at the time. It was a hit! So I decided to try to make my own spin on this chowder and somehow make it just as good, MY way.

This soup freezes great and can be used as left overs months later! This is a great meal to freeze and pull out for football sundays. I will include my dairy free recipe but will also make sure to add in the original ingredients if you want to make it that way too!

SLOW COOKER DAIRY FREE CORN CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 Medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro, plus extra for topping
3 lbs frozen corn, thawed, and divided into 1.5lb halves
4 cups low sodium chicken broth, divided into 2 cup halves
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 tsp chipotle chile powder, plus more for taste
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
(1 cup half and half- included in original recipe, I left this out)
16 oz bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and then chopped
2 ripe avocados, cubed
(crumbled cortija cheese- included in original recipe, I left this out. If you’re wanting to include this, it’s in the Mexican refrigerated section. This is a Mexican cheese).
Sliced jalapeños, for garnish

PREPARATION:

In a large food processor or blender, pulse the jalapeños and cilantro. Add half of your corn (1.5lb), and half of the chicken broth (2 cups), cumin, chipotle chile powder, salt, garlic powder, and ground pepper to taste.
Puree the mixture until smooth. Add it to your slow cooker. Stir in the remaining corn and chicken broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
If using the half and half in your chowder, you’ll want to stir it into the chowder with about 20-30 minutes left in the cooking process.
Ladle chowder into bowls and top with bacon, avocados, sliced jalapeños, and cortija cheese if you’re not going dairy free