Panera Bread Summer Corn Chowder

This Panera Bread summer corn chowder can be made right in the comfort of home. You can even make it dairy free! The recipe already comes deliciously gluten free with hints of lime and jalapeno and a traditional tangy chowder flavor. One of the best chowder variations you will ever have!

This quarantine thing is really getting to us. I know we are only a couple of weeks in but already our meals are getting quite fancy at our house. We even have nametags now when we sit down to eat.

I don't even recognize my dinner table anymore. It's usually filled with mismatched plates and cups (or paper plates depending on the night) and now it's...fancy. And we just ate soup and hamburgers.

Where we live we had a spring snowstorm and the only that sounded good today was soup. I just wanted a big pot of soup. And Panera Bread sounded delicious but a lot of times it has ingredients that I can't have.

This was one of the easiest recipes to adapt. I've made notes on adaptations in the recipe for you.

Panera Bread Summer Corn Chowder

• 3 tbsp butter (can use non dairy butter)*
• ⅓ cup diced onion (yellow or white)
• ¼ cup poblano pepper, seeds removed and thinly diced
• 1 tbsp jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and thinly diced
• 6 cups water
• 3 tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder*
• 2 ½ cups thinly diced red skinned potatoes
• 3 cups corn kernels
• 1 cup petite diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• ¼ cup thinly minced cilantro
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 4 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 ½ cups half and half, whipping cream or non dairy creamer (we used Nutpods)*
• 1 ½ tbsp lime juice
• 1 ½ tbsp white wine vinegar or white distilled vinegar
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast (optional)*

In a large soup pot, add the butter, onion and peppers. Turn heat to medium and cook for approximately five minutes or until onion and peppers soften. Stir on occasion to avoid burning.

Add the water and cornstarch (or arrowroot powder) to the onion, stirring with a whisk to break up any chunks from the cornstarch. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, add the potatoes and cook for approximately 10 minutes.

Add in the corn, tomatoes, cilantro, nutritional yeast, sugar, salt, garlic powder and milk (or non dairy alternative). Turn heat to medium low and allow to simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. Add the lime juice, vinegar and chicken (if using) and cook an additional 5-10 minutes.

Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

*Includes a substitution or variation that is not in the Panera Bread original recipe.