Vegan Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chick’n Chowder

By Kathy_Hester

Luckily this was a happy mistake – my favorite kind. Once I realized I had put pumpkin cubes in instead of bouillon ones, I changed my plan and added some more pumpkin. I didn’t notice that much difference in the flavor, but it does add more nutritional goodness.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
• 1 medium potato, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1 1/2 cup vegan chick’n, cubed package (Gardein, Soy Delight, Smart Strips Chick’n, etc.)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 bay leave
• 1 tablespoon vegan chick’n bouillon, like Better than Bouillon (or 2 tablespoons of the one from my book if you have it)
• 4 cups water
• cayenne or chipotle powder to taste
• 1/2 cup non-dairy non-dairy sour cream
• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• salt and pepper to taste (will vary greatly on the bouillon used)

Preparation

Step 1

Cooking Time: 6 to 8 hours on low (or 3 to 4 on high)

The night before:
Cut up the veggies and chick’n. Thaw pumpkin purée if you have it frozen. Store together in one bowl in the fridge.

In the morning:
Add everything except the non-dairy milk, Toffuti sour cream, and the extra salt or pepper. Cook on low for 6 to 8 (or on high for 3 to 4 hours).

Remove bay leaf and thyme stems (if you used fresh thyme). Then add the non-dairy milk and sour cream. Make sure you thoroughly mix them in the soup. Then taste your soup, and add more salt, pepper, cayenne, or thyme if needed.

If you want a thicker soup you can take about 1/3 of the soup and purée it in a blender or food processor and then mix it into the rest of the soup. Personally I liked the thinner soup.

Serve topped with shredded vegan cheddar, extra vegan sour cream, and/or chopped chives if desired.