Cheesy Summer Corn Soup

Requiring just a few simple ingredients and spices, this easy Cheesy Summer Corn Soup is filling, fresh, flavorful, and naturally gluten free — and, it can be on your table in about 45 minutes start to finish. Take advantage of seasonal corn on the cob with this vegetarian soup recipe!

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OK, so this Cheesy Summer Corn Soup is not the most photogenic soup I’ve ever made, but that detracts not a whit from its sweet+spicy+tangy goodness. Try it as either an easy Meatless Monday dinner or as a filling vegetarian lunch, but be sure to try it when fresh summer corn is in season!

This simple vegetarian soup recipe came about because I am apparently physically incapable of walking past a pile of fresh corn-on-the-cob on sale without picking some up, so have found myself in need of some recipe variety over here. Today called for comfort food, so I threw together a big pot of soup using several ears of corn & the last bell pepper from a pack, played off the sweetness of the corn and pepper with chili powder and smoked paprika, then decided it also needed some cheese and sour cream to round everything out. Yup. That all worked together. 🙂

Looking for more vegetarian recipe ideas? Take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for additional dinner options — or, check out fifteen favorite meatless meals to jump start your vegetarian cooking.

Cheesy Summer Corn Soup

Ingredients

Four ears fresh corn
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 sweet bell pepper (I used orange)
1/2 of a medium onion, diced
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
32 oz vegetable broth
6 oz tomato paste
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne (omit if sensitive to spice)
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

Shuck corn and cut kernels off the cob; dice bell pepper and onion. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven until shimmering, then add the corn, onion, and bell pepper. (Careful! The corn will want to splatter.)

Saute for two minutes, then stir in garlic and continue to saute over medium-high heat for about eight more minutes until pepper and onion are softened, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the vegetable broth, tomato paste, and spices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the cheese and sour cream until melted and incorporated into the soup.

Serve hot, garnished with optional green onions if desired.

It’s not quite a chowder, and it’s not quite a chili, so let’s call it a soup…

Yeah, “soup” works nicely here… This easy vegetarian summer soup recipe is filling, fresh, flavorful, and naturally gluten free — and, it can be on your table in about 45 minutes start to finish. Don’t give up on soup just because it’s summer; take advantage of fresh seasonal produce like corn on the cob!

Cheesy Summer Corn Soup, printable recipe

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Cheesy Summer Corn Soup

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Try it as either an easy Meatless Monday dinner or as a filling vegetarian lunch, but be sure to try it when fresh summer corn is in season!

Course dinner

Cuisine soup

Keyword corn, soup

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Rachel Singer

Ingredients

• Four ears fresh corn
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 sweet bell pepper I used orange
• 1/2 of a medium onion diced
• 2 tsp minced garlic about 4 cloves
• 32 oz vegetable broth
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne omit if sensitive to spice
• Black pepper to taste
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Instructions

• Shuck corn and cut kernels off the cob; dice bell pepper and onion. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven until shimmering, then add the corn, onion, and bell pepper. (Careful! The corn will want to splatter.)
• Saute for two minutes, then stir in garlic and continue to saute over medium-high heat for about eight more minutes until pepper and onion are softened, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the vegetable broth, tomato paste, and spices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the cheese and sour cream until melted and incorporated into the soup.
• Serve hot, garnished with optional green onions if desired.

Looking for a corn on the cob side dish idea?

If you’re not feeling soupy today, instead try this smoky pan roasted corn on the cob on the side!

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