Easy & comforting Sweet Corn Soup made in the Instant Pot. This lightly spiced Indo-Chinese soup is perfect for the cold weather. This is a vegan & gluten-free soup!
This is one soup that takes me back to the delicious street food of Mumbai. We used to have Sweet Corn Soup every time we visited our favorite Chinese (rather Indo-Chinese) joint, Uncle's Kitchen.
We would always start with sweet corn soup, chicken lollipops (similar to wings), crispy chicken, and spring rolls. So this soup is very similar to the restaurant-style sweet corn soup we enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy it too!
I love making soups in the Instant Pot. You might have guessed that by the number of instant pot soups I have shared. You can also make this sweet corn soup on the stovetop, and it takes about the same time, just a little extra monitoring.
This Sweet Corn Soup should be on the must-try list if you want a vegetarian soup recipe.
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What is Sweet Corn Soup?
Sweet Corn Soup is made in many regions of the world in many different ways. Corn is the main ingredient that gives the soup a slightly sweet taste. Usually, a lightly spiced soup made with sweet corn and veggies like carrots, green peas, cabbage & spring onions. You can also find the chicken sweet corn soup variation. I will share the Indo-Chinese version of vegetarian sweet corn soup in this recipe. It is vegan & gluten-free.
You might ask, what is Indo-Chinese cuisine? I am picking this from Wikipedia – The adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes through a larger offering to include vegetarian dishes.
Check out `10+ Best Indian Soup Recipes.
You will love this Chinese Sweet Corn Soup. It is -
- Easy to make & so satisfying
- You can add lots of veggies
- Easy to adjust to your spice level and change up the veggies you add
- Vegan and gluten-free
- Perfect for cold days
Sweet Corn Soup Ingredients
Let's start with gathering the ingredients for sweet corn soup.
Sweet Corn: I used frozen corn for this soup. You can use fresh or canned too. I blended ¾ cup of the corn with some water to make creamed corn which we will add to this soup.
You can use canned creamed corn too. However, I find it easy to blend corn at home.
Veggies: I just used carrots and spring onions (scallions) while making this soup, as that is what I had on hand. Other veggies you can add are - green peas, green beans, mushrooms, and cabbage (add at the end after pressure cooking).
Separate the white and green portions of the spring onions while chopping, as we will add them at different times.
Ginger & Garlic: These aromatics elevate the flavor of this soup. Mince the garlic and ginger.
Vegetable Broth: I use vegetable broth for this soup. But feel free to use what you have on hand. You can also use Better than Bouillon to make broth.
Salt, Pepper & Sugar: Season with salt and pepper. Add a little sugar to balance the flavors of the soup.
Vinegar: Adds tanginess to the soup. I used rice vinegar.
Cornstarch: Make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the soup. You can also use arrowroot powder or potato starch as a replacement.
Red chili paste: Add red chili paste to taste to increase the heat in this soup.
How to make Sweet Corn Soup in Instant Pot?
There are three easy steps to make this soup!
Saute the ingredients
1 - Heat the instant pot in sauté mode. Add oil, ginger, and garlic and sauté them until fragrant and slightly golden.
2 - Add the carrots, the white portion of the spring onions, corn kernels, and the creamed corn.
3- Add the broth, black pepper, salt, sugar, and vinegar and stir well.
Pressure Cook the soup
4 - We pressure cook for just 2 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
Simmer & Garnish
5 - Next step is to make the soup thicker by adding cornstarch. Dissolve the corn starch in ¼ cup water with no lumps. Start the instant pot in sauté mode and add the corn starch to the soup while stirring continuously. Bring to a quick boil.
6 - The soup is ready. Garnish with the green part of spring onions and add red chili sauce to taste. Serve hot!
Stovetop Method
1 - Heat oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic. Saute them until they are fragrant.
2 - Add the carrots, the white portion of the spring onions, corn kernels, and the creamed corn. Add the broth, black pepper, salt, sugar, and vinegar and stir well.
3 - Bring to a boil, and simmer on low flame for about 15 minutes until the veggies are cooked. Stir at regular intervals.
4 - Mix the cornstarch slurry in ¼ cup water with no lumps. Then add it to the soup. Stir it and let it cook until the soup thickens.
5 - Garnish with the green part of spring onions and serve!
How to Serve?
I like to add lots of sauces before enjoying this soup. Soy sauce, some chili sauce, or schezwan sauce are all great additions. I use Sambal Oelek Chili paste if you want a new one to try. Or the Indo-Chinese Ching's Secret Schezwan Chutney is so good!
Pair this soup with Chili Garlic Potatoes, and Garlic Noodles or Vegetable Lo Mein for a wonderful meal!
How to Store?
Any leftovers can be cooled to room temperature and stored in the refrigerator in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
You can also store it in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then reheat in the microwave or a pot on the stovetop.
I hope you enjoy this easy Sweet Corn Soup!
More Amazing Soup Recipes:
- Creamy Tomato Soup
- Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Roasted Red Pepper & Carrot Soup
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Minestrone Soup
Check out this 20+ Instant Pot Vegetarian Soup Recipes collection for more delicious soups!
📖 Recipe
Sweet Corn Soup (Instant Pot & Stovetop)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup Sweet Corn divided
- ½ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ½ tablespoon Ginger minced
- ½ tablespoon Garlic minced
- ¾ cup Carrots diced
- 4 stalks Spring Onions chopped, separate white and green part
- 2 ½ cup Vegetable Broth
- ½ teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon Sugar adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon Vinegar I used rice vinegar
- 3 teaspoon Cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water
- Red chili paste add to taste
Instructions
- In a blender, blend ¾ cup sweet corn and ½ cup water, to a smooth paste.
- Start the instant pot on sauté mode and let it heat. Add oil and then add ginger, garlic. Sauté for about 30 seconds.
- Add carrots, spring onion whites and the remaining corn. Add the sweet corn paste from step 1.
- Add the broth, black pepper, salt, sugar and vinegar. Stir well making sure nothing is stuck at the bottom of the pot. Press Cancel and close lid with vent in sealing position.
- Set the instant pot in pressure cook (manual) mode for 2 minutes at high pressure.
- When the instant pot beeps, do a 10 minute NPR. This means let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the pressure manually.
- Add the cornstarch dissolved in water to the pot and stir well. Set the instant pot on saute mode and let it come to a quick boil.
- Garnish with green part of spring onions and add chili sauce to taste. Serve hot!
Stovetop Method
- In place of the pressure cooking step, cover with a lid and let the veggies cook for about 15 minutes. Stir in between couple of times. Then follow the steps to thicken and garnish.
Video
Notes
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Janet says
Good and easy soup. I mixed the 3/4C corn with 1/2 C water in my Vitamix but it wasn't much thicker than water. I thought it would be more like a paste. The soup was very watery but still tasted good. Should I have added more corn to the Vitamix? I added some cabbage and chili sauce for a little more flavor. Yummy.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Janet - This soup is a thinner consistency. However if you prefer, you can add more corn or also increase the amount of cornstarch to make it thicker. Glad you enjoyed the taste.
DJ ROWLAND says
what kind of vinegar did you use?
Meeta Arora says
Hello - I used rice vinegar in this sweet corn soup. Hope you enjoy it!
Cecilia Fernandez says
Can you provide instructions without using an instapot, please? I’m finding most recipes now a days are all using an instapot, which I don’t have at this time. Thank you kindly.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Cecilia - I just added the stovetop variation to the instructions. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Ripa Chakravorty says
Can I use the corn from cob as it is or do I need to steam the corn on the cob first?
Meeta Arora says
Hi Ripa - You can use fresh corn kernels for this recipe too. Just increase pressure cooking time to 5 minutes. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Naga sunitha says
Can I use celery in place of spring onions. Will it taste good
Meeta Arora says
Hi Naga - I have not tried with celery, but I would say give it a try. Celery works great in soups, so I think will work well for this one too.