Creamy Mushroom Quinoa Chowder (Dairy-Free)

Toast the quinoa in a dry, heavy skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large soup pot, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat until caramelized, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the mushrooms, toasted quinoa, and molasses. Stir well to combine and cook until the mushrooms are soft.

Add all of the chicken broth. Stir it all together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until quinoa is cooked.

In the meantime, make your cashew cream. If you are planning ahead, you can soak the raw unsalted cashews, covered in water for many hours. Overnight is good. But two hours works too. And if you didn’t think about soaking ahead of time, no worries. Just put the raw cashews in the blender with the liquid and you’re all good. If you did soak them, strain the water out before placing them in the blender or food processor. Add enough rice milk or water to cover the cashews fully. Blend until smooth.

Now back to the soup. After simmering for approximately 20 minutes or so, use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.

Add the cashew cream. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh chives.

Enjoy!