This Vegan Mexican Street Corn Recipe is the perfect side dish that turns the classic Mexican Street Food into a delicious and easy to make colorful salad. This healthy recipe is a dairy-free dream come true….it’s smoky, tangy, spicy and super tasty too. Vegan cojita cheese crumbled onto charred corn gives this an authentic elote flavor.
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Why I love this recipe
A few things make this recipe a winner: charring the corn in a hot skillet, a delicious blend of spices, extra lime juice for tang, cilantro and jalapneos for super taste. However what makes it stand out as truly special is the Vegan Cojita Cheese. Really, where has it been all my diary-free life?
If you love Mexican Corn on the Cob, then you’ll love this Vegan Version of Street Corn Salad. It’s so easy to make at home and is the PERFECT addition to a Cinco de Mayo Menu.
Fresh or Frozen Corn?
Good question! Depends on what month it is. If you can find fresh ears of corn that are ripe (depending on where you live, this could be anytime between May-October), then definitely, buy some and cut it off the cob. Otherwise, buy frozen corn that has been picked at peak ripeness and then flash frozen.
This recipe calls for charring the corn in a super hot skillet so you’ll get that authentic street corn taste whether you cut the corn off the cob or use frozen.
Fresh Corn Tips
The husk of fresh corn should be bright green, tightly wrapped against the corn and slightly damp. If it’s yellow, dry, has small brown holes, black spots, or smells bad, avoid it.
Store fresh corn loose in the fridge, still in the husks. Use as soon as possible after it’s been picked.
This recipe calls for 4 cups of corn. Large cobs will yield approximately ¾ cup kernels, so you’ll need about 5 big ears. If they’re smaller, grab 6-7. It’s OK if you have extra corn. If you’re using frozen corn, 2 10-oz packages will give you 4 cups.
When I do use fresh corn, I freeze the cobs to use in homemade veggie broth. I use that broth for a dairy-free, creamy soup like my corn chowder.
Honestly, I make this with frozen corn all winter long when I want to create a summer vibe. The only thing missing is that popping that occurs when you put the fresh corn into the hot skillet….but it’s truly delish either way.
How to make Vegan Cojita Cheese
Ingredients for the vegan cheese
- White beans
- Nutritional yeast
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
Blend
Place beans, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and lemon juice in bowl of food processor or blender.
Process until pasty. Scrape down side and process again until uniform in texture.
Spread and Bake
Use an offset spatula to spread bean mixture onto a parchment lined baking tray in a super thin layer.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until dry, but not burnt.
Allow to cool and then use your hands to crumble.
Seriously fabulous dairy-free cojita cheese alternative ready to sprinkle onto everything!
This Vegan Cojita Cheese is a delicious way to elevate your dairy-free dishes like tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, and simple beans too. It’s also allergy friendly with no nuts or seeds.
I make this weekly as part of my healthy meal prep, it’s that easy. White beans, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt and white pepper are easily transformed into a paste and then dried out in the oven for crumbly, tasty perfection. Extra Vegan Cojita will stay good in the fridge for a week.
It will take less than 5 minutes to get this vegan cheese into the oven and while it bakes you can pull together the rest of this easy recipe.
How to make Vegan Mexican Street Corn
- Get the Vegan Cojita Cheese in the oven. OR, make it in advance. It will stay good in the fridge for a week.
- Cut the kernels off your fresh corn cobs or defrost 2 bags of frozen corn.
- Heat a heavy skillet. Classic Mexican Street Corn has that charred flavor so be sure to use a hot pot to get that necessary flavor.
- Let the corn start to char before stirring and incorporating the spices.
- Add salad ingredients: red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice…and then crumble on the dairy-free cheese.
- THAT’S IT…..now relax and enjoy.
Although it’s super fun to get Mexican Street Corn at a fair or from a food truck, it’s also super messy! Street food is grab and go…which is why you see it still on the cob. Something sturdy to hang onto while eating. Like I said, FUN. I think this version, off the cob, that you eat with a fork is still fun. It’s colorful, tasty and is perfect for a BBQ, pot-luck or just an average Taco Tuesday.
You really can’t go wrong with this tasty side dish. It’s easy to make, awesome for meal prep or easy entertaining (hello Cinco de Mayo celebration) and everyone loves it. I think it’s the perfect blend of authentic street corn and modern functionality…and I love the all year round accessibility using frozen corn.
More Cinco de Mayo Vegan Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
CORN
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cups corn*
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt
SALAD
- 1 small red onion diced (approx ⅓ cup)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 jalapenos small dice
- 1 lime juiced (2 Tablespoons)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Vegan Cojita Cheese
- 1 ½ cups cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
DIRECTIONS FOR VEGAN CHEESE:
- Preheat oven to 350. Line small rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
- Place beans, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, pepper and salt into food processor and pulse to grind into a rough paste. Scrape down sides multiple times to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.
- Spread on prepared baking sheet with spatula, in a very thin layer.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until dried out. If you spread thicker than ¼", iIt may take a bit longer for the thicker parts to dry out….you want it to have a crumbly cheese type consistency, rather than a bean puree.
- Let cool on baking tray and then crumble into prepared salad.
- Store remaining cheese in the fridge. I will stay good for a week.
DIRECTIONS FOR CORN SALAD:
- If using fresh corn, pull off the husks and remove the silks. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob. If using frozen corn, let it thaw in a colander, and gently dry with dish cloth.
- Heat large heavy pan (I like to use a cast iron skillet) over medium heat. Swirl in 1 Tablespoon olive oil and then stir in corn. Allow corn to sit in hot pan for about 3 minutes before stirring. Give it a good stir to redistribute and then allow to sit again. The goal is to achieve a charred flavor and color. Continue until most of the corn is charred. About 8 minutes.
- Turn off heat. Stir in spices until well incorporated. Let sit to marinate while you prepare salad ingredients.
MAKE THE SALAD:
- Trim jalapenos: cut off tops, slice open and remove the seeds and membranes, cut into small dice. Cut red onion into small dice, roughly chop cilantro.
- Add prepped veggies to corn in the pan. Drizzle on lime juice and olive oil and mix well. When cheese is cool enough to handle, gently crumble half over the salad and mix well. Crumble remaining "cheese" into a bowl to serve on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Lisa
Thank you for this flavorful delicious salad! Loved it. It was a great recipe for the fresh corn we recently picked and froze. Yummy cheese topper to have on hand. I added a little miso. I’ll be repeating this. Thank you!
Debra Klein
Fabulous..the miso sounds like it would work well too!
Amanda
Such a great summer salad! Those spices gave it the perfect kick, and the vegan cheese was delicious.
Debra Klein
Thanks…I totally agree about that cheese…delish!
Kristina
Easy and delicious!
Maren Epstein
This is so good I love the photos too
Rob
This corn salad was super delicious!
Gloria
Great for any bbq party.
Mark
We haven’t tried this dish as a family, but definitely will give this one a try! It looks awesome!