Mexican Street Corn Salad

4.87 from 36 votes

Mexican Street Corn Salad

The perfect vegan side dish that turns the classic Mexican Street Food into a delicious and easy to make colorful salad. Use frozen corn off season to make this a year round indulgence.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Diet: Vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 244kcal

Author: Debra Klein

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

CORN: 1 large ear corn is approximately ¾ cup kernels. I used 5 large ears for 4 cups. Frozen corn usually comes in 10-oz bags. You will need 2 10-oz bags to have 4 cups.

CHEESE: Extra Vegan Cojita will stay good in the fridge for a week.

MEAL PREP: Street Corn Salad will stay good in fridge for a week. Make ahead....keep "cheese" in separate container and sprinkle onto salad just before serving.

Nutrition