This Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad is everything you love about grilled Mexican street corn without the mess! Fresh, grilled corn on the cob (elotes), sliced off the cob (esquites), and paired with a cool, creamy, and tangy gluten-free, allergy-free mayo-based sauce with cilantro, lime, and a dash of spice! An easy summer side dish recipe!
Sure, it's "fun" to eat corn on the cob, but it can get messy and difficult for serving a crowd. Grilled corn is an essential summer food, a must! So why not make it just a bit easier, but slicing off those slightly charred sweet kernels and toss them in a salad with ALL the classic flavors of Mexican street corn! Yes! The creamy, cheesy, slightly smokey, and spicy street corn, but let's make it vegan too!
What is Mexican Street Corn?
Mexican street corn is a Mexican street food made from grilled corn on the cob, coated in a creamy, tangy, slightly spicy dressing. The mixture is made of mayo, sour cream (or Mexican crema), cotija cheese, lime, chili powder, and a nice sprinkle of cilantro.
How to make Mexican Street Corn Vegan:
Don't worry, we don't need dairy or eggs for this allergy-friendly vegan street corn!
- Corn on the Cob
- Vegan Mayo
- Nutritional Yeast
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Chili Powder
- Black Pepper & Salt
You'll notice I don't use sour cream here. No need with the addition of enough lime juice and mayo, you'll be good to go!
Is Street Corn Healthy?
This recipe for Mexican street corn salad is made with all whole food ingredients, except for the egg-free mayo, so it's a fantastic healthier side dish to serve up while still delivering on ALL the taste you love! It's also:
- Gluten-Free
- Vegan and Vegetarian
- Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Coconut-Free)
- Quick & Easy
- Kid-Friendly
How to Grill Corn on the Cob
The only thing you need to cook for this recipe is the corn. All it takes is a quick, slight char on the corn cobs, though!
- First, shuck the husks off the corn cobs and lightly brush the corn with olive oil (or directly grease your grill).
- On an indoor or outdoor gas grill, griddle or grill pan (which is what I used), or electric grill, place the corn cobs on the heated grates, and slightly char the corn for about 10-15 minutes, rotating the cobs with tongs so all sides get some char.
- Once you get the amount of char you want, remove the corn cobs from the grill and allow them to cool.
How to Cut Corn off the Cob
- Allow the corn cobs to cool so you can handle them without burning your hands.
- On a large plate or in a wide shallow bowl, hold the corn cob upright and slice the kernels off the cob using a sharp knife. (I did this in the grill pan).
- Don't cut so deep into the corn cobs that you remove the hard rough core of the cob with the kernels.
What to do if you don't have a grill
You can roast the corn cobs in the oven using this method and still get a nice roasted smoky taste. If worse comes to worst, you can defrost frozen corn, or even microwave corn cobs, in the husk for about 3-5 minutes. If you want a good smokey taste still, you can add some (about ½ teaspoon) smoked paprika to your Mexican street corn.
How To Make Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Once you've grilled you corn cobs and cut the kernels off the cobs, you'll add the kernels into a large bowl.
- Add the mayo, nutritional yeast, lime zest and juice, cilantro, black pepper, salt, and chili powder to taste (if you want it spicy, add more chili powder!).
- Mix everything together and serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.
Make it Ahead of Time
You can make this vegan Mexican street corn salad ahead of time and store it in the fridge for 4-5 days. I would recommend serving it chilled if you make it in advance, but you could warm it up in the microwave and give it a good mix if desired.
If you have any leftover grilled corn kernels, whip up this no-cook black bean and corn salsa!
Elotes and Esquites
What's an Elote?
Elote is the Mexican word for corn on the cob.
What's Esquites?
Esquites is the Mexican word for corn served in a cup.
What's the difference between Elote and Esquites?
Elotes of actual cobs of corn, typically grilled and eaten with the husks pulled back or on a stick. While, Esquites are when the kernels of the corn are cut off the cob, serving in a cup and eaten with a fork or spoon. This essentially means a grilled Mexican street corn salad is the traditional Elotes served as an Esquite.
More Easy Salad Recipes:
- Simple Summer Corn Macaroni Salad
- Easy Mexican Pasta Salad
- Easy Old-Fashioned Cucumber Salad
- Classic American Macaroni Salad
- Classic American Potato Salad
- Old-Fashioned Three Bean Salad
- French Carrot Salad
- Vegan Egg Salad
Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe
Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)
This Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad is everything you love about grilled Mexican street corn without the mess! Fresh, grilled corn on the cob (elotes), sliced off the cob (esquites), and paired with a cool, creamy, and tangy gluten-free, allergy-free mayo-based sauce with cilantro, lime, and a dash of spice! An easy summer side dish recipe!
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 10 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: Grill, No-Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 Ears of Corn (enough for 5 cups)
- ½ Cup Vegan/Soy-Free Mayo
- 1 to 2 TB Nutritional Yeast
- 1 TB Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 Tsp Lime Zest
- ¼ Cup Chopped Cilantro
- ½ to 1 Tsp Chili Powder (to taste)
- ¼ to ½ Tsp Black Pepper
- Salt (to taste)
- Smoked or Sweet Paprika (optional, to taste)
Instructions
To Prepare the Corn:
- First, remove the husks of the corn cobs and lightly brush the corn with olive oil (or directly grease your grill).
- Heat the grill you'll be using, and place the corn cobs on the heated grates. Using tongs to rotate the corn, slightly char the kernels for about 10-15 minutes.
- Once you get the amount of char you want, remove the corn cobs from the grill and allow them to cool slightly
- On a large plate or in a wide shallow bowl, hold each corn cob upright and slice the kernels off the cob using a sharp knife.
Prepare the Salad:
- In a large bowl, combine the charred corn kernels, mayo, nutritional yeast, lime juice, and zest and mix everything together to fully coat the corn.
- Now add in the chopped cilantro, chili powder, black pepper, and salt according to you taste preferences and toss the salad again.
- Top the street corn salad with extra chili powder, paprika, lime slices, and chopped cilantro.
- Serve warm or chilled.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
This simple, but(exploding with flavor) summer side dish is a must! It's so easy to serve at any cookout, BBQ, or potluck without the mess of the cob and toppings falling off! You can serve this grilled street corn salad in individual cups, making it perfect and safe from cross-contamination too! Cool, creamy, tangy, zesty, spicy, sweet, it's literally EVERY flavor your tastebuds could want!
So tell me:
+ Do you like eating corn on the cob or do you always cut it off the cob?
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Kristen Hollshwandner
I brought it to a friend's house today (I doubled the recipe) and It was a huge hit! Everyone raved about it and almost all of it was gone by the time we left!
Rebecca Pytell
Awesome! I'm so happy to hear everyone loved it!
AL
Made this last night with leftover corn I had and wow, was this delicious! I threw in some grilled jalapeño I had, but otherwise followed the recipe to the T. Super flavorful and enjoyed this with some tortilla chips! Will definitely remake again 🙂
Rebecca Pytell
Thank you for sharing!
Hari
Anything made of corn will be yum and this one is no different. Awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Char
Can this be made a day ahead of when needed
Rebecca Pytell
There's literally an entire section on "make it ahead of time".
Thanks for reading.
Lynne
Just made this and it tastes as delicious as it looks! I added chopped up tomatoes and avocado
Rebecca Pytell
Awesome! Sounds great! Thank you for sharing!
Rachel Holland
I made this today and wowza so good!!! I did add some diced up peppers (red yellow green), and I added 1 T crushed red pepper seasoning and a bit (1/2 teaspoon) of tajin seasoning. I used an epicure mayo which is vegan. I will totally make this again!!
Rebecca Pytell
Sounds perfect, love the Tajin!
Mel
Just made it for the first time. Left out the yeast because I didn’t have it. It really is fantastic!!! I will be bringing this dish to several parties in the future. It’s going to be a big hit! Thanks for the recipe!
Rebecca Pytell
Awesome, Mel! Glad to hear it!
Karen
This was delicious! We are having a Super Bowl party and needed some vegan options. This compliments the vegan sweet potato black bean enchiladas I made. The non-veg attendees raved about it and couldn't believe it was vegan.
Rebecca Pytell
Awesome! That's exactly what I love to hear! Glad you all enjoyed, Karen 🙂
Lafayne E
I am going to share this with a friend of mine, she will love this.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
That's great to hear, I hope you all enjoy!
Lily
This looks an amazingly Rebecca....and mexican recipes is one of my favorite and this salad looks soo delicious, i will trying to make it from your tips....Thanks for sharing.....!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
So simple to make but LOADED with flavor!
Tegan
This sounds and looks SO delicious, I will definitely give it a try!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Will be a new essential dish for summer!
Louise O'Boyle
This looks absolutely delicious! I am adding this to my meal plan as I type!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Perfect for the 4th!
Laura
I am so excited to try this. I never would have thought you could do it with vegan mayo and nooch. Opens up all kinds of doors!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
It tastes amazing! A perfect way to veganize it!