This vegan jalapeno popper corn salad is what you get when you make the most amazing “bacon” made from soy curls. Roast corn, red onion and jalapenos together. Make the greatest creamy dressing. And get your favorite vegan cheese. Mix it all together for the most unique and possibly the most delicious corn dish of your life. Marinated soy curls are browned in a sauté pan while you roast the veggies. Toss with the super simple creamy dressing you made. Top with vegan cheese and green onions if desired. It tastes just like a jalapeno popper and you may not be able to stop eating it.
What You Need For This Corn Salad:
- Soy Curls: These are used for the bacon part of the jalapeno popper.
- Soy Sauce, Liquid Smoke, Maple Syrup and Paprika: To marinate the soy curls and give them that bacon-y flavor.
- Jalapenos: What would a jalapeno popper be without jalapenos?
- Corn and Red Onion: These are roasted with the jalapenos to create the salad.
- Vegan Cream Cheese and Non-dairy Milk: This creates the base of the dressing for the salad.
- Cumin, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Paprika, Salt and Pepper: These are the spices for the dressing.
- Vegan Cheese: I used Violife cheddar style shreds and the feta from the same company.
This vegan jalapeno popper corn salad is delicious served warm, but I think it may actually be better chilled. So it is perfect for all your summer cookouts and get togethers. You can make it ahead of time and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve. It feeds a crowd and believe me, that crowd will be very happy!
Why Should You Make This Perfect Summer Side Dish?
- Soy curls “bacon” is the greatest thing ever!
- The roasted veggies.
- This dressing.
- The combination of the “bacon”, veggies, dressing and vegan cheese is the most delicious thing ever!
- Make ahead of time.

Vegan Jalapeno Popper Corn Salad
Ingredients
Soy Curl "Bacon"
- 1 Cup Soy curls (dry), I used Butler's. Soak/drain according to pkg. directions.
- 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce or Tamari for GF option
- 1 Tablespoon Liquid smoke
- 2 Tablespoons Maple syrup
- Pinch of Smoked paprika
- 1/4 Cup Olive oil
For The Dressing
- 8 Ounces Vegan cream cheese, I used Kite Hill
- 1/2 Cup Non-dairy milk, unsweetened I used soy milk
- 2 teaspoons Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
For The Rest of The Salad
- 2 Jalapenos, de-seeded and cut in half
- 6 Ears of Corn
- 1 Red onion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- Pinch of Salt and pepper
- 1 Cup Vegan cheddar style shreds, I used Violife
- 1/4 Cup Vegan feta, I used Violife (optional)
- Green onions for serving
Instructions
- Make the soy curl bacon. After you have soaked and drained the soy curls, add them to a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour the soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup and paprika on to the soy curls. Stir to coat completely. Let sit for about 15-20 minutes to absorb all the liquid.
- While the soy curls sit, make the dressing. Add all the dressing ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Now, preheat the oven to 400 degrees(F).
- Place the jalapenos, ears of corn, and chopped onions onto a sheet pan. Drizzle with the 2 Tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to coat everything.
- Roast for 15-20 minutes.
- While the veggies roast, cook the soy curls. Heat the 1/4 cup of olive oil on medium high in a large non-stick skillet.
- Sauté the soy curls, reducing heat as needed until the soy curls are very brown and crispy. About 7-9 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Let the soy curls cool, when the veggies are done, let them cool enough to handle.
- When ready to make the corn salad, chop up the soy curls so they are in small pieces.
- Cut the corn off the cobb and add it to a large mixing bowl. Chop the jalapenos and onions into small pieces and add those to the bowl.
- Add the soy curl "bacon", add the cheeses and then the dressing. Toss to mix everything. Top with green onions if desired. Serve warm or chill until ready to serve, which is my preference.
Where do you get soy curls?
Question! What corn do you recommend using if I can’t get fresh ears of corn? Thanks!! 🙂
I think frozen corn that has been thawed or canned corn will work great!
Wow, wow, wow. Thank you for this recipe! It was a raving success. I saw it on the email newsletter this morning as I was trying to figure out something to bring to a barbecue. It was perfect timing, so I made it, and I’m SO glad I did. Husband declared it the “best salad in the world” and I literally had to send the recipe to every single family at the barbecue. It was that good. We’re still talking about it! PS I used store bought tempeh bacon, as I ran out of time to make the soy curls. Absolutely delicious!!
1 cup of soy curls.
Is that 1 cup dry or AFTER soaking/softening? Thank you!
1 cup dry!
how long do you soak soy curls for?
It should say on the package, but mine says about 10 minutes!
This is SO FRIGGIN GOOD I barely wanted to share! I left out the feta. I made more of the soy curl bacon. This is fantastic.
Ah-maize-ing! Absolutely addictive, with the sweet crunch of corn and the salt-sweet-umami flavor of the soy curl bacon. My new favorite summer salad! I used some fresh jalapenos from my garden and used Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn, as that’s what I had on hand. Worked perfectly!
So good! For some reason I have like half the dressing left! lol. Can I freeze the rest to use later?
My GOD this stuff is great! I used a little extra soy curls since it’s what I had in the bag (going forward I’m planning to collect those bits and crumbs from the bags to use for this to minimize chopping) and I added a cup of pearl couscous, it is soooo delicious! I have yet to try one of your recipes that wasn’t amazing!
Made this for dinner tonight. Excellent! Tne weather was warm this afternoon, so I grilled the corn, onions and jalapeños. That added lots of time to the prep, but it was worth every minute!