Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad

My husband lived in Mexico for a while teaching English, before he started teaching 4th grade general education. The only thing he seems to miss about his days there is the food. He loves elote! We have talked a lot about how to create a replacement for Cotija cheese. Something that matches it’s salty crumbly goodness. I can not take credit for the idea of salt baking tofu, it was my husband’s idea. However, I will say it worked amazingly well! It is the perfect texture and has that perfect saltiness. So, of course, we had to make Mexican Street Corn, but decided to make it in salad form. This Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad is addictive and downright delicious!

Spring is here, and then summer, which means we are at the official start of cookout season! This salad is a perfect cookout or party food. It comes together super easily, and the only real cooking you have to do it to bake the tofu. Once the tofu has cooled you crumble it and then throw everything into a big bowl, and done!

Have this whole thing ready, cheese and all in about 30-45 minutes and be ready to eat! The ingredients are simple things you may already have on hand or are very easy to find. I love using that Chili Lime Seasoning in this salad,and it may be the only thing that is not super common. You can usually find it in the international aisle with the Hispanic food, and it is amazing on everything. I recommend sprinkling it on some pineapple and watermelon!

This Mexican Street Corn Salad is everything good in this world. Vegan mayo, lime, jalapeno, onions and chili lime seasoning all smoother the corn in the greatest sauce of all time, then toss with this vegan Cotija cheese, and you will know what true bliss is. Okay, I may like food more than most things, but hey, I still think this will rock anyone’s world. 

I hope you enjoy this super simple, super delicious salad. Also, this Cotija cheese can be used for so many different things. Tacos, Taquitos, so many amazing things are now a possibility! 

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Vegan Mexican Street Corn Salad

The traditional flavors of Mexican street corn veganized and saladified. I think I made up those words.

Course: Side Dish

Servings: 8 people

Author: Lauren Hartmann

Ingredients

Tofu Cotija Cheese

• 1 Block Extra firm tofu
• 2 lbs. Kosher salt

Corn Salad

• 3 Cans Yellow corn
• 1/2 C. Vegan mayo
• 1/2-1 Jalapeno, diced
• 1/4 C. Cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 C. Red onion,chopped
• 2 Green onions,chopped
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 C. Vegan Cotija Cheese
• 2 tsp. Chili and Lime Seasoning(optional)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Make the tofu Cotija cheese first. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut your block of tofu through the center on the side to make it thinner. Sprinkle with salt on both sides, and place on paper towels. Let it sit for about 15 minutes so some of the moisture is drawn out while the oven preheats. 

2. Fill a a baking dish with salt so the bottom is coated, it doesn't have to come up very high in the baking dish. Place your two pieces of tofu on top of the salt. Then pack more salt on top, covering completely.

3. Bake at 450 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until the salt has hardened and formed a crust and the salt has slightly browned. 

4. Let cool, then crack the salt shell and pull out the tofu. Let the tofu cool completely, then crumble. You can store this in an air tight container in the fridge until you are ready to use.

5. Once you are ready to make the corn salad, drain the corn, and pour into a large mixing bowl. Then stir in the remaining salad ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve! You can make this ahead of time and keep in the fridge until ready to party!

Recipe Notes

You can add 1/2 to a whole jalapeno depending on how hot you want it.

You can always add more lime if it needs more acid!