Vegan street corn

Charred corn, tangy lime mayo, and enough chili to make it interesting. Summer on a stick.

The BetterDay Kitchen2 min read

Elote is grilled corn, something creamy and tangy, salty cheese, chili and lime. Take out the mayo and the cotija and you lose two of those. Vegan mayo covers the first. Nutritional yeast, surprisingly well, covers the second.

Char is the whole point

You are not cooking the corn so much as scorching it. Those blackened kernels are where all the flavour lives. Get the grill properly hot and turn the cobs every couple of minutes until they are patchy black in places.

No grill is fine. A 400F oven for 20 to 25 minutes gets you tender corn with a bit of colour. For actual char without a barbecue, finish the roasted cobs under the broiler for two minutes, turning once.

Dress it warm

Let the cobs cool just enough to handle, then coat them. Warm corn grabs the sauce. Cold corn shrugs it off and it slides onto the plate.

The recipe

Vegan Mexican Street Corn

Grilled or roasted corn coated in vegan mayo, nutritional yeast, lime and chili, finished with cilantro.

Prep

10 min

Cook

12 min

Total

22 min

Makes

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 4 ears of corn, husks and silk removed
  • 1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Fresh cilantro, chopped, to finish
  • Lime wedges, to serve

Method

  1. 1Heat the grill to medium-high, or heat the oven to 400F (200C).
  2. 2Remove the husks and silk from the corn, leaving the stem on for a handle.
  3. 3On the grill: cook the cobs directly on the grates for 10 to 12 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until charred in patches and tender. In the oven: roast on a baking sheet for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once.
  4. 4While the corn cooks, whisk together the vegan mayonnaise, nutritional yeast, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  5. 5Let the cooked corn cool just enough to handle.
  6. 6Brush or spoon the mayo mixture generously over each cob, covering it completely.
  7. 7Scatter over chopped cilantro, squeeze fresh lime on top, and serve warm with extra wedges.

Keeps

Best eaten immediately. Cut kernels keep 2 days in the fridge and are good cold in a salad.

Chef’s note

Nutritional yeast is doing the cotija impression here, so do not be shy with it. If it tastes like it is missing something, it is almost always salt and acid, not more mayo.

Rather not cook tonight

We make this kind of food every week.

See this week’s menu

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