Planetarian Life’s Street Corn Salad offers all the bold flavors of Mexican Street Corn with the ease of serving corn off the cob. The recipe starts with ears of fresh corn. For gas grill owners, fire up grill to cook the corn—especially if this salad is for a summer holiday meal. The grill’s direct heat intensifies the corn’s sweetness and flavor.
How To: Grill Corn
Grilling corn is easy—just turn the burners on high and let the grill preheat. Give it a good ten minutes for the grill grates to fully heat up, then add the oiled corn, set a timer for five minutes, and walk away. Pull some weeds, set the table, finish the meal—no need to stand at the grill and babysit the corn. Once the time goes off, turn the corn about a third of the way around, and repeat twice more. In fifteen minutes of nearly unattended time, you’ve got spotty brown corn ready to cut off the cob and turn into salad.
How To: Boil or Microwave Corn
If you don’t have a grill or don’t want to grill the corn, you can also boil or microwave it. Place the ears of corn in a covered microwave-safe container and cook on high power until steamy, about 10 minutes on high power. Or you can boil the ears of corn. Simply bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the corn until tender, just a few minutes. The boiled or microwaved corn salad will still be delicious, with a slightly different taste and texture from the grilled version.
Street Corn Salad
The rest of the Street Corn Salad ingredients are simple and straightforward—red bell pepper and onion for color, jalapeño and cilantro for kick, flavor, and color. The coconut cream in combination with the lime juice mimics the tart creaminess of sour cream. Feel free to use the more traditional cotija cheese, but we’re suggesting feta, either Planetarian or store-bought plant-based feta.
Summer Staples Made Plant-Based
We developed this Street Corn Salad as part of our Memorial Day plate. It goes great with our Barbecued Cauliflower, Southern-Style Baked Beans, and Multi-Color Coleslaw.
Street Corn Salad
Recipe Notes
Ingredients
- 6 ears corn, shucked
- Oil for brushing
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into small dice
- 1/2 small red onion, cut into small dice
- 1/2 medium jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced
- 1/2 cup each: feta cheese (plant- or dairy-based) and canned coconut cream
- 1/4 cup each: lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro
- Salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the burners of a gas grill on high power for 10 minutes. Brush corn with oil and place ears on hot grate; grill until spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Turn ears about a third of the way around, grill until next side is spotty brown, about 5 minutes longer. Turn a final time and continue to grill until ears are spotty brown all over, about 5 minutes longer. Remove corn from the grill. (See note above if you'd rather boil or microwave the corn).
- Once the corn is cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cob and place in a medium bowl. Add pepper, onion, jalapeño, feta, coconut cream, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, including additional lime juice, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
