Vegan Street Corn Pasta Salad
Indulge in the vibrant flavors of this southwest-inspired Vegan Street Corn Pasta Salad. This dish features perfectly cooked rigatoni pasta, crumbly vegan cotija cheese, and charred corn, all dressed in a zesty blend of vegan mayo, lime juice, and spices. A burst of tangy, savory goodness in every bite!
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup vegan mayo
- 2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lime juice or the juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon Tajín seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Salad
- 1 lbs rigatoni pasta, cooked
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 lbs of frozen corn (~3 ¾ cups)
- 4 garlic cloves, diced
- 1 cup vegan Cotija cheese, divided (¾ in the salad, ¼ for additional garnish as desired)
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped *plus for more garnish
Instructions
Making the dressing
- Add vegan mayo, sour cream, lime juice, water, chili powder, cumin, Tajín, and salt to a medium mixing bowl and mix ingredients until well combined.
Making the Salad
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain in colander and rinse noodles with cold water to help them cool down and prevent them from sticking to one another. Set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add corn kernels and toss to coat. You do not need to thaw your corn before you begin to cook it. It will cook fine in the skillet from frozen. Once the kernels are no longer frozen they will begin to develop that nice golden brown charring. The key here is to not constantly stir the corn. Instead cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes and then give it a light stir. Continue to do this until the corn kernels are charred to your liking. This should take ~15-16 minutes when using frozen corn.
- Add garlic once corn kernels are chard to your likening and cook another two minutes over low-medium heat.
- Transfer corn kernels to a large bowl.
- Add cooked pasta, dressing, and cilantro to bowl with corn kernels and stir all ingredients together until salad ingredients are evenly coated with the dressing.
- Add vegan cotija cheese crumbles to salad and and stir several times to mix it in to the salad evenly.
- Chill at least 1 hour prior to serving to allow the pasta to absorb dressing.
- Serve chilled and garnish with additional vegan cotija cheese, cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
Corn: you can use fresh corn on the cobb instead of frozen corn. Suggest using 5 medium ears of corn. If using fresh sweet corn you can cut the uncooked corn off of the cobb and cook in your skillet until it's nice and charred. Another option would be grilling the corn, then once done and cool enough to touch you can cut the kernels off of the cobb and mix in with the pasta and dressing. If going the grilling route, suggest still sautéing the garlic for 2-3 minutes over medium heat in a little bit of avocado oil versus adding raw garlic to the salad.
Pasta: use a gluten free noodle to make this recipe gluten free. Additionally, feel free to change up the shape of your noodle. A spiral noodle like rotini or fusilli or bow tie noodle would also be good options.
Vegan Cotija Cheese: This recipe requires only 5 ingredients to create a plant-based version that replicates the delightful characteristics of traditional cotija and can be made in under 5 minutes.
Cilantro - replace cilantro with green onions and use the whole onion - i.e. both the white bottom and green tops and use additional green tops for garnishing. If you are bringing this dish to serve at a party and want to cater to both cilantro lovers and loathers you could leave out mixing in either the cilantro or onions and bring each in a separate dish and let people add their preference.