This vegan corn dip is creamy, zesty, and totally addictive. It’s loaded with fresh corn, bold Mexican spices, and a lusciously rich cashew sauce — perfect for parties, potlucks, or just standing over the skillet with a spoon (no judgment!).
I'm so in love with Mexican street corn. So much so, that my basic vegan Mexican street corn recipe just isn't enough for me. It's great and all, but I don't grill that often. That’s why I came up with my Mexican street corn tacos, which are perfect for easy summer dinners. That's also why I came up with this vegan corn dip, which is ideal for parties and a great way to introduce friends and family to the magic that is Mexican street corn.
Jump to:
Traditional Mexican street corn is made with grilled corn on the cob, slathered in a zesty sauce of mayo, cheese, and spices. I turned all those flavors into a dip, then made it dairy-free with a creamy combo of vegan mayo and cashew cream, plus spices, lime juice, and hot sauce. It all pairs beautifully with sweet summer corn and those juicy little kernels.
I'm telling you, this stuff is GOOD. If you're taking it to a cookout, make a double batch, because you might just eat half of it with a spoon before you even leave the house!
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Raw cashews. These will be blended up to serve as the base for your dairy-free sauce. They need to be raw (not roasted) in order for it to taste right.
- Water.
- Vegan mayonnaise. Most stores sell this near the regular mayo, or in the natural foods aisle.
- Lime juice. Freshly squeezed juice will give your dip the best possible flavor. No bottled stuff!
- Hot sauce. This will add a lot of flavor to your dip, so I don't recommend skipping it. If you're sensitive to heat, stick with a mild brand like Cholula (somewhat mild) or Valentina (super mild), or substitute taco sauce.
- Salt and pepper.
- Vegan butter. You should be able to find this near the regular butter at your grocery store. If not, use vegetable or olive oil instead.
- Red onion.
- Fresh corn.
- Garlic.
- Jalapeño pepper. This one's optional. Skip it if you don't like heat.
- Spices. You just need chili powder, ground cumin, and smoked paprika.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Chips. Street corn dip is typically served with corn chips or tortilla chips.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Make the sauce. Place raw cashews, water, mayonnaise, lime juice, hot sauce, and salt into a food processor or blender. Blend everything well, until the mixture is smooth.
Step 2: Cook the onion. Melt your vegan butter in a skillet, then add diced onion. Cook it for a few minutes, until it starts to soften a bit.
Step 3: Cook the corn. Add it to the skillet. Spread it out and let it cook for about a minute at a time, then stir. Keep doing this for about five minutes, until the kernels soften and start to brown.
Step 4: Add aromatics and spices. Add your garlic, jalapeño pepper (if you're using it), chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Cook everything briefly.
Step 5: Add the sauce. Lower the heat a bit first, then pour the sauce over your corn. Stir it in.
Step 6: Warm it up. Cook the mixture for just a minute or two, to warm up the sauce you just added.
Step 7: Finish the dip. Take it off the heat, then stir in the cilantro, along with salt and pepper to taste. You can also add more lime juice, hot sauce, or whatever you think is needed at this point.
Step 8: Serve. Enjoy the dip while it's warm, with some chips for dipping.
Variations
- Grilled corn dip. Make this dip with grilled corn! Since it'll be already cooked by the time you add it to the skillet, there's no need to sauté it for five minutes in step 3. Just add it, then move right on to step 4.
- Cheesy corn dip. Use an oven-safe serving dish, sprinkle your dip with shredded vegan cheese, then pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. Vegan cheese can be stubborn about melting — a quick spritz of oil on top helps it along.
- Cheesy street corn quesadillas. Got leftover dip? Spread it between a couple of corn tortillas, along with some shredded vegan cheese, then grill to perfection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it is!
You can! Just thaw it completely before adding it to the skillet. You may also want to reduce the cook time in step 3 by a few minutes, as the frozen corn is already partially cooked.
It has a little bit of heat, thanks to the jalapeño pepper and hot sauce. For a milder version, skip the jalapeño and use a mild hot sauce or taco sauce. You can also reduce the amount of hot sauce, adding it to taste when the dip is finished, instead of measuring and adding it in step 1.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months. Add a splash of water when reheating if it's gotten too thick during storage.
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Mexican Street Corn Dip
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4 to 8 hours, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup water
- ⅓ cup vegan mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- ½ medium red onion, diced
- 3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 to 4 ears)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
For Serving
- Tortilla or corn chips
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Sliced jalapeño peppers
Instructions
- Place the cashews, water, mayonnaise, lime juice, hot sauce, and one teaspoon of salt into a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the pitcher or bowl as needed. Set this aside.
- Melt the vegan butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the butter has completely melted, add the onion. Sweat the onion while stirring occasionally until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add the corn to the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook the corn by letting it sit in the hot skillet for about a minute at a time, then stirring. Do this for about 5 minutes, until the corn is tender-crisp and browned in spots.
- Stir in the garlic, jalapeño, chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Stir to coat the corn with the spices, then cook the mixture for about a minute, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Lower the heat to medium, then pour the cashew mixture over the corn. Stir well to distribute the ingredients.
- Cook the mixture for a minute or two, stirring constantly, until it is heated throughout and just starting to bubble. You can thin it with some water if the sauce gets too thick.
- Remove the skillet from heat. Season the dip with additional salt to taste, along with some black pepper. Stir in the cilantro. Feel free to adjust any other seasonings to your liking at this point.
- Transfer the dip to a serving dish, then garnish with additional fresh cilantro and jalapeño slices, if desired. Serve warm, with corn chips or tortilla chips.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Sounds fabulous. I’d like to include this dip in my Christmas spread, but I’d like to make it ahead, if possible, to minimize the last-minute cooking. Any suggestions for advanced prep? Thank you.
Thank you! It'll keep in the fridge for about three days if you'd like to make it in advance and then warm it up. You could also just blend the mixture in step 1, then store that in the fridge and do the rest just before serving. Enjoy!!
This is really good. I'm wondering if thawed frozen corn will work. Fresh corn is available here only a few months of the year?
Glad you like it! You can use frozen corn. Thaw it out first and reduce the cook time in step 3 to just two or three minutes.