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Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower

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The zesty, creamy, and a bit lighter take on everyone’s favorite mexican veggie dish: this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is the only way I’ll be eating cauliflower from now on!!

The zesty, creamy, and a bit lighter take on everyone’s favorite mexican veggie dish: this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is the only way I’ll be eating cauliflower from now on!!

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Mexican street corn, or “esquites,” is one of my all time favorite things to order at a Mexican restaurant. I mean, I have a whole street corn dip on the blog already, and I still insisted on throwing this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower recipe together. If you aren’t familiar with esquites, it’s basically corn sliced off the cob and tossed up with lime juice, spices, mayonnaise, and cheese. You can even sometimes get it straight on the cob (this is called “elote”)… but I often find that to be a bit difficult to eat. Instead, I prefer the more warm-salad-style of mexican street corn that I can dive right into with a fork. Either way, though, it’s absolutely delicious. I knew I had to take this fan fav appetizer and whip it up in something a bit healthier and healthier… just so I can eat pounds of it at a time, ya know;) Hence, this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower was born, and it is now one of my all time favorite veggies!

the breakdown…

This Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is one of the simplest ways to knock a ton of flavor in cauliflower — aka a typically very bland vegetable. Really, you just have to get a good sear on everything and then throw in a few seasonings and sauces. It’s as easy as that, I promise!

The zesty, creamy, and a bit lighter take on everyone’s favorite mexican veggie dish: this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is the only way I’ll be eating cauliflower from now on!!

To start things off, go ahead and steam your cauliflower florets. Personally, I like to just get a bag or two of frozen cauliflower and microwave it for 4-5 minutes. No need to chop, use more dishes, or wait for water to boil. Plus, frozen vegetables usually are very cheap, and often have more nutrients than the fresh varieties in grocery stores. So, while you can go the more traditional route of using a large head of cauliflower, I urge you to try frozen veggies some time. 

cook it up…

Once that cauliflower is just a bit softened, it’s time to send it to the skillet. This is where this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower really becomes hands off. I mean, simply throw some diced onion, sweet corn, and cauliflower into a very hot skillet and let everything sear. I like to use my cast iron skillet to get everything extra hot, as a hot skillet = a nice char on the vegetables. Oh, and don’t mix everything too often. You want to give the vegetables a chance to brown in the skillet, so they need some time touching the surface. Really, just let everything sit on that skillet for about 10 minutes (unless you have a really large skillet — in which the time would be reduced), or until you get some good color on those veggies. Color is flavor!!

The zesty, creamy, and a bit lighter take on everyone’s favorite mexican veggie dish: this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is the only way I’ll be eating cauliflower from now on!!

Once your veggies are all charred up, it’s time to start knocking in all the flavor. For this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower recipe, I go with the traditional flavors of fresh garlic, sweet paprika, chipotle chili powder, cumin, and salt. Nothing crazy, yet so delicious. And if you’re worried about spice, don’t be. Chipotle chili powder is usually not very spicy at all… or at least I’ve never come by a spicy variety. Really, it just brings in the perfect smoky note that truly gives these veggies a char-grilled taste. Absolutely heavenly.

all the flavor…

The last step of this recipe is to mix in all of the good stuff — aka the saucy, deliciousness that makes this cauliflower what it is. Mexican street corn usually calls for mayonnaise, sour cream, and cotija cheese. While I love this classic taste, it can be a lot for a hefty side dish (or main course?) like this one. So, instead, I opt to knock in that same tart flavor from just 3 tbsp of sour cream, and use a lighter greek yogurt to bulk it up. Honestly, I don’t even miss the mayonnaise — especially not with the salty feta and sharp parmesan thrown into the mix. Oh, and you can’t forget the lime juice and herbs…they truly bring a whole new level of freshness to the dish! 

The zesty, creamy, and a bit lighter take on everyone’s favorite mexican veggie dish: this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is the only way I’ll be eating cauliflower from now on!!

how to serve it up…

This Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is truly one of my all time favorite sides. Mexican sides can be so hard, so I love to serve this one up whenever I’m in need of a side dish for tacos, fajitas, or any of your other classic Mexican players. That being said, it’s also delicious as it is, and even works wonderfully paired with non-Mexican flavors. Tonight i’m serving this up with a crispy broiled salmon and some Spanish rice, so, really, the sky’s the limit with this one! 

I hope you love this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower as much as I do! Let me know what you think in the comments below:))

Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower

Recipe by Annie PatrickCourse: SidesCuisine: Mexican, American, Tex MexDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

10

minutes
Total time

20

minutes

The zesty, creamy, and a bit lighter take on everyone’s favorite mexican veggie dish: this Healthier Mexican Street Corn Cauliflower is the only way I’ll be eating cauliflower from now on!!

Ingredients

  • 1 large head cauliflower, cut into large florets*

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 sweet onion, finely diced

  • 2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen

  • 4 cloves garlic, finely diced

  • 2 tsp paprika

  • 1 tsp chipotle chili powder*

  • ½ tsp ground cumin

  • Salt, to taste

  • 3 tbsp sour cream

  • ½ cup greek yogurt (or mayonnaise)*

  • ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, mint, and/or parsley, finely chopped

  • 2 limes, juiced

  • ½ cup feta or Cotija cheese, crumbled

  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

  • ⅓ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

Instructions

  • Steam the cauliflower florets in the microwave or over the stove until just slightly underdone.
  • In a large skillet or wok, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Once very hot, toss in the onion, corn, and cauliflower. Saute for 8-10 minutes (depending on size/heat of your skillet), or until the cauliflower and corn are slightly charred and the onions are caramelized. Only mix every 2-3 minutes to ensure the vegetables char nicely. Then, toss in the garlic, paprika, chipotle chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic is fragrant. Turn off the heat.
  • Stir in the sour cream, greek yogurt or mayonnaise, herbs, lime juice, feta or Cotija, parmesan, and pepitas. Mix to combine, then serve warm. Enjoy!

Notes

  • If you can’t find chipotle chili powder, regular chili powder also works. 
  • If you are using a low-fat or nonfat greek yogurt, make sure it is at room temperature or somewhat warm before mixing it in, or else it will split. 
  • I like to use a bag or two of frozen cauliflower and microwave it for about 4 minutes for this recipe. Fresh cauliflower also works well. If you can only find small cauliflower heads, use two. 
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