Creamy Vegan Corn Skillet Recipe
If a creamy vegan corn dip and a one-skillet weeknight dinner had a delicious summer baby, this would be it. This creamy vegan corn skillet is loaded with fresh summer flavor, packed with protein, and somehow feels equally at home at a backyard gathering or on your couch with a giant bowl of tortilla chips!
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Why You’ll Love This Creamy Vegan Chicken and Corn Skillet
There are some recipes that fit neatly into one category…and then there are recipes like this that completely refuse to be boxed in. Is it a vegan corn dip? A scoopable dinner? A taco filling? A burrito bowl situation?!! The answer is yes. 😂
What I can tell you is that every single person we’ve served this to immediately goes back for another scoop. It’s creamy, smoky, tangy, a little spicy, and absolutely loaded with flavor. The sweet fresh corn, creamy sauce, and savory soy curl chicken all come together in a way that feels way more restaurant-style than the amount of effort required!
I also love how approachable this recipe is. T will often prep all the veggies ahead of time in one jar using our Microplane jar top tools, so when dinner rolls around, I basically get to dump everything into the skillet and call it a day. That’s exactly my kind of summer cooking!
And if you’ve never been excited about cooking with fresh corn before…same! 😅 It honestly wasn’t until we started using the Microplane jar top corn stripper that I realized how fun (and easy!) it could be. Now, every summer, I’m looking for excuses to throw fresh corn into absolutely everything. This is just the beginning!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
For the veggies
- Fresh corn – Fresh is absolutely best here! In a pinch, you can substitute defrosted frozen corn or drained canned corn, but summer sweet corn really shines in this creamy skillet corn recipe. We use the Microplane jar top corn stripper to make the process ridiculously easy.
- Red onion – Red onion gives this vegan creamy chicken and corn skillet that signature Southwest-inspired flavor. Yellow or white onion will work in a pinch.
- Red bell pepper – Adds sweetness that balances the jalapeño beautifully. Skip green peppers here if possible. Yellow or orange peppers work, and if you grow lunchbox reds like T does every summer, those would be amazing!
- Jalapeño – Adjust the heat however you’d like! If spice isn’t your thing, swap in green bell pepper. Poblanos, serranos, shishitos, long hots, or cayenne peppers would also work beautifully. If you’re unsure how spicy each pepper is, check out the Scoville Scale guide from PepperScale before choosing.
- Garlic – Freshly minced or grated is best, but 2-3 tsp jarred minced garlic works too.
- Lime zest – Please don’t skip it! That little burst of acidity ties everything together and amplifies the juice in such a lovely way!
For the soy curl chicken
- Soy curls – Add them to the skillet dry! We’ll rehydrate them right in the pan, which saves time and dishes. You’re welcome. 😉
- Vegan chicken bouillon powder – We highly recommend our homemade vegan bouillon powder if you have it. It takes 5 minutes to make and is WORTH it in the flavor department. If using store-bought, be prepared to adjust the salt level to taste!
- Water – Cold water is perfectly fine since everything heats together on the stove!
For the creamy sauce
- Vegan butter – Totally optional, but it adds richness. We love Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or Country Crock Plant Butter for this.
- Chili powder – Note this is chili powder and NOT chili seasoning, although I suppose the latter would also work
- Smoked paprika – Regular paprika works if that’s what you have, but you’ll lose some of that smoky depth.
- Ground cumin
- Vegan sour cream – We used our 5-minute silken tofu sour cream, which adds tons of creaminess, tang, and extra protein. It can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store-bought vegan sour cream also works well. Our favorites are Tofutti and Elmhurst!
- Fresh lime juice
- White miso paste – This adds an incredible cheesy, savory flavor that helps mimic the parmesan often found in similar non-vegan dishes. You’ll want to lower the amount of miso you use if using store-bought bouillon.
- Nutritional yeast – Adds subtle nuttiness and rounds out that cheesy flavor!
Let’s Make This Vegan Creamy Chicken and Corn Skillet Together
Step 1: Cook the soy curl chicken
Start by adding the dry soy curls, water, and bouillon powder to a large cast iron skillet.
And yes, I really do mean dry. 😂 This recipe is intentionally designed to rehydrate the soy curls while they cook, which saves you an extra bowl and a whole extra step.
Turn the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. While that’s happening, go ahead and start prepping your veggies.
After 5 minutes, remove the lid and give everything a stir. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes so nothing sticks to the bottom.
Remove the soy curls from the skillet and set them aside. Don’t worry if you see little bits left behind in the pan; we’re about to use all that flavor!
Step 2: Prep the veggies
While the soy curls cook, strip your corn and prep all your veggies.
Honestly, my favorite trick here is assigning T this entire job. 😂 They use the Microplane jar top system to prep everything into one jar, and then I can just dump it into the skillet later. Teamwork makes weeknight dinners so much easier!
The photo below shows what all the veggies look like chopped into a glass jar. They fit perfectly into a 32-oz jar for storage until you’re ready to cook!
Step 3: Finish the skillet
Once the soy curls are out, lower the heat and carefully deglaze the pan with a splash of water, scraping up all those flavorful bits from the bottom.
Add the vegan butter (if using) and let it melt.
Then dump in all the corn and veggies and give everything a good stir.
Sprinkle over the chili powder, smoked paprika, and cumin, then cook for about 5 minutes until the veggies soften and the kitchen starts smelling absolutely incredible.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the vegan sour cream, fresh lime juice, white miso paste, and nutritional yeast.
Finally, add the soy curls back in and stir until everything is coated in that creamy, dreamy sauce.
Remove from the heat and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. The flavors deepen, and the color gets even richer during that time.
Equipment Spotlight
For this recipe, we used several of the Microplane Jar Top attachments to streamline the prep process, but the standout tool was definitely the Jar Top Corn Stripper.
Not only does it remove fresh corn from the cob incredibly quickly and easily, but it also catches all of the flavorful corn milk directly in the jar, which adds amazing sweetness and creaminess to the final dish. As someone who used to avoid prepping fresh corn altogether, this tool completely changed my mind about whether fresh corn is “worth it” for weeknight cooking!
We also used the Extra Coarse Blade, Slicer Lid, and Fine Grater to prep all of the other vegetables and aromatics directly into the same mason jar. The result was easy prep, minimal mess, and barely any cleanup!
We especially love the Fine Grater for garlic because it creates a flavorful garlic paste that melts beautifully into sauces and marinades. Plus, all of the jar top tools are dishwasher-safe, which makes them even more practical for everyday cooking!
How to Serve This Vegan Corn Dip (Or Dinner 😂)
This is one of those recipes that can become whatever you want it to be! (Did anyone else just have Hilary Duff singing “What Dreams Are Made Of” pop into their head?!)
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Drizzle with extra vegan sour cream and garnish with green onions and/or cilantro.
- Serve with plenty of tortilla chips for a scoopable dinner situation.
- Spoon it over brown rice and add extra lime and vegan sour cream for an easy burrito bowl!
- Use it as a filling for tacos, burritos, or quesadillas.
- Drizzle everything with our silken tofu queso if you really want to take things over the top.
There are no rules here. Be free and follow your creamy-corn-loving heart! 🤗
If You Actually Have Leftovers (Doubtful 😅), Here’s What To Do
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe since silken tofu doesn’t freeze particularly well. The texture becomes a little more cottage cheese-like once thawed.
Now…if you’re into that, go for it. But you have officially been warned!
More Vegan Skillet Meals To Try
If you love your cast iron skillet as much as we do, here are a few more vegan skillet dinners you should add to your list:
Leave A Rating & Review ⭐
If you make this vegan creamy chicken and corn skillet, we’d be so grateful if you’d leave a rating and review!
Ratings and reviews help more people discover our vegan recipes and feel confident that they can trust them. Plus, we absolutely love seeing how our recipes come alive in your kitchen.
I know this is a bit of a “what exactly is this recipe?” situation…a vegan corn dip? A dinner? A taco filling? But I hope you’ll give it a shot because once you take that first bite, I have a feeling you’ll immediately understand its magic too!
And then we can be creamy corn dip/dinner buddies, and wouldn’t THAT be fun?! 💚
Creamy Vegan Chicken and Corn Skillet
Equipment
- 1 12-inch cast iron skillet
Ingredients
For the veggies:
- 2 ears corn stripped
- ½ medium red onion minced or grated
- ½ large red bell pepper sliced or diced
- 1 small jalapeno sliced or diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 1/2 lime zested
For the soy curl chicken:
- 4 oz soy curls
- 2 Tbsp vegan chicken bouillon powder
- 2 cups water
For the sauce:
- 1 Tbsp vegan butter optional
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 cup vegan sour cream
- 1 lime juiced
- 1-2 Tbsp white miso paste
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
For serving:
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Rice or tortilla chips
- Vegan sour cream
Instructions
Step 1: Cook the soy curl chicken
- Add soy curls (dry), water, and bouillon to a large cast iron skillet and stir.
- Turn heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes. If you haven’t already, get started stripping the corn and chopping the veggies (Step 2 below) while you wait!
- When time is up, remove the cover and stir.
- Turn heat to medium-high and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes to remove from the bottom of the pot.
- Remove the soy curls from the pan and set them aside
Step 2: Prep the veggies (while soy curl chicken cooks)
- While the soy curl chicken cooks, prep the veggies!
- Strip the corn from the cobs.
- Chop/grate all the veggies as directed in the ingredients list.
Step 3: Finish the skillet
- Once you remove the soy curls from the skillet, deglaze the pan with ¼ cup water on low heat, pulling any soy curl remnants from the bottom of the pan loose
- Then, add 1 Tbsp vegan butter to the skillet and stir until melted (optional)
- When melted, add all the corn and chopped veggies to the skillet and stir
- Sprinkle on the 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, and ½ tsp ground cumin. Stir until evenly coated.
- Cook on medium heat until the corn and veggies are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and add the rest of the sauce ingredients (1 cup vegan sour cream, juice of 1 limes, 1-2 Tbsp miso paste, and 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast). Stir thoroughly
- Add the soy curls and stir thoroughly once more.
- Remove from heat.
Step 4: Serve
- Drizzle the skillet with extra vegan sour cream and garnish with green onions and/or chopped cilantro
- Serve alongside plenty of tortilla chips for a scoopable dinner or scoop the soy curls and sauce over brown rice and garnish with more lime and perhaps some more vegan sour cream!
Notes
- In a pinch, you can substitute defrosted frozen corn or drained canned corn, but summer sweet corn really shines in this creamy skillet corn recipe. We use the Microplane jar top corn stripper to make the process ridiculously easy.
- We used our 5-minute silken tofu sour cream, which adds tons of creaminess, tang, and extra protein. It can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store-bought vegan sour cream also works well. Our favorites are Tofutti and Elmhurst!
- You’ll want to lower the amount of miso you use if using store-bought bouillon.
- Make sure you add the soy curls to the skillet DRY. They will rehydrate on the stove!
