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If you’ve seen those viral street corn beef bowls all over social media, this is the vegetarian version you need to try ASAP! It’s loaded with saucy taco tofu, roasted sweet potatoes, and creamy, tangy street corn for the perfect bowl situation.
Why you’ll love this favor packed recipe!
Every time a viral ground beef recipe starts popping up in my Instagram feed (like these high protein “beef” bowls that I made with tofu instead), I immediately want to re-create it with tofu! I’ve tried several methods of making ground tofu that mimics beef and this one is BY FAR my favorite! It’s flavorful and juicy and overall just so simple to throw together.
And if you still haven’t tried super-firm tofu, DO IT! It’s really the only tofu I use these days. I like to get it at Trader Joes because it’s very inexpensive HOWEVER, I’ve seen it at most other grocery stores.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Big, bold “street corn” flavor in every bite
- A satisfying vegetarian dinner that actually keeps you full
- Great mix of textures: crispy tofu, creamy corn, tender sweet potatoes
- Perfect for when you want something a little fun but still simple
Ingredients needed
The ingredients for this recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Sweet potatoes – the cubed sweet potato gets tossed with cornstarch (to help it crisp up), olive oil, and taco seasoning and then roasted for about 20-25 minutes.
- Super firm tofu – I love super firm tofu but extra-firm also works well! The tofu gets shredded and sautéed in a pan before being covered in a delicious sauce that really makes the tofu mimic ground taco beef.
- Mexican street corn salad – I’m using my esquites recipe but I simplified it a bit and cut it in half. That being said, I highly suggest clicking through to the original recipe and making a whole batch of it to have leftovers!
- Cotija – this goes in the corn salad but I always like to have more to sprinkle on top of the bowls.
- Cilantro – this goes on top of the bowls. You can skip it if you prefer.
- Avocado – for serving!
Recipe Tips
- Shred your tofu instead of cubing it for the best “taco meat” texture.
- Let the tofu cook long enough to dry out and get golden before adding the sauce.
- Don’t skip the cornstarch on the sweet potatoes! That’s what gives you crispy edges.
- Taste and adjust the street corn. You can add more lime or salt if needed.
- If your tofu feels wet, let it cook a few extra minutes before adding the sauce.
Looking for more tofu recipes? You need to try our Crispy Air Fryer Tofu as well as our famous Orange Tofu and our Tofu Lunch “Meat”.
Street Corn Tofu Bowls
Ingredients
For the sweet potato:
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch
For the tofu taco meat:
- 15 oz extra firm tofu, Super firm tofu also works great!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 ½ tablespoons taco seasoning
- 3 tablespoons of your favorite salsa
- 1 teaspoon vegetarian beef bouillon*
- 1 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
For the Mexican Street Corn Salad:
- 15 oz can of corn*
- 1 tablespoon sour cream, or ideally, Crema Mexican Agria Sour Cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Juice and zest of ½ a lime
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder, regular works as well
- ½ bell pepper, finely diced*
- 1 small jalapeno, finely diced (remove the seeds as desired)
- 2-3 tablespoons cotija cheese, crumbled
- 2-3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
For serving:
- ½ avocado, sliced or diced
- handful of cilantro chopped
Instructions
For the sweet potato:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- On a large baking tray, toss the sweet potato with the olive oil, salt + pepper, and taco seasoning. Spread in an even layer and roast for 25 minutes, tossing halfway, until fork-tender.
For the tofu “meat”:
- Using the large side of a box grater, shred the block of tofu. Some large chunks will fall off, so I take those and very gently push them through the grater.
- In a large skillet, heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add in the shredded tofu and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for about 10 minutes or until the tofu turns a golden brown color and most of the moisture has cooked out.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking together ½ tablespoon of olive oil, taco seasoning, salsa, bouillon, soy sauce, water, and tomato paste. Once the tofu has turned golden, add the sauce, stir, and cook for 2 more minutes.
For the street corn:
- Make the sauce by stirring together the sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, lime zest and juice, and chili powder.
- In a large bowl, combine the corn, bell pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, cotija cheese, and cream sauce. Toss to combine so that all of the corn is covered in the sauce.
Assemble:
- Assemble the bowls by dividing the tofu “beef”, sweet potato, street corn salad, avocado, and cilantro evenly among 2 bowls. Garnish with cilantro and ENJOY!
Notes
- Corn – you can also use 2 ears of cooked corn or 15oz of frozen corn, thawed
- Bell pepper – you can leave this out if you’d rather not have ½ of a bell pepper leftover.
- Bouillon – I highly recommend keeping some Better than Bouillon on hand at all times. This recipe calls for the vegetarian beef flavor, but I often just use the generic vegetarian bouillon. You could also use a bouillon cube OR swap the water in this recipe for broth.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
