Chimichurri Corn Tacos

These Chimichurri Corn Tacos come together quick for an easy weeknight dinner. They are loaded with herby tangy flavor from the homemade chimichurri sauce and freshly sauteed corn. Budget friendly and perfect to meal prep for meals.

Side view of three corn and black bean filled tacos topped with avocado slices, cilantro and wedges of lime set behind them on the plate.

To be honest, I just wanted to use the very popular Corn Song audio trending on social media and thought what a better way to highlight corn than this recipe. But, I also love that the original interview with Tariq was just so wholesome and such a fantastic reminder to be enthusiastic about corn because it has so many benefits and it tastes amazing. “I mean, look at this thing!”

Why You’ll Love These Corn Tacos

  • Corn is nutritious! We’ll get more into this later, but note that corn provides fiber, protein and a host of various antioxidants that help to reduce chronic disease risk.
  • Easy to make. A fantastic weeknight meal because you just make the sauce in a bowl, sauté the corn and veggies then mix everything together with the beans before serving.
  • Fresh and delicious flavor. Mixing the fresh and tangy chimichurri sauce along with the corn makes for the most delicious taco filling.
  • Budget friendly. The base of this salad is fresh herbs, corn, and canned black beans, which is then served in corn tortillas. No fancy ingredients necessary.

What is Chimichurri Sauce?

Chimichurri is a sauce used in Argentinian and Uruguayan cuisines and have both a green and red preparation. It is made of a combination of finely minced parsley, oregano, oil, garlic, and red wine vinegar. This sauce can be used to baste or top over meats. But, today we are expanding this to mix with sauteed corn and black beans for a delicious and filling plant-based alternative.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

  • Herbs: We want fresh parsley as this is what the traditional sauce is made with. However, you can mix in some other fresh herbs like cilantro if you like that flavor like I do. This sauce is really helpful if you need to get rid of some additional herbs sitting in your fridge.
  • Red Wine Vinegar: This is pretty universal with traditional chimichurri sauces. If you do not have access to this, you can also substitute this with lemon juice.
  • Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves for both the sauce and sauteing the corn.
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Good quality is recommended for best flavor. You can also use sunflower seed oil too.
  • Lemon: Some chimichurri recipes will include this, but some traditional versions do not. I like the combo of lemon and red wine vinegar together for this, so that’s why I did include it.
  • Red Chilies: I used Fresno chilies but you can also use red pepper flakes or 1 Korean red pepper.
  • Black Beans: Our plant-based protein for this recipe. You can also swap for red kidney beans, pinto beans or even chickpeas.
  • Corn: If you can, use fresh corn, but you can also add in frozen or canned corn depending on what’s available to you.
  • Shallot: I like shallots because they are milder and sweeter in flavor, but you can also use red or white onion as well.
  • Poblano Pepper: This has a deeper and smokier flavor that I love when sauteed. You can also substitute this with another bell pepper variety.

How to Make Chimichurri Corn Tacos

To a large mixing bowl combine the herbs, chilies, some of the crushed garlic, oregano, vinegar, oil, lemon and salt. Mix well, taste and adjust seasonings then set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and warm up a little oil. Add the shallots with a pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Stir in the peppers and any leftover crushed garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add in the corn kernels and continue to sauté until the corn starts browning. As you sauté, add tiny splashes of water as necessary to deglaze the pan and prevent the onions or corn from sticking.

Add the beans to the mixing bowl with sauce then top with the sautéed corn and mix well. Adjust salt to taste then spoon the corn mixture into tortillas and serve with avocado.

Expert Tips

  • Finely mince the herbs, don’t blend them. Something I see with a lot of chimichurri recipes is that they are blended. Traditional and really well flavored chimichurri shines when you finely mince it.
  • Use fresh, canned or frozen corn. This will help make the recipe good for any season. If using canned or frozen, just make sure to rinse and drain well before adding to the pan.
  • Add extra beans. I used 1 can for the recipe, but you can add an additional can if you want to distribute the oils more.
  • Use the corn and bean mix in other meals. I like to top over whole grain rice or quinoa and serve it similar to a nourish bowl.
View of 3 corn tacos stuffed with a chimichurri mixed corn and black bean mixture and topped with avocado slices and cilantro.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use less oil?

Traditional chimichurri sauces tend to include more oil than I have included in this recipe, but you can absolutely tone down the oil to your liking. Start with half the suggested amount and continue to adjust to your liking. I also like to sometimes add an extra can of black beans to make more servings to enjoy, which also cuts the amount of oil in half naturally.

Is this gluten-free?

If you use corn tortillas then this dish is completely gluten-free.

What can I do with the extra cilantro and parsley stems?

If the stems are thin and soft, feel free to mince them very finely with the leaves. If they are thick, I like to save them to use in making habichuelas or cilantro lime rice.

Is corn healthy?

It sure is! It actually surprisingly has a lot more antioxidants compared to other commonly used grains. It provides fiber, protein, along with a host of different antioxidants like vitamin C, polyphenols like ferulic acid (associated with skin health and anti-aging properties), anthocyanins if you are using blue and purple corn varieties (you know the antioxidant everyone raves about found in wine that is associated with heart health, anti-inflammatory function, and anti-cancer effects), and even zeaxanthin and lutein which are good for our eyes.

Top down view of 3 tacos filled with sauteed corn and peppers mixed with black beans and topped with avocado slices and cilantro.

How to Serve and Store

Serve a helping of the corn bean mix into some heated corn tortillas, slices of avocado and extra cilantro or herbs of choice. The corn and tortillas provides your whole grain portion, the black beans and corn also provide protein and you have healthy fats coming from both the sauce and the avocado. There are lots of veggies and herbs mixed in this for additional nutrition, but you can also fill your tacos with more fresh veggies if desired. You can try fresh lettuce, shredded cabbage or sliced radishes.

The bean mix can be enjoyed warm or cold, so they are great for prepping in advance. Just add the mixed beans to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

More Vegan Taco Ideas to Try

Three corn tacos topped with sliced avocado and placed on a white plate sprinkled with cilantro.
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Side view of three corn and black bean filled tacos topped with avocado slices, cilantro and wedges of lime set behind them on the plate.

Chimichurri Corn Tacos

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Catherine Perez
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 8 tacos 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: Argentinian and Uruguayan Inspired
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

These Chimichurri Corn Tacos come together quick for an easy weeknight dinner. They are loaded with herby tangy flavor from the homemade chimichurri sauce and freshly sauteed corn. Budget friendly and perfect to meal prep for meals.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup parsley, stems removed
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, or more parsley, stems removed
  • 5 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press
  • 12 red chilies, minced or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Juice of one small lemon
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for sautéing
  • 1 tsp dry oregano
  • 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
  • 1 small shallot, sliced
  • 1 poblano pepper, diced
  • 2 cobs of corn, kernels removed
  • 1, 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

For Serving

  • 89 Corn Tortillas
  • Avocado

Instructions

  1. Finely mince your parsley and cilantro leaves with a knife. To a large mixing bowl combine the minced herbs, chilies, 3 cloves of crushed garlic, oregano, vinegar, oil, lemon and salt. Mix well, taste and adjust seasonings and oil to preference then set aside.
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and warm up about 2 teaspoons of oil. Add the shallots with a pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Stir in the peppers and 2 cloves worth of crushed garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add in the corn kernels and continue to sauté until the corn starts browning. Add splashes of water as necessary to deglaze the pan and prevent anything from sticking.
  3. Add the rinsed and drained beans to the mixing bowl with the chimichurri sauce then top with the sautéed corn and mix everything until fully combined. Adjust salt to taste then spoon the corn mix into tortillas and serve with avocado.

Notes

Finely mince the herbs, don’t blend them. Something I see with a lot of chimichurri recipes is that they are blended. Traditional and really well flavored chimichurri shines when you finely mince it.

Use fresh, canned or frozen corn. This will help make the recipe good for any season. If using canned or frozen, just make sure to rinse and drain well before adding to the pan.

Add extra beans. I used 1 can for the recipe, but you can add an additional can if you want to distribute the oils more.

Use the corn and bean mix in other meals. I like to top over whole grain rice or quinoa and serve it similar to a nourish bowl.

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

 Catherine

This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase from those links. I only recommend and share products that I know, trust and personally use myself!

2 Comments

  1. This was a quick, nutritious and filling meal! My entire family loved it, the filling was extremely flavourful and extra quick considering I used everything from out of a can (minus the chimichurri sauce). I added some cheese so that the tortilla could stick to the filling, and I enjoyed that a lot. I can see this easily becoming a staple recipe in my normally meat-with-every-meal style household.. Would definitely recommend.






    1. Awww, Layla! Means so much to hear this! And even better that the whole family enjoyed it too. Made my whole day to read this. Thank you so so much and hope you guys continue to enjoy them. 🙂

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