The Sweet Canned Vegetable That Transforms Tacos For 10x More Flavor

Taco night is, perhaps, as ubiquitous as it is because the terrific dish is not only delicious fairly unadorned, but also incredibly versatile via all kinds of fillings, toppings, and condiments. There's just enough variety already built in to keep it interesting. What other foodstuff has the range to have claimed a whole darn formerly-trademarked day of the week like taco Tuesday, which happens an average of 52 times a year? Most of us aren't out here celebrating shrimp scampi Saturday at quite that cadence. The flip side is that it can be just as easy to fall into a taco rut. But a canned vegetable that you might already have in your cabinet will lift your tacos right back up to the pedestal upon which they belong: corn.

A lot of taco components skew savory, salty, or spicy, and corn's natural juicy sweetness is a pretty classic companion for those other taste sensations. Canned corn's little morsels also nestle nicely into soft or hard, corn or flour tortillas of your choice, without any further adjustment, except maybe rinsing. Moreover, you can also dress corn up in different ways to keep exploring all the possibilities of pairing it in a taco.

Sourcing one of the top picks from our canned corn ranking will start your taco night out right. But you should still, at a minimum, drain and rinse your corn in a mesh strainer under the tap to rid it of any unpleasant canning brine. It's also best patted dry with some paper towels so as not to dilute your other taco ingredients or just, you know, be weirdly wet. Combine it with some optional diced jalapeños for a bit of wonderfully contrasting heat, and this is really all the taco topping that you need. There are also, of course, canned corn varieties that already come in fire-roasted or Southwestern styles. Just a couple of tablespoons of either will give every taco a bit of bright, bursting flavor with minimal effort. But a modicum more work can also turn canned corn into the star of the toppings bar.

You can make an elote-inspired canned corn taco topping by tossing it with some cotija cheese, mayo, and cayenne paper. A few shakes of smoked paprika can also give it a hint of the grilled notes that you'd enjoy in a classic elote. You can even broil the corn for a few minutes first to give it a little bit of that open flame essence like we do in our warm elote corn dip recipe. This combination even cuts the need for any additional sour cream, shredded cheese, or peppers in your taco. Not that anyone should try to stop you on the august occasion of taco Tuesday, regardless of what the calendar says.