Easy Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe
Sweet corn, fresh veggies, and a tangy dressing marry in this easy Mexican Street Corn Salad recipe that will have you glad you have that spare bag of tortilla chips. It’s a versatile dish that is the perfect side dish for Taco Tuesday or as a dip for Cinco de Mayo. No passport is required to enjoy this delicious Mexican flavorful salad recipe.
No matter what day of the week or year, this is a tasty dish made with frozen corn and fresh veggies. Pantry staples, along with a little bit of chili-lime seasoning (Tajín), add flavor to this warm corn “salad.” If you like Mexican street food (elotes or esquites), then you are going to love this dish which is basically an esquites recipe in salad form.
Mexican Corn Salad
I love that this recipe is made with simple ingredients found at most grocery stores and is ready in less than half an hour.
It can be enjoyed as a side dish, on a burrito bowl or salad bowl, or as a tasty dip perfect with tortilla chips. You could even enjoy it as a meatless main dish, too!
The fresh flavors and creamy dressing are reminiscent of traditional Mexican street corn.
Ingredients
Dressing
- sour cream, avocado mayonnaise, fresh lime juice (juice from 2 limes), garlic powder, and paprika
Salad Ingredients
- avocado oil
- frozen corn kernels
- seasoning: chili-lime seasoning, cumin, chili powder, salt, ground pepper
- cherry tomatoes
- yellow onion
- garlic grated
- jalapeno pepper
- fresh cilantro leaves
- cotija cheese
How To Make Mexican Street Corn Salad
Step 1: Add avocado oil to a large skillet or nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Step 2: Allow the skillet to heat through for 4-5 minutes before adding the corn kernels, chile-lime seasoning, cumin, chili powder, coarse salt, and pepper to the skillet. Saute for 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the skillet from the heat.
Step 3: Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, jalapeno, half of the cilantro, and half of the cotija cheese to the skillet, and stir to incorporate.
Step 4: Add the dressing ingredients to the skillet and mix until evenly coated.
Step 5: Top with the remaining half of the cotija cheese and cilantro.
How Long Can Mexican Street Corn Salad Be Kept?
Store leftover Mexican Street Corn salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Substitutions and Variations
- To make the dish creamier, add additional sour cream and/or mayonnaise.
- For additional “punch,” add more lime juice and/or use red onion in place of yellow.
- To lower the fat content, replace the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt or reduced-fat sour cream.
- Feel free to use fresh corn on the cob when it is in season rather than frozen corn. Be sure to use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the ears of corn. (Some people will place the ear of corn in the center of a Bundt pan and cut the corn so that the kernels fall into the pan. I prefer to keep things simple and simply use a knife and cutting board.)
- If you can’t find cotija cheese, you can use any other Mexican cheese that crumbles well, like fresco.
What is Mexican Street Corn made of?
There are two types of Mexican street corn: elote and esquites.
Elote is a grilled corn cob that has been coated with mayo and seasoned with chili powder. Fresh lime juice is squeezed over the cob and then Cotija cheese and cilantro round out the tasty food that is found on the streets of Mexico.
Esquites is basically the same as elotes except that the corn is taken off of the cob and it’s traditionally served in a cup.
What is cotija?
Cotija is a crumbly, salty Mexican cheese made from cow’s milk and named after a town in the state of Michoacán in Mexico. It is aged for two to twelve months and has a crumbly texture that easily breaks apart for garnishing dishes like this Mexican Street Corn Salad. Cotija can be found at most major grocery stores in the U.S. or Latin American markets. If it’s not available, you can substitute feta or another crumbly cheese.
What is Tajín?
Tajín is a blend of chili seasoning, lime, and spices and happens to be the number 1 best-selling Chili/Lime seasoning in the US. Not only can it be used in cooking, but it can also be used to line the rim of glasses for delicious libations like margaritas.
Hungry for more Latin-inspired dishes? Be sure to check out the recipes for Mexican Chocolate Pie, Carne Asada in the Instant Pot, Chipotle Mayo, Velveeta Rotel Dip, and Easy Chicken Fajitas.
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
Dressing
- 6 tablespoons sour cream
- ¼ cup avocado mayonnaise
- 3-4 tablespoons lime juice (juice from 2 limes)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Corn Salad
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 20 ounces frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon chile-lime seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 12 cherry tomatoes diced
- ½ small yellow onion diced (¼cup)
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- ½ jalapeno diced (¼ cup)
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ⅔ cup cotija cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Add avocado oil to a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
- Allow the skillet to heat through for 4-5 minutes before adding the corn, chile-lime seasoning, cumin, chili powder, coarse salt, and pepper to the skillet. Saute for 12 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the skillet from the heat.
- Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves, jalapeno, half of the cilantro, and half of the cotija cheese to the skillet, and stir to incorporate.
- Add the dressing ingredients to the skillet and mix until evenly coated.
- Top with the remaining half of the cotija cheese and cilantro.
Notes
- To make the dish creamier, add additional sour cream and/or mayonnaise.
- For additional “punch,” add more lime juice and/or use red onion in place of yellow.
- To lower the fat content, replace the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt or reduced-fat sour cream.
- Feel free to use fresh corn on the cob when it is in season rather than frozen corn. Be sure to use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the ears of corn. (Some people will place the ear of corn in the center of a Bundt pan and cut the corn so that the kernels fall into the pan. I prefer to keep things simple and simply use a knife and cutting board.)
- If you can’t find cotija cheese, you can use any other Mexican cheese that crumbles well, like fresco.
Nutrition
Be sure to come back and tell us how your Mexican Street Corn Salad turned out!
