This Mexican street corn salad is one of my all-time favorite summer sides. Fresh, bright, lightly creamy & spicy, it's easy to make and sure to please.
This Mexican street corn salad is my at-home version of all the elotes we ate in Austin. Creamy, tangy, and a bit spicy, it’s one of my favorite ways to showcase summer sweet corn. If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that fresh corn is one of my all-time favorite foods. Crisp, juicy, and sweet, you just can’t beat it. Of course, I’ll always love it straight off the cob, but this Mexican corn salad takes it to a whole new level.
Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe Ingredients
If you’re not familiar with them, elotes are Mexican grilled corn topped with mayonnaise, hot sauce or chile powder, lime, and Cotija cheese. I used them as inspiration for this spicy, crisp, and creamy Mexican corn salad. It only has 1o ingredients, so each one adds something essential. Here’s what’s in it:
- Grilled corn is my starting point. It’s sweet, lightly charred, and juicy – delicious!
- Mayo gives the corn a lightly creamy coating.
- Lime juice and zest make it bright & zingy.
- Garlic & scallions add sharp, oniony accents.
- Cotija cheese dots it with tangy, salty pops of flavor. If you can’t find Cotija, use feta instead.
- Cilantro adds freshness.
- Smoked paprika underscores everything with a smoky depth of flavor. Chili powder works too!
- Jalapeño spices it up. Try pickled jalapeños for a fun variation!
- And sea salt ties it all together.
To make this salad, grill the corn on the cob and mix together the mayo, lime juice and zest, and garlic in a small bowl. Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add them to a bowl along with the scallions, Cotija cheese, cilantro, smoked paprika, and jalapeño. Fold in the dressing, and it’s ready to go.
You can serve this Mexican street corn salad just after you make it, although I love it best after it chills for a bit. Consequently, it’s a great make-ahead option for cookouts and picnics!
Mexican Corn Salad Serving Suggestions
This salad is a great one for making ahead, so bring it to any cookout on your calendar. It’s excellent with classic picnic fare like veggie burgers, BBQ sandwiches, black bean burgers, or portobello burgers.
It would also be a good addition to a Mexican-themed dinner. Serve it with any of these recipes:
- Rainbow Veggie Fajitas
- Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas
- Grilled Avocado with Veggie Ceviche (Stuff the corn salad into the avocados instead of the ceviche!)
- Jamaican Jackfruit Vegan Tacos
- Avocado Sweet Potato Tacos
- Or any of these 11 best vegetarian taco recipes!
If you have leftovers, add them to a DIY burrito bowl with cilantro lime rice and dressing, guacamole, black beans, pico de gallo, and mango or tomatillo salsa. Don’t forget the margaritas to drink!
More Favorite Summer Salads
If you love this Mexican corn salad, try one of these summer salad recipes next:
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Rainbow Orzo Salad
- Asian Slaw
- Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
- Or any of these 37 best salad recipes!
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Equipment
- Grill Pan (This one from Staub is great for grilling vegetables)
Ingredients
- 4 ears fresh corn, husked
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
- 1½ tablespoons mayo, or vegan mayo
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- ⅓ cup chopped scallions
- ¼ cup crumbled Cotija, or feta cheese
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, or chili powder
- 1 jalapeño pepper, diced*
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Brush the corn with olive oil and grill for 2 minutes per side, or until char marks form. Remove from grill and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the mayo, garlic, and lime zest and juice. Slice the kernels off the corn and add to the bowl along with the scallions. Stir to coat, then add the cheese, cilantro, smoked paprika, jalapeño, and salt. Season to taste and serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
Notes
I’ve made this recipe numerous times and everyone loves it. The only thing I do different is – gasp! – I use canned corn. I drain 2 cans and sautee in olive oil for 15 – 20 minutes on low-medium heat until the kernels are a little brown and caramelized. Everything else is the same. So good!
This recipe is fantastic! So fresh and the flavours work very well together. I made it with fresh peaches and cream corn grilled and cut from the cob. Our family loved it and I will definitely make it again.
So so delish we couldn’t stop until it was all gone, I used left over fresh cooked corn on the cobs and grilled them with a large jalepeno. It gave such a good sweet flavour and just the right amount of spicey heat to the salad. I will be making this again and again. Thanks for sharing
I’m so glad it was such a hit!
To die for! My daughter made this for a work event and said people went nuts over it. A few weeks later I decided to give it a try. It’s my new favorite!!!
Thank you for this perfect summertime salad idea.
We enjoyed it tonight after a visit to our local Amish Farmers Market, so all the elements were fresh picked, and we found some heavenly fresh harvested garlic which added the savory underpinning to the salad.
I added two elements.
1/2 cup roughly chopped red grape tomatoes, with black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Bravo. Thank you, love it!
This was absolutely fantastic! Thank you:)
Amazing! We love Mexican street corn, but it can be messy to cook and messy to serve. This is an amazing alternative. Adults and kids ate all of it, no left overs. I did add some ripe avocado and minced red onion. Super delicious!
Did anyone make this with frozen corn? Last minute prepping and that’s all I have. I would think so but just wondering
The mix of the flavours in this salad are amazing. I use smoked paprika, as opposed to the chilli powder, only because I used it the 1st time and everyone raved about it, I’m scared to mix it up! Definitely a go-to for any summer meal!
How many cups of corn is this?
Delicious!!!!!
Delicious and Pretty! I made this for a family reunion and it was perfect. Amazing mix of flavorful without being too overpowering. Hot but without too much heat. And all the colors mix beautifully! Definitely give it a try!
So glad you loved it, Allison!
Oh wow! This was so amazing I may have made it as a side and then ate the whole bowl for dinner! Added some chopped avocado, red onion and cucumber plus a little sriracha to the mayo. Honestly one of the best things I’ve eaten this summer and it’s going on the regular rotation!
This is a great salad! So fresh, easy, and it keeps pretty well too (when there are leftovers, which is rare). Making again tonight to go with homemade quesadillas. Love this site too!
Easy to make, when it was put together everything tasted balanced. I made recipe snd a half, i love cilantro so i added more
Yum, yum, yum. Made 3x in the last month for large gatherings. Used both smoked hot paprika and cumin, and added a bit more lime juice – lime zest is the TICKET!
Served immediately at room temp best, but then cold leftovers are my gig too.
Found I can cook corn for 4-6 min/side and cool before removing from the cob.
A keeper!
Hi Linda, so glad you love the recipe!