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 cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, or chili powder
- 1 jalapeño, 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
Love the recipe, thank you! I wish I could give it 4.5 stars.
I used frozen corn, like others, since fresh is out of season. I used about 2 cups and put them in a hot, dry iron skillet while frozen, on high heat to burn off the water for about 2 min. Added diced jalapeño and about 1/2 – 1 T olive oil, mixed it about and kept the high heat to char the corn and pepper.
Hi Michelle, so glad you enjoyed it!
This was a hit at a dinner party! Thanks for the great recipe. made it with frozen corn since it’s out of season right now. I can’t wait to see how good it will be with fresh corn too!
So glad you loved it!
Healthy & yummy
So glad you enjoyed it!
I live in Guadalajara, Mexico, and made this recipe for a picnic celebrating Mexican Independence Day. I added cilantro and some jalapenos and chiles but didn’t want it to be too hot. I had additional chopped jalapenos, red onions, Tajín, and hot sauce available on the side. It was a big hit with Gringos and Mexicans!
I’m so glad it was such a hit!
This was really good but I like money spiiicccyyyy so I added cayenne and tajin. Will be making again.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Do you seed the jalapeno?
If I wanted to use frozen corn how much would I need? Would you defrost first then pat the corn dry with paper towels then slightly brown it in olive oil? This looks so good and can’t wait to make it. Thank you!
Jan
Do you seed the jalapeno?
If I wanted to use frozen corn how much would I need? Would you defrost first then pat the corn dry with paper towels then slightly brown it in olive oil? This looks so good and can’t wait to make it. Thank you!
Jan
Was sooooo helpful . Thanks for recipe!
I’ve made this about 4 times already at the request of family members. I used frozen corn to save time Anna feta because cotija is hard to find in my area, but it still tastes great.
I used sprinkly parmesan and some sour cream since I didn’t have a crumbly cheese, garlic powder since I didn’t have time to chop any, and white onion because I didn’t have scallions.
I halved the recipe was able to use our 2 leftover grill-roasted ears of corn and fresh lime juice. It was still amazing!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this as a side with pork chops tonight. It was absolutely delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is really good!! I also thought there wouldn’t be enough dressing. It’s plenty. I made this to go along with chipotle chicken thighs that I will be throwing on the grill tonight.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I used frozen sweet white and yellow corn only because I didn’t have corn on the cob. Sautéed it in love oil. I’ll use the cob next time. Otherwise, I made it as is and it was wonderful! Great side dish with our Father’s Day BBQ. Will definitely make again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Such a wonderful recipe! I have been taking it to all my BBQs this summer and it has been a hit!
I’m so glad you’ve loved it!
Made this tonight as a yummy summer side. This is amazing, made exactly as is! Works great as a solo side or could be added to a bigger salad, tacos or burrito bowls. As I was making I thought maybe it wasnt enough dressing to coat all the corn, but I was wrong it was perfect. Highly recommend.
I’m so glad you loved it!
If tripling and making a full day ahead of time should I make the mayo sauce, prep the corn and then assemble day of? Just afraid of the corn getting rubbery. But that might happen if I don’t mix them too! Or should just make it a day ahead and add cilantro day of?
Hi Erica, I would assemble it with the dressing a day in advance. Give it a good stir before you transfer to a serving dish, and add the cilantro day-of. Hope that helps!
This was great. I used the vegan mayo recipe with the corn and the consistency of the mayo didn’t work, but the flavor was fine. I also subbed queso fresco for cotija based on preference and cooked the corn in a pan. Very tasty, but I would recommend doubling to increase leftovers.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
My wife hates cilantro so could it be replaced with lemon juice instead of lime and parsley instead of cilantro?
you could just skip it!
Yes to both the lemon juice and parsley.
Can I make this the day before?
Tani
Hi Tani, you could – I would wait to add the cilantro until you’re ready to serve it.
I saw a post about removing the garlic. I did not see that in the recipe. Am I missing something?
Hi Tani, I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but if you don’t like garlic, you could skip it here.
The ingredient list is missing garlic
Hi Jeannette, 1 garlic clove is in the 4th bullet point.