This Mexican Street Corn Salad is an easy side dish only takes a few minutes to put together with frozen corn, Cotija Cheese, lime juice, and jalapeño peppers.
When you use the delicious Mexican cheese mixed with simple ingredients, you can get a delicious salad recipe that is perfect to serve on hot summer days for your summer potlucks.
You can serve this great side dish with tacos or burrito bowls. Mexican street corn salad is the perfect balance of savory flavors mixed into a creamy lime dressing.
Recipe Ingredients:
- Olive Oil
- Frozen Corn
- Mayonnaise
- Cotija Cheese Crumbled: Feta Cheese also works as a substitute.
- Lime Juice
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Fresh cilantro
- Red Onion
- Garlic
- Chili Powder
- Salt and Pepper
How to make Mexican corn salad:
- Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add frozen corn and let cook until corn starts to char, stirring occasionally (it took about 7-8 minutes before my corn was lightly charred).
- While the corn is cooking, mix together mayonnaise, cheese, lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When corn is done, gently fold it in with other ingredients.
- Serve immediately and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
Expert Tips and FAQs
Type of corn to use for this Mexican corn salad recipe:
You can use whatever you please, whether you want to use, frozen corn, canned corn, or fresh corn kernels off the cob. Either way you will get the most delicious elote salad.
You can even use ears of corn cooked on an outdoor grill or fire-roasted corn for a smoky flavor.
Toppings or add ins for this perfect side dish:
- Black beans
- Lime zest or fresh lime juice
- Chopped red bell pepper
- Hot sauce (for a little spice)
- Sour cream
- Green onions
- Cayenne pepper
Mexican street corn is an actual authentic dish from Mexico. They take corn and rub a creamy mayo mixture on it. It is usually found being sold on the side of the street, in small shops or carts – hence the name Mexican Street Corn.
I personally could not find the salty cotija cheese at the store the other day when I was making this recipe, so I replaced it with feta cheese, another type of crumbly cheese. You could also use goat cheese if you don’t like cotija or feta.
If you don’t like any of those options, you could also use strained cottage cheese, or simply omit the cheese altogether.
You can serve the salad either way. Our personal preference is to serve it warm. When we serve it as a dip with tortilla chips, we tend to let it cool down. When we serve it for dinner, we serve it immediately after mixing it together so it is still warm.
Storage Instructions:
Fridge: Store any leftovers of this classic Mexican street corn in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. This is not a recipe I would suggest freezing.
More salad recipes:
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
- Mom’s Frog Eye Salad
- Seven Layer Green Salad
- Ramen Noodle Oriental Chicken Salad
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 16 ounces frozen corn 1 bag
- 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise (I used light)
- 4 ounces Cotija Cheese crumbled, (could also use feta cheese)
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice (fresh is best)
- 1 Tablespoon jalapeno pepper finely chopped
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons red onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium heat. Add frozen corn and let cook until corn starts to char, stirring occasionally (it took about 7-8 minutes before my corn was lightly charred).
- While the corn is cooking, mix together mayonnaise, cheese, lime juice, jalapeno, cilantro, red onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When corn is done, gently fold it in with other ingredients.
- Serve immediately and store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
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