This Mexican Street Corn Salad recipe (also known as Esquites) is packed with fresh flavors and cotija cheese! This is the perfect side dish that turns the classic Mexican street food into a delicious and easy to make salad!
Friends, meet my new FFS... No, not FF Sake. Favorite Freakin' Salad: Mexican Street Corn Salad. Mexican Street Corn Salad, meet your new friends. Colorful. Flavorful. Fresh. What else could you ask for in a salad?
Recipe Video
Ingredients Needed
Fresh, that's the name of this salad. This salad is also known as an Esquites recipe, which is a Mexican corn salad.
Fresh or Frozen Corn? Well, there are benefits to each. You can get frozen any time of the year. Fresh is, well, fresh. Either will work for this dish. The most important piece is to be sure you add a little char to the corn from a nice pan fry. That'll add the necessary flavor to mimic the classic Street Corn.
What ties it all together? The dressing.
Also this is totally customizable. Like it cheesier? Add more cheese? Want a little more heat? Add a touch more chili powder? Want it creamier? Up the mayo and sour cream!
Did you know you can make your own Mayonnaise From Scratch?
Other Great Ways use Mayonnaise From Scratch
Step-by-Step Instructions
- The first thing that really is key to this salad and is what elevates this salad is a giving the corn a quick char by pan frying it.
- Then add all your fresh veggies into a large bowl.
- Mix all of your dressing ingredients (except the cheese) into another bowl.
- And then finally mix the dressing with the veggies and half of the cheese and give a good mix.
- Finally, add the rest of the cheese on top with some more fresh cilantro and serve!
This Mexican Street Corn Salad recipe is such a hit; I recently made this on a girls trip to the beach for a taco bar night and it received rave reviews. Thumbs up from 15 diverse women AND a 3 year old? Yup; this one's a keeper.
Other Favorite Side Salads
Other Mexican Inspired Dishes
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Tacos
Fresh Green Salsa From Scratch
Fresh Easy Pico de Gallo From Scratch
Crock Pot Chicken Carnitas Tacos
FAQs
It is a delicious salty, crumbly, Mexican cheese from cow's milk.
Totally! Parmesan, Romano, or feta are great substitutes (but Cotija is defintiely the best).
No, not necessarily, but it really does make a difference.
Not only did all the women of my girls trip love this esquites recipe, but my toddler inhaled it. So if that isn't a glowing review, I'm not sure what else is!
By the way, if you loved this recipe, try out our Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos, too!
Enjoy, friends! Don't forget if you make this salad or any other recipes from the site, please be sure to let me know on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter. I love hearing from you!
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups corn approximately 24 oz frozen
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro minced, a few leaves left for garnish.
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 1/2 large red onion diced
- 2/3 cup cotija cheese shredded/crumbled
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice approximately 2 limes
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium high and add corn. Cook until slightly charred, approximately 7-10 minutes. Add to large bowl and set aside.
- Add pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, and onion to large bowl with corn and mix well.
- In a small bowl, add all dressing ingredients and mix well until smooth.
- Add dressing to large bowl with corn and mix well. Add 1/2 cotija cheese and mix well.
- Add remaining cheese and some cilantro.
- Serve or cover and store in fridge for up to 8 hrs before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Jo Cooks.
Will this still be just as delicious if I don’t have sour cream on hand?
Not quite as good, but even with all mayo it's still delicious!
This recipe is so easy, and it is absolutely delicious!!! I have made it a couple of times, and my family loves it.
This salad has become my kids favorite thing to eat! Anytime we have anything remotely Mexican they want this salad. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
That's so great to hear, Jeanna!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Can you use Tajin?
Totally!
Do you cook the onion and red pepper and jalapeño or just add it in raw?
Just add it in raw 🙂
If I’m using fresh corn off the cob do I need to cook the corn before throwing it on a pan to sauté it? Or is just sautéing them enough for them to soften up for eating?
Hi Molly! Just sauteeing it in the pan will do the trick! Enjoy!
This dish is delicious! My husband said it is now one of his favorite salads. I will definitely be making this again. Great side dish for our fish tacos.
Driving through Indiana back to Milwaukee saw a guy selling corn on the side of the road. He gave me 25 wars. I’m sooo excited to try it in this recipe today!
That sounds amazing!! I’m so envious of how amazing that fresh corn is going to be in this! Enjoy 😊
Do I do anything to the corn beforehand or just slice it off the cob and start cooking?
Thanks!
Nope, just slice and saute! Or you could grill the whole cob and then slice it off the cob!
Excited to make this! I see you talking about fresh vs frozen corn... what about canned corn? Does that make a difference? 🙂 Looks delicious!
Canned corn works great, too! Enjoy!!
I have 30 coming to a party. Should I double or triple the recipe?
Triple!
This is SOOO good! Greatly appreciate all you chefs online that take time to post great recipes. Bringing this to 4th of July festivities and I've gotta say, feeling pretty damn smooth in my kitchen right now because I know I'm bringing the best dish to the party. Thanks for making me look good!
So good to hear, Meredith! Enjoy!! By tomorrow it may need a little refresh with some extra sauce to make it a little creamier and topped with some extra cheese, but so glad to hear you love it and I’m sure everyone else will, too!
OMG!!!! Made for a dinner party tonight… good thing I made a double batch because I can’t stop “tasting” it :). I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to lighten it up a bit and added some smoked paprika to the regular which gave my frozen pan fried corn that Smokey taste! So delicious
So great to hear, Tracie!! Thanks so much for sharing!! Great idea with the smoked paprika!
A BIG hit!! This just went to the top of our favorite salad list!
So glad you enjoyed it!
I just made this and it was amazing. I decided to only use half of the lime (2 Tbs) in the dressing because I'm not a huge lime fan, and it was the perfect amount for me! I definitely will be making this many times this summer!
Great to hear, Catherine! So glad you enjoyed it.
Can this be made a day in advance?
Definitely! Prep the dressing and set aside and then prep the corn with everything else except the cheese and store in the fridge. Right before you're ready to serve, toss with the dressing and the cheese! Enjoy!
If I’m making this with frozen corn, should I thaw it before charring? Thx!
Yup! Doesn’t have to be fully thawed but at least mostly. Enjoy!
Should this be served warm or cold?
Either! I usually serve it cold because I like to prep it in advance and just add the dressing and cheese right before serving.
I added some black beans to this dish and it really elevated it!!! Love it!!!
Ooh black beans. Great addition!
Is there another cheese I can substitute for the cortina cheese? I’m not familiar with this type. Thank you!
Hi Deb! Definitely, feta cheese works great, too!
Love it!! Super simple to make.
So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do!
Can I use smoked paprika?
Totally!
Do you boil the fresh corn first, then pan fry? Or just pan fry it raw?
You can just pan fry raw! Or I also like to use this for leftover boiled or grilled corn on the cob.
Can this be made a day in advance?
Definitely! Prep the veggies and dressing separately and then mix and add cheese right before serving. Enjoy!
Is this better mixed up same day your eating it or one of those that is even better the next day???
Same day! 🙂
Is it ok to put the corn on grill instead?
Totally!
I married this recipe with a corn chowder recipe and made some really delicious soup. I sautéed the vegetables, made the spice mix which I added to the broth, and cut the lime back to 2 tablespoons. Added potatoes and the broth, roux and half and half from the chowder recipe. When I served I used the cilantro and cotija cheese as a topping. Definitely a keeper recipe!
Wow, Tamie that sounds incredible!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
This soup sounds amazing! I added diced avocado to my salad yum!
So so good! I cannot wait to have Mexican again so I can have this with it! The whole family really enjoyed it. It was good to dip our chips in, also.
Thanks so much for sharing, Stef! You're right - it makes a GREAT dip, too!
If I refrigerate this, do I warm it In the microwave before serving or just serve at room temperature?
No need for the microwave, room temp or even a little cool is fine! 🙂
Really good! We added chopped tomatoes and a bit of habanero sauce to ours. Yummy!
Yum!
This was amazing! We will definetely make this again. Printing it out right now to have on hand. Delicious!
Just finished making this for our little July 4th celebration. Just delicious. The corn was sweet and plump. Flavors are amazing.
What a GREAT salad for 4th of July! So so so glad you enjoyed it - thank you for letting me know!
This was delicious! I didn't have a jalapeño so used a dash of cayenne. I also used some tomato.. Will make again
Yum! That sounds great, Maureen!
This was super good and Easy! Was a hit at party! Will make again!
No mention in the ingredients of the purple onion you can see in the photos. How much onion?
Oh Gosh thank you, Lisa! It's 1/2 a large red onion! Thank you so much for pointing that out! Enjoy 🙂
This was a hit at our family Christmas Dinner! We went with tacos this year and I made this as a side to round out the meal. Everyone loved it and it was so easy to put together.
Oh that's so awesome to hear Christy!! What a fun Christmas dinner; I'm so glad you all loved it!
I made this salad for my friends a few days ago and it was a big hit! Five people wanted the recipe! There were no leftovers! Thank you for sharing this with us!
That's so great to hear!! Thank you so much for letting me know!!
I love how you respond to every comment - such commitment to the budding cooks on here is enviable, and we thank you for it! And the amazing recipes, of course 🙂
Aw you're so sweet! I appreciate all comments and the time people take to leave them, so it's the least I can do!
This salad is one of our FAVE things to make in the summer when corn is fresh in season. It's just so sweet, salty, and amazing. Gotta be fresh corn IPO and definitely needs that char as you mention in this post. This has me dreaming of summer!
My mouth is watering looking at this Mexican street corn salad. This will be delicious as a side for any dinner or served on top of bbq and fish!
This salad is a DREEEEAM. I've never gotten to try actual Mexican Street Corn, but we had some friends bring over a salad just like this to a potluck and it was unreal. Even better than the real thing maybe? No need to gnaw the goods from off a cobb—just shovel it into our mouths 🙂
I was going to say that eating it Elote off the cob is heaven but when can just shovel it in - well, there's nothing better than that!!
Can this be made ahead of time & kept in the fridge? (I was thinking I’d add the cojita cheese and cilantro just before serving it!)
Totally!!
I was wondering the same thing. Can I chop, grill today and add the cheese and dressing the next day? Is it served cold? I think it is but just making sure
Hi Ester! Yes, that’s a great way to prepare it in advance, as it is great served cold, but you can also serve it slightly warm if the corn had just been cooked. Enjoy!
This is one of my favourite things to make especially during grilling season. Always a hit with the guests. Easy to make...and perfect for when corn is in season.
My mouth is watering just looking at this gorgeous salad. It would go great next to a piece of grilled chicken or steak, but honestly, I think I'd dive in with a handful of tortilla chips and snack to my hearts content. Seriously, this with a cold cerveza and a football game... That's my kind of "salad". I always have cotija on hand, because we love that salty, crumbly vibe -- I'm making this one for the family this weekend.