This Mexican Street Corn Salad 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?
You guys know we love a good side salad. Especially a corn salad. And the true testament to how good this salad is? M loved it so much she requested it for lunch and dinner for two days straight. Does it get any better than the seal of approval from a 3 year old?
What elevates this salad to the toddler lovin’ level? A little pan fried char on the corn.
Fresh or Frozen?
Speaking of corn, should you use fresh or frozen? 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.
Next, a fresh, dressing of a lil’ homemade mayo, sour cream, lime juice, and a lot of flavor from the cumin, paprika, and chili powder.
Btw, have you made your own Mayonnaise From Scratch yet?
Other Great Ways use Mayo From Scratch
- Dill Onion Dip From Scratch
- Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders
- Fry Sauce From Scratch
- Avocado Tuna Salad
- Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Another key to this salad? Cotija cheese. Like a Mexican love child of Parmesan and feta cheese, this hard, crumbly cheese is really what ties this salad all together.
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.
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 leave 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.
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!!
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!!
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.