Mexican Street Corn Salad
Our Mexican Street Corn Salad recipe (also known as Esquites) is packed with fresh flavors and crumbly cotija cheese! This is the perfect side dish that turns the classic Mexican street food into a delicious, easy-to-make salad!
Next, try our Award-winning Roasted Tomato Salsa!
One of our most popular recipes is this elote in a bowl, also known as Esquites, is Our Mexican Street Corn Salad! It’s everything you love about the classic street food, but easier to eat, simple to make, colorful, flavorful, and so fresh. What else could you ask for in a salad?
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This healthy, nutritious side salad has become one of our most made and reader loved recipes for a few simple reasons.
- It’s easy to make and great to make in advance!
- The flavors are fresh, bright, and complementary.
- This salad is vegetarian and gluten-free, making it a great option to bring to a group gathering or potluck.
- Well over 600 people have made it and rated it 5 stars!
Ingredients Needed
What makes this esquites the ultimate vegetarian veggie-packed side? All of the fresh vegetables!
- Corn – Fresh, Canned, or Frozen Corn will work for this dish. In the summer, fresh off the cob is our choice, but it’s just as delicious with canned or frozen!
- Red Onion – Red is best bc of the color and sharp, sweet flavor, but white or yellow will also work if that’s all you have.
- Jalapeno – This adds just the right amount of heat.
- Red Pepper – This adds great color, a sweet crunch, and just a little more nutrition.
- Fresh Cilantro – Key to adding that fresh herbal finish!
What ties it all together? The creamy flavor-packed dressing.
- Sour Cream – We love the creamy tang this adds.
- Mayonnaise – Did you know you can make your own Mayonnaise From Scratch?
- Salt, Paprika, Cumin, Chili Powder – Just the right amount of seasoning!
- Fresh Lime Juice – The bright acidity to tie it all together.
- Cotija Cheese – A key component to any street corn recipe!
Customizable!
Our Mexican Street Corn Salad is totally customizable. Like it cheesier? Add more cheese. Want a little more heat? Add a touch more chili powder or jalapeno. Want it creamier? Up the mayo and sour cream! It’s easy to work with your (or your guests’) tastes to make it your own.
Recipe Video
Step-by-Step Instructions
A key step that really elevates the flavor of this salad is giving the corn and jalapeno a quick char by pan-frying it. It adds so much great flavor to that corn by mimicking what you would get on the grill from classic Mexican Street Corn. Once the corn and jalapeno are charred, add all your fresh veggies to a large bowl.
Then mix all of your dressing ingredients (except the cheese) in another bowl. This is where you can stop and refrigerate everything for a day or two for an (even easier) side to whip together when needed!
About an hour before you’re ready to serve, 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!
Mexican Street Corn Salad, done! This recipe has been a hit since I first made this on a girls’ trip to the beach for a taco bar and when my then 3 year oldabsolutely inhaled it. Thumbs up from 15 diverse women AND a 3-year-old? Yup; it’s a keeper. Check out all of our other delicious side salads here!
Other Mexican-Inspired Dishes
- Mexican Corn Ribs
- Easy Homemade Mexican Rice
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Tacos
- Elote Skillet Pasta
- Roasted Tomato Salsa
- Corn Tortillas From Scratch
- Turkey Taco Cups
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos
- Refried Beans From Scratch
Recipe Tips
It is a delicious, salty, crumbly Mexican cheese from cow’s milk.
Totally! Parmesan, Romano, or feta are great substitutes (but Cotija is definitely the best).
No, not necessarily, but it really does make a difference in the flavor.
This salad is great to make ahead. Prep the veggies and the dressing and store them separately and assemble when you’re ready to serve!
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups corn approximately 24 oz frozen
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell 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
- Char corn: Heat olive oil in a saute pan on medium-high and add corn and diced jalapeno. Cook until slightly charred, approximately 7-10 minutes. Add to a large bowl and set aside.
- Add veggies: Add red pepper, onion, and cilantro to a large bowl with charred corn and mix well.
- Make Dressing: In a small bowl, add all dressing ingredients and mix well until smooth.
- Assemble Salad: Add the dressing to the large bowl with the corn and mix well. Add 1/2 cotija cheese and mix well.
- Finish: Add the remaining cheese and some additional cilantro.
- Serve and Enjoy!
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.