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!
Delicious
Our new go-to side dish! Great with bbq!
Love to hear that!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Made this today for dinner tonight. Just took a taste! Yum! Absolutely delicious! This is definitely a “ do again”!
Hello! I forgot to buy limes, I have lemon juice. What do you think? Should I make the trip for limes?
Hi Christy! I think you’ll be ok wish lemon juice as it’ll add the acidity, but be just a little different. Still good though!
Can I make this dish a day ahead for a party that I need to take to? We leave Friday morning and the party is on Saturday.
Definitely. You can prep it all the day before and just add the cheese and cilantro before serving. Or sometimes I prep the veggies and dressing separately and just toss it all together right before serving, too. Either way, it’ll be delicious!
I used feta since the store didn’t have any of the cheese mentioned above. It was so good! Also added tajin since I didn’t have paprika or cumin
So glad you enjoyed it, Sarah!
Can I make this and then put it in a crockpot to serve later? I need this for a football banquet.
Hi Chris! This salad is great cold. The only cooked portion is the corn and you want the other veggies raw/crunchy. I would prep all the veggies first and the dressing separate. Just toss it all together with the cheese and cilantro before serving. ☺️
Amazing meal. My daughter dropped corn on the couch, a lot of corn haha. It started smelling bad and I realized I needed to get an upholstery cleaning in penfield to remove the stains and smell. We now eat the meal in the kitchen together, but boy we love it. Thanks for the recipe.
Amazing recipe! I couldn’t find cotija so I used queso fresco and added a touch more salt. Freaking awesome!
Sounds great, Kristen! So great to hear it, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hi there. I want to try this but all I have in the house right now is canned corn….yellow sweet and shoepeg. Will canned work?
Yellow sweet definitely will! Enjoy! 😊