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!
A fabulous summertime patio party recipe! Thank you for sharing — truly delish!
Thank you, Fiona! So glad you enjoyed it and I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!
We bring this as a side to friends houses and it is always a hit, thank you!
Love to hear it, Joe! Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time to leave a reivew!
We make this all of the time and love it. Always a hit when shared!
I love to hear it, Jack!! Thanks so much for sharing!
Are you able to make this ahead of time?
Definitely! Prep the veggies and creamy dressing separately and store in the fridge. Assemble and finish with the cheese an hour or two before needed and enjoy! ☺️
Made this to take to party and it was a big hit. I doubled recipe but used 2 x 1kg frozen corn . I used Parmesan cheese and left out coriander and jalapeños and it was still great. Very easy to make and delicious and looks pretty with all the colours. A great one to take when you need to bring something and easy on the pocket.
Great to hear, Milica! Thanks so much for sharing!
This salad is delicious. I took it to a family gathering and it was devoured. Everyone asked for the recipe and I was so flattered and pleased that it went over so well. I always take one dish to a party that I’ve never made before and this is the one I chose. Lucky me. Lucky guests. I followed the directions exactly and it was perfect.
So wonderful to hear, Meg! Thank you for sharing!
I had a potluck party to go to and was planning to make Mexican Street Corn on the cob, but the corn at the market was horrible. So I found this recipe, used it, and it worked out perfectly. As suggested I substituted parmesan cheese because that’s what I had on hand and it was fine. I will look for cotija next time. My jalapeno was particularly large which, as expected, meant it would be quite mild as jalapenos go. I added some Cayenne Pepper and viola, perfection! Thank you for transforming a traditional Mexican corn on the cob recipe to a really nice Mexican corn salad!
Wonderful to hear, David! So glad you were able to make the subs needed and that you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to leave a reivew!
I have never tried Mexican Street Corn Salad before until yesterday. This was Amazing! Hubby and I had it on chicken tacos and it was delicious! Having some leftovers today. Thank you very much. I will definitely be making this again.
I love to hear it, Maria! Thanks so much for taking the time to share and leave a review!
Hands down the BEST side I’ve ever made (and eaten tbh)! Never have to worry about bringing home any leftovers and haven’t had one person not like it after trying it. It’s hard to find dishes that are universally liked. Been making this for a year now and will continue to!
I absolutely LOVE to hear that, Jessica!! Thanks so much for sharing!
is the nutritional info correct?! serving size 1 gram is about 1 kernel of corn! recipe looks delish but not at 166 calories per kernel of corn🥴
Oh weird, not sure why that was saying 1 g, the serving size is assuming 8 servings of the entire bowl. 🙂
I’ve been making this for a couple of years and it’s absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Simple & delicious! I wanted a side to serve with fish tacos, so I made this!