Mexican Street Corn Salad

This mouthwatering Mexican Street Corn Salad is a riff on elote, a popular Mexican street food. It’s both colorful and delicious, making it the perfect accompaniment to a myriad of entrées. It can be used as a condiment for burrito bowls, salads or tacos or with tortilla chips for dipping.  I’ve included both grilling and oven instructions so you can enjoy it year-round.

Easy Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe

If you’ve ever traveled South of the border, you know street corn is a popular and readily available kind of street food snack. It’s not surprising, it’s a spectacular grilled corn on the cob that’s slathered with mayo, seasonings and a sprinkling of queso fresco or cotija cheese just before serving. This corn salad hits all the same flavor points and is a terrific way to serve it to a crowd. How to make Mexican Street Corn Salad: (Scroll down for full printable recipe.)

• Prepare Grill – Heat gas grill on medium or charcoal grill until coals are ash white.
• Mix Butter and Oil – Mix together oil and butter, then brush on all sides of corn. Reserve leftover for dressing.
• Cook – Place buttered corn onto grill. Grill, turning often for 10-12 minutes or until all sides are charred and corn is tender.
• Remove Corn from Cob – Use a sharp knife or corn stripper to remove kernels from cob.
• Dressing – In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together any remaining butter and oil, mayo, lime juice, salt, lemon pepper, paprika, cumin and garlic.
• Combine – Add grilled corn, 3/4 cup cheese, jalapeno, onion and cilantro. Mix well.
• Serve immediately or chill until serving. Garnish with reserved cheese and cilantro, if desired.

How to Make the Best Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe

• Ingredients you’ll need to make homemade Mexican Street Corn Salad: 6-8 large ears of corn on the cob, salt and olive oil. You’ll also need crumbled queso fresco, diced red onion, diced jalapeno pepper and chopped fresh cilantro.
• For the dressing you’ll need: Mayonnaise, lime juice, salt lemon pepper, paprika, garlic and ground cumin. Whisk everything together in a medium size bowl until fully combined.
• Mexican street corn is grilled so, in keeping with the same flavor, you will also grill the corn for this recipe.
• During the cooler weather months when corn on the cob isn’t available, I have made this using frozen corn roasted in the oven. See more on that below.
• What is cojito cheese? Cojito cheese is a semi-hard salty cheese that’s named after the town where it’s made. It’s made from cow’s milk and aged until it reaches the desired ripeness. It’s comparable to grated Parmesan cheese in flavor and texture. It’s often the cheese you’ll find on Mexican street corn however, I recommend using queso fresco in this salad. It tends to hold up better to the dressing. You can certainly use cojito if that’s your preference, cutting the amount in half and mixing in in just before serving.
• The seasonings in the dressing can be adjusted to suit your taste. In particular, should you choose to use cojito cheese, you may need less salt.
• This salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
• You may also enjoy my recipes for Hot Pepper Jack Corn Dip, Loaded Corn Cakes and Roasted Mexican Corn.
• You may also like this technique for making corn on the cob in the microwave from Southern Living.

How to Make Mexican Street Corn Salad in the Oven

This salad is too delicious to limit it only to the summer months. During the cooler months of the year when fresh produce isn’t as readily available, frozen corn works perfectly.

To make it using frozen corn:

• Use two 12 oz packages of frozen corn kernels. (Or one 32 oz package, may adjust dressing amount, if needed)
• Thaw on the counter or run under warm water in a colander until thawed. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Spread in a single layer on a large sheet pan.
• Drizzle with butter and oil, toss to coat. (As seen in Step #2 for grilling, use it all)
• Roast in a preheated 425°F oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Increase the oven to broil for 5 minutes to char further at the end of roasting.
• Follow the recipe from Step #4 for dressing.

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Mixing Bowls
• Knife and Chopping Board
• Measuring Set
• Colander