This easy side dish turns the popular street food, Mexican street corn, into an addictive, delicious salad. It’s perfect for your summer BBQs or a Cinco de Mayo party.
You can grill the corn, as in the traditional street food in Mexico, or slice the kernels from the corn and sauté in a barely oiled pan until lightly charred.
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My love of Mexican street corn is well-known. I make a Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad all summer and this Mexican Street Corn Casserole. The flavors are essentially the same – I would never mess with this classic Mexican dish – but is served in different presentations.
All of these dishes are perfect all summer long or for a Cinco de Mayo party.
Table of Contents
🌽 What is Mexican Street Corn?
Mexican Street Corn, also known as Elote, is a popular Mexican street food. Street vendors grill (or boil) corn on the cob,slather the cobs with a creamy sauce made of mayonnaise, Mexican crema, cilantro, chili powder, and lime juice, and then rolls them in cotija cheese crumbles.
These simple ingredients marry together into a delicious and flavorful side dish that’s described as sweet, savory, tangy, and spicy all at once.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
This list only covers ingredients that require some notes. Go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post for a complete listing of the ingredients, measurements, and directions for making this Mexican corn salad.
- Sweet corn– I use fresh sweet corn (white corn) in this recipe but frozen white corn will work fine. This recipe calls for 8 ears of corn which equates to 8 cups of corn kernels.
- Cotija cheese – Salty cotija cheese keeps the recipe true to Mexican street corn sold by vendors in Mexico, but you can also use feta cheese. You need the saltiness of cheese to make this recipe work.
- Fresh cilantro – For those of you who don’t like cilantro, use flat leaf parsley instead.
- Scallions – These can also called be called green onions or spring onions in your grocery stores. White onions also work well. An alternative that I haven’t tried, but should work fine, is red onion. Do not use yellow onions.
🎯 Why This Recipe Works
- The combination of flavors of traditional Mexican street corn is featured for a perfect balance of salt, sweet, and salt, with tangy lime juice.
- Charring the corn brings out its sweetness.
⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- Use frozen corn instead of fresh corn on the cob.
- Use cheese already in crumbles.
🥬 Make it Vegan
Use a vegan mayonnaise and plant-based salty cheese such as a plant-based Parmesan cheese. Follow Your Heart makes a very good vegan Parmesan style cheese.
🙋♀️ FAQ
Yes, but don’t dress the salad until ready to serve. Make the salad up to that point, cover both the salad and dressing with plastic and refrigerate for up to 1 day. After that, the corn flavor isn’t as fresh, IMO.
Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. But this salad is by far at its best the day you make it.
Since this elote salad is best on the day you make it, I recommend finding other ways to use leftovers. For example:
* In tacos with black beans, diced tomatoes, and avocado.
* In quesadillas with black beans and Monterey Jack cheese.
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Easy Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe (Ensalada de Elote)
This easy side dish turns the popular street food, Mexican street corn, into an addictive, delicious salad. Lightly creamy and spicy with a little tang, it’s a recipe you’ll make again and again.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 170.6kcal
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Ingredients
- 4 ears fresh corn, husked or 8 cups frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or other high heat cooking oil
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream or Mexican Crema
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced scallions also called green onions and spring onions
- ⅓ cup crumbled Cotija cheese or queso fresco or feta cheese
- ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro the leaves and tender stems
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
Notes
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
- Sweet corn– I use fresh sweet corn (white corn) in this recipe but frozen white corn will work fine. This recipe calls for 8 ears of corn which equates to 8 cups of corn kernels.
- Cotija cheese – Salty cotija cheese keeps the recipe true to Mexican street corn sold by vendors in Mexico, but you can also use feta cheese. You need the saltiness of cheese to make this recipe work.
- Fresh cilantro – For those of you who don’t like cilantro, use flat leaf parsley instead.
- Scallions – These can also called be called green onions or spring onions in your grocery stores. White onions also work well. An alternative that I haven’t tried, but should work fine, is red onion. Do not use yellow onions.
- Lime juice – It may initially feel like a lot of lime juice, but once the salad is dressed, it’s the perfect balance.
Nutrition
Calories: 170.6kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.1g | Protein: 3.8g | Fat: 12.3g | Saturated Fat: 3.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3.2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 557.1mg | Potassium: 228.1mg | Fiber: 1.6g | Sugar: 4.6g | Vitamin A: 424.5IU | Vitamin C: 11.7mg | Calcium: 62.4mg | Iron: 0.6mg
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I am a food blogger. I search for recipes and write to my blog. we have a small team of two people.
My Name is Shubham Patel And My partner name is Jenish Pateliya. we both work on this website.