Mexican street corn salad (AKA esquites) transforms traditional street corn into an easy-to-serve salad! Ready in 20 minutes and can be served hot or cold.
Mexican street corn salad has everything you love about street corn, but is less messy and much easier to eat. The sweet, crisp corn pairs beautifully with the fresh veggies and creamy dressing! We love it with smash burgers and hotdogs, but it tastes amazing with Mexican dishes too, of course.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy to prep! It takes just 20 minutes to prepare this salad. It’ll be even faster if you use frozen corn!
- Unique side dish. While I love pairing my tacos with black beans or refried beans and rice, this salad is a fun alternative when I want to mix things up with something a little different. Of course, it’s not quite as unique as my Mexican street corn pasta salad… 👀
- Customizable spice level. Keep it mild for kids or add some cayenne (or extra jalapeno!) for spice lovers.
- Can be served warm or cold. I like it both ways! I’ll eat it fresh warm or enjoy the leftovers cold.
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Ingredients
If you’ve had elotes before, you’ll recognize most of the ingredients listed below:
- Corn. I HIGHLY recommend using fresh corn. If it’s out of season or simply not available to you, use frozen. I like sweet corn for its flavor; either white or yellow will work.
- Cotija cheese. If you can’t find cotjia cheese, I’ve found that feta cheese is the best substitute. If I’m using feta, I prefer to buy the block and crumble it myself instead of using the pre-packaged crumbles.
- Crema. Crema is best, but you can use sour cream in a pinch. Sour cream is thicker and doesn’t have the exact same flavor profile, but it will still work.
- Jalapeno. The spiciness of your jalapeno will affect how spicy your salad is. It can really vary from jalapeno to jalapeno, so if you are serving this to kids, test your jalapeno first before adding it. Poblano pepper can be a good substitute if you are worried about spice.
- Onion. Really any type will work, but I prefer red onion for its bright color and sharp flavor.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
SAM’S TIP: For a better char and even deeper flavor, grill your corn cobs instead of cooking in a cast iron!
How to Make It
Prep the corn
Add the butter to a cast iron pan over medium high heat. Once melted, add your corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until charred. Sprinkle with salt and give it one more stir before removing from the heat.
Add the other ingredients
Add the charred corn into a serving bowl (make sure it’s heatproof, since the corn will still be hot!) along with all of your other prepared ingredients.
Toss, top, & enjoy!
Toss everything together until well incorporated. Top with chili powder or tajin just before serving (I usually leave it on the side so anyone can add what they’d like). And remember, this salad is great either warm or cold.
SAM’S TIP: This salad tastes even better when made in advance; it gives the flavors time to develop and meld. I especially love doing this when I make it for parties or potlucks! Just make sure to put it in the fridge in an airtight container if you plan to make it ahead of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can eat this salad either way, so it’s really a choose-your-own-adventure kind of dish. I like it warm right after it’s made, but once it cools down I usually only enjoy leftovers cold. If you want to serve it warm, I do recommend making and serving it immediately, as it may be a bit awkward to reheat once it’s cooled.
Mexican street corn is usually topped with a sauce made from a mixture of crema and mayo. This adds flavor and gives something for the cotija cheese, chili powder, cilantro and lime juice to stick to. Some people even sprinkle crushed Flaming Hot Cheetos over their street corn–that’d taste great on this salad too!
Grilled foods like burgers, hotdogs, chicken, steak, etc., pair nicely with the fresh flavors of this salad. Or you can stick with the Mexican theme and serve your salad as a side with tacos (like my crispy chicken tacos), chicken enchiliadas, etc.
More recipes to use that sweet summer corn:
My Mexican street corn pasta salad is similar to this recipe, but beefed up with the addition of perfectly cooked noodles. Give that a try next!
Enjoy!
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Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons (28 g) salted butter
- 4 cups (615 g) fresh corn kernels cut off cob
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (70 g) finely grated cotija cheese
- ½ cup (70 g) finely diced onion red or white
- ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 3 Tablespoons (42 g) crema
- 2 Tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons finely diced jalapeno
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- Chili powder or Tajiin for topping
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter and heat until melted.2 Tablespoons (28 g) salted butter
- Once butter has melted, add corn kernels and saute, stirring occasionally, until kernels are slightly charred/darkened (this usually takes around 5-8 minutes).4 cups (615 g) fresh corn kernels
- Sprinkle with salt, stir, and remove from heat. Pour corn into a large, heatproof mixing bowl.¼ teaspoon table salt
- Add cotija cheese, onion, cilantro, crema, mayonnaise, jalapeno, lime juice, and pressed garlic. Stir well until all ingredients are well incorporated and dispersed.½ cup (70 g) finely grated cotija cheese, ½ cup (70 g) finely diced onion, ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro, 3 Tablespoons (42 g) crema, 2 Tablespoons (28 g) mayonnaise, 2 Tablespoons finely diced jalapeno, 1 Tablespoon lime juice, 2 garlic cloves
- Serve warm or cold, topped with chili powder or Tajin as desired.Chili powder or Tajiin
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Stir well before serving.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Jan
tried this recipe and added ground beef
my whole family loved it they ate it in a flour tortilla
adding the ground beef made it a dinner for all of us
Samantha Thrush
Made this dish and it was amazing! It wasn’t difficult to make either. I served it cold as a side dish at our cookout. I tried it right after I made it and serving it hot or cold would be yummy! I am also eating it now with tortilla chips and it is wonderful like that. This is a must try! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Samantha! 🙂
Carla
Very good ! I took to a family reunion and it was a hit!
Sam Merritt
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Carla! 🙂