Mexican Street Corn Salad

All of the flavors of Mexican street corn in an easy-to-eat and easy-to-make salad!

You’ll love how the creamy, spicy, cheesy flavors of elote come together in this Mexican Street Corn Salad featuring charred corn, fresh veggies, and a flavorful tangy dressing.

Mexican Street Corn is a delicious snack that can be purchased from vendors in Mexico. You’ll be handed a whole corn cob that has been expertly grilled, slathered with a creamy sauce, and covered with a flavorful treatment of cotija cheese and chili powder.

While I do enjoy making grilled corn on the cob and giving it the Elote treatment, sometimes it’s more practical to make this Mexican Street Corn Salad instead.

This tasty corn salad, also known as “esquites” is eaten with a fork, rather than your hands, so it can be a better option for those of us who would rather not eat with our fingers.

Plus, fresh corn kernels are easy to cook on the stove, which means that you can make elote corn salad any time of the year, no grill needed!

Enjoy this Mexican Corn Salad with any of your favorite cookout meals, or serve it as a side dish with Tex-Mex Favorites like my Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet, Carne Asada, Steak Fajitas, and Cilantro Lime Chicken.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. One Bowl – Make the dressing for this creamy salad in a large bowl, then mix up all of the ingredients in the same bowl! Aside from the skillet used to char the corn, you’ll have very few dishes to do tonight.
2. Traditional Flavors From Common Ingredients – In Mexico, elote is made with Mexican Crema and Cotija Cheese. These ingredients can sometimes be hard to find in other areas of the world, so I’ll show you some simple substitutions that are just as delicious!
3. Grilled Corn Without The Grill – Instead of grilling whole cobs of corn, we’ll cut the kernels off and pan-fry them so that they are perfectly cooked, tender, and slightly charred. If you’d rather make corn on the grill, you can. Just let it cool slightly after cooking and cut off the kernels.

Another delicious salad recipe that uses sweet corn is my Cowboy Caviar Dip!

Key Ingredients In Mexican Street Corn Salad

Here’s what you need to make this easy and delicious esquites recipe:

• Corn: This recipe works best with fresh sweet corn on the cob. We’ll carefully remove the kernels and then cook them in a skillet.
• Mayo and Yogurt: Instead of Mexican Crema, which is not often available in grocery stores outside of Mexico, a blend of mayonnaise and plain Greek yogurt is the next best thing.
• Jalapeno: Chop up one jalapeno to give the salad a bit of heat. You can also use serrano peppers if you prefer more spiciness.
• Cheese: Look for cotija cheese at your supermarket. If you can’t find it, the next best option is a different salty and crumbly cheese such as feta or ricotta salata.
• Spices: Chili pepper is a must! We’re also using fresh garlic, salt, and pepper to give our corn salad the best flavor.
• Cilantro, Green Onion, and Lime Juice: Use fresh herbs and limes to add brightness to the salad.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites)

1. Make the Dressing: In a medium-sized bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice, minced garlic, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Whisk together to create the sauce and set aside.
2. Cut the Corn: Carefully remove the kernels from 4 fresh ears of corn using a sharp knife. I like to do this in a shallow baking pan so that the kernels don’t fly everywhere!

3. Steam Corn: Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Then add the corn kernels, spreading them out in an even layer. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add Some Char: To create a grilled corn effect without the grill, remove the lid from the pan, and continue cooking for 3 more minutes or until the corn has a bit of color.

5. Make the Elote Salad: Let the cooked corn cool for about 5 minutes. Then add it to the bowl with the dressing. Stir in the diced peppers, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and crumbled cotija or feta cheese.

Recipe Tips

• Serve the salad on a plate or in a clean serving bowl, garnished with extra cheese, more fresh cilantro, and sliced green onions if you like.
• For extra heat, leave the seeds in the jalapeno pepper. Much of the heat in any pepper lives in the seeds and the membranes around them.
• Wear gloves when dicing hot peppers like jalapeno or serrano. This way you won’t get any of the spicy oils on your fingers.
• If you can’t get your hands on fresh corn, you can make this recipe with frozen corn or even canned corn! Thaw frozen corn first, and for either type, be sure to drain and dry it well before cooking.

Storing Tips

Mexican street corn salad is best served immediately, but you can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

What To Serve With Mexican Street Corn Salad

This creamy, cheesy corn salad will pair well with any grilled meat, fish, or chicken, but it’s best when served with other delicious and homemade Mexican dishes!

Make esquites on taco night, and serve it with easy Ground Beef Nachos, Shredded Chicken Tacos, or my slightly fancy Salmon Tacos.

Make a batch of Crock Pot Pinto Beans and Mexican Rice and you can enjoy a full Mexican Feast!

Recipe FAQs

More Tex Mex Salad Recipes

Cowboy Caviar (Texas Caviar Dip)

Santa Fe Chicken Salad

Dorito Taco Salad

Tex Mex Salad

All Salads →

This Mexican Street Corn Salad is a delicious and easy side dish that will work perfectly with any barbecue menu or taco Tuesday dinner! Don’t forget to save the recipe so that you can make it over and over again.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe

5 from 21 votes

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Mexican Street Corn Salad – Equites

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Author: Diana

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All the flavors of elote come together in this Mexican Street Corn Salad featuring charred corn, fresh veggies, and a flavorful dressing.

4 Servings

All the flavors of elote come together in this Mexican Street Corn Salad featuring charred corn, fresh veggies, and a flavorful dressing.

Equipment

• Mixing Bowl
• Skillet or saute pan with a lid

Ingredients 

1/2x1x2x3x

For the dressing

• ▢ ¼ cup (63 g) Greek yogurt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon (14.4 g) mayonnaise
• ▢ 3 tablespoons (45 ml) lime juice
• ▢ 1 clove garlic finely minced or pressed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the salad

• ▢ 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
• ▢ 4 ears of corn husked and kernels cut off (about 3 cups of corn kernels)
• ▢ 1 serrano or jalapeno seeded and finely chopped
• ▢ 4 green onions thinly sliced
• ▢ ½ cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• ▢ ½ cup crumbled feta or cotija cheese

Instructions 

• In a medium-sized bowl, combine Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lime juice, minced garlic, chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Whisk together to create the sauce and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add corn kernels, ensuring they spread out in an even layer. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 3 minutes.
• Remove the lid, stir the corn, cover again, and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Be careful when removing the lid, as the corn kernels may pop.
• Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes. After cooling, add the corn to the prepared sauce and stir until well mixed.
• Incorporate the serrano or jalapeno pepper, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and crumbled feta or cotija cheese into the mixture. Stir until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
• Serve the salad on a serving plate, garnished with extra cheese and fresh cilantro.

Notes:

• If fresh corn is unavailable, you can substitute it with canned corn or frozen corn. If using canned corn, make sure to drain it well. If using frozen corn, thaw and drain before use.
• Instead of Greek yogurt, you can use sour cream.
• Feta cheese is an excellent substitute for cotija cheese.
• For extra heat, leave the seeds in the jalapeno pepper. Much of the heat in any pepper lives in the seeds and the membranes around them.
• Wear gloves when dicing hot peppers like jalapeno or serrano. This way you won’t get any of the spicy oils on your fingers.
• Storage: This salad is best served immediately but can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 200kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Sodium: 411mg, Potassium: 353mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 697IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 124mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

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