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This spicy-sweet Street Corn Salad recipe balances the crunchiness of corn with soft, fresh Mexican cheese and tangy sour cream. Plenty of lime juice and cilantro add freshness and zing to pull together this easy side dish that rounds out taco night or pairs well with your favorite grilled dishes.
Why You’ll Love This Street Corn Salad Recipe
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: Mexican
- Primary Cooking Method: Stovetop
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
This easy Mexican street corn salad recipe is for everyone who loves a little heat. It’s cheesy, spicy, and just slightly sweet with an intense explosion of flavor in every bite! It comes together in minutes, making it a versatile dish you’ll come back to again and again. Street corn salad is packed with contrasting flavors and textures including sweet and salty and crumbly with a bit of juicy crunch from the corn. I know you’ll love this salad as much as I do!
- Elote flavor in a salad. If you’ve ever enjoyed an elote – Mexican grilled corn that’s topped with mayonnaise, chile powder, lime, and Cotija cheese – you’ll recognize those familiar flavors tucked into this Mexican street corn salad.
- Gluten Free. This beautiful salad is naturally gluten free, meaning that you won’t have to worry about making any ingredient substitutions. I have given some dairy-free options lower down if you need them.
- Versatile. I love serving Mexican street corn salad alongside other Mexican-inspired dishes, but it also works great at potlucks and with barbecue favorites like burgers and hot dogs. You can serve it warm or at room temperature and even as a dip with tortilla chips – more points in its favor if you want to bring it to a party.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a list of ingredients you’ll need to make this salad. Be sure to check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Canned Corn: I keep it easy and use drained, canned corn. Frozen corn also works well, or use in-season fresh corn.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter is fine.
- Sour Cream: If you prefer, use plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream.
- Lime Juice: I always use fresh citrus juice because you can taste the difference! However, if you need to, you can use bottled lime juice.
- Spices: A combination of chili powder and cayenne pepper adds a bit of heat. You can lower the amount of these spices if you don’t like a lot of spice.
- Salt and Pepper
- Scallions
- Cilantro: If you aren’t a fan of cilantro, feel free to omit it.
- Queso Fresco: This is a soft Mexican cheese that is wonderful in this salad. If you can’t get queso fresco, you can swap cotija cheese, feta cheese or goat cheese.
How To Make Mexican Street Corn Salad
See my photos below to give you an idea of how to make this salad. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
- Cook the corn in butter. Saute the corn with the butter until the butter melts.
- Add cheese. Stir in the sour cream, lime juice, chili powder, cayenne, and half of the queso fresco.
- Add scallions and cilantro. Remove from the heat and fold in the scallions and cilantro.
- Serve. Stir together, then sprinkle on the renaming queso fresco and garnish with additional cilantro to serve.
Tips & Variations
You can make a few simple substitutions to accommodate different ingredients or to make this street corn salad recipe suitable for those who are dairy-free.
- If you use fresh corn: You can use canned or frozen corn, which makes this a convenient, year-round dish. But, the texture of fresh corn can’t be beat! If you do want to make this salad with fresh corn, cook it a little longer than you would the canned corn, until it becomes tender.
- Substitute the sour cream: Traditional street corn salad is made with mayonnaise. I like the slightly tangy flavor that comes from using sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. But, you can use mayo instead, or try half-and-half.
- Make it dairy-free: Substitute dairy-free sour cream or yogurt for the sour cream, or use mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise. Use olive oil or your favorite non-dairy butter for the butter, and omit the cheese or add in non-dairy cheese crumbles.
Proper Storage
Here’s how to store and reheat any leftover salad:
- Fridge – Place leftover Mexican street corn salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat – Gently rewarm the salad in the microwave at 30-second increments until warm. Or, serve it at room temperature.
Make It A Meal
Mexican street corn salad can be served as a dip, as I mentioned above, or you can pair it with grilled meats, vegetarian entrees, Mexican dishes, and more! We love eating this salad all year round, but especially during summer when fresh corn on the cob is easy to find. See a few more suggestions below:
- On taco night. It’s the perfect side to all your favorites from Salsa Egg Tacos to Baked Chicken Tacos and more!
- With other Mexican-themed mains. Add a scoop of Mexican street corn salad to a plate of Easy Chicken Enchiladas or Ground Beef Taco Skillet.
- In a wrap. Make a batch of my Gluten Free Wraps and wrap up spoonfuls of street corn salad along with Instant Pot Pinto Beans for an easy and satisfying vegetarian lunch or with Crockpot Salsa Chicken if you need something meaty.
- Top a bowl. Whether you are making a meal of Crockpot Mexican Chicken Burrito Bowls or Ground Beef Burrito Bowls, a sprinkle of this corn as a topping adds more texture and flavor.
- As an appetizer. Serve it with a spread of Tex Mex apps like Cheesy Mexican Dip and Mango Avocado Salsa with plenty of chips.
- On a salad. You can dress up a bowl of greens with street corn, thick slices of ripe avocado, and some Avocado Lime Crema or a drizzle of Creamy Southwestern Dressing for tangy flavor.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 2 15.25-ounce cans corn, drained or 4 cups frozen corn, thawed
- 1 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted)
- ¼ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup sliced scallions
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 10 ounces (about 2 cups) queso fresco, finely crumbled, divided
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the corn and butter, and saute until the butter has melted and the corn is hot.
- Reduce heat to medium, and stir in the sour cream or yogurt, lime juice, chili powder, cayenne, and half of the queso fresco until well incorporated. The queso fresco will turn a red-brown color – this is fine.
- Remove from the heat and fold in the scallions and cilantro. Sprinkle the renaming queso fresco on top, garnish with additional cilantro, if desired, and serve!
Notes
Did you make this?
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I am definitely going to be trying this! Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Looks really nice. I’ve got an old Bobby Flay cookbook but didn’t come across a corn recipe, so this is really cool. I like the feta idea (i see cacique brand occasionally, but feta is always available and it has an excellent texture). Like the creaminess without the thick “cream corn” texture. Great recipe with all the fresh corn out.
This is so easy peasy and great tasting!!! I used it as a dip!
Ahhhh this looks amazing!! Must try!
Thanks – so easy and yummy!
Loving the idea of a corn and cheese dish!
It is a surprisingly good combo!
I can’t wait to try this “Bobby Flay” corn…yum!!!! Thanks for sharing at Fit and Fab! 🙂
Can’t get too much corn this time of year 🙂
I love both cumin and feta with corn…well with anything, so I know that I would love this dish, sounds wonderful!
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my Improv Cooking Challenge entry: Fritos Crusted Pollock.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
I am a total cumin and feta fan, too. In my recipes with cumin, I do tend to tone it down a bit because I don’t think most people love it quite as much.
“A little sweet, a little salty, a little crunch, a little creaminess, a little smoky, a little spicy, all brought together by a little zing from the lime juice” … Those very words are the reason why I WILL be making this! This sounds amazing, Brianne. Lovely lovely job!
I hope you like it! So good, even when you get so-so corn.
This sounds like a great dish! I will definitely put this on my list to try. I know a lot of people hate on celebrity chefs and Bobby Flay, but I have to say that every recipe with his name on it that I’ve tried has always been good. And as you say, you can just watch him on Iron Chef to see that he clearly knows how to put flavors together. I think you did a great job capturing his style here! Looking forward to chowing down. 🙂
I hope you do get to try it. He definitely does not get enough credit since some probably think he is a sell-out.
I love the flavors in your dish. I’d like to make it, but I’m not keen on feta (salty). Is cotija a lot like feta?
Thanks! I have not had cotija other than when I had this dish several years ago, so to be honest, I am not sure how salty it is. After seeing another recipe today, I am curious to try this with goat cheese.
Sounds yummy!
Thanks you!
I had to come see a Bobby Flay recipe and this looks so tasty and yummy. I want to make this one. I think, I am going to be making corn dishes, for a while.
I hope I did Bobby Flay some justice, and I hope you like the recipe.
I love Bobby Flay and I love your corn, Brianne! Simple yet so delicious!
Thanks Ann! Bobby is pretty amazing. I have been to two of his restaurants, and was impressed by both.
Love this recipe! It combines so many delicious flavours! I especially like the addition of the feta. 🙂
Thanks. Yes, the feta really adds something unique to it.
So cool! I have never been to celebrity’s restaurant but Mesa Grill is on our list. Love your choice for the challenge!
You have to try Mesa Grill! So good.
yumm-O! Wish I had some of that for dinner tonight!
So simple, you could easily have it tomorrow 🙂
Sounds totally delicious to me! Great flavors 🙂
Thanks Ann!
I LOVE Bobby Flay. I always start to question him, every time he has a new reality show come out…until I see what he churns out on Iron Chef. He is legit. I won’t say that about too many Celebrity chefs. Great job on the corn, it sounds spectacular.
I know, my husband is not into cooking shows, but he loves to watch Bobby Flay and Michael Symon on Iron Chef!
You cannot beat a Bobby Flay recipe…and I think you nailed this corn dish!!! I’m off to buy more sweet corn to make some of these Improv ideas! Yours is at the top of the list 🙂
Thanks! I hope he wouldn’t be offended by it 🙂 I’m sure his has more butter, maybe some cream, but I tried to get the flavors and make it a touch healthier.