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This Mexican street corn salad is super flavorful and so easy! This salad is loaded with all the flavors of traditional elote like sweet corn, salty cotija cheese, creamy mayo, and tangy lime juice. Itโs the perfect side dish for all your parties or BBQs!
How To Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Cook the Corn
Grill or broil the ears of corn, flipping each one every few minutes, until they’re lightly charred on all sides. This should take about 10 minutes, depending on the temperature you’re cooking at. Let the ears of corn cool until you can handle them without burning yourself.
Cheryl’s Tip: I think grilled corn is best for this Mexican street corn salad, but you can use boiled corn or even canned corn instead if you’d prefer.
Shell the Kernels
Working with one ear of corn at a time, hold the corn upright in a bowl. Carefully slice the corn kernels off each side of the corn cob, letting them fall into the bowl. Repeat with the rest of the ears of corn.
Dress the Salad
Whisk together mayo, melted butter, lime juice, cotija cheese, cilantro, salt, and pepper, then pour the mixture into the bowl of corn kernels. Toss everything together until the corn is well coated.
Cheryl’s Tip: Make sure you use a good quality mayo without a funky or strong taste. I like Sprout’s Organic Mayo or Hellmann’s. Duke’s is another good option.
Garnish and Serve
Top the salad with a little chili powder (or Tajin), garlic powder, minced red onion, and more cotija cheese. Serve and enjoy!
What I Love About This Recipe
- Elote is one of my absolute favorite ways to eat corn, and Mexican street corn salad is an extra easy way to get my cheesy, mayonnaise-y, addictively seasoned elote fix.
- This recipe is absolutely perfect for throwing together for picnics and parties, but is easy enough for weekdays dinners, too. It also makes a fantastic side dish for tacos or an app for margarita night.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Equipment
- grill or broiler
- Tongs
- Sharp chef's knife
- Large bowl
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- Large wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 8 large ears corn husked; approximately 5 ounces each
- ยผ cup melted butter
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise plus more as desired
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice juice from approximately 1 large lime; plus more as desired
- 1 cup crumbled cotija cheese plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves plus more for serving
- salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ยฝ teaspoon chili powder
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- minced red onion
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium, between 350ยฐ and 375ยฐ Fahrenheit.
- Once grill is preheated, lay 8 large ears corn on grill grate over indirect heat. Grill corn 10 minutes, flipping ears of corn occasionally to grill all sides evenly.
- Once ears of corn have charred slightly on all sides, carefully remove corn from grill and set aside to cool slightly.
- When corn is cool enough to handle, stand one ear upright in large bowl. Position sharp chef's knife at top of corn ear and carefully push knife down corn cob, slicing kernels away from cob. Repeat on all sides of each ear of corn. Discard corn cobs.
- Add ยผ cup melted butter, 6 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1 cup crumbled cotija cheese, 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper to small mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until incorporated.
- Taste mixture and add mayonnaise or lime juice as desired to achieve preferred flavor and consistency.
- When satisfied with flavor, pour mixture over corn kernels in large bowl. Gently stir mixture into corn until kernels are fully coated.
- Sprinkle ยฝ teaspoon chili powder, ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder, minced red onion, and additional cotija evenly over top over corn mixture. Serve immediately.
- Corn: Grilled corn is preferable, and broiled is my second favorite option, but you can use boiled or canned corn instead if needed. For boiled, read my post on how to boil corn. For canned, use 4 15-ounce cans. Drain well, then add corn and 2 cups water to a saucepan over medium heat. Let it simmer until the liquid is almost totally gone, about 5-10 minutes.
- Cotija: If you can’t find cotija, you can use fresh parmesan or even feta cheese in a pinch.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Do you think you could use an air fryer on fresh frozen corn to get the grilled affect?
I’d have to test it and see! If you try it, please let us know how it worked out for you.
Have you had this left over or after being refrigerated for a while? Is it still as good?
Absolutely! At worst, the butter will resolidify in the salad, but otherwise it only melds the flavors together better the longer they sit together.
Wheat is the butter used for? I donโt see it in the directions.
It is to be mixed with mayonnaise and the other ingredients. ๐