This Mexican Street Corn Salad is incredibly flavorful, easy to make, and a perfect side dish for you next cookout!

Healthy Mexican Street Corn Salad

This Mexican street corn salad, or esquites, is an absolutely delicious addition your next summer cookout.

Mexican street corn, or Elote, is grilled corn on the cob that is slathered with a creamy mayonnaise and then topped with lime juice, cilantro, chipotle powder, and crumbled cotija cheese.

If you love and enjoy Elote then you will love this Mexican street corn salad because it is essentially the same thing however, the corn is removed from the cob making it much easier to eat!

With a creamy, garlicky dressing, just the right amount of spice, and plenty of Cotija cheese this delicious salad is sure to be your new favorite.

More Delicious Corn Recipes

Mexican Street Corn Salad Video

street corn salad ingredients

What You Need to Make This Recipe

Fresh Corn: The base of this recipe is perfectly ripe sweet corn. You can use yellow corn or white corn, either one will work perfectly fine.

Red Onion: Diced red onion helps to give this salad it’s delicious flavor. Be sure to dice the red onion well so that you do not have huge chunks of red onion in the salad.

Fresh Cotija Cheese: If you have never had Cotija cheese before, I know you will love it. Cotija is a Mexican cheese with a crumbly texture and a salty flavor.

Greek yogurt: This is used in the dressing. For the best flavor I recommend using full-fat plain, whole milk Greek yogurt for this recipe.

Mayonnaise: A little mayo helps to round out the flavor of the dressing. I like to use a mayonnaise made from a high quality avocado oil.

Garlic: All you need is one freshly minced clove to help add some delicious garlic flavor to the dressing.

Lime Juice and Zest: This recipe uses both lime juice and zest to really hit home that lime flavor.

Cilantro: Plenty of fresh chopped cilantro is used in the salad and for a garnish. Be sure to chop the leaves and stems of cilantro to ensure you get the most flavor from the herb.

Chipotle Powder: This helps to give the salad a little heat and an extra oomph of flavor.

dressing ingredients in small bowl

How to Make this Mexican Street Corn Salad

Step One: First, add the grilled corn, diced red onion, chopped cilantro, and Cotija cheese to a mixing bowl.

Step Two: Next make the dressing. Add the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, fresh lime juice, chipotle powder, minced garlic, and lime zest to a separate bowl. Whisk everything together until well combined.

Step Three: Pour the dressing evenly over the corn salad ingredients.

Step Four: Stir until everything is well combined. Give the salad a taste and adjust the level of salt as needed. Garnish with extra Cotija cheese and fresh cilantro.

street corn salad ingredients in a bowl

Ways to Serve

If you need some inspiration on how to serve or what to pair with your street corn salad, here are a few of my favorite dishes that will work perfectly!

ingredients in bowl with dressing drizzled on top

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use frozen corn?

Yes! You can either use frozen corn on the cob or frozen corn kernels.

Frozen Corn on the Cob: Let the corn thaw before grilling to reduce the cooking time.

Frozen Corn Kernels: If you use frozen corn kernels you will need to let them thaw completely before using. You can either use the corn kernels as is or sauté them on high in a cast iron skillet for 1-2 minutes to char them a bit before using them in the salad. You will need roughly four and a half cups of frozen corn for this recipe. If you have any leftover corn then make this Hearty Corn Chowder

Do I have to use mayonnaise?

If you would like to skip the mayonnaise in this recipe, you can replace it entirely with the same amount of Greek yogurt or sour cream.

What can I substitute for Greek yogurt?

If you would like, you can substitute the Greek yogurt in this dish for sour cream. If you are trying to make a dairy-free version of this dish, you can use your favorite dairy-free, plain, Greek yogurt substitute or replace the Greek yogurt with the same amount of more mayonnaise.

I cannot find Cotija cheese; what can I use instead?

If you cannot find Cotija cheese at your local grocery store, you can substitute it for feta cheese for a similar result.

Can I prep this salad in advance?

Yes! You can grill the corn and make the dressing in advance and then assemble the next day when you are ready to serve.

street corn salad in a bowl with lime

Tips and Tricks for the Best Results

  • Does your red onion have too much “bite”? If your red onion is tasting or smelling a little strong you can dice it and then let it soak for a bit in a bowl of cool water. When you are ready to use the red onion, drain the water, and then add to the salad.
  • Be sure to finely mince the garlic before adding it to the dressing to ensure that no one bites into a huge hunk of garlic.
  • Add a little more heat with the addition of chopped fresh jalapeño if you like!

More Delicious Summer Salads

hope you give this Mexican Street Corn Salad a try! It’s so easy to make and has the best  flavor.

If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings / #allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love.

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street corn salad in a bowl with lime

Delicious Mexican Street Corn Salad

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Ashlea Carver
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: sides
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Mexican inspired
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This Mexican Street Corn Salad is incredibly flavorful, easy to make, and a perfect side dish for you next cookout!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 ears of grilled corn, kernels removed from cob (roughly 4 1/2 cups of corn)
  • 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 cup crumbled Cotija cheese, plus more garnish
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoon full fat Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons mayo
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
  • zest of one lime
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the grilled corn, diced red onion, chopped cilantro, and Cotija cheese to a mixing bowl.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, Greek yogurt, mayo, fresh lime juice, chipotle powder, and lime zest until well combined.
  3. Pour the dressing over the corn salad.
  4. Stir until well combined. Salt to taste and garnish with extra cotija and cilantro.

Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: Casey Colodny / THE MINDFUL HAPA

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12 Comments

  1. Catherine says:

    I made this for a church gathering. It was delicious and many people commented on how yummy it was. I will make it again soon! Thanks Ashlea for all the wonderful recipes! Everything I make from your site is a hit in our house!






    1. Ashlea Carver says:

      I’m so happy to hear that, Catherine!

    2. This was very easy to put together and really tasty! Top notch BBQ side! Thanks very much






      1. Ashlea Carver says:

        so happy you loved it, Kaydence!

  2. I made this and it was delicious!!!! I added a red bel pepper for color and it added a crunch. Trader Joes
    has frozen fire roasted corn so I used that as a time saver. Thanks for all the great recipes






  3. Catherine says:

    I made this for a dinner party last night and it was delicious! Several people commented on how good it was. I “grilled” the corn in the broiler for about 10 minutes because it was raining and I don’t have a cast iron skillet. Worked perfectly! I will make this again!






  4. Love this recipe!!! We’ve made it several times and it is always a huge hit. Have made it as a side, topping, and most recently as a dip served with tortilla chips (and it actually won a dip contest!). Highly recommend.






  5. I forgot to confirm if I had all of the ingredients before I started this, whoops! I subbed shallot for red onion, garlic powder for fresh garlic, and ancho for chipotle. But even with these swaps it was totally delicious. My husband, toddler, and I each had seconds! Served it with grilled flank steak.






    1. Ashlea Carver says:

      so glad you made the recipe work with what you had, Katy! Thanks for sharing!

  6. Casey Colodny says:

    soooo dang good!! used mine as a dip, with some tortilla chips and extra lime and wow – new favorite salad!!






  7. Wonderful! I made this with frozen corn and pan-charred as Ashlea recommends and it turned out great! Topped it with some grilled chicken to complete the meal. We will definitely be adding this one to the summer rotation!






  8. Wow! Made this for dinner tonight with some grilled chicken and chopped cherry tomatoes on top – AMAZING! Such excellent flavor and a good shake up from a standard leafy green salad. I used frozen corn and pan charring it as suggested worked well!