Mexican Street Corn Salad
If you love Mexican street corn, you're really going to love this easy Mexican Street Corn Salad recipe. A fresh, creamy, zesty twist on classic elote, this salad is made with tender lettuce, sweet corn, crumbly cotija cheese, and just the right kick of spice. It's bursting with bold flavors in every bite. It's the perfect side dish for tacos, grilled meats, or your next backyard BBQ, and it only takes 15 minutes to make it!
Ingredients
Salad
- 3 cups corn kernels, canned, frozen, or from 3 ears of corn
- 1 pound green leaf lettuce, or 8 cups chopped lettuce
- 1 avocado, diced
- ¼ cup minced red onion
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- ½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled (use queso fresco or feta, if you can’t find cotija)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup tortilla strips
For the chili lime dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup lime juice, fresh-squeezed
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Cook the corn.
- You’ll want to start this recipe by cooking the corn. Follow this blog post for how to cook corn on the cob six different ways. For this recipe, I like to grill the corn. If you don’t have a grill available, you can use one of the other methods to cook the corn. Once the corn is cooked, use a sharp knife to remove the kernels from the cob and set them aside.
- If you’re using canned or frozen corn, you’ll want to cook the corn kernels on the stove. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (avocado oil, canola oil, or olive oil) to a large skillet on the stove over high heat. Add the corn kernels and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the corn becomes slightly charred. Remove from the heat and set the corn aside.
Prepare the salad.
- Add the cooked corn, chopped lettuce, diced avocado, minced onion, minced jalapeno, cotija cheese and cilantro to a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad in the bowl.
- Toss all of the ingredients together. Top with tortilla strips before serving.
Notes
- This recipe serves 8 people as a side dish, or 4 people as an entree. If you'd like to add a protein when serving the salad as an entree, I recommend chicken, shrimp, or black beans. Refer to the blog post above for specific ideas and recipe links.
- You’ll want to eat the salad as soon as it’s tossed in the dressing, or the lettuce will become soggy. If you’d like to make it ahead of time, I recommend storing all of the salad ingredients, except the tortilla strips in a large bowl. Keep the salad dressing separate in a small bowl. Cover both the salad and the dressing and store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Before serving, toss the salad with the dressing, then top with the tortilla strips.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 205kcal (10%)Carbohydrates 16g (5%)Protein 5g (10%)Fat 15g (23%)Saturated Fat 4g (20%)Polyunsaturated Fat 4gMonounsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 20mg (7%)Sodium 460mg (19%)Potassium 378mg (11%)Fiber 4g (16%)Sugar 4g (4%)Vitamin A 4725mg (95%)Vitamin C 14mg (17%)Calcium 92mg (9%)Iron 1mg (6%)
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