Mexican Corn Salad is a wonderful fresh corn salad made for summer BBQ’s and Mexican feasts! It’s a giant salad form of Esquites, a corn street snack sold in cups on the streets of Mexico. Corn kernels are sautéed in butter and garlic until golden brown, then dressed in a creamy lime dressing and finished fresh coriander/cilantro and a hint of zing from Jalapeño. It’s outrageously and insanely good!
Mexican Corn Salad
This recipe generated a tizzy of excitement among my group of friends when I first started making it a few years back! Something a little different to the usual steamed-butter-slathered corn on the cob (and there is nothing wrong with that!!), it’s bright and colourful, and it’s a brilliant dish for sharing.
Mexican Corn Salad is essentially the giant salad form of Esquites which is a popular Mexican Street corn that is sold in cups by street vendors. And in fact, Esquites is the “off the cob” version of Elotes, the famous Mexican Street corn where cobs are grilled over charcoal before being slathered in a creamy-spicy sauce then rolled in crumbled cheese!
What goes in Mexican Corn Salad
Here’s what you need to make this corn salad:
The creamy dressing for Mexican Corn Salad
The dressing is a creamy mayonnaise based dressing with a lovely tang from lime juice and a savoury flavour boost from parmesan (this is the secret ingredient that gives this dish the wow factor!!).
You’ll find many versions use a lot more mayonnaise than I do. I prefer to use a mix of mayonnaise and sour cream to lighten it up a touch whilst still have a good amount of creamy dressing. This way we get the best of both worlds – lots of dressing but not overly rich! I use this for most of my mayo-based dressings, such as Coleslaw, Macaroni Salad, Broccoli Salad.
Fresh corn vs canned and frozen corn
This recipe will work with any type of corn BUT it is definitely best made with fresh corn because it browns the best when you sauté it in the butter and garlic.
How to cut corn off the cob
Here’s a tip for an easy way to cut corn kernels off the cob without the kernels flying everywhere! Just place an inverted ramekin in a large bowl OR use a bundt pan. Stand the corn cob on the ramekin then use a knife to cut the kernels off. The walls of the bowl / bundt pan will stop the kernels flying all over your counter!
How to make Mexican Corn Salad
This recipe starts off by pan frying the corn in butter and garlic until it’s tinged with gold, at which point you will need to summon the strength to not shovel spoonfuls of it straight into your mouth because golden brown buttery corn? YES!!!
But WAIT! It gets even better! While the corn is hot, add in the parmesan, mayonnaise, sour cream and lime and give it a good mix so the dressing melts and mingles with the butter on the corn and coats every kernel beautifully…
And lastly, we give it a hit of freshness with onion and coriander/cilantro, and jalapeño if you want a touch of heat, and finish with a sprinkle of Cotija (Mexican cheese like feta) if you happen to be fortunate enough to get your hands on it (which I am not) or feta, parmesan or goats cheese as a fallback.
Serve this as a side dish for all things Mexican. Take it to summer BBQ’s, potlucks, casual lunches, a side dish for dinner tonight.
Just find any excuse to make it! Because honestly, to say my friends love this corn salad is an understatement. Whenever it makes an appearance, we’re in a situation where you have to eat fast, or miss out.
Literally. You snooze, you lose.
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Mexican Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 5 cups corn cut from the cob (~4 large ears) (or frozen corn, not thawed, Note 1)
- 2 tbsp / 30g butter
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (can cut down to 2 tbsp)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (or yoghurt)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese , finely grated (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp Jalapeno , deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 1 cup coriander / cilantro leaves , roughly chopped
- 1 cup green onion , finely sliced (~2 stems)
- 1/2 red onion , finely chopped
- 2 – 3 tbsp lime juice , fresh (plus more to taste)
Garnishes
- 60g / 2 oz Cotija or Feta , crumbled (optional) (Note 2)
- Jalapeno slices, coriander/cilantro leaves, lime wedges , optional
Instructions
- Cut off kernels: Cut the corn off the cob (see photo in post or video for how I do this without getting corn everywhere!) If using frozen, do not thaw.
- Brown corn: Melt butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and stir for 10 seconds. Add corn and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until you get lovely golden brown bits and the corn is cooked and sweet (don't stir constantly, harder to brown).
- Season corn: Add salt and pepper halfway through cooking corn.
- Toss with dressing: Transfer corn into large bowl. Add mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice and parmesan. Toss well to combine – heat will "melt" dressing. Add coriander/cilantro, red onion, green onion and jalaepno. Toss again.
- Serve: Transfer to serving bowl. Crumble over cotija/feta and garnishes of choice. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published March 2017. Updated with new video and photos!
Life of Dozer
Keeping this from the original publication date because it’s an adorable photo of him!
Whenever I take a photo of Dozer running, all I can think is that there’s a lot of flapping. Ears, giant tongue, mouth flap, that feathered tail.
I know how he feels. I have quite a bit of flappage when I run too….. 😂
Ron says
Once again you’ve inspired me. I’m been wanting to make homemade flour tortillas for awhile and now I have a reason. The thought of your salad piled into fresh warm tortillas, yum!
Nagi says
Ooh and you just inspired me, I’ve been wanting to make tortillas too!!! I even have a press I brought back from Mexico!
Joanne says
Yummy, how far in advance can this be made?
Nagi says
Hi Joanne! Terrific for a couple of days, even 3 🙂
Jo says
Excellant, have my daughters “Around the World” 21st coming up & a few of your recipes are going to make an appearance!
Nagi says
Ohhhhh! I love that birthday theme! ?
Maureen says
I don’t like to think about flappage either. It’s probably a good thing that I can’t run. 🙂
I love corn and this post reminds me I should do a post on Southern fried corn. While I think about that, I’m going to make your corn salad because it’s gorgeous!
Nagi says
BA HA HA!!!! You are TOO FUNNY MAUREEN! N xx
Lyn says
Can’t wait for fresh corn to be in season…I will be making this one all summer…thanks
Nagi says
Oooh I do hope you try it Lyn! It’s pretty darn tasty! 🙂 N xx
Debs says
Love this recipe Nagi! Pretty sure it’s not traditional, but when I make this I’ll throw some cherry tomatoes in there… like a giant bowl of salad-y salsa!
Nagi says
Gosh this salad itself isn’t traditional! Throw in those tomatoes by all means! 🙂
Erin says
Nagi, I love seeing your emails come into my inbox, not just for the great recipes but the pics and blurbs on sweet Dozer. If I have a blue day, it never fails to cheer me.
Nagi says
Cheers ME up scouring through photos to choose one to share! 🙂 Thank you for reading Erin, so glad you’re enjoying my recipes….and Dozer antics! 🙂 N xx
Vera says
Thank YOU Nagi. Last w/end we Had Food smell out, cauliflower from 07£ Kg, to 1.90 each so have doubled up on that as Well asonions only 1.20 aKg. Not much of Cooking just to to HOT. Its 04 Am and still26% C , no sleep. Send us some of that rain YOU Are having. Love Dozes Photo! V G.
Nagi says
YES!!! Cauliflower up here is on special too! I have 2 giant heads in my fridge, what should I do with them??!!!
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Nagi. I would be quite happy with just a bowl of this, but a side of seared shrimp wouldn’t be horrible with it. And a nice cold beer.
Nagi says
You’ve got me CRAVING shrimp now. Gahhhh! 🙂 (Beer craving will hit in about 3 hours at noon 😉 ) Hope you are Gary are well Dorothy! N xx
Jan S. says
This looks wonderful. We’re doing Mexican tomorrow, so I’ll make this beautiful salad. I’ve made a recipe similar to this but it has a lot dressing. Your recipe looks much more refreshing! I bet adding some lime grilled shrimp to this would be amazing!
Nagi says
Oooh YES to that! A side of grilled shrimp would be terrific! N xx
Beth says
Cannot wait to make this! Re creamed corn, I’d love to know how to make it at home. I’ve just moved to a small island off Scotland and the the shop doesn’t stock it 🙁 (so when my friends visited me they brought a few more cans!) so it would be awesome to have a recipe so I can make Chinese corn soup ALL THE TIME!
Nagi says
Really? OK! I’ll share a recipe one of these days! I made some late last year and I loved it 🙂 I think I even used frozen corn!
Allyson says
Loved this recipe and look forward to making it when corn come in season in Florida. Quick question….I watched the video and saw you squeezed half a lime into the bowl after the mayo and sour cream. It wasn’t in the recipe but I think it’s a perfect addition for some acidity plus my husband loves lime with roasted corn! Is this just an option or should it be in the recipe? Thanks for the clarification. (Love LOVE your recipes. So happy I found your blog!)
Nagi says
Thanks for picking that up Allyson!! I added it to the recipe 🙂 I just use 1/2 a lime for a tiny bit of extra freshness. And I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, THANK YOU for letting me know! N xx
Farzeen Kader says
Looks so great, and quite possibly one of the lowest calorie dishes here 🙂 Lmao flappage .. You are hilarious!
Nagi says
BA HA HA!!! SO TRUE! (On both points!!)
Smitha says
Got involved in the whole post. Salad looks yummy and quite easy to make. Loved the recipe
Dozer looks a bit different in this pic. Still looking cute
Nagi says
He does look different when he’s running and his ears are flying everywhere!! 🙂