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….. 😂
Ada says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. We don’t have Cotija cheese so I used feta cheese. Personally I don’t think you need it. What is divine even without it. I made it a few times with fresh corn and few times with canned corn both came out amazing. If there is any left over, which is almost impossible, it is as delicious serve the next day cold.
Ada says
Deserves all the stars!
Nagi says
I am so glad you enjoyed it Ada! N x
Chris says
Can I make this ahead of time?
Selena says
I have made this salad countless times. It’s hard to explain how delicious it is!! I pair it was Nagis pork carnitas and corn tortillas. It is spectacular.
Catie Bartelen says
I love love love the mexican corn salad! The smell of the butter and corn cooking together is literally to die for! Delish dish that is a great side for the enchilladas!
Zzinnia says
I added diced ham and tomatillo.
Amazing flavor in this corn salad!
Kathy Sheehan says
Can you use corn that had already been cooked? Boiled on the ear?
Bethany Blaine says
I made it from boiled corn and it worked well! Just try to get it as dry as possible before you put it in the pan with the butter. And brown the butter a little bit before you put the corn in. And it won’t need to cook as long.
grace selby says
also would this recipe be enough for serving 20? or will i have to double…. thanks nagi.. love your recipes
grace selby says
how far ahead can this be made??
Elissa says
This is one of my kid’s favourite salads and one of my go to salads when attending a BBQ. Thank you!
Jenny says
Love this, as all your recipes, ive told so many people to follow you, did I read ,this tastes better the next day ?
Jenny says
Love this, as all your recipes, ive told so many people to follow you, did I read this tastes better the next day ?
Michelle Blackwell says
I just made this dish and we absolutely loved it, my husband kept going back for more! Thankyou so much
Kirsty Andrews says
What an absolutely gorgeous photo of Dozer!…such a flap-ulous boy!🤣🤣🤣
Nagi says
😂 Thanks Kristy!! N x
Jenna says
How long will this keep if made in advance?
Nagi says
Hi Jenna, up to 3 days is fine. N x
nellida nunez says
I had a question. Am I supposed to boil the corn before I toast it or do i just the corn raw right off the cob and toast?
Nagi says
Hi Nellida, no boiling required as it cooks in the pan – you can see the steps in the recipe video as well 🙂 N x
Michelle M Templin says
Excellent recipe! Delicious! I have made different variations of this dip depending on what I have on hand. I have used cream cheese instead of sour cream (I prefer sour cream, but in a pinch, cream cheese works). I use paprika instead of chili powder (personal preference). The cojita cheese makes a big difference. Feta works as well, but the cojita cheese is more authentic and provides more flavor. Thank you for yet another outstanding recipe, Nagi!
Rhonda says
Should leftovers be heated up or can it be served cold?
Nagi says
Hi Rhonda, you can serve it hot, cold or room temp 🙂 N x
Dave Graue says
I added broken Chili Cheese Corn Chips just before serving. Not that this salad needed it, but since I cut back on the onion I wanted another level of crunch. Thanks for this recipe Nagi!
Chris says
Full disclaimer: I don’t even really like corn.
I mean, I’ll eat it if it’s in stuff and it’s OK in burritos or enchiladas where there’s loads of other flavours to add a hint of sweetness and to be honest, I could probably quite happily live the rest of my life without ever eating corn again… OR AT LEAST I COULD UNTIL TODAY.
This is phenomenal – creamy, tangy, fresh, sweet with a subtle hint of heat and if I was a terribly greedy person, I would consider skipping my sister’s BBQ lunch that starts in 90 minutes and just stay home and eat the entire bowl myself, but (siiiiiiigh) I guess I won’t…
I can’t handle any sort of fresh chilli (it’s very sad, I know) so I used chipotle powder and I had some Greek yoghurt open so I chucked that in instead of sour cream and I have to say, this absolutely knocked my socks off! It does need a decent amount of seasoning with salt and pepper but I’m 99.9% sure I will be buying more corn on the way home this afternoon 😀
Dee says
I made this for a Fathers’ Day BBQ and received so many compliments. Many of my in-laws went back for seconds. It is such a refreshing side dish to accompany the tri-tip. You make me look good, Nagi! Thank you!
Tracy Greenfield says
This is definitely 5 stars! An easy way to make this is to get the frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe’s. I added extra lime juice and Penzys Arizona Dreaming spice which added a nice smokiness. Will make this again. Can’t wait to share this with friends!
Wendy New Berlin says
Tracy-Are you from Wisconsin? Your name and comment makes me think so.