Summer is here and that means before you know it the grocery stores and roadsides will be full of fresh corn on the cob. One of my most favorite summer corn recipes is Elote, or Mexican style corn on the cob. (Well there’s a post in need of a Flashback Friday. I’ll have to rephotograph that oldie!) It’s hot corn off the grill, slathered in a tangy and creamy lime-chili dressing and then rolled in Mexican cheese. The cheese melts into the sauce from the hot corn and it’s just all kinds of delicious. But. It’s also super messy. I always want to serve it when we have guests, but it’s one of those foods that kind of makes a scene and isn’t quite as fun to eat if you can’t get it all over your face. So a long time ago I started cutting the corn off the cob and turning the whole thing into a salad. I’ve seen recipes like this floating around lately and I thought I’d add mine to the mix! This is one of those recipes where if you have all the ingredients, you can kind of eyeball and add more or less of things depending on your tastes.
You’ll need about 5 ears of corn. I love making this with fresh sweet corn, but you could also use frozen fresh corn. I would just avoid canned.
You’ll cook the corn in a hot skillet and it will kind of pop around like popcorn. Since corn is so sweet, it tends to char easily. You want those nice blacked spots, but you don’t want it to burn so just keep an eye on it. You’ll toss some garlic in there at the last minute.
When that’s off the heat you’ll mix up a quick dressing of sour cream, mayo, chili powder, lime zest and juice, salt and pepper, and a little smoked paprika for smokiness.
When it comes to cheese, look for Mexican cheese like Cotija or Queso Fresco at the grocery store. They come in round blocks. You can also sub feta or even fresh crumbled parmesan.
You’ll mix all of that into the hot corn, along with some chopped cilantro, and mix it all up.
The great thing is that this salad can be served right away, warm, or it can be chilled in the fridge and served cold. I personally like it warm, but it’s great cold as well!
This is such a great summer side dish to go along side grilled meats, or taken to a pot luck for something unique. Try it and let me know what you think!
Mexican Sweet Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 5 ears fresh corn about 4 cups corn
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
- 1 large clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- zest from 1 lime
- juice from 1 large lime about 2 tablespoons, more if desired
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- kosher salt to taste
- 3/4 cup crumbled Mexican cheese like queso fresco or Cotija
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Cut corn from cobs. Heat an extra large skillet to medium heat and add butter or oil. Cook corn, tossing occasionally, until toasted and slightly brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
- Combine mayo, sour cream, lime zest and juice, chili powder, smoked paprika and pepper. Toss to combine and then gently stir in cheese and cilantro. Taste and then add kosher salt to taste. Optional: Add additional lime juice to taste.
- This salad can be served warm, or chilled and served cold. If served cold, I find it usually needs an extra squeeze of lime juice right before serving.
Notes
- If you don’t have access to the Mexican cheeses (which should be available at most normal grocery stores) you could use feta, or even fresh Parmesan. If you use feta, you may want to do a little less than the recipe calls for since it’s so strong.
Questions & Reviews
Meh. It was okay, but not anyone’s favorite. We ate it cold.
Excellent recipe! My son who never really liked Mexican corn loved this recipe!!!
Making this dairy free and will obviously keep out the cheese (I’ll let others add theirs in) but wondered if you thought it’d be good to use all mayo to sub out the sour cream. Have made this many times as is and it’s one of my favs! Hoping to modify to fit my current dairy free diet!
Yes, I think you could do that- you could also try a dairy-free sour cream or yogurt sub (if you know of one!)
Do I cook the corn before cutting it off the cob to put in the pan?
No, you are cutting the corn off raw and sautéing in the pan.
This recipe is very good! I used Queso Fresco and hot sauce (I didn’t have jalapeños) for some added kick. The original recipe is mild, but you can adjust the seasonings to taste. I also did a mix of fresh and canned corn since I didn’t have enough fresh corn.
I absolutely love this recipe!! I made it as a side for my tacos. I topped it off with tons of cilantro (I love cilantro so much) and ended up chilling it as a cold side. I loved it!
I would recommend tasting it as you go and adjust everything. Adding extra lime was good too.
I will warn you – it is VERY rich. I couldn’t finish 1/2 cup! I definitely will make this again with added chilis or peppers for a slight kick. 10/10 recipe!!
I added the spices and chopped fresh jalapeño with the garlic to mellow the jalapeño and wake up the spices. It tasted closer to street corn this way.
I love this recipe but always use fresh corn and now I am using frozen fresh corn. Do I need to thaw the corn before cooking it in the pan?
Nope, you can just put it in your pan from frozen, it defrosts really quick! Frozen fresh corn won’t get quite as caramelized/charred (sometimes not even a little bit) but it will still taste great!
I used frozen and I was able to get some of it charred, but it took a lot longer. I’m definitely trying fresh next time, but it did turn out really good.
I love this salad recipe. I’m wondering how to go about making it a warm salad? Would you please help me figure out how to make it a warm salad?
You’re cooking the corn and mixing it warm- so it’s naturally warm! Just skip the chilling step 🙂
Fantastic flavor! It’s so good. Great balance between tart and savory. You could use it as a dip as well.
Can I use frozen corn. If so, will 4 or 5 cups of corn be the same
Yes, feel free to use frozen fresh corn! You can eyeball, but 4-5 cups should be great.
How much would it change the flavor to use more sour cream instead of mayo?
It would change it, but would still be delicious 🙂
Made this for Memorial Day and it was a huge hit! Totally under estimated how much fresh corn I would need, so I ended up using a mix of fresh and frozen and doubled the sauce to make a bit batch. I ended up bringing maybe half a cup back. So delicious, making it again next week!
When you make this, how many servings does it usually make? I’m guessing 6-8 as a side dish? I’m serving it as part of a burrito buffet for 30 and trying to decide how much to make… Thanks! By the way I also have a bunch of your chicken taquitas in the freezer for one of the appetizers. I love your recipes!
Ya, it’s about 4 cups corn so if you figure 1/2 cup per person that sits you at about 8 servings. A burrito buffet sounds fun, great idea!
I’d like to make this for a big fiesta party. I wanted the street corn flavor as a side but isn’t practical for the party, so I was so excited to see your recipe!! Could I make it a day or two ahead of party or best morning of?
I wouldn’t make it too far ahead of time, but the morning of would probably be just fine.
If you use frozen corn, how much would be similar to 5 ears?
My husband and I made this corn salad tonight to accompany our pressure cooker shredded chicken (also from this website)! We followed the recipe except had to omit the lime zest since we used bottled lime juice. My husband must’ve asked at least 3 times during the meal if we could start making this corn salad often! Yep, it’s SO good!
So glad you loved it!
i must try this today….looks very delicious
I made this salad this weekend for a big potluck. This salad was a big hit! I doubled the recipe & I could have tripled it because everyone that tried it loved it. I served it room temperature. People ate it plain, put it their tacos & ate it on chips! BOMB
Just made this tonight. It was SO good. thank you!
Made this on the weekend and it was delicious! Thank you!
Delicious recipe! I had a LOT of summer squash so I grilled it and cubed it and substituted for the corn. So so good either way!
I just made this today using corn kernels I froze a month or two back. This is so good! I liked it a lot more than I expected too. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m totally not knocking your original post, but it is so amazing to see how far you have come since those earlier days! How awesome for you to be developing your talents and learning new things!
Haha, right?? Kate and I marvel at some of those early posts, too! haha!Thanks so much!
I live in San Diego and I’ve had my fair share of elote. I’ve tried it with canned, frozen, freshly grilled, fresh boiled, and even oven cooked. I’m excited about this recipe because it adds a couple of ingredients that I think will totally enhance the flavor of this dish: garlic and lime zest. I can’t wait to try it. Especially when corn is 4/$1 now. Yay!
I should’ve added that I’ve had my fair share of elote AND esquites!
Yum! I love corn on the cob, especially elote, but always end up a hot mess when I eat it. Love this idea!
Seriously, just give me a spoon and I will happily devour that entire bowl. This is such a great idea for a salad. YUM!
I’ve seen a few of these recipes floating around the last few weeks and I’m dying to try this! It looks so good!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com