Street Corn Salad
This Street Corn Salad is my favorite side dish to serve with tacos or fajitas! It’s great for a crowd because you can make it ahead of time and you can make it as spicy or as mild as you like.
The first time I tried street corn, I was hooked. But I didn’t love how messy it was to eat! So I was excited to learn about a dish called Esquites. It’s Mexican street corn served off the cob in a cup. It’s the perfect side dish for your favorite Mexican food and you’re less likely to end up with cheese on your chin. This isn’t an authentic recipe, but it’s easy to make and it’s a tasty side dish for tacos! If you’re looking for an authentic Esquites recipe, try this one.
Tips for Making the Perfect Street Corn Salad
- If you like it spicy, you can add a whole jalapeño! Just be sure to finely dice it so the heat is evenly distributed.
- This is great served with tacos or fajitas as a side dish but it’s also great as a chip dip!
- Be sure not to overcook the corn. You want it slightly toasted but not mushy. If you don’t have a really large skillet, heat the frozen corn in batches to avoid overcooking the corn. I usually use frozen corn so once it’s thawed and bright yellow, I remove it from the heat. It should look like the corn below.
How to Serve Street Corn Salad
- Try this as a stand-alone side dish paired with fajitas or tacos
- Serve it as a dip with tortilla chips
- Enjoy it on top of your favorite tacos or taco salad!
How to Store Leftovers
This salad is actually better when it’s made a few hours in advance because it gives the flavors time to combine! So feel free to prepare it in advance. If you have leftover salad, store it in the fridge in a sealed container or with plastic wrap.
Substitution Ideas
If you don’t have any fresh limes, substitute a squeeze of lemon juice instead. It can work in a pinch! You can also buy lime juice and store it in the fridge. Santa Cruz makes a great lime juice that tastes just like fresh squeezed lime juice!
This recipe calls for feta cheese because that’s usually easier to find. But if you have cotija cheese, feel free to use that for a more authentic flavor! You can also use queso fresco.
You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn. Look for sweet corn, if you can find it. Do not use creamed corn.
PrintStreet Corn Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 12 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
Description
This Street Corn Salad is a great side dish to serve with tacos or fajitas!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 24 oz frozen corn (about 5 cups of corn)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 8 oz queso fresco or feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/2 jalapeño, diced
- 3 tablespoons diced red onion
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, for 30 seconds.
- Add the frozen corn and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. (The corn should be warm but don’t overcook the kernels or they’ll become mushy.)
- In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cheese, and lime juice.
- Stir in the diced jalapeño, red onion, cilantro, chili powder, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
- Add in the corn into the cheese mixture and stir until well coated.
- Add salt to taste, then serve.
Notes
This street corn salad can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature.
One of the things I love about this side dish is that you can make it ahead of time and then just pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours. This recipe makes a huge batch and it always gets eaten. I think that’s a pretty good sign!
Looking for something to serve it with? This spicy street corn salad goes perfectly with these 5 ingredient black bean enchiladas!
Need a vegan side dish option? Make this black bean and corn salad or try it with a side of Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican Brown Rice, or make seasoned rice in your rice cooker!
It was absolutely wonderful!
Ingredients called for chili powder but no mention of it in the recipe?
So sorry for the confusion! It can be added in with the rest of the spices. Thanks!
This is a fantastic recipe. We ate it with halibut tacos. It paired perfectly and I’ll be making this again!
Made this for a dinner with our friends as a side dish to my husband’s enchilada Casserole. It was a big hit and tastes so good.
Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed it!!
I made as a side with tacos for my daughters grad party. I love the combination of flavors from all of these ingredients. We aren’t a spicy family so I didn’t use the jalapeno. But was quick and easy to make and delish! I will definitely make it again and have saved this recipe.
Yay! I’m so glad it was a hit at the party!
Needed a side dish to go along with enchiladas and this did not disappoint! Tastes great and very easy to make!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
Was looking for an easy recipe to make for a housewarming the night before and this was IT! Easy, inexpensive, prep & go. I added extra garlic and cilantro because of personal preference but 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻. Husband chowed down on the sample I gave him and then asked for a full bowl 😂. So good. Thank you!
Awesome side dish. The wife wanted All day Tacos for Mother’s Day so she got breakfast tacos this morning and a taco bar for dinner. This made an awesome side this evening. She loved it! Thanks for the help!
Made this using 2 16oz bags of baby sweet white corn-fabulous-made the sweet of this recipe even sweeter. I used a little more cilantro and didn’t have the chipotle salt so substituted smoky sweet pepper seasoning blend which was fine. I love how the feta melts and with the mayo tastes like a creamy cotija Mexican cheese. It was delicious and I will make again. One note-it did not take my corn long at all to cook through and brown, especially the second and third batches (I just cooked one covering of the pan at a time. I knew the corn was done when a few kernels popped. I think it was important to get it off the heat quick,y once that occurred.).
I’m so glad you liked it, Bobbie! Thanks for coming back to leave a review!
Hi there! I can’t wait to try making this for a get together tonight. Just curious, do I need to steam the frozen corn first or just straight from the freezer cook it in the oil? Thanks so much. 🙂
I just cook it straight from the freezer!