Elote Salad is a side dish inspired by a Mexican favorite. This corn salad includes a delicious combination of sweet, salty, and spicy flavors, and is a great way to enjoy fresh corn and spices.
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Why this Mexican Street Corn Salad Recipe is a Keeper
This corn off the cob dish inspired by Mexican street food is the perfect side and is tangy and easy to make.
- 25 Minute Meal: This corn salad inspired by popular Mexican flavors takes only 25 minutes to prepare.
- Easy Ingredients: All the ingredients are easy to find.
- Family Friendly Salad: Mexican grilled corn salad is the perfect side dish with dinner, or at your next cookout, barbecue, or potluck. It’s delicious and easy to make and is always a hit with guests.
If you’re looking for more corn recipes, try these: Frito Corn Salad, Mexican Corn Cake, and Black Bean Corn Salad.
Is this Salad Supposed to be Served Hot or Cold?
Serve this Mexican street corn salad warm, immediately after combining all the ingredients. After you’ve cooked the vegetables in the skillet and top with condiments, you can serve and enjoy!
Ingredient Notes for Mexican Corn Salad
- Fresh Cob of Corn: Make this salad with a fresh ear of summer sweet corn. You can buy corn at the grocery store, but the best corn comes from local farmers’ markets if any are around.
- Queso Fresco: Queso Fresco is a crumbly white cheese that you can use to garnish the salad. It’s common in Mexican cuisine.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Variations and Substitutions for Elote Salad
- Pickled Jalapeno: Instead of fresh jalapeno, you can use pickled jalapeno in this recipe.
- Esquites Recipe: If you want to make this sweet corn salad closer to an authentic Mexican recipe, boil or roast the corn kernels to char the corn before sautéing them. While you’ll love our take on this classic Mexican street food, the best Mexican food uses techniques developed in Mexico, so have fun exploring the traditional ways to elevate this salad!
Special Equipment Needed
- Corn Shaver: Use a corn shaver to easily slice the kernels from the cob.
Pro Tip
To use the corn shaver, press into the top of the corn and peel away from it to take the corn kernels off the cob. The corn kernels should come off easily.
How to Make Corn Salad
These are the basic steps for making elote salad. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Sautee Corn
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Then, add the corn and sauté until golden and slightly charred, about 10 minutes. Once the corn has been fully cooked, remove it from the pan and place in a large bowl.
2. Add Vegetables
Add onion, jalapeno, and garlic to the skillet and sauté for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are soft and fragrant. Remove vegetables from pan and place in bowl with corn.
3. Add Remaining Ingredients, Season, and Serve
In a bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, lime juice, chili powder, and House Seasoning Blend. Whisk until combined. Once you mix the dressing, pour over the corn and stir to combine. Add Queso Fresco and cilantro and serve immediately.
Esquite Salad FAQs
Expert Tips for Making Esquite Corn Salad
- Try different cheeses: Use salty cotija cheese, or queso fresco instead. If neither are available, you can try feta cheese to substitute for cotija cheese.
- Toppings for Elote Street Corn: For additional toppings for this delicious salad, add red onion, grilled chicken, salt and pepper, or lime dressing on this delicious Mexican street corn salad. You can also brush the corn with olive oil.
- Cilantro Substitute: If you are going to a gathering and people attending might dislike the taste of cilantro, try Italian parsley, mint leaves, or fresh basil for the street corn salad recipe.
- Epazote: In Mexico, grilled corn salad sometimes uses a strong-flavored herb called epazote. If you’re in the United States, this ingredient may be hard to find, but you can still buy it online.
More Salad Recipes
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Elote Salad (Mexican Street Corn Salad)
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Ingredients
- 5 ears Fresh corn , cooked and removed from the cob
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- ¼ cup Red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons Jalapeno, finely minced
- 2 cloves Garlic , finely minced
- 2 tablespoons Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Sour cream
- 1 Lime, juiced
- ½ teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
- ¼ cup Queso Fresco
- ¼ cup Fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add corn and sautee until golden and slightly charred, about 10 minutes.
- Remove corn from the pan and place in a large bowl.
- Add onion, jalapeno and garlic to the skillet and saute for 2-3 minutes until vegetables are softened and fragrant.
- Remove vegetables from pan and place in bowl with corn.
- In a bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, lime juice, chili powder and House Seasoning Blend.
- Whisk until combined.
- Pour dressing over the corn and stir to combine.
- Add Queso Fresco and cilantro and serve immediately.
Christina’s Notes
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- Try different cheeses: I use Queso Fresco, but you can use Cotija cheese instead.
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- This Recipe Can be Doubled: This is a great recipe for a crowd. Simply increase the ingredients proportionately and enjoy!
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- Cilantro Substitute: If you are going to a gathering and people attending might dislike the taste of cilantro, try Italian parsley, mint leaves, or fresh basil.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided are estimates. It is recommended that you verify this information with your own trusted resource.
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This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic-inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients, and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible to the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.
Love this!!!
I found this in 2020 when I suddenly had offspring move home and also needed to cook more. This corn salad was a giant hit. This has become a staple in our home. Delicious, fresh and lovely flavors.
Help when is the house seasoning added?
Step 6…I just updated the recipe 🙂