This salad is an off-the-cob version of the popular Mexican street food, Elotes. With roasted corn, fresh vegetables and herbs, creamy mayonnaise, and Mexican-style spices, this easy prep salad is perfect as a side dish, meal prep, or snack! This recipe is gluten-free, and easily dairy-free or vegan.
Transport yourself to the street food of Mexico with this Mexican Street Corn Salad. This salad is an off-the-cob version of the popular Mexican street food, Elotes. Elotes are traditionally served as a grilled cob of fresh corn drizzled with a crema of mayonnaise and sour cream, and topped with spices or other garnishes.
This off-the-cob version features pan-roasted corn with fresh produce such as tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro mixed with an easy crema sauce and salty cheese.
This Mexican street corn salad will seriously have you going back for seconds. It's almost guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Serve as an appetizer, side, snack, lunch, you name it! Want to learn how you can make this delicious salad in just under 30 minutes? Keep on reading!
Looking for more gluten-free side dishes? Check these out:
- Gluten-Free Onion Rings
- Mango Pineapple Quinoa Salad
- Dairy-Free Broccoli Salad
- Air-Fried Potato Wedges with Garlic Aioli
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's gluten-free and easily dairy-free or vegan!
- Take a trip to Mexico with the flavours of this salad. It's made with just a few fresh ingredients.
- Super quick and easy to make. Plus you can make it ahead of time!
Ingredients Needed
Here is everything you'll need to make this Mexican street corn salad:
This Mexican street corn salad packs a flavour punch with just a few fresh ingredients. Here are a few notes on the ingredients...
- Corn: Use fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned and drained. I like to use frozen as it's the most economical and easy to work with.
- Avocado oil: A great high-heat oil used to sear the corn instead of grilling it.
- Roma tomatoes
- Red onion
- Jalapeño: Remove the seeds for less spice
- Fresh garlic: You can absolutely use jarred garlic or a paste, but fresh definitely has the best flavour.
- Limes: For both zest and juice.
- Cilantro: Goes so well with these flavours, but you can omit if you are not a cilantro fan.
- Mayonnaise: Use vegan if preferred.
- Spices: chilli powder, cumin, salt, pepper, paprika: Mexican Elotes staple spices.
- Feta or cotija cheese: Mexican Cotija cheese is often used on Elotes, but it can be difficult to find sometimes in a traditional grocery store. Feta has a similar saltiness that tastes great in this dish. Use a vegan alternative or omit if you are dairy-free.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Be sure to read the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and instructions.
Begin by preparing the corn. For depth of flavour, grilled corn is ideal. This can be done on a BBQ with fresh corn, or in a cast iron pan with frozen or canned corn.
(1) Begin by pre-heating a large (10-12") cast iron pan on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Be careful handling the hot pan.
(2) While the cast iron pan is heating up, chop the vegetables.
Ensure your corn is thawed, drained, and as dry as possible. Add the avocado oil to the hot cast iron pan. Carefully pour the corn into the pan, ensuring there is just 1 layer of corn so that each piece gets contact with the pan. You may have to do this in 2 batches. Let the corn sit untouched for about 5 minutes to develop colour. Stir and let sit for another 5 minutes. You want to see some nice golden colour on the corn, then you can remove it from the pan and do another batch (if required).
Add the grilled corn to a large bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes.
(3) Zest and juice the limes.
(4) Add the chopped vegetables and cheese to the bowl.
(5) Add all other ingredients to the bowl.
(6) Stir well to mix all flavours together. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Stir before serving, and top with additional cheese and cilantro to garnish. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
Mexican street corn salad will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days. Be sure to give it a stir before enjoying again.
Expert Tips
- Don't touch the corn while it's roasting. Allow it to stick and develop colour (and flavour) for a few minutes.
- Get all the zest and juice you can out of the limes.
- Stir well before serving. As some of the juices may fall to the bottom.
- Save a bit of cheese and cilantro for garnishing before serving. For pretty presentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! All you'd have to do is either find a cheese substitute for the feta, or omit it entirely. For vegan, please use a vegan mayonnaise substitution as well.
Elote is a traditional Mexican street food. Elote are grilled cobs of corn slathered in a crema of mayonnaise and topped with spices, cilantro, lime juice, and cotija cheese.
Cotija cheese is a salty cow's milk cheese from the city of Cotija. It is often used in Mexican dishes, but can sometimes be difficult to find in grocery stores in other countries. I use feta cheese in this salad because it has the same texture saltiness that cotija would. I also like to use sheep or goat's milk feta because it is often easier to digest for those with lactose intolerance.
This Mexican street corn salad is the perfect side dish for a summer BBQ. Serve it with tacos, carnitas, steak, chicken, you name it!
Now you've made a delicious Mexican Street Corn Salad. It's the perfect dish to serve as an appetizer, side, or snack at your next fiesta. Not to mention it's gluten-free and can be made dairy-free or vegan. Perfect for everyone to enjoy!
Have you made this Mexican street corn salad? I'd very much appreciate it if you leave a comment below and tag me on instagram @livglutenfree!
More Sides You'll Love
Recipe
Mexican Street Corn Salad (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 4 cups corn fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned and drained
- 3 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 roma tomatoes, cored and diced
- ½ medium-sized red onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, diced remove seeds for less spice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 limes for both zest and juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise use vegan if preferred
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon each: cumin, salt, paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup feta or cotija cheese (150g block) if vegan: use a cheese alternative or omit
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the corn. For depth of flavour, grilled corn is ideal. This can be done on a BBQ with fresh corn, or in a cast iron pan with frozen or canned corn. Begin by pre-heating a large (10-12") cast iron pan on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Be careful handling the hot pan.
- While the cast iron pan is heating up, chop the vegetables.
- Ensure your corn is thawed, drained, and as dry as possible. Add the avocado oil to the hot cast iron pan. Carefully pour the corn into the pan, ensuring there is just 1 layer of corn so that each piece gets contact with the pan. You may have to do this in 2 batches. Let the corn sit untouched for about 5 minutes to develop colour. Stir and let sit for another 5 minutes. You want to see some nice golden colour on the corn, then you can remove it from the pan and do another batch (if required).
- Add the grilled corn to a large bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add the chopped vegetables and all other ingredients to the bowl. Stir well to mix all flavours together. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or overnight. Stir before serving, and top with additional cheese and cilantro to garnish. Enjoy!
Let us know what you think!