An easy salad recipe featuring sweet corn, peppers, and a delicious honey lime dressing. Perfect for serving with grilled chicken and vegetables.
When you make a purchase using a link on this page, we may receive a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, please see About Us.
This post is about making Mexican Street Corn style salad, a tasty salad recipe to serve with your favorite summer meals.
Mexican Street Corn is a classic Mexican dish featuring grilled corn-on-the-cob, spices, a simple mayonnaise dressing and crumbled cheese.
This recipe takes the flavors of Mexican street corn and combines them to make a cool and refreshing summer salad.
The ingredients for this recipe embody the taste of summer. Sweet corn and hot and sweet peppers are sautéed in butter and combined with a sweet and tangy honey lime salad dressing.
Mexican Street Corn Style Salad is a great salad to make using fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market, from the garden, or using fresh produce from the supermarket. The corn salad recipe uses a combination of corn, onion, sweet and hot peppers, and fresh herbs, like garlic and cilantro.
You can use fresh sweet corn, if you have it, to make this corn salad recipe. Stand the cob on end abs gently run a knife down the sides to separate the corn kernels from the cob.
Or lightly grill the corn on the cob first, allow it to cool, and then remove the sweet corn kernels and use them to make corn salad.
Sweet and hot peppers are combined to add sweetness, heat, and flavor to the salad. Bell pepper, sweet Italian pepper, and pimento peppers all go well in this dish.
For hot peppers, jalapeño peppers tend work well, but you can also add Serrano pepper, Anaheim pepper, or poblano pepper for extra heat. Use caution when handling hot peppers, as residue from the peppers can irritate the eyes and skin.
To make corn salad with less heat, substitute more diced sweet pepper for the hot pepper.
Make an easy honey lime dressing by combining Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, and lime juice in a bowl. Combine the dressing with the sautéed corn, peppers, and onion to make the salad.
Mexican Street Corn style salad makes a delicious side dish for favorite summer recipes, like grilled chicken or fish, grilled sausage, kabobs, hot dogs, or hamburgers. It also makes a perfect topping for nachos and a tasty ingredient for burritos.
What You Need to Make Corn Salad
- Corn. Use canned corn, thawed frozen sweet corn kernels, or remove the kernels from 6 or 7 medium-sized cobs of grilled sweet corn. You’ll need about 3 cups of sweet corn kernels total.
- Skillet. Sauté the corn, peppers, and onion until tender, and then season the vegetables with delicious herbs and spices.
- Spoon. Use a large spoon to stir ingredients as they cook.
- Chili Powder. Chili powder adds heat and smoky flavor to the salad. Ancho chile powder adds good, mild to medium heat to corn salad. Use your favorite chili powder to add flavor to the salad.
- Smoked Paprika. Smoked paprika adds a sweet and smoky flavor to anything that you add it to.
- Garlic Press. A garlic press makes it easy to add flavorful fresh garlic to your favorite dishes and recipes.
- Bowl. Serve corn salad in a colorful bowl that goes from refrigerator to table with ease.
Mexican Street Corn-Inspired Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the corn salad:
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 15 oz cans sweet corn kernels, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup diced green bell pepper
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 jalapeño pepper or 1 Serrano pepper cored and diced
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- ½ tsp each chili powder smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, and salt
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp honey
- Grated zest and juice of one small lime
Instructions
- Add Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, and grated lime zest and juice to a bowl. Whisk to combine ingredients, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add corn, bell pepper, onion, and jalapeño or Serrano pepper to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender and golden brown.
- Add minced garlic, chili powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, and salt to the skillet. Cook 30 seconds, stirring continuously, to allow flavors to cool.
- Remove skillet from heat; allow ingredients to cool for 15 minutes. Stir in dressing.
- Transfer corn salad to bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours before serving. Sprinkle cilantro and crumbled queso fresco over salad just before serving.