Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner so I wanted to bring you guys a quick and easy side dish that your guests will go crazy over. My Mexican Street Corn Salad (aka Esquites which are elotes in a cup) is packed with the flavors of fresh, crunchy red bell pepper, poblano pepper, shallot, and then a creamy Mexican crema/mayo dressing that is smoky and a little spicy thanks to the smoked paprika and the chipotle powder. This Mexican Street Corn Salad is the perfect explosion of flavor that compliments any BBQ or fried fish you will be serving this weekend. This is actually a great side dish any time of the week so you’ll definitely want to keep this in your arsenal!
Elotes and esquites are one of my absolute favorite snacks and side dishes! I live in Houston, TX where there are literally elotes stands on every corner. Boy are we blessed! I’ve been eating elotes for years, but finally decided to make a homemade version about 5 years ago. I honestly wish I would’ve made it at home even sooner because this recipe is just THAT good!
My Mexican Street Corn Salad isn’t too spicy because I wanted to keep it pretty neutral for serving to crowds. If you want yours to have a serious kick, then add your favorite hot sauce to the dressing, or add more chipotle powder and you can even use cayenne powder.
Tips for Mexican Street Corn Salad
You can use frozen corn if you’d like, but I used fresh organic corn. I decided to use my cast iron grill pan to grill the corn indoors; it would be even better if you grilled or smoked the corn outside when you are grilling/smoking your meat on the pit! The charred bits of the corn provide so much flavor to the dish overall.
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Shop: Cast Iron Grill Pan similar to mine.
The easiest way, in my opinion, to cut corn off the cob is to place a small bowl upside-down in a larger bowl then stand the cob on top of the small bowl and cut the corn off the cob. This way the corn falls into the large bowl instead of flying all over your countertops.
You can make this Mexican Street Corn Salad ahead of time and store it in the fridge, then serve it cold or you can remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before serving so it can be room temperature.
I am not going to hold you guys any longer because I know you have Memorial Day Weekend menu planning to do and so do I. I’m trying to figure out which side dishes to cook. Already have my drinks and desserts planned out. I’ll fill you guys in next week on the drink I developed a few days ago that I will be serving at the Memorial Day festivities. It’s called Grilled Pineapple Ginger Mint Lemonade and everyone that tasted it the other day said it was the best lemonade they’ve ever tried! Make sure you are following me on social media so you can see when I share my new recipe creations. Here are all of my links: Bloglovin’,Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to stay up-to-date. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel because I will be adding another video next week!
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- Olive oil spray
- 4 ears organic corn
- 1/3 red bell pepper finely diced
- 1/2 poblano pepper finely diced
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 1/4 cup organic cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup queso fresco or cotija cheese crumbled
- 4 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- Zest and juice of 1 small organic lime
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon organic cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon organic smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 1/8 teaspoon organic granulated garlic
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Heat a large cast iron grill pan over medium high heat and spray with olive oil. Once the grill pan is hot, add the ears of corn and grill for 10 minutes, turning the corn every 2-3 minutes. Remove the corn from the grill pan when it’s done.
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While the corn is cooking, prepare your dressing. In a small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk until combined. Set the bowl aside.
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In a large bowl, add an inverted small bowl and then cut the corn off of the cob. Once all of the corn has been cut off of the cob remove the small bowl and then add in the red bell pepper, poblano pepper, and shallot.
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Stir in the dressing, ensuring that all of the corn and veggies are covered with the dressing. Next, add in the chopped cilantro and the crumbled cheese. Stir again and then serve immediately or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
What a great summer side dish! This would be so perfect at BBQ’s and picnics! I can’t wait to make this!
Mexican street corn is one of my favorite summer treats, and serving it in salad form sounds so perfect for a picnic! This would be a great side dish for just about everything that comes off of the grill this summer. So vibrant and full of flavor!
I love a good corn salad. This version looks so good!!
This sounds so delicious – I especially love the chipotle powder – I keep that on hand all the time now, because it’s such an easy way to add great flavor to dishes like this! Definitely will keep this in mind for summer entertaining!
I wish we had elotes stands on every street corner here, but we have clam shacks and that’s not too shabby I suppose! Corn is just about in season and I cannot wait to try this!
One of my absolute favorite things about summer is corn. Making Mexican street corn is a favorite. I love this corn salad and I trim my corn exactly how you do too.
See this blog post just reminded me how much I loOOve corn salad and how much I want to make a batch. Your recipe looks great and will be perfect to reference!
Is it corn season yet? I’m drooling! Fresh corn on the cob is one of my favorite things about summer!
I’m so so glad you talked about using fresh corn! It makes such a difference in the flavor, even if it’s a bit more work. thanks for this delicious recipe 🙂
I’m planning to make this recipe using fresh corn from my garden, can’t wait to try!
Mexican street corn is absolutely one of the best sides, I love it anytime but especially during the warmer months. Yum!
What a perfect recipe for the summer. I have a produce market near me that sells farm fresh corn and it will be perfect for this recipe
This looks SO DELICIOUS! I love Mexican street corn, but it does get pretty messy to eat.. this is all the great flavor, with none of the mess!
This looks and sounds incredible. This is literally one of the most delicious things I have made! thank you for the stellar recipe!!
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