This grilled Mexican corn salad is packed full of grilled corn, crunchy vegetables, avocado, and Cotija cheese all tossed in a creamy chipotle dressing. This salad is light, bright, and perfect for summer!
Do you love grilling corn as much as I do?
Well, if you have been following me for a while you have seen BOTH my Grilled Mexican Corn and my super helpful tutorial on Grilled Corn on the Cob.
Well, now I’m going to give you the PERFECT recipe to make with all the grilled corn you’ll be making!
This salad is packed full of fresh corn, cilantro, red onion, radishes, avocado, and Cotija cheese.
Then it’s all tossed in a creamy chipotle sauce.
It’s a mix of flavors with the smoky grilled corn and creamy chipotle sauce along with brightness from cilantro and crunchy fresh vegetables.
This salad play on elote is going to be your new favorite summer salad!
Craving even more corn goodness? This Pan de Elote is just what you need!
Table of Contents
Mexican corn salad ingredients
- Grilled corn – If you’re new to Grilled Corn on the Cob you’re going to love how easy it is to make and how easy it is to incorporate into this salad!
- Red onion – I love the taste of red onion in my salad because it’s less aggressive than yellow onion and the color looks really pretty mixed with the corn.
- Radishes – One of my favorite flavors has always been radish. It’s delicious, crunchy, and brings a nice bite to the dish without being spicy.
- Cilantro – I love the fresh and bright flavor that cilantro brings to dishes like this.
- Avocado – This brings a nice creaminess to the dish.
- Cotija cheese – This brings in salty flavor to the salad. It’s also what we used on my Grilled Mexican Corn.
- Creamy dressing – Our creamy dressing is made out of chipotle sauce, paprika, chili powder, lime, and of course, mayonnaise!
Using frozen corn
If you’re not in the mood to grill your own corn I’m not about to blame you!
Thaw your frozen corn and simply saute in butter on the stovetop until your corn is warm and delicious.
You’ll be missing the charred flavor of the grilled corn but the elote corn salad will still be delicious!
Adding heat and spiciness
Looking to add a little heat to this dish?
I left this dish fairly mild but if you’re looking for spiciness I suggest adding in a chopped jalapeno or serrano pepper.
The seeds hold a lot of the spice so leave the seeds in for a large boost of spice or leave them out for a subtle hint of heat.
Making the sauce
The sauce is what really pulls this dish together and turns it into a delicious salad.
I make my Grilled Mexican Corn or elote, with mayonnaise, Cotija cheese, chili powder, and lime.
That’s why this sauce for the street corn salad combines mayonnaise, lime juice, paprika, chili powder, and chipotle sauce.
The chipotle sauce brings in heat and smokiness along with a rich flavor that is perfect for this salad.
You can find chipotle sauce in your international aisle of the grocery store. It is typically found near the chipotle chilies in adobo sauce.
Can’t find chipotle sauce?
No worries! There are a few fun options and substitutions.
- Buy a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and cut up 1/2 of chipotle pepper and use some of the adobo sauce to replace the 1 tablespoon chipotle sauce.
- Use 2 teaspoons of chipotle hot sauce in place of the chipotle sauce.
- Leave it out completely but replace the paprika with smoke paprika for the added smokiness.
Storage and leftovers of Mexican corn salad
While this salad does store well there is one slight change I might offer.
If you’re planning to not eat all the salad in one sitting I recommend leaving out the avocado.
This is because avocados will start to brown and go a bit funky if left overnight in the salad.
Typically if I’m making this and know I will have leftovers I either leave the avocado completely out or stir in some chopped avocado per individual serving.
In general, this salad will keep for up to 3 days and is best eaten cold or at room temperature.
More summer salad recipes
- Craving an old-fashioned classic recipe? Try my Classic Macaroni Salad.
- Need a side salad packed with flavor? Try my Pesto Tortellini Salad.
- Want a new take on the classic? Try my Honey Mustard Potato Salad.
- My most popular side dish recipe! Try my The Best Cucumber Salad.
Ingredients
For salad:
- 4 large grilled corn on the cob
- 5 small radishes cut into thin slices and then in half
- 1 small ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup small diced red onion
- 1/4 cup of crumbled cotija cheese
For dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 tablespoon chipotle sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
For salad:
- Remove kernels off of all ears of corn and place them in a large bowl.
- Add the radishes, avocado, cilantro, red onion, and Cotija cheese and toss to combine.
- Pour in the dressing and toss to combine.
- Taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper if needed.
- Serve and enjoy!
For dressing:
- In a small bowl add the mayonnaise, juice of 1 lime, chipotle sauce, paprika, and chili powder. Mix well until combined.
Nutrition
