This Mexican Street Corn Salad recipe is a healthy, simple take on elote, the delicious Mexican street vendor version of corn on the cob!

When I lived in San Antonio, I was a quick walk away from The Pearl, a trendy neighborhood with a bangin’ Mexican street food restaurant. Which meant that at any point in time I was just 10 minutes away from a margarita/sangria slush and elote.
Elote is a Mexican grilled corn on the cob that’s rolled in cotija cheese and slathered with a sour cream/mayo sauce. They’re heaven.
So I set out to create my own! But in meal form. And a little healthier. This is a healthy Mexican Street Corn Salad, the salad part meaning you can throw it on literally everything. Eggs, tacos, chips, toast, burritos, salad, spoon…they’re all perfect vessels with which to inhale this street corn salad.
Mexican Street Corn Salad Ingredients
You’ll notice a few classic ingredients in here (like the salty cotija cheese), along with a few less traditional ingredients (like plain yogurt). All in all, it’s a quick recipe with simple ingredients that are easy to find!
- Dressing: Traditional elote is served with mayonnaise, but we’re lightening it up by using plain Greek yogurt for a quick spiced dressing. (Sour cream can also be used – explore our Greek yogurt substitutes here)
- Corn: Use corn on the cob or cans of corn, whatever is easiest for you! We’ll briefly cook it to develop those toasty charred flavors.
- Black Beans: Black beans are great, but you could sub any canned bean you have on hand (kidney and pinto beans also work great).
- Bell Pepper: A diced bell pepper adds freshness and crunch to our salad.
- Red Onion: Finely chopped zingy onion brightens things up.
- Cilantro: Don’t skimp on the cilantro, which adds that distinctly Tex Mex flair (the cilantro haters can leave it out if need be).
- Cotija or Feta Cheese: Use cotija cheese if possible, though crumbled feta is a good substitute for cotija cheese.
- Flavor Makers: Garlic, lime, and salt bring it all together into elote salad bliss.
What is Mexican Street Corn?
Mexican street corn, or elote, is a grilled corn on the cob that’s slathered with a spiced sour cream/mayo sauce and rolled in crumbly cotija cheese. Mexican Street Corn Salad is a potluck-ready version of it, throwing in a few add-ins and lightening up the sauce with Greek yogurt!
How to make corn salad
Step 1: Dressing
Mix up the dressing ingredients first (this can even be done hours or days in advance).
Step 2: Cook Corn
Heat oil over medium/high heat in a large saute pan then add garlic and corn. Cook about 15 minutes, flipping frequently, until corn begins to char a bit. This will create a great grill flavor that totally levels up the salad. Gently toss with lime juice and salt.
Step 3: Serve
In a large bowl, combine corn mix, black beans, pepper, onion, cilantro, and cheese.
Drizzle sauce over and serve either warm or cold. Perfect over tacos, as a chip dip, or by itself!
Is Mexican Street Corn served hot or cold?
You can serve this Mexican Street Corn Salad warm (from the grilled corn when you first make it), but it can also be chilled and served cold (perfect for bringing to potlucks!)
Serve It With
This street corn salad is great on its own or served as a condiment!
- Vegan Pulled “Pork” Nachos (or air fryer nachos!)
- Roasted Cauliflower Street Tacos
- Pulled Mushroom Tacos
- Huevos Rancheros
- and Mexican Paletas for dessert!
Ingredients
Dressing
- ½ cup plain nonfat yogurt* 80 g
- 1 Tbsp lime juice 15 mL
- 1 tsp honey 5 g
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cumin
Salad
- Splash of oil
- 4 ears corn about 3 cups, 285 g of kernels, shucked and kernels removed
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp lime juice 30 mL
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup canned black beans 200 g, drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- ½ cup chopped red onion 35 g
- ½ cup packed fresh cilantro chopped
- ½ cup cotija cheese 88 g, crumbled, can sub feta
Instructions
- Dressing: Mix all dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Cook Corn: Heat oil over medium/high heat in a large saute pan then add garlic and corn. Cook about 15 minutes, flipping frequently, until corn begins to char a bit. Gently toss with lime juice and salt.**
- Serve: In a large bowl, combine corn mix, black beans, pepper, onion, cilantro, and cheese. Drizzle sauce over and serve either warm or cold. Perfect over tacos, as a chip dip, or by itself!
Katie says
Just made this tonight, in preparation for a potluck BBQ birthday we have to attend tomorrow. OMG I couldn’t stop “sampling” it! So delicious. I don’t think I’ll have any leftovers tomorrow!
Sarah says
Hahah, “sampling” is an important part of the process 😉
Dori says
I’ve been making this the past few summers now – whenever the corn is fresh at our grocer. We love it on its own for a light summer meal or as a fresh topping on breaded cod fish tacos. Thanks for sharing! It has become a staple for our family!
Sarah says
Aw I’m so happy to hear this, Dori!! 😀
Angela Sterchi says
Looks delicious! We lived in San Antonio for a while and we loved the elote at La Gloria’s, along with everything else on the menu!
Sarah says
Small world! What I’d give to have some La Gloria’s elote 😀
Kelly says
Delicious!! We all loved it!
Sarah says
So happy to hear, Kelly! 😀
Saydi says
I made it today and it was a success everyone loved it! delicious and easy to make thanks for the recipe
Sarah says
Yay!! Thanks for letting us know how it went, Saydi!
Diane Kimmelshue says
Absolute favorite at potlucks and for lunches. I use mexican crema instead of yogurt and add a little chili powder to the sauce.
Sarah says
Yay! So happy to hear it Diane! 😀
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great lunch meal prep for the week!
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Suzanne! 😀
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Sarah says
About 5 days in the fridge! 😀
Stacey says
If making a day ahead of time, do you put the dressing on and let it chill overnight, or wait and add the dressing right before serving?
Sarah says
Hi Stacey! You can mix it all together the day before without a problem 🙂
Jose Bonilla says
Hi. Is this recipe for mexican corn vegetarian and GF?
Sarah says
Yep, this is vegetarian and gluten free!
Aline says
Can I use canned corn in this recipe?
Sarah says
Yep, just drain it well! 😀
Ana Maria says
Would it be ok to use frozen corn?
Sarah says
Yep that would work! 😀
Nancy says
I was wondering what you would think about adding quinoa with it to making it a meal??? Or would be yucky??
Sarah says
Ooh I think that would be delish! 😀
Anna says
OMG, just had this with dinner and it was FANTASTIC. I’m in love with the dressing! Have only just finished dinner, but have already shared the recipe with a couple of friends.
Sarah says
😅 Aw so happy to hear it, Anna! Enjoy!
Cherie says
Wow! This was SO good. We didn’t have any red onions so that was left out but still delish. I will definitely be making this again.
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, Cherie! 😀
June says
Lovely recipe! My brother snd I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, June! 😀
De says
This recipe is so-o-o good! I made it for my husband. I didn’t think I would like it, but we both loved it. It is good right after you make it while it is hot but the leftovers are great cold too. It tastes like an authentic Mexican dish. I don’t like onions so added some after I took out some for me. This will be a recipe I use over and over again. 🙂
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, De! Thanks for letting us know how it went! 😀
Mary-Martha says
I moved to the Netherlands is past year. Having a hard time finding cojito cheeses here, any hints, I see you said you are in Holland. Looking forward to making this.
Sarah says
I’ve never managed to find cotija in Holland! I just use feta or the “white salad cheese” 😀
Carmen says
Super good!!! We are vegan so I made some changes and used vegan mayo and used maple syrup instead of honey and I used vegan feta I make from Tofu!
Perfect on a hot summer day side dish!
Sarah says
So happy to hear it, Carmen! Those substitutions sound delish! 😀
Chelsea says
Thank you for sharing this Carmen!! I was worried about swapping out the dairy yogurt for coconut/almond yogurt because the consistency is so different. But…Mayo! I didn’t even think of it. Can’t wait to try. Thank you!!
Jean says
Love this salad. We grilled a giant chicken breast, sliced it into strips, and put it on top of the salad. Yum.
Sarah says
So happy to hear you liked it, Jean! 😀
Shelly says
The recipe looks great! How many servings would you say this recipe is for?
Sarah says
Should serve 8 😀
Michelle L May says
If you want to serve it warm do you throw everything in th skillet with the corn?
Sarah says
Yep, that would work!
Michele says
What is the serving size? 1 cup?
Sarah says
It makes 8 servings, each a little less than 1 cup 😀
Emilyp says
I have dreams about this recipe….its so good:) Lol!
Kerry s. says
My family loved this. It made a nice side with a taco and enchilada dinner.
The left over did not keep until the next day however. Had very little appeal.
Milly says
I love the corn salad
SUSAN SANDSTROM says
We had Mexican Steet corn for the 4th of July. Made this delicious salad with all the leftovers. I used Queso Fresco instead of Corina because that is what I had. Skipped the honey and added Tajin to the dressing as well. Glad I skipped the honey, my Coen and pepper were so sweet it made up for it! Loved it!
Marnae says
We made this a dozen times or more, and love to add tomatoes from the garden as well!
Also, I find it easy to just use a single serving cup of Greek yogurt with honey added, and then add the spices right to the yogurt cup… And there you have your dressing. This is very handy when all you have is crystallized honey!
Christine says
I made this for dinner last night and brought leftovers to work for lunch today. It’s soooo good! I roasted the black beans with sweet potato (from your heavenly sweet potato black bean taco recipe) and added it in as well. Also had a little leftover rice that I threw in, so I basically turned it into a carb salad hahaha but it’s super super tasty. Will definitely be a recurring dish at my house.
Robert b Neibert says
i wounder if that would go good with fish
Carmen says
Made this with vegan mayo as I dont like Greek yogurt for the dressing ans it worked out perfect. I have also made it with fresh/canned and frozen corn and it all worked out! We have thie meal on the bit nights paired with baked potatoes or beside BBQ chicken or as it is on its own as its filling!
Sarah Bond says
I’m so happy to hear it, Carmen! Enjoy! 😀
karen davis says
Just made this. Healthy AND yummy.
Dougouty Kamate says
It seem sweat I’ll try this reciep
Marlene says
THANKS for your recipes Sarah, my way of eating healthy, I am making this Mexican Salad for Dinner to-night , and going to add an Avacado, and turkey .
Irena says
So delicious!!! Served it as a side salad with fish tacos and enjoyed as a dip the day after!
Kathleen says
It is so good!!! Makes for a good dip as well. So fresh. Thank you.