Tex-Mex Corn Salad
Tex-Mex Corn Salad has all of the big Southwest flavors you love with the perfect kick- this dish is a must-have side or topping to any meal!
Why We Love Tex-Mex Corn Salad
- Tex-Mex Corn Salad is a wonderful mix of flavors and textures that is amazing as a side, as a dip with sturdy chips, or as a topping for tacos, quesadillas, and even hot dogs!
- Take this side dish anywhere- it’s a perfectly portable potluck staple everyone will be excited about!
- This corn salad is a great make-ahead idea. Once you chop, dice, and mix this salad in under 20 minutes, it needs to chill so making it the night before or the morning you need it means it will taste perfect when you serve it.
- Customize this salad by including more of your favorite veggies or dial the heat up a few notches by adding more spice! It’s your salad, make it how you’ll love it!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Summer Corn Salad
VEGETABLES: For this salad, you will need red onion, cilantro, red and green bell peppers, jalapeno, and scallions. If corn is in season, you can use fresh corn on the cob that’s been boiled, cooled, and cut from the cob. Otherwise frozen corn will work fine.
DRESSING: To make the dressing you will need sour cream and mayonnaise, along with lime juice. For a really flavorful dressing, you’ll also add granulated sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.
How to Make Corn Salad
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Place the corn, bell peppers, cilantro, red onion, scallions, and jalapeno in a large bowl and stir everything together.
STEP 2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and stir everything together until the veggies are coated.
STEP 3 Cover the salad tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors develop. When you’re ready to eat, unwrap the bowl and give the salad a good stir.
Tips & Tricks
- Chilling the salad for a good amount of time is important as this gives the flavors time to mingle and develop so try not to skip it.
- For a great flavor boost, grill the corn ahead of time! It’s easy to cut the kernels from the cob after it cools and then mix it in the salad as written. The additional smokey flavor is absolutely delicious in a grilled corn salad.
- Craving a spicier corn salad? Add hot sauce, cayenne, or chipotle powder to the dressing! Start by adding a little and tasting the dressing and then repeat until you reach the taste you like. You can also leave in the jalapeno seeds for a kick.
- Want a classic Mexican corn salad that’s more like street corn? Add some crumbled cojita cheese, up the lime juice in the dressing to 2-3 tablespoons, and add 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder. You can leave the bell peppers in for color or leave them out for a traditional elote taste.
- Add more veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, or poblano peppers, just be sure to cut all of the ingredients the same size. Black beans also make a fantastic addition.
- The salad will last up to 3 days, covered in the fridge, and freezing this salad isn’t recommended. Be sure to give it a good stir each time you serve it to recoat the veggies in the dressing!
Corn Salad Recipe FAQ
What is corn salad made of?
Corn salad recipes typically are made with corn, bell peppers, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and a creamy dressing that is usually a mix of lime, sour cream, and mayo. Spices such as cumin, chili powder, and paprika are also often used when making this salad.
Mexican Street Corn and Elote, both popular corn dishes, are similar but only consist of corn, a spice-filled creamy dressing, and cotija cheese. Corn salads are wonderfully versatile so you can choose which veggies to add, and how much (or little) spice you want. You can also keep the cilantro or give it the boot if you’re one of those people who don’t like it. (like my husband)
Can you eat raw corn in salads?
You can absolutely eat raw corn! Many find good, raw corn to be even sweeter than when it is cooked and like many vegetables, there are additional nutrients in raw corn that are lost when cooked. Raw corn can help add a little more texture to salads as well as another layer of freshness.
While already steamed, frozen and canned corn also does not need to be cooked before being incorporated into recipes. When it comes to raw corn, go ahead cut the corn straight from the cob to use in this Tex-Mex Corn Salad or any salad you make!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Bacon Jalapeno Creamed Corn
- Chipotle Chicken Pasta Salad
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- Dry Rub for Ribs
- Creamed Corn Casserole with Peppers
- Southern Fried Corn
- Fresh Vegetable Salad
- Chicken Corn Chowder
Tex-Mex Corn Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen corn thawed (see note)
- ½ cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ cup green bell pepper diced
- ⅓ cup cilantro chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoons red onion peeled and diced
- 1 small jalapeno seeded and diced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- Lime wedges for garnish (optional)
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Place the corn, bell peppers, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno, and green onion into a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika in a medium mixing bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and stir to coat the veggies.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill, and the flavors can mingle. (Do not skip this step! It really helps the flavors to develop.)
- When you're ready to eat, unwrap the bowl and give the salad a good stir before serving (Every time you serve it, the salad will need to be stirred because the dressing may fall to the bottom of the bowl.)
Notes
- You can use frozen or fresh corn for this recipe. You’ll need 10 ounces of frozen corn or 4 ears of fresh corn to equal 2 cups. If using fresh corn, shuck the corn, boil them for 4-5 minutes, and then cool. Cut the kernels from the cob and you’re ready to go. You can also grill the corn for some added flavor if you prefer.
- Other items you can add: roasted red peppers, black beans, cojita cheese, poblanos, cucumbers, and tomato. Just make sure you small dice any additional vegetables so they are small like the other ingredients.
- To make it spicier, add some hot sauce, cayenne, or chipotle powder to the sauce. You can also leave in the jalapeno seeds or add more jalapenos.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
Hello, for taste and ease of assembly with this recipe I give it five stars. But I am giving it four stars because the serving size for 12 is totally inaccurate. I took this side to a family dinner to feed 9 people. It barely fed 4 to 6 people. In order for everyone to try it, everyone had to get a small spoonful. Rather embarrassing bringing a side to dinner and not being able to feed everybody. This was our only vegetable as well. please adjust the serving size to feed 4 and let people double or triple as needed. It’s better to have leftovers, than not have enough and be embarrassed at a dinner party. Thanks!
This recipe is absolutely delicious !! A favorite everywhere I take it !
I made this it was delicious and I enjoyed making it thank you it was easy to and I love easy
Absolutely delicious! I added some diced cucumber for an added fresh n crunchy edge and stirred in a modest sprinkle of tajin! We’ll be making this again!!