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Mexican Street Corn Salad with black beans and avocados. Think fresh corn Esquites loaded with cotija cheese, and a creamy dressing. Serve as a salad or in burrito bowls as a topping!
Mexican corn salad calling your name this summer!
I just love using fresh ingredients like grilled corn, ripe avocados, red onions, diced jalapeños and cotija cheese to make mealtime a little more tasty with all that flavor and texture, while being light on the waistline.
Adding hearty black beans and avocados turns traditional Mexican street corn salad into a hearty and fiber-packed side dish that goes great with garlic butter salmon, cilantro lime flavored shrimp skewers, scoop it up with tortilla chips as a corn salsa, as a topping on honey chipotle chicken bowls or as a condiment for tacos.
The dressing for this mexican street corn salad is exactly what you find on roasted mexican corn (or elotes). A hint of mayo, lots of lime juice, a sprinkle of garlic powder, lots of cotija cheese, and a handful of cilantro leaves. And I can almost get away with telling myself that it’s a healthy-ish kind of salad.
This is the kind of salad I dream about when I go to a summer bbq or a potlucks. It has a smoky flavor, slight tang, and it’s loaded with good for you ingredients.
Made this for dinner last week to go with salmon fajitas, and it was a hit! I was so glad we had leftovers because I ate it for lunch the next 2 days and was sad to see the bowl empty. It’s definitely a keeper recipe and will be going into my rotation.
Ingredients for street corn salad
- Roasted Corn: grill your own cob until you have a goos char, then simply use a knife to slice off the kernels. You can also just buy roasted corn. Defrosted sweet corn that you cook up in a skillet works here too.
- Red Onions: finely minced to you get some in each bite
- Avocado: add a buttery texture
- Jalapeno: gives it a little heat
- Cilantro: adds earthiness
- Black Beans: adds fiber to an otherwise not so fiberfill side dish. Its my favorite way to work toward my fiber goals!
- Cotija cheese: a crumbly mexican cheese that you can swap with feta cheese in a pinch.
- Mayonnaise: give this the creaminess it needs. You can swap some of this for plain greek yogurt or even sour cream, but it does feel like something in lacking. Mayo works best
- Chipotle Chili Powder: adds a smoky flavor
- Garlic Powder: bumps up the flavor even more
- Lime Juice: gives it a slight tang
Recipe Tip
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Mexican Street Corn Salad with Black Beans and Avocados
Equipment
Ingredients
dressing:
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder or more!
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
salad:
- 3 cups roasted corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
- ½ cup red onions diced
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1 jalapeno seeds/ ribs removed and diced
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup cotija cheese crumbled
Instructions
- DRESSING: Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. I added about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt to begin with and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper.
- ADD: Combine the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl.
- DRESS: When ready to serve, add the dressing and stir until evenly distributed. Check for seasonings, and adjust as desired. Refrigerate if you want to serve this cold.
- MAKE AHEAD: Salad ingredients and dressing can be prepared and kept separate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I made this and it was as pretty as the picture and delicious! I am making it again for a work potluck. What can I sub the mayo with? It doesn’t have to be dairy free, but I work amount mayo haters!
I love your writing+recipes. They are so creative. I’m so glad I found you. I’m here in Morrison Co!
So good!
Can I use Frozen Mexican Street Corn?
This turned out really yummy! I did adjust the proportions as follows though:
1/6 c. Mayo
Juice of 2 limes (didn’t measure)
14 oz bag of frozen corn (did not roast)
1/2 large jalapeno
I made this but used Lite Mayo as I have to watch sodium intake for my dad. It was delish and he loved it too!!
I’ve made this several times. Love it so much
Made this for dinner last week to go with salmon fajitas, and it was a hit! I was so glad we had leftovers because I ate it for lunch the next 2 days and was sad to see the bowl empty. It’s definitely a keeper recipe and will be going into my rotation. Can’t wait to share it at our next BBQ this summer! Thanks for a great recipe and for giving me some variety in my dinners!
You only mention that the corn should be roasted. Would you fry up the jalapeño too? Or just chop it raw?
You can fry/roast if you want but the recipe calls for fresh jalapeños.
How does this keep with the avocado? Looks delicious!just wondering if it keeps well if I make it the day/night before an event. Thanks!
The avocados will brown. For best results, I suggest preparing the rest of the salad and dressing ahead of time but mixing it all together + adding the avocados the day of.
My family loved this recipe, tastes like summer!
This was delicious. I will add 2 cans of beans next time. Thanks
I lived for Mexican street corn when I was there! Can you suggest an alternative cheese please? I can’t get cotija cheese in India 🙁
Grated parmesan cheese is a good substitute.
I used feta, it was delicious.
I can’t wait to try it! Keep up the amazing job!
This looks delicious! Can I sub greek yogurt for the mayo?
Sure! But it will lack a bit of that richness that Mexican Street Corn is known for.