Delicious grilled Mexican street corn salad recipe is a fiesta in a bowl! A healthy salad packed with fresh vegetables and creamy chipotle yogurt dressing.
One of my favorite ways to spruce up corn on the cobb is Mexican-style elotes. They are roasted ears of corn topped with savory spices, creamy sauce, cheese, limes, and chopped cilantro. A handheld treat that you can’t resist!
With BBQ and picnic season well on its way, I found a quick, healthy and portable way to enjoy elotes. I’ve taken the key flavor elements and added them to a vegetable-packed salad. This Mexican street corn salad with creamy chipotle dressing will turn dinner into a fiesta!
With summer on its way and corn in season, you can find the sweetest, plump kernels on sale. Now that I’ve gotten a chance to spend more time cooking outdoors, I often shuck a few ears of corn and toss them right on the grill. It’s straightforward and easy!
Okay, to take this corn salad to the next level, you’re not going to want to skip this dressing. Mexican street corn is commonly topped with mayonnaise, but I thought I would lighten up the dressing with plain nonfat Greek yogurt instead.
The yogurt adds some extra protein into each bite plus you still get the creaminess that is so awesome. A little bit of cumin, chipotle pepper, and fresh lime zest and juice infuses those earthy and smokey flavors into the dressing, yum!
This salad is a combination of sweet, savory, smoky and crunchy ingredients with a hint of fiery spice. When I create a recipe, I like to have a balance of various flavors and textures that complement each other. It’s no fun to eat mush, right?
The produce that I selected for the base of the corn salad are cucumbers, bell peppers, red onions, avocado, garlic, and jalapeno. See how those provide crunch, creaminess, and earthy flavors? The last thing to do is top the salad with some Queso Fresco or Cotija cheese if you like a more pungent flavor. I can’t wait for you to dig in!
As much as I love corn on the cobb, this salad makes eating my favorite summer vegetable much easier and even more tasty with the Mexican-inspired ingredients. Plus, no worrying about those little kernels getting stuck in your teeth, ha. I’ve been serving this salad with my blackened chicken tacos or mahi mahi for a complete meal. What would be your perfect main dish pairing with this corn salad?
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If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #jessicagavin on Instagram. I’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
How to prevent avocados from turning brown right away
Have you noticed cut avocados turn brown if you don’t eat it right away? Why does this happen? There is an enzyme that is naturally occurring in avocados called polyphenol oxidase. When the flesh of the avocado is exposed to oxygen, it reacts with the enzyme, and you see the browning occur over time. If you can keep the contact with oxygen to a minimum that helps. When I’m cutting up avocados for a recipe, I fill a container up with about 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice. The acid in the citrus lowers the pH of the water and slows down the browning process. I leave it in the solution for about 5 minutes, drain the avocados, then add it to my recipe, tightly cover the dish, refrigerate and serve within a few hours.
Mexican Street Corn Salad with Chipotle Dressing
Ingredients
Salad-
- 4 ears of corn, 3 cups cooked kernels
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced, ¼-inch dice
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, ¼-inch dice
- 1/2 cup cucumber, ¼-inch dice
- 1 avocado, ¼-inch dice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup queso fresco, or cotija cheese
Dressing-
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt, non-fat, plain
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, and zest of one lime
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper, ground, more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin, ground
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
Instructions
Salad-
- Lightly brush each corn cob with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper.
- Heat grill to high heat. Add a small amount of vegetable oil on a folded piece of paper towel, and then carefully grease the grill with the oil.
- Once the grill is nice and hot, add the corn. Close the lid and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping and covering about 12 minutes total. You want to achieve some char marks on each side.
- Set corn aside and allow to cool enough to handle.
- Carefully cut the corn kernels off the cob on a cutting board.
- In a large bowl combine corn, onion, bell pepper, cucumber, avocado, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro and ¼ cup of cheese.
Dressing-
- In a medium-size bowl whisk together yogurt, lime juice, zest, chipotle pepper, cumin, and salt.
- Slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk into dressing until smooth. Taste dressing and add more salt and pepper as desired.
To-Serve-
- Right before serving, combine the salad with half the dressing. Drizzle the top of the salad with the remaining dressing as desired, crumble the remaining ¼ cup cheese, some chopped cilantro, and freshly ground pepper.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Add diced avocado to 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice and allow to soak for 5 minutes before draining and adding to the salad. This helps slow down the browning, especially if you are not serving the salad right away.
- 1 serving = 1 1/4 cup corn salad
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