Mexican street corn salad with cotija cheese, lime, and chili powder
VegetarianGluten-FreeSummerBBQ

Corn Salad

Carlos Mendez

@carlosmendezcooks

4.5(770 reviews)🍳 6,928 made this

Prep

10 min

Cook

Total

10 min

Servings

6

Difficulty

Easy

Let's cook

  1. Char the corn hard

    Cook the corn in the neutral oil in a very hot dry pan for 6–8 minutes, stirring rarely, until blackened in patches. It will pop and jump.

    💡

    The char is the entire flavour of this salad. Take it further than feels comfortable.

  2. Cool before mixing

    Spread the charred corn on a tray to cool for 10 minutes. Hot corn wilts the herbs and melts the cheese into a paste.

  3. Soak the onion

    Cover the diced onion in cold water for 5 minutes to soften its raw bite, then drain well.

  4. Mix the dressing

    Whisk the lime juice, olive oil, chilli powder, salt, and pepper.

  5. Combine

    Fold everything together and rest 15 minutes before serving so the flavours settle.

🍳

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📝 Tips, swaps, and make-ahead notes

Frozen corn works well and chars fine, but dry it thoroughly first or it will steam. Fresh corn cut from the cob in season is noticeably sweeter.

  • Vegan: Skip the cheese and add diced avocado.
  • Elote-style: Add a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise for a creamier version.
  • Make-ahead: Keeps 3 days; add the herbs fresh.

Nutrition & Safety

Calories

212kcal

Protein

6g

Carbs

26g

Fat

11g

⚠️ Allergen & Safety Note

This recipe contains dairy. Nutritional values are estimates per serving and may vary based on the specific ingredients you use. If you have food allergies, please verify all ingredients before cooking.

AI-assisted content. Always verify instructions with trusted culinary sources.

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