- Last updated June 29, 2025 with more photos, tips, & tricks!
Why You’ll Love This Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Classic Street Corn Flavor—But in salad form! Grilled corn, chopped cilantro, queso fresco, mayo, salsa, and more combine to create a fresh, flavorful summer side.
- Easy to Make—Simply grill the corn and mix in the rest of the ingredients, and you’re ready to serve!
- Versatile—Serve this salad as a side with your favorite Mexican and summer grilling mains (like taco salad or butter burgers). Or, set it out with tortilla chips for a game day appetizer. Either way, it will be gone before you know it!
This Mexican street corn salad is hands-down one of my favorite sides of all time (and that’s saying something). It’s hard not to love—packed full of fresh flavor from grilled sweet corn, salsa, chopped cilantro, and crumbly queso fresco. While it serves as the perfect side for taco night, it also pairs well with other classic summer cookout mains, like these butter burgers. Or, skip the spoon and dive right in with tortilla chips—it’s also the perfect dip for game days, parties, and more.
Mexican Street Corn Salad Ingredients
Corn: Fresh summer sweet corn is probably one of my favorite foods of all time. Pop it on the grill, brush it with butter, and let it get some color and charred flavor? Even better! It’s the perfect base for this salad.
You’ll need 5 medium ears of sweet corn for this recipe. Or, 4 larger ears, 6-7 small ears, etc.
No fresh corn? Sub in frozen or canned corn (drained and/or patted dry—no one wants soupy street corn salad). While nothing beats the texture and flavor of fresh sweet corn, these other options will work in a pinch.
Salted Butter: To brush onto the corn both while it cooks and after removing it from the grill.
Queso Fresco: My personal favorite for this salad, queso fresco is a soft, crumbly, mild cheese.
Parmesan: Good ol’ Kraft Parmesan will work just fine in this salad, but feel free to freshly grate your own favorite variety.
Mayonnaise: A classic component of Mexican street corn, mayonnaise adds a creamy element to the salad.
Salsa: I always use fresh homemade salsa or pico de gallo, but feel free to add your favorite store-bought variety. Keep in mind that the heat of the salsa will control the heat of this salad.
Fresh Cilantro: An absolute must in this salad for me—I love the flavor of freshly chopped cilantro. However, if you are a part of the population for which cilantro unfortunately tastes like soap, skip it!
Sweet Onion: Small diced.
Salt: Just a sprinkle, or to taste.
Jalapeños (Optional): Finely diced fresh or pickled jalapeños can add some extra spice to this salad, if that’s up your alley. While how much you add is up to you, I would start with a couple tablespoons.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Salad
1. Prep the fresh corn.
Remove the husk and all of the silk from the fresh corn. Then, rinse under cold water and lightly pat each ear of corn dry.
2. Grill the corn.
Grill the corn over medium-high heat until it has charred to your liking. Watch it and turn the corn frequently so it cooks evenly, brushing on about half of the melted butter as it grills.
Tip—Make sure your grill is hot. When corn is cooked low and slow it can become tough or rubbery. You want to cook the corn on a higher heat to get some charred color and flavor quickly.
Once each ear of corn has cooked to your liking, remove it from the grill, brush the rest of the melted butter on it, and wrap it in a large piece of tin foil to keep it warm as you cook the rest. As each ear finishes cooking, repeat this process—tucking it into the tin foil bundle with the rest of the corn.
3. Cut the corn off the cob.
Using a sharp knife or a corn peeler, slice the corn kernels off the cob. Since this process can be a little messy, I like to do it on a kitchen towel. Then, you can easily scoop up all the corn kernels and place them in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Assemble the salad.
Add the grilled corn, mayo, Parmesan cheese, chopped cilantro, small diced sweet onion, salsa, crumbled queso fresco, and jalapeños (optional) to a medium bowl. Fold the ingredients together until just combined. Do not overmix as the queso fresco may break down too much—you want chunky crumbles throughout the salad for the best texture.
Optional—Top the salad with some extra crumbled queso fresco and chopped cilantro!
How to Store Mexican Street Corn Salad
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge. Briefly heat the salad in the microwave before serving again (very briefly—you don’t want it hot. Just take the chill off).
Serving Ideas For Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Serve alongside tacos, made with my favorite homemade taco meat, of course.
- Spoon some onto taco salad.
- Serve with burgers or your other summer cookout favorites.
- Create a smorgasbord of snacks and apps for game days, parties, and more—including this street corn salad, taco wonton cups, taco egg rolls, and homemade pico de gallo.
Read on for the full recipe for this Mexican street corn salad!
Once you’ve given it a try, come back here to leave a rating and review. I would love to hear how you liked it!
Easy Mexican Street Corn Salad
Equipment (Shop on Amazon)
Ingredients
- 5 medium ears fresh yellow and white sweet corn or 4 large ears, 6 smaller ears, etc.
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted
- 1 cup crumbled queso fresco plus a bit extra to sprinkle over the top
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup salsa homemade or store-bought
- 1 - 2 tbsp chopped cilantro plus extra to garnish the salad
- 1 heaping tbsp finely diced sweet onion
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Finely diced fresh or pickled jalapeños to taste optional
Instructions
- Remove the husk and all silk from your corn. Then, rinse each cob under cold water and pat dry.5 medium ears fresh yellow and white sweet corn
- Grill the corn on medium-high heat until it chars to your liking, watching it closely and turning it frequently to cook all sides evenly. Brush some of the melted butter on each cob as it cooks. Remove each ear of corn from the grill when you are satisfied with the char. Brush on more butter, then wrap it in a large piece of tin foil to keep it warm. As each ear of corn finishes cooking, repeat the process, adding it to the tin foil bundle.2 tbsp salted butter
- Cut the corn kernels off the cob using a knife or corn peeler. This step can be a bit messy, so I like to do it on a kitchen towel. That way, you can easily gather all the corn and plop it into a mixing bowl.
- Add the grilled corn, queso fresco, Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, salsa, cilantro, onion, salt, and diced jalapeños (optional) to a medium mixing bowl. Fold together with a spoon or spatula until all ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix! You want the queso crumbles to be mixed in evenly, but still maintain their shape.1 cup crumbled queso fresco, ½ cup Parmesan cheese, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ⅓ cup salsa, 1 - 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, 1 heaping tbsp finely diced sweet onion, ⅛ tsp salt, Finely diced fresh or pickled jalapeños to taste
- Optional: Sprinkle on some extra queso fresco and cilantro over the top of the salad before serving.
- Serve this salad alongside your favorite summer mains, spoon it onto taco salad, or serve it as a dip with tortilla chips. Store any leftover street corn salad in an airtight container in the fridge.
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2 Responses
My new favorite way to eat corn!!! Great side for a taco night or to take to a grill out. So good.
It’s my favorite too—glad you enjoyed it! 😃