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This Mexican inspired street corn pasta salad takes all the amazing flavors of street corn and incorporates them into a creamy pasta salad! Grilled corn, jalapeño, cilantro, queso fresco, and a creamy chili lime dressing tossed together with pasta make up this easy and delicious side dish!
If you love Mexican street corn inspired recipes, try my Mexican corn and green chile dip!
Why you’ll love it
Creamy and flavorful – This pasta has a creamy and flavorful chili lime dressing coating it. Along with the dressing, the grilled corn and cilantro add tons of fresh flavor!
Great for barbecues and picnics – Skip the traditional macaroni salad and take this street corn pasta salad to your next barbecue! It goes perfectly with any grilled meat and would be amazing alongside these green chile turkey burgers!
Tastes like Mexican street corn – If you’ve ever had Mexican street corn, also called elote, then the flavors and ingredients in this pasta salad will remind you of it.
The ingredients
- Pasta – Use a short pasta such as fusilli, cavatappi, bowties, or orecchiette.
- Corn – Fresh corn is recommended if it’s in season.
- Mayonnaise – Adds creaminess and that distinct mayo flavor to the dressing.
- Greek yogurt – Plain Greek yogurt makes the dressing extra creamy with a little tang.
- Lime – The zest and juice of a lime give the dressing a delicious tart, citrus flavor.
- Chili powder, garlic powder, cumin – Flavorful Mexican spice combo.
- Green onion – Green onions give the pasta salad a mild onion flavor that isn’t overpowering.
- Jalapeño – I recommend tasting the jalapeño before adding it to the salad so you know how spicy it is and can adjust the amount used if needed.
- Cilantro – A fresh and flavorful herb frequently used in Mexican cuisine.
- Queso fresco – Queso fresco is a mild, salty, crumbly cow’s milk cheese.
How to make street corn pasta salad
Grill the corn using the method listed below. While the corn is grilling cook the pasta until al dente in salted water. Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water.
Whisk together ingredients for the chili lime dressing in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Then set aside while you make the salad.
In a serving bowl, add the pasta, corn, green onions, jalapeño, cilantro, and queso fresco. Pour in the dressing, then use serving spoons or a rubber spatula to combine the ingredients until everything is coated in the dressing. Garnish with extra cilantro and queso fresco if desired.
How to grill corn
Preheat your grill to 400° F. and clean the grill grates. Remove the husk and silk from the corn and rub the corn with a little olive oil. Season with salt (and pepper if you’d like), then place the corn on the grill.
Grill for about 10 minutes, turning the corn every few minutes so it cooks evenly. Remove it from the grill and let it cool for a few minutes. Lay the corn on it’s side or stand it up and cut off the kernels.
What to serve with Mexican street corn salad
This street corn salad is perfect for barbecues because it tastes amazing with any kind of grilled protein. Below are a few of my favorites to serve with it.
Variations and substitutions
- Add grilled chicken to the pasta salad to make it a complete meal. The grilled chicken marinade that I used for these honey chipotle chicken rice bowls would be really good!
- Use frozen fire roasted corn in place of fresh grilled corn to save time.
- Add extra veggies such as grilled zucchini or halved cherry tomatoes.
- If you don’t want to use Greek yogurt, substitute with sour cream.
- If jalapeño is too spicy for you, substitute with a poblano pepper.
- Add a can of drained and rinsed black beans.
- Queso fresco can be substituted with crumbled cotija cheese. Cotija cheese is much saltier so you may not want to use as much.
Storage
The pasta salad is best when eaten the day it’s made. If you do have leftovers they will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Be aware that the leftover pasta salad will absorb a lot of the dressing and likely soften as well.
More pasta salad recipes
Did you make this Mexican street corn pasta salad? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
- 8 ounces uncooked fusilli pasta
- 4 ears of corn grilled and kernels cut off (about 2 cups)
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- 1 jalapeño seeded and deveined, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 lime zested and juiced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse it under cold water.
- In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
- Add all of the pasta salad ingredients to a serving bowl. Pour in the dressing, then toss together until everything is coated in the dressing. Taste for seasoning and garnish with extra cilantro and queso fresco if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
