Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is a healthy vegetarian summer pasta salad filled with fire-roasted corn, peppers, onion, cotija cheese, and cilantro with a Mexican flavored dressing with Greek yogurt, lime, and taco seasoning. Perfect for everything from a family dinner to a cookout. This unexpected and fresh twist on pasta salad will have everyone asking for seconds.
Love unique summer pasta salads? Also, try my Cucumber Pasta Salad, Deviled Egg Pasta Salad, and Bruschetta Pasta Salad.
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is a fresh, flavorful, and unexpected twist on pasta salad with a fun and delicious list of ingredients. It's filled with pasta, fire-roasted corn (also called Mexican Street Corn), plus peppers (you can do jalapeno or bell pepper,) red onion, and cilantro. It's all topped with yummy crumbled cotija cheese and tossed in a simple but healthy Greek yogurt-based dressing, instead of using mayonnaise. If you like summer corn, you are going to flip over this crazy delicious and downright addictive dish.
This dish is inspired by a dish called Elote in Mexico, where corn is grilled on the cob until fire-roasted and served with spicy crema and cotija cheese.
This dish is fabulous for everything from a family dinner to a side dish for your next cookout, potluck, or bbqs. It's a hearty vegetarian dish that can make a whole meal or be served as a side dish.
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad- addictive & unique! Share on X
Why You'll Love this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad...
- This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is perfect for when you want to make a pasta salad, but not the expected pasta salad.
- The flavors bounce off the plate and are crazy delicious.
- It's a great use for summer corn, or you can make it with canned or frozen corn in the off-season.
- The entire dish only takes 20 minutes to make.
- It's healthy, vegetarian, and delicious.
- It's less than 180 calories a serving!
Ingredients:
Here's an overview of what you'll need to make this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad, but keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.
For the Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad:
- Pasta: You will need two cups of uncooked pasta. I used rotini pasta, but you can use any short pasta shape you have, including macaroni, penne, bowtie pasta, ditalini pasta, or farfalle. You can also make this healthy by using whole grain pasta or even choose a gluten-free pasta to make it gluten-free.
- Fire Roasted Corn: Fire Roasted Corn is also known as Mexican Street Corn. You can buy corn already fire-roasted in the canned aisle or the frozen aisle. Either will work for this. If it's frozen, you will need to cook and drain it. If it's canned, just drain the can. To use fresh corn, you will need to cook the corn kernals in a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter for 10 minutes to fire-roast it before adding it to the pasta salad. You can also use grilling corn and grill it over medium-high heat for about 12 minutes until browned. You will then need to remove the kernels with a knife.
- Pepper: You can either make this spicy with diced jalapeno or keep it mild with green bell peppers. Both of these add color and texture to the dish.
- Red Onion: I love how the red onion adds depth of flavor and bright color to this pasta salad. You can swap this out for a sweet white onion or even a sliced green onion.
- Cilantro: Cilantro adds a lot of fresh Mexican flavor to the dish. Using fresh herbs is a big flavor boost.
- Cotija Cheese: Cotija cheese is a mild Mexican cheese that' hard and has a salty flavor that you can buy in blocks and crumble. It's perfect for this dish since it is used in Elote, which this is inspired by. You could also use feta cheese or queso fresco.
For the Dressing:
- Plain Greek Yogurt: This dressing for the Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is made with plain Greek yogurt. You can use low-fat or full-fat, depending on your dietary preferences, but full-fat will give you a creamier result. Low fat will mean fewer calories, though. You can also use mayo here.
- Mexican Crema: I balance out the yogurt with Mexican Crema. If you can't find that, you can use sour cream.
- Lime Juice: Fresh lime juice brings the flavors to the dish. You will need fresh limes. If you love lime, you can also add fresh lime zest.
- Taco Seasoning: I make my own Homemade Taco Seasoning with my recipe, but you can use your favorite kind. You can also use a mix of cumin, chili powder, chipotle powder, garlic, and oregano.
- Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
Instructions:
This is an overview of the instructions to make this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad, but the full, detailed, printable recipe is below in the recipe card.
- In a large pot of salted, boiling water, boil your pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water to cool it down.
- At the bottom of a large bowl, whisk together the crema, plain Greek yogurt, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
- On top of the creamy dressing, add the cooled pasta, corn, pepper, and onion. Mix or toss until well combined and then carefully fold in the crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Variations
I love this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad recipe as written, but here are some fun variations.
- Add Protein: You can add grilled chicken, bacon, or shrimp to this to round out the meal.
- Other Veggie Add-ins: You could also add black beans, avocado, red bell pepper, or cherry tomatoes.
- Make it Spicy: Use the jalapeno instead of the bell pepper and add some hot sauce or cayenne pepper to the dressing.
FAQ
Storage & Leftovers
Due to the cilantro, this dish is best served fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you are making this ahead, stir in the cilantro and cheese just before serving. I would not freeze this dish.
What is Mexican Street corn?
Mexican Street Corn is a dish also called fire-roasted corn and Elote. It's often grilled or roasted with butter until charred. It's served with cotija cheese.
Should you rinse pasta in cold water for pasta salad?
Yes! For this recipe, the easiest way to cool the pasta is to run cold water over it.
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is downright epic, especially if you are a corn lover. My boys gobbled this up and asked for more of the corn! It's a great way to enjoy vegetables this summer, too. Serve it by itself or pair it with a few of the dishes below for a fantastic summer meal.
Serve it With:
- Blackened Shrimp
- Shrimp Tostados
- Shrimp Tacos
- Blackened Mahi Mahi
- Blackened Salmon
- Black Bean Burger with Guacamole
- Portobello Mushroom Steak
- Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas
More Pasta Salads To Try:
- Cucumber Pasta Salad
- Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
- Crab Pasta Salad
- 4 Ingredient Caprese Pasta Salad
- Zesty Italian Pasta Salad
- Mexican Macaroni Salad
- Healthy Macaroni Salad
- Bruschetta Pasta Salad
- Tex Mex Pasta Salad
If you make this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
Dressing:
- ¼ cup mexican crema
- ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook your pasta according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water to cool it down.
- In the bottom of a large mixing bowl, whisk together the crema, plain Greek yogurt, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
- On the top of the dressing add the cooled pasta, corn, pepper, and onion. Mix until well combined and then carefully fold in the crumbled cotija cheese and cilantro.
- Serve immediatly.
Notes
Storage & Leftovers
Due to the cilantro, this dish is best served fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. If you are making this ahead, stir in the cilantro and cheese just before serving. I would not freeze this dish.Nutrition
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