Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad has all the yummy flavors of street corn. It’s an easy pasta salad recipe that is perfect for summer gatherings.
If you like this recipe, check out my Mexican Street Corn Chowder next!
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The flavors of elote (traditional Mexican street corn) are simple. It’s classic street food that slaps. Fire-roasted corn is slathered with mayonnaise, chili powder, cotija cheese and chili powder. These bold flavors give a unique twist to this easy pasta salad recipe and make it the best pasta salad. It can be either a main meal or perfect side dish. Serve it for a summer bbq or take it tailgating.
More favorite side dishes
Why this recipe?
At Foodtastic Mom, I take pride in my abilities to look at recipes and make them better. That can include technique, ingredient choice, flavor profile or streamlining to make your kitchen experience more enjoyable. Here’s why my easy Mexican street corn pasta salad recipe works –
- While the pasta is cooking, frozen corn is fire roasted in browned butter over high heat to really intensify and sweeten its natural flavor, making it more like authentic street corn.
- My blend of seasonings is unique: using a combination of chili powder, Tajin, cumin and smoked paprika.
- The addition of hot honey helps to amplify the corn’s natural sweetness and offset the salty and spicy blend of seasonings and cotija cheese.
- A medium shell shaped pasta helps to hold the corn together, giving you a satisfying combination of both pasta and corn in each delicious bite.
- Sour cream is not authentic to Mexican street corn, so this is a mayonnaise-based dressing with a generous addition of both fresh lime juice and lime zest.
Ingredients for Mexican street corn salad
- Frozen Corn – Two 12-ounce bags of frozen corn are cooked with browned butter to mimic that delicious street corn flavor. During the summer months, you could use an equal amount of fresh corn.
- Shell Pasta – I like a larger pasta shape for this salad. The inside of each medium shell pasta holds a lot of corn in each bite.
- Mayonnaise – The base for this perfectly creamy dressing.
- Butter – Helps to flavor and cook the corn.
- Seasonings – A zesty combination of chili powder, Tajin, cumin and smoked paprika are used in my recipe.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic cooked with the corn provides even more delicious flavor and tames the harsh bite of raw garlic.
- Hot Honey – Mixed in with the creamy mayo based dressing to balance the acidic flavors of the lime juice and zest.
- Lime – Fresh lime is a must for this pasta salad to really mimic this classic Mexican dish.
- Cotija Cheese – Just a little of this salty cheese goes a long way. You could use queso fresco instead, but I prefer the salty flavor of Cotija.
- Cilantro – I love a lot of fresh cilantro in this pasta salad. But if you can’t eat cilantro because of the flavor, simply leave it out or replace it with fresh parsley.
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. At the same time, melt butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the corn, cover and cook for a few minutes. Stir and cook until the corn is starting to brown. Stir in the garlic and seasonings, cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly until fragrant. Remove from heat.
For a complete list of ingredients and further instructions, keep scrolling to the bottom of this article for my free printable recipe card.
Serving suggestions
This pasta salad is a perfect dish for summer months, which makes me think of grilling out and hot dogs. Here’s some recipes to serve alongside to make it a complete meal, even if it’s not the middle of summer –
Storage directions
Save any leftover pasta salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will stay fresh for 2-3 days. But be mindful that pasta salads absorb dressing as they sit so it will be dryer when it is leftover. You can add a little extra mayonnaise and lime juice to help solve this problem. Or even pour a little bottled vinaigrette or Ranch dressing into it and give it a good stir.
Kitchen tools
- My current favorite nonstick cookware set to use in the kitchen
- Favorite set of mixing bowls that come with matching lids for easy storage
- The garlic press I use in my kitchen
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 24 oz frozen corn
- 8 oz medium shell pasta
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp Tajin
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp lime zest
- 3 tbsp hot honey
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup Cotija cheese grated
Instructions
- Bring a pot of cold water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet until the butter is starting to brown. Add the corn and give it a good stir. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Stir and cover the pan again, cooking until the corn is starting to brown. Add the garlic and seasonings. Cook, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Remove from heat.
- Drain the pasta and mix in the corn.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice, lime zest, hot honey and cilantro until smooth.
- Add the cooked pasta and corn. Stir until evenly coated with the creamy dressing.
- Cover the bowl and chill for a couple of hours. When ready to serve, mix in the Cojita cheese. Season with salt to taste if necessary.
Nutrition
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