This is my favorite side dish to serve with any type of Mexican food. It’s best in the Summer, when you can cut fresh sweet corn off the cob, but it works in the Winter with frozen fire roasted corn (or frozen sweet corn). It’s simple to make and a super flavorful, healthy side dish! I like to serve this side dish with Chicken Chimichangas.
Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
4 ears fresh corn, cut from cob or 3 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 oz Cotija or Feta cheese, crumbled
3 Tbsp Avocado Mayonnaise (or regular mayo)
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
1 large avocado, diced
Salt to taste
Instructions
After chopping the red onion, place it in a colander and run cold water over the onion (this will remove the bite from a red onion). Let drain.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add corn (fresh or frozen – no need to thaw), season with salt to taste and toss, then let cook, tossing only occasionally (about every 2 minutes) until corn is charred (about 6 – 10 minutes total). Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a serving bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, 1 Tbsp lime juice, regular chili powder, and ancho chili powder. Add in the corn, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, and half of the cheese. Stir to combine. Squeeze the remaining 1/2 Tbsp lime juice over diced avocado. Top the salad with the avocado and remaining cheese.
Notes
If you want less spice, you can leave out the jalapeño. You can also use 1/2 tsp of regular chili powder instead of 1/4 regular and 1/4 ancho Chile powders.