Easy 20-Minute Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad Recipe

This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad features all the flavors of elote (street corn) with a twist! Fresh sweet corn, tender pasta, and a creamy dressing are combined to make the most delicious and perfect side dish just in time for your next summer BBQ. 

What Makes This Recipe Great

If you enjoy elote or Mexican street corn, you’ll love this 20-minute Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad! It’s bursting with flavor and delightful textures, all tossed in a creamy chili lime dressing. It makes the perfect summer side dish or you can make it a main dish by adding cooked and chopped chicken (or Rotisserie chicken!). 

The resulting dish is full of fresh, vibrant flavors, perfect for summer gatherings. This recipe uses gluten-free pasta, but you can opt for regular pasta if you prefer. I chose fusilli, but any short pasta, like bowtie pasta, will work. With just a few simple ingredients for the pasta salad and dressing, you can have this dish ready in just 20 minutes!

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Ingredient Notes

• uncooked pasta: I used gluten-free fusilli.
• olive oil
• fresh corn on the cob: Or frozen corn. Check instructions for how to cook different types of corn for this recipe. 
• green onions
• fresh cilantro
• jalapeño pepper
• crumbled cotija cheese

Dressing Ingredients

• Greek yogurt: Sour cream or Crema Mexicana will also work.
• Mayonnaise: Use your favorite mayo here– whatever you have on hand. 
• fresh lime juice
• lime zest
• ground cumin
• chili powder
• cayenne pepper
• salt

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Check the next step before you begin if you are boiling your corn on the cob or are using frozen corn kernels. Cook pasta 1-minute shy of package directions (al dente) in a large pot of generously salted water. Drain the pasta and toss with oil. Set aside to cool. 
2. To boil corn on the cob: Add to the pasta water when there are 4 minutes left of cooking time. Remove the corn, then drain the pasta, toss with oil, and set aside to cool.
3. If using frozen corn kernels: Add to the pasta water when there’s 1 minute left of cooking time. Drain the corn and pasta, toss with oil, and set aside to cool.
4. To grill corn on the cob: Preheat the grill to medium-high heat, then spray or coat the corn with cooking oil. Grill covered for 10 minutes, turning every 2 minutes until charred on all sides. Remove from the grill and use a sharp knife to slice the grilled corn kernels from the cob.
5. Transfer the pasta and corn to a large bowl, and add green onions, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, and cotija cheese.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the dressing, except salt. 
7. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Taste to add salt and adjust seasoning, if needed.
8. Serve garnished with more chili powder, cilantro, and/or cotija cheese.

Expert Tips

• I personally like to grill corn on the cob for this recipe to get that delicious, smoky flavor, but you can also boil them with the pasta to cut down on time.
• Can be made gluten-free with gluten-free pasta.
• Make sure to salt the pasta water generously so the pasta isn’t bland. It’ll give the salad more flavor.
• I used Greek yogurt in the dressing for protein, but feel free to substitute it with sour cream or even Mexican crema.
• If you don’t have cotija, you can substitute queso fresco or even feta cheese. 
• As with most salads, you can always add extra produce if desired: red onion and sliced cherry tomatoes would work well here. 

Storage Tips

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Give it a good stir and serve. This easy pasta salad recipe is great for meal prep or to make ahead of time as well. 

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