This Elote Pasta Salad is a combination of classic Mexican-style street corn and a traditional pasta salad. The corn is grilled for a charred flavor and tossed with pasta in a creamy dressing with lots of cheese. It’s easy to assemble in less than 30 minutes and will be the first side dish gone at your next summer gathering.
If there’s one thing we love to order at an authentic Mexican restaurant, it’s elote (also known as Mexican street corn). This is charred corn coated in mayonnaise and cotija cheese with smoky spices and cilantro. It’s so addicting! We had to combine these flavors with our favorite summer side dish, pasta salad. Trust us when we say, this Elote Pasta Salad will be a recipe you’ll make weekly when the weather is warm.
Living in NYC, one of our favorite taco restaurants has the best elote corn. We drew inspiration from their recipe and tested out several different flavor combinations to make this creamy corn pasta salad just right. The essential ingredient is Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Mayonnaise, it rounds out all of the flavors perfectly.
If you love a salad bursting with flavor, be sure to also try our Salmon Pesto Pasta Salad or Mediterranean Orzo Salad, you can’t go wrong.
Ab’s Tip: We love grilling the corn and peppers here for a charred, smoky flavor. If you’d rather not grill, then boil the corn and bake the peppers until tender.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Quick prep time with minimal clean-up. You can prep most of the ingredients on the grill or inside on the stove. With just a single bowl and a food processor, this Mexican street corn pasta salad comes together in no time.
- An incredibly flavorful side dish. This pasta salad will compliment so many grilled proteins, like chicken, steak, or white fish. It’s creamy and full of bold flavors.
- Great for prepping in advance. Like with most pasta salads, you can prep this ahead of time and the flavors will just get better. Give it a fresh stir before serving.
Ingredients:
Dressing:
- Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Mayo: We love this avocado oil-based mayo for it’s clean flavor. You can certainly use other flavors of mayo as well.
- Greek yogurt: Adds a tang and creaminess to the dressing.
- Lime: The acid that brightens all of the flavors.
- Honey: Adds a hint of sweetness.
- Chipotle pepper in adobo: Bring some spice as well as smokiness to every bite.
- Chili powder: Bring a warm and smoky flavor.
- Ground cumin: Another warming spice that also has hints of citrus.
- Paprika: Use sweet paprika here, has peppery and fruity notes.
Pasta Salad
- Pasta of choice: We prefer a short noodle like penne, elbows, or macaroni, but feel free to use what you already have on hand as well.
- Ears of fresh corn: Fresh corn is best! It’s what gives this salad all of the fresh elote flavor.
- Bell peppers: Nice crunch and sweet veggie flavor.
- Cotija cheese: The signature cheese in any elote salad, it’s mild in flavor with nice saltiness.
- Chopped cilantro: An herb that adds bright zesty flavor.
- Olive oil: Rounds out the dressing, be sure to purchase a high quality brand for it’s rich flavor.
How to Make Elote Pasta Salad
1. Preheat grill to 450. Shuck the corn and brush olive oil on all sides. Slice the peppers into thirds and remove the seeds and stems. Coat in oil as well. Cook for about 4-5 min per side on the grill until they get a nice char on all sides.
2. Remove from grill and using a knife, remove the kernels from the cobs and slice the pepper into bite sized pieces.
Note: If you don’t want to grill, you can roast the peppers for about 15 min on 425 in the oven and boil the corn (2 min in boiling water).
3. In a food processor, combine all the smoky dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. Season to taste- if you want it less spicy, add a little more mayo or greek yogurt.
4. Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to box instructions. Drain and add to a large bowl. Top with corn, grilled pepper, cilantro and cotija cheese crumbles. Drizzle the dressing overtop and toss until creamy and combined. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use a short pasta noodle. This will help the dressing adhere better and also make it easier to eat. We love penne, small shells, or elbows.
- For a mild dressing, remove the seeds of the chipotle in adobo. They are super spicy when the seeds are left in, so this will help in making it more mild.
- Use frozen corn if fresh is not in season. This elote pasta salad is great to enjoy all year round. You can use frozen and thawed corn or even frozen fire roasted corn for a charred taste.
- Dress the pasta salad while it’s still warm. This is a key tip that actually helps the pasta to absorb the flavors of the dressing better for a stronger flavor.
- There is no real swap for cotija cheese, you can use queso fresco or even feta or parmesan if you can’t find it at the store. The flavor will be a little different than traditional elote.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The flavor will actually get better with time!
That means this is also a great recipe to make in advance. Make it the morning you plan to enjoy and serve it room temperature alongside some delicious main courses.
FAQs
An authentic Mexican corn dish where corn is charred or boiled then rubbed with mayonnaise, spices like Tajin or chili powder, and covered in cotija cheese. Finished with a squeeze of lime, it’s very delicious.
We love serving it with chicken, steak, or a flaky white fish.
Cook the pasta a couple of minutes less than package instructions to ensure that it doesn’t overcook. The other option is to rinse the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking before dressing.
More Delicious Salad Recipes
Elote Pasta Salad (Mexican Street Corn)
Ingredients
The dressing:
- 3 tbsp Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Mayo
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste
The rest:
- 1 lb pasta of choice
- 4-5 ears of corn
- 2 bell peppers
- ½ cup cotija cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat grill to 450. Shuck the corn and brush olive oil on all sides. Slice the peppers into thirds and remove the seeds and stems. Coat in oil as well. Cook for about 4-5 min per side on the grill until they get a nice char on all sides.
- Step 2: Remove from grill and using a knife, remove the kernels from the cobs and slice the pepper into bite sized pieces.
- Note: If you don’t want to grill, you can roast the peppers for about 15 min on 425 in the oven and boil the corn (2 min in boiling water).
- Step 3: In a food processor, combine all the smoky dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. Season to taste- if you want it less spicy, add a little more mayo or greek yogurt.
- Step 4: Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to box instructions. Drain and add to a large bowl. Top with corn, grilled pepper, cilantro and cotija cheese crumbles. Drizzle the dressing overtop and toss until creamy and combined. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The flavor will actually get better with time! That means this is also a great recipe to make in advance. Make it the morning of serving and serve it room temperature alongside some delicious main courses. Expert Tips:
- Use a short pasta noodle. This will help the dressing adhere better and also make it easier to eat. We love penne, small shells, or elbows.
- For a mild dressing, remove the seeds of the chipotle in adobo. They are super spicy when the seeds are left in, so this will help in making it more mild.
- Use frozen corn if fresh is not in season. This elote pasta salad is great to enjoy all year round. You can use frozen and thawed corn or even frozen fire roasted corn for a charred taste.
- Dress the pasta salad while it’s still warm. This is a key tip that actually helps the pasta to absorb the flavors of the dressing better for a stronger flavor.
- There is no real swap for cotija cheese, you can use queso fresco or even feta or parmesan if you can’t find it at the store. The flavor will be a little different than traditional elote.
