Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad has the most unique and amazing flavors! Think Pasta Salad meets fresh Mexican ingredients smothered in a creamy sour cream and lime dressing. It's the perfect side dish to bring to those Summer bbqs & it's ready in under 45 minutes!
If you haven't tried Mexican Street Corn, or "Elote" in Spanish, you're in for a real treat. The flavors are incredible and it may sound a bit weird to pair it with pasta, but I'm telling you, it's so tasty.
This version is a lot different than other recipes on the internet, because we're using fresh corn on the cob, which makes a huge difference in taste. It takes less than 10 minutes to cook the corn in a skillet and adds so much more texture and flavors!
Pair this Elote Pasta Salad with this Smoked Pork Butt on the Traeger, Boneless Smoked Chicken Thighs, or Blackstone Smash burgers for the ultimate backyard BBQ!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love Elote Pasta Salad:
- Quick and Easy. Simple step by step instructions and ready to eat in under 45 minutes.
- Packed with Flavor. Mexican street corn is full of the most amazing Mexican flavors and we're adding pasta to make it even more delicious.
- Uses real ingredients. Corn on the cob with a variety of veggies makes this pasta salad healthy and fresh.
- A Summer favorite. Pair this unique side dish with anything that comes off the grill!
For more recipes with corn, try this Blackened Corn in the Skillet, Crockpot Chicken Corn Soup, Southwest Chicken Salad, and Cowboy Cornbread Casserole.
Ingredients:
Fresh Corn on the Cob: The ingredient that really makes this recipe better than others on the internet. Using fresh corn is going to give you a lot more sweetness and crunch versus a canned or frozen corn.
Feta Cheese: Look for the original version, without any seasoning, sundried tomatoes, etc. added to keep the flavors right in this recipe. A block is great too if you want to crumble it yourself.
Shells: I really love this pasta for this recipe because of it's size, and once in a while the ingredients will actually get inside of the shell for the perfect bite.
See the recipe card below for the full recipe ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations:
The shell pasta can be substituted with another pasta similar in size, like fusilli or rotini.
For a more Authentic Mexican taste, use cotija cheese instead of feta crumbles.
Love avocado? Feel free to add it in.
For extra spice, use another jalapeño or add a few dashes of hot sauce to the dressing.
If you're looking for Mexican street corn without the pasta, try this Elote Dip.
For more pasta salad recipes, try this high protein pasta salad, Tortellini Pesto Pasta Salad and Lemon Orzo Pasta Salad.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad:
Step 1: Carefully cut the fresh corn off the cob and discard cobs.
Step 2: Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in one tablespoon of olive oil. Toss in the corn and ¼ teaspoon of salt and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. If corn starts to pop out of the skillet, reduce the heat.
After it's cooked, allow it to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then add into a bowl and place in fridge to cool completely.
Step 3: Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the shell pasta according to package instructions until al dente, firm when bitten into. Once the pasta is finished cooking, strain in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Shake well to remove excess water.
Step 4: As the pasta is cooking, make the dressing by combining sour cream, fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk or stir together until combined. Note: To make this more pourable, you may want to add 1-2 tablespoons of milk or water to the mix.
Step 5: Add the pasta into a large serving bowl. Top with cooled corn, red onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño, and half of the feta cheese. Toss to combine. Add on dressing right before serving and toss to combine.
Step 6: Top with remaining feta cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- When roasted the corn, sometimes it will start to pop a bit. If you start getting some flying out of the pan, reduce the heat.
- Remove the seeds, stems, and membranes of the jalapeño to make the salad less spicy.
- To make the sour cream sauce a little thinner and more pourable, whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk.
- This pasta salad tastes best at serving because the sour cream sauce soaks into the pasta in the fridge. If you prep it ahead, wait to add the dressing right before eating.
Recipe FAQs:
It translates to "corn on the cob" in Spanish, but usually indicates grilled street corn, which has creamy sauce with spices and is topped with crumbled cheese and cilantro.
If you're prepping it ahead, wait to add the sauce at serving time. Otherwise, the sauce gets less creamy and soaks into the pasta.
Store the leftover pasta salad in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. This recipe only stays creamy when fresh for the first two hours, then the sauce starts to soak into the pasta. Don't worry though, it still tastes amazing, it just doesn't look as pretty.
More Summer Recipe Favorites:
If you tried this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad (Elote)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad has the most unique and amazing flavors! Think Pasta Salad meets fresh Mexican ingredients smothered in a creamy sour cream and lime dressing. It's the perfect side dish to bring to those Summer bbqs & it's ready in under 45 minutes!
Ingredients
Pasta Salad:
- 3 ears of corn on the cob
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces dry shells pasta
- ½ cup red onion, diced
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, minced
- 1 roma tomato, seeds and stem removed and diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeds, stems and membranes removed and minced
- 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing:
- ½ cup sour cream
- juice from 1 small lime
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Carefully cut the fresh corn off the cob and discard cobs.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in tablespoon of olive oil. Toss in the corn and ¼ teaspoon of salt and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently. If corn starts to pop out of the skillet, reduce the heat. After it's cooked, allow it to cool in pan for a few minutes, then add into a bowl and place in fridge to cool completely.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the shell pasta according to package instructions until al dente, firm when bitten into. Once it's finished cooking, strain in a colander and rinse well with cold water. Shake well to remove excess water.
- As the pasta is cooking, make the dressing by combining sour cream, fresh lime juice, ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk or stir together until combined. Note: To make this more pourable, you may want to add 1-2 tablespoons of milk or water to the mix.
- Add the pasta into a large serving bowl. Top with cooled corn, red onion, tomato, cilantro, jalapeño, and half of the feta cheese. Toss to combine. Add on dressing right before serving and toss to combine.
- Top with remaining feta cheese. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
- When roasted the corn, sometimes it will start to pop a bit. If you start getting some flying out of the pan, reduce the heat.
- Remove the seeds, stems, and membranes of the jalapeño to make the salad less spicy.
- To make the sour cream sauce a little thinner and more pourable, whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk.
- This pasta salad tastes best at serving because the sour cream sauce soaks into the pasta in the fridge. If you prep it ahead, wait to add the dressing right before eating.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Fridge Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
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