Elote Pasta Salad

Our Elote Pasta Salad takes everything you love about Mexican street corn and turns it into a creamy, zesty pasta salad you won’t be able to stop eating.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chicken pasta salad recipes, corn side dishes, mexican side dishes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings servings

Calories 1267kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

1 pound pasta, small elbows or ditalini
fine salt divided
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 cups frozen corn, thawed and well drained
2 cups mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup red onion finely chopped
2 cups crumbled cotija, divided
2 cups cilantro divided, stems removed, leaves torn and lightly packed when measured

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cook the pasta (1 pound) according to the package instructions with one tablespoon of fine salt added to the water. Drain and cool to room temperature.
Heat vegetable oil (2 tablespoons) in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add half the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, but allowing the corn to cook undisturbed between stirrings so it will brown. Add more oil as necessary, then cook the remaining corn. Allow charred corn to cool for 20 minutes.
Make the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise (2 cups), sour cream (1 cup), heavy cream (starting with 1/4 cup and adding more to achieve the thickness you like), lime zest (1 tablespoon), lime juice (1 tablespoon), chili powder (1 tablespoon), cumin (2 teaspoons), salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), and black pepper (1 teaspoon).
In a large bowl, toss pasta, corn, red onion, 1 1/2 cup cotija, and 1 1/2 cup cilantro. Add dressing and toss to coat. Chill for 4-6 hours. If the dressing has become too thick or absorbed into the pasta too much, add a few tablespoons of heavy cream or milk and toss again.
Plate salad and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro and 1/2 cup remaining cotija and serve.

Notes

Cook the Pasta: Follow the package instructions, adding a tablespoon of fine salt to the water to season the pasta. Once cooked, drain and let the cooked pasta cool to room temperature. This takes some time, so start by cooking the pasta.
Char the Corn: Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, and cook the corn kernels in batches until they’re nicely browned. Let it cool before adding to the salad.
Cheese: I’m fond of the traditional cotija cheese in this recipe. If you can’t find it, feel free to use crumbled Feta.
How to Crumble Cotija Cheese: Unwrap the cotija place it on a plate, and crumble with a fork.
Cilantro: Cilantro is often grown in sand, so wash it carefully. When measuring the cilantro, gently pack it. Grab two bunches of cilantro to ensure you have enough after removing any bad pieces and stems.
Add Protein: Add a protein, and this Mexican street corn pasta salad transforms into an entree. I like to add grilled chicken.

Nutrition