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Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad (Esquites Pasta Salad)
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This vibrant and flavorful pasta salad draws inspiration from elote and esquites, Mexican street corn. Charred corn kernels bursting with sweetness are cut off the cob (or you can use frozen corn) and tossed with cooked pasta in a creamy, spicy sauce. The sauce is a blend of sour cream mayo, zesty lime with a sprinkle of chili powder and cayenne. The pasta salad is garnished with a generous crumble of salty cotija cheese, chopped cilantro and green onion. I love pasta salads for hot summer days and this one bursting with summer flavor is perfect to enjoy poolside or for your next picnic.
I created a ravioli version of street corn so I figured why not make a chilled pasta salad version! If you’re looking for a more traditional eloté recipe, check out my recipe here.
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad (Esquites)
Table of contents
Key Ingredients in This Recipe
- Corn – While I love using frozen charred corn to easily create this recipe I also provide instructions below for grilling corn and cutting it off the cob.
- Pasta – Opt for a shorter pasta shape with plenty of places for the sauce and toppings to settle into. Smaller shapes are also much easier to serve than longer noodles! Most pasta salads are eaten at a BBQ so you don’t want it sliding around. Elbow pasta, farfalle, penne, or fusilli are all great choices.
- Sour cream – Tangy sour cream adds a great texture to the creamy sauce, rounding out the flavor of the mayonnaise.
- Mayonnaise – Mayonnaise is typically used in elote to add a rich flavor and to help the coating stick. Here I combine it with sour cream and lime to create the sauce.
- Lime – I use both lime zest and lime juice to add concentrated bright lime flavor.
- Spices – I season the mayo and sour cream dressing with chili powder and cayenne.
- Cilantro – Cilantro adds a fresh element to the pasta salad. If you are among those with the gene that makes it taste like soap it can be skipped.
- Green onion – Thinly sliced green onions work well with the chopped cilantro to add a fresh element.
- Cotija – Cotija cheese is a type of hard, crumbly and salty Mexican cheese made from cows milk that has a consistency between feta and Parmesan. Locate it in the cheese sections at large markets such as Whole Foods or Hispanic markets.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Step 1: Cook pasta.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium high heat. Cook the pasta until just al dente, about 8 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup (60g) of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and set aside.
Step 2: Make the sauce.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, chili powder and cayenne. Whisk in 2 tablespoons (29g) of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce.
Step 3: Toss pasta with mayo sauce.
Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with the sauce and charred corn. Stir to combine.
Step 4: Garnish and serve.
Top with the cilantro, green onions and cotija cheese, gently stirring once more. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Tips and Tricks for This Recipe
How to Grill Corn
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat. Pull the husks back gently and rub the corn on all sides with butter then season with salt.
- Grill the corn for about 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the corn occasionally until the corn begins to char in places. Set the corn aside to cool slightly then cut the kernels off the cob.
How to cook pasta for pasta salad
- Cook in salty water. Seasoning the pasta cooking water helps season the pasta itself.
- Cook until al dente. Because the pasta will sit and chill I recommend cooking it a little more al dente than you typically would for serving hot pasta so it doesn’t get mushy.
- Thin the sauce. I thin the mayo and sour cream sauce with a bit of the starchy pasta cooking water. This helps the sauce to cling to the noodles without drying out.
- Toss with the sauce when warm. Rather than cooling the pasta down first, I recommend tossing it with the sour cream and mayo mixture when it’s still warm so the sauce can absorb and cling to the noodles.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this Mexican street corn pasta salad recipe, give these a try:
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad (Esquites)
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Ingredients:
- ½ pound macaroni pasta (or another short pasta shape)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1½ cups charred corn kernels cut off the cob
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup crumbled cotija cheese
Instructions:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium high heat. Cook the pasta until just al dente, about 8 minutes.
- Reserve ¼ cup (60g) of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, chili powder and cayenne. Whisk in 2 tablespoons (29g) of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce.
- Add the pasta to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with the sauce and charred corn. Stir to combine.
- Top with the cilantro, green onions and cotija cheese, gently stirring once more. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Nutrition:
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This street corn pasta salad is an absolute winner! The flavors are spot on — the creamy, tangy dressing pairs perfectly with the sweet corn and pasta.
So happy to hear it!
This is the best side dish to bring to a picnic.
Made this the other night – a big hit with the family!
Had this for dinner – the combination of two of my favorites (Mexican Street Corn and pasta) made for a delicious meal.
Could frozen corn 🌽 be substituted for fresh corn? I know it’s summer as I ask this, so fresh corn is available, I am trying to use ingredients I have on hand.
Absolutely Michele! If you can find frozen charred corn kernels that would be the best flavor match but regular frozen sweet corn absolutely works too! I hope you enjoy the recipe!