Ultimate Mexican Street Corn Salad (With Homemade Totopos!)

⏱️ Prep: 20 mins | 🔥 Cook: 25 mins | 🧊 Chill: 30 mins | 🥞 Servings: 6 | ✅ Difficulty: Easy

We’re gonna be making Mexican Street Corn Salad! Seriously, it is inspired by the classic, super popular street food recipe for esquites, and as a side salad, it is just as good. I’m telling you, you have to try this at home!

This salad brings together everything you want in a bite: creamy, tangy, smoky, sweet, and zesty. It’s a fresh, bold twist on corn that is just so refreshing. Plus, we’re making homemade totopos (crispy fried corn tortillas) to fold in right at the end. That deep-fried corn flavor combined with the roasted kernels is absolutely incredible.

Why You’ll Love This

• The Flavor is Unreal: It hits every single craving. Sweet corn, tangy lime, creamy dressing, a little bit smoky from the chiles, with just a bit of a kick.
• The Crunch Factor: The homemade totopos are so worth it! They add the perfect golden, crispy texture that makes this salad totally irresistible.
• Easy to Prep: You can roast the corn and chop your veggies while your totopos are frying. It all comes together on one beautiful platter.
• Perfect for Gatherings: It looks amazing on a clean plate and is the ultimate side dish to share with friends and family.

If you love bold, crunchy summer salads like this, also try my The Absolute BEST Mediterranean Chickpea and Cucumber Salad for herbaceous vibes!

What You’ll Need

Special Equipment

• Large baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup)
• Wire baking rack (to fit inside the sheet pan)
• Medium heavy-bottomed pot or deep skillet (for frying totopos)
• Slotted spoon or spider strainer

The Corn & Veggies

• 6 ears of fresh corn, husks and silks removed (~750g / 4.5 cups kernels)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• ½ medium red onion, diced
• 1 small jalapeño, seeds removed and finely diced (use a serrano if you want it spicier!)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (reserve a little for garnish)

The Totopos (Crunchy Tortilla Chips)

• ~240ml (1 inch deep) avocado oil (or any good, neutral deep-frying oil)
• 4 homemade corn tortillas (~100g), cut into bite-sized squares
• Salt, to taste

The Creamy Dressing

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup crema Mexicana (or sour cream)
• Zest of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
• 1 tsp ground ancho chili powder
• ¼ tsp ground chile de árbol
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

To Assemble

• ½ cup Cotija cheese, crumbled (reserve a little for garnish)

Let’s Get Cooking!

1. Getting the Corn Ready!

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top. Place the pan on the lower-third rack of your oven so it gets a good color.

Take your softened butter and just spread it all around the 6 cobs. This is gonna yield a ton of flavor, so just do a light, even layer. Place them on the wire rack.

2. Roast & Char

Bake for about 15 minutes, or just until the kernels are cooked through and tender. Then, turn your broiler on HIGH. Broil for 3 to 6 minutes until the tops get a gorgeous, charred golden-brown color. Flip the cobs and broil the other side until evenly charred.

Crucial Tip: Remove from the oven and let them completely cool down before you slice off the kernels. You want every single component to have had time to cool before mixing!

3. Crispy Totopos Time

While the corn is cooling down, make the totopos! Totopos are basically fried corn tortillas, and they are the crunchy stars of this dish.

Heat about an inch of avocado oil in a deep pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Cut your tortillas into bite-sized square shapes. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, fry the squares until they are golden and crispy.

Pro Tip: Remove them with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towels, and hit them immediately with a light sprinkle of salt right when they come out of the hot oil!

If you love homemade crunch like these totopos, also try my Ultimate Summer Salad: Watermelon, Feta & Mint with a Spicy Kick! for sweet-heat balance!

4. Prep the Veggies

While the corn finishes cooling, dice your red onion, jalapeño, and red bell pepper. Chop your cilantro. Once the corn is cool to the touch, carefully slice the kernels off the cob.

5. The Creamy, Tangy Dressing

In a medium-sized bowl, we build a base of mayo and crema Mexicana.

The Crema Secret: Crema Mexicana is not the same thing as sour cream! Sour cream is gonna be much tangier, while crema is a little closer to crème fraîche, which is sweeter. If you are gonna use sour cream, that is totally fine—just hold back a little on the lime juice at first so it doesn’t get too tart. Play by taste!

Mix that creamy base with your lime zest, fresh lime juice, pressed garlic, ground ancho chili, chile de árbol for heat, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mix until well combined.

6. Putting it All Together

In a large bowl, add the cooled corn kernels, red onion, jalapeño, red bell pepper, and cilantro. Pour that dressing right over the top. Add most of your crumbled Cotija cheese (saving a little for later). Toss everything together.

Give it a taste, and add a little more salt only if it’s needed (remember, the cotija and the totopos already bring some saltiness to the party!).

7. Serve and Crunch!

You can chill this covered in the fridge for 30 minutes, or serve it right away! Just before serving, fold in most of the crispy totopos. Transfer everything to a clean platter. Finish it off with the remaining Cotija, those last few crunchy totopos, and a fresh sprinkle of cilantro for a pop of color. Enjoy!

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Mexican Street Corn Salad with Homemade Totopos

Recipe by Sana ReiCourse: Side Dish, SaladCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

380

kcal

Chill time

30

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

25

minutes

A creamy, tangy, smoky, and sweet twist on classic Mexican Esquites! Roasted, charred corn tossed in a zesty lime dressing and topped with crispy homemade fried tortillas.

Ingredients

• Equipment Needed:

• Baking sheet & wire rack

• Deep pot or skillet for frying

• Mixing bowls

• Ingredients:

• 6 ears fresh corn (~750g / 4.5 cups kernels)

• 4 tbsp (56g) unsalted butter, softened

• ~240ml (1 inch deep) avocado oil (for frying)

• 4 corn tortillas (~100g), cut into squares

• ½ medium red onion, diced (75g)

• 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely diced (15g)

• 1 red bell pepper, diced (120g)

• ½ bunch cilantro, chopped (~25g)

• ½ cup (115g) mayonnaise

• ½ cup (115g) crema Mexicana (or sour cream)

• Zest of 1 lime

• 2 tbsp (30ml) fresh lime juice

• 1 small garlic clove, pressed

• 1 tsp (2g) ground ancho chili powder

• ¼ tsp (0.5g) ground chile de árbol

• ½ tsp (3g) kosher salt

• ½ tsp (1g) freshly ground black pepper

• ½ cup (50g) Cotija cheese, crumbled

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a wire rack. Place pan on the lower-third rack.
• Rub softened butter evenly over the ears of corn and place on the rack.
• Bake for 15 minutes until tender. Turn broiler to HIGH and broil 3–6 minutes per side until charred. Let cool completely.
• Heat 1 inch of avocado oil in a deep skillet. Fry tortilla squares in batches until golden and crispy (totopos). Drain and season immediately with salt.
• Cut the cooled kernels off the corn cobs.
• Whisk together mayonnaise, crema Mexicana, lime zest/juice, garlic, ancho chili, chile de árbol, salt, and pepper.
• Combine cooled corn, red onion, jalapeño, red bell pepper, and cilantro in a large bowl. Pour dressing over and add most of Cotija. Toss well and taste for salt.
• Right before serving, fold in most of the totopos. Transfer to platter and garnish with reserved Cotija, totopos, and cilantro.

Notes

• The Crema Swap: Crema Mexicana is slightly sweeter and richer than standard sour cream. If you swap in sour cream, hold back slightly on the lime juice at first, as sour cream is already quite tangy. Taste and adjust!
• Authentic Herb Swap: Traditional Mexican esquites are almost always made with an herb called epazote, which has an earthy, musky flavor. If you can find it at a local Latin market, swap the cilantro for a small handful of epazote leaves for a 100% authentic flavor!
• Cheese Tip: Stick to crumbly Cotija cheese for this! Pre-shredded “Mexican blend” cheese won’t give you that authentic salty, dry texture that makes this dish pop. (Feta is a decent substitute in a pinch).
• Make Ahead: Mix the corn, veggies, and dressing up to a day in advance and store covered in the fridge. Do not fold in the totopos until the very second you are serving, or they will get soggy!