This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is a great way to enjoy sweet summer corn! It’s made with bowtie pasta, grilled corn, black beans, red onion, and a delicious elote inspired dressing!
This post may contain affiliate links. Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.
It’s made me really excited to see fresh summer produce make a reappearance. I’ve already eaten my fair share of berries, peaches, watermelon, and fresh corn. In fact, I seem to grab at least a couple ears of fresh Jersey corn each trip to the grocery store.
My father-in-law seems to have the same idea when it comes to fresh summer produce. We often end up with multiples of watermelon, berries, and especially corn. SO MUCH CORN!
There’s only so much corn-on-the-cob we can eat, so I try to get creative with the extra ears – like making corn hash, corn salsa, and corn salads. But one salad I hadn’t added it to was pasta salad!
When I was thinking about delicious new ways to eat all of that sweet summer corn, I thought about Mexican Street Corn. So I wanted to use that as inspiration for a pasta salad. This pasta salad definitely isn’t as messy as elote! But it still has all of that cheesy, kind of salty, and slightly smoky flavor with a hint of lime.
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
If you’re looking for a new way to use up that abundance of summer corn, try this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad! This dish easily comes together with bowtie pasta, grilled corn, black beans, and an elote inspired dressing!
The first thing we need to do to make this salad is cook our pasta. Boil a pot of salted water and cook the bowtie pasta according to package. Once al dente, drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Set it aside to cool in a large mixing bowl.
Then, wrap the ear of corn in foil, brush it with a little olive oil and grill it (on a gas grill or in a grill pan) over medium-high heat. Grill it for 8-10 minutes, flipping it halfway through. Remove it from the grill, allow it to cool, then cut the corn off the cob.
Add the grilled corn, black beans, and red onion to the bowl of bowtie pasta.
In a small bowl, mix the sour cream, mayo, lime juice and zest, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder. Add to the pasta and stir to combine.
Add the cotija cheese, 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Chill in the fridge before serving, or serve immediately with extra cilantro on top.
Ingredients
- 8 oz. farfalle/bowtie pasta
- Olive oil
- 1 ear corn, husk removed
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 1 - 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lime, juice + zest
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
- 3/4 cup Cotija cheese, or queso fresco
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped + more to garnish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package, or until al dente.
- Drain the pasta, rinse with cold water, and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Wrap the ear of corn in foil and brush with olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, turning halfway through.
- Carefully remove the corn from the foil. Once cool, cut the corn from the cob.
- Add the corn, black beans, and red onion to the pasta. Mix.
- In a small bowl, add the sour cream, mayo, lime juice, lime zest, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder. Stir to combine and add to the pasta.
- Add the Cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Serve immediately with extra fresh cilantro on top, or chill in the fridge.
Notes
The mayo/sour cream dressing will absorb into the pasta the longer it sits in the fridge. If you're not planning to serve this pasta salad immediately, make the pasta salad and dressing separate. Before serving, add the dressing and stir to combine. Then, garnish with fresh cilantro.
This pasta salad is Mexican street food meets a favorite summertime side dish! It’s the perfect dish to serve alongside smoky grilled meats or sandwiches and it’s delicious on its own as a cold lunch!
Did you make this Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #livinglavidaeats. Don’t forget to tag me @lavidaholoka!
PIN FOR LATER
