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Mexican street corn pasta salad is everything I love about Mexican elote wrapped up in an easy 20-minute side dish! It has roasted corn kernels, cheese, fresh cilantro, and spicy jalapeños tossed with tender pasta in a zesty crema-inspired dressing.
If you love this street corn-inspired pasta salad, give my cheesy street corn dip a try, next!

Table of Contents
This street corn pasta salad recipe is a bit like a mash-up between my taco pasta salad and my Southwestern corn salad. It’s a creamy pasta salad filled with plenty of Tex-Mex spice, plus juicy roasted corn kernels with fresh herbs, onions, and cheese. I’m always making this salad as a side dish for Mexican-style dinners and game day parties, and it transports well for picnics and potlucks, too!
Why I Love This Street Corn Pasta Salad Recipe
- Creamy dressing. I toss my elote pasta salad with a light and tangy dressing inspired by Mexican crema. It’s made from easy ingredients like sour cream, mayo, and lime juice.
- Quick to make. This street corn pasta salad is quick to make in 20 minutes or less. And half of that is the time it takes to boil the pasta!
- Versatile. I love adding diced avocado when it’s in season. This is a vegetarian recipe on its own, but there’s also the option to add protein, like cooked crumbled bacon. Feel free to adapt this pasta salad to be as spicy as you’d like, too, with extra jalapeño and chili powder.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are some notes on the ingredients in this Mexican pasta salad. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable list with the full recipe details.
- Pasta – Any kind you’d like. I use classic elbow macaroni, but other short-cut pasta shapes like penne, rigatoni, small shells, and farfalle are all good options.
- Roasted Corn – Roasting corn is easy to do in the oven (borrow the roasting method from my roasted corn avocado salsa). It’s an extra step that recreates the char-grilled flavor of traditional street corn.
- Red Onion – Or finely diced shallot or sliced green onion.
- Cheese – Cheddar cheese is easy to find, or you can dice up Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese. I also add crumbly Mexican Cotija. If you can’t get your hands on cotija cheese, feta is a good substitute.
- Fresh Herbs – Finely chopped jalapeños and fresh cilantro. You can also use another chili, like serrano or poblano peppers.
- Dressing – You’ll need sour cream (or plain yogurt), mayonnaise, lime juice, and chili powder. Fresh lime is best, but bottled is fine, too.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Making this street corn pasta salad is so easy! While the pasta boils, whisk together the dressing ingredients and chop up the onion, cheese, and jalapeño. Afterward, all you need to do is toss the cooked, cooled pasta in the dressing with the rest of your ingredients. Sprinkle over some fresh cilantro and Cotija cheese, and serve!
Recipe Tips and Add-Ins
- Don’t overcook the pasta. Whichever pasta you use, you’ll want to boil it al dente according to the package directions. So, firm but with a little bite. Overcooking the pasta can make pasta salad mushy.
- Drain the pasta well. Make sure to drain the cooked pasta and let it cool. Speed this up by rinsing the freshly boiled pasta under cold water to stop it from cooking further. It’s important to let the drained pasta dry, too, before you toss it with the dressing, otherwise, the salad ends up watery.
- Add avocado. Give your street corn pasta salad a guacamole-style spin and top it with diced avocado.
- Add protein. I love crumbling cooked bacon, or diced chorizo over top. It’s also nice to add shredded chicken whenever I have leftovers.
What to Serve With Elote Pasta Salad
I love this Mexican pasta salad as a party side to more Tex-Mex favorites, like chicken nachos and tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa. It’s also great to make on taco night next to air fryer tacos or these easy vegetarian tofu tacos. Even when it’s not a Mexican-style meal, I’ll take this elote pasta salad along to picnics in the summer and potlucks year-round, and it’s always a hit!
Storing Leftovers
Leftover street corn salad lasts in the fridge for 3-5 days. Store it in an airtight container and give it a good stir again before serving. I don’t recommend freezing cold pasta salads because the texture isn’t the same after thawing.
More Pasta Salad Recipes
Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried pasta
- 4 cups roasted corn
- ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, cubed
- 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
- ¼ cup Cotija cheese
- 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro, optional
Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayo
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Salt & pepper to taste
Optional Ingredients
- 1 avocado, diced
- 4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, cook pasta as directed. Drain and let cool.
- In a small bowl mix together the ingredients for the dressing until well blended.
- In a large bowl mix together cooked pasta, corn, red onion, cheddar cheese and jalapeno. Toss with the dressing until everything is well coated. Add bacon and avocado if using.
- Top with Cojita cheese and cilantro if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I make elote and elote dip all the time, so the pasta salad was very interesting to me. It’s so good! I’ll be making this a regular part of my Taco Tuesday rotation.
This Mexican street corn pasta salad combines all the flavors of elote into a simple side dish and so convenient
Brought this to a barbecue last weekend and there were no leftovers! Had several people ask me for the recipe. Thank you!