This isn’t the only pasta salad idea we have on Drugstore Divas. For more, check out our list of Easy Pasta Salad Recipes.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad Recipe

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Grilled Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad Ingredients:

​You can get the full list of ingredients with measurements in the printable recipe card below.

• ​Rotini pasta – This is the classic shape of pasta salad because the larger pasta shape holds all the rest of ingredients.
• Fresh corn – We prefer the taste of fresh grilled corn in this. If you use canned corn instead, we suggest using fire-roasted corn for more flavor.
• Unsalted butter – This is so the corn doesn’t stick to your grill.
• Jalapeño pepper – The hot pepper is a great contrast to the sweet corn.
• Fresh cilantro – You want most of the fresh herbs to go in the salad, but some as garnish on top.
• Cotija cheese – This is a mild, crumbly cheese, similar in texture to feta cheese. If you can’t find it, queso fresco works as a substitute.
• Sour cream – We use light sour cream. You can substitute Greek yogurt if you want, but I feel like you get thicker and more creamy dressing with sour cream.
• Mayonnaise – This will combine with the sour cream to make the dressing. We use a light mayo.
• Salt – This brings out the rest of the flavors in the dressing.
• Tajin seasoning – This chili lime seasoning adds so much flavor to the pasta salad and gives it the street corn taste.
• Lemon pepper seasoning – This adds a nice citrus and peppery flavor to the dressing.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic adds a nice hint of spice to the pasta salad.
• Lime – You’ll use the fresh lime juice and zest (and the bites with the lime zest are my favorite bites of this salad).

​How To Make Grilled Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad:

Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions.

Drain the pasta and let it cool.

Quick note: I always think about letting cooked pasta cool in the colander in the sink, but Pete says that dries it out. So instead, he said put it back into the pot (without the pasta water) with the lid on and cool it that way.

I have heard of people adding a drizzle of olive oil over their pasta so it cools and doesn’t stick together, but I don’t do that because I think it prevents the dressing from sticking to the pasta.

While the pasta is boiling, grill your corn.

We put a little bit of butter on the outside to prevent it from sticking to the grates.

You want to grill it for about 15 minutes, rotating it often, until it’s cooked through and has a little bit of char on the outside.

Add the pasta into a large bowl.

Use a sharp knife to cut the grilled corn kernels off the husk into the bowl with the pasta.

Chop the jalapeño pepper into small pieces.

Add the pepper pieces into the bowl with the pasta.

Quick note: The heat of jalapeño peppers is in their ribs, not in the seeds. So, if you don’t want this to be really spicy, you can cut out some of the ribs. If you cut them out completely, though, jalapeños taste like green peppers, so you’re not adding any heat, just color, at that point.

​Chop the cilantro into small pieces.

Add about 2/3 of it to the bowl with the pasta. Reserve the rest for garnish.

Crumble about 5 oz. of the cotija cheese into the bowl.

If you’ve never used cotija before, it comes in a round block and crumbles really easily between your fingers. You don’t need to buy it crumbled already.

In a small bowl, add the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, Tajin seasoning, and lemon pepper seasoning.

Stir until everything is combined.

Chop the fresh garlic really finely and add it to the bowl with the sour cream mixture.

Add the juice from a lime into the dressing ingredients and stir until combined.

​Quick note about the lime. Pete’s hack for getting the most juice out of citrus is this: Microwave the lime for 15 seconds. Roll it on a hard surface a few times. Cut it in half and then squeeze.

Since the lime is warm, it’ll release more juice than it would when it’s cold.

​Stir the dressing.

​Pour the dressing on top of the pasta.

Stir until the pasta is completely dressed.

Garnish with the rest of the cotija cheese, the reserved fresh cilantro, the zest from the lime, and a generous sprinkle of Tajin seasoning.

For the best results, keep the pasta salad in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad: Frequently Asked Questions

More Grilled Corn Recipes:

We’re huge fans of grilling corn in the summer to use in other recipes. We do this when we make our Grilled Corn Salsa and our Grilled Mexican Street Corn Salad.

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Yield: 10 Servings

Grilled Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

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This Grilled Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad recipe is the perfect side dish for summer. It has all the flavors of traditional Mexican Street corn, but in pasta salad form.

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 oz. rotini pasta
• 3 to 4 ears of corn
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 20 sprigs of fresh cilantro
• 10 oz. cotija cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Tajin seasoning, plus more for garnish
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 fresh lime

Instructions

1. Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions.
2. Drain the pasta and let it cool.
3. While the pasta is boiling, grill your corn (about 15 minutes, rotating often). We add butter to the outside to prevent it from sticking.
4. Add the pasta into a large bowl.
5. Use a sharp knife to cut the grilled corn kernels off the husk into the bowl with the pasta.
6. Chop the jalapeño pepper into small pieces. Add the pepper pieces into the bowl with the pasta.
7. ​Chop the cilantro into small pieces. Add about 2/3 of it to the bowl with the pasta. Reserve the rest for garnish.
8. Crumble about 5 oz. of the cotija cheese into the bowl.
9. In a small bowl, add the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, Tajin seasoning, and lemon pepper seasoning. Stir until everything is combined.
10. Chop the fresh garlic really finely and add it to the bowl with the sour cream mixture.
11. Add the juice from a lime into the dressing ingredients and stir until combined. ​Stir the dressing.
12. ​Pour the dressing on top of the pasta.
13. Stir until the pasta is completely dressed.
14. Garnish with the rest of the cotija cheese, the reserved fresh cilantro, the zest from the lime, and a generous sprinkle of Tajin seasoning.

Notes

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 345Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 50mgSodium 931mgCarbohydrates 25gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 10g

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