Summer officially hit last night at 10:42pm ET, and you know what that means. Millions of backyard barbecues, picnics, family reunions and summer parties are straight ahead! Some of my fondest memories are closely tied to the foods served at such occasions, and I’m a firm believer in the notion that one can never have too many recipes for summer side salads.

For the past couple of summers, I’ve steered away from mayonnaise-based salads, mainly because they don’t hold up well in the summer heat, at least for outdoor parties. So my husband’s special request last weekend should not have been any surprise when I mentioned whipping up a potato salad to serve with our grilled coffee-rubbed tri-tip.

“Can you make more of a mayonnaise-y dressing this time? Not one of those vinegar things you’ve been doing.”

Well, okey-dokey! We have a running joke at our house about how long it takes for foods to come back around in “rotation,” so I’m happy to oblige a sincere requst.

I think I satisfied his craving with this creamy, mayo-dressed potato salad that conveys all the flavors of Mexican street corn, also known as eloté. The textures were great, and the dressing and seasonings were unmistakably eloté— creamy, sweet bite on the corn, tangy from the mayo and lime, a sharp saltiness from the crumbled cheese, and just spicy enough to be interesting. It was fantastic with the tri-tip he grilled for us, and we enjoyed this salad again with lunches during the week as well as with spicy grilled chicken tenders a couple nights ago. I’m sad that it’s gone!

Ingredients for my Mexican street corn potato salad

Any finished dish is only as good as what goes into it, and given that this is a bit of a twist, I’ll break down the role that each ingredient played in this salad. Note that some ingredients may be tricky to find, so I’ve offered reasonable substitutions for those. Here we go!

Yukon gold potatoes – these are a perfect balance of creamy and starchy, and because the skin is so tender, I don’t bother peeling them. Choose potatoes on the smallish side if possible, so that every chunk has a bit of skin on it. You’ll cook them gently in salted water until fork tender, then drain and let the steam roll off before chilling.

Mayonnaise and sour cream – My dressing is made with equal parts of these two, and if you can get your hands on Mexican crema, use that in place of sour cream. 

Roasted corn – we love grilling corn in the summer time, and we sometimes make extra ears so that we have them for dressing up another dish. If you don’t have a grill (or the time to mess with grilling corn), pick up a bag of frozen fire-roasted corn, which will work just as well. We like the one that’s available from Trader Joe’s.

Eloté spices – traditionally, Mexican street corn is seasoned with any number of ground chile powders, including chipotle, cumin, cayenne, ancho or pasilla. I used ground ancho and cumin in my dressing, but if you don’t have the individual chile powders, don’t sweat it! Just pick up a bottle of Tajin seasoning, either in the spice aisle or the International aisle. Trader Joe’s chili-lime seasoning is very similar, and I also love their “Everything But the Eloté,” to season my corn before grilling. It also happens to be excellent on popcorn!

Scallions – this is not traditional for Mexican street corn, but I can’t make potato salad without some variety of onions, and this one works well with the other ingredients. Use the white and green parts, and slice them thin.

Lime – the lime zest and juice are what really make the flavors of this salad pop. Purchase organic citrus because you’ll be using the peel, and choose heavy fruit with a smooth skin for the most juice and brightest flavor.

Sugar – every Mexican street corn I’ve ever tasted had a slightly sweet flavor, and a small spoonful of sugar in the dressing made this perfect. Don’t skip it. 

Fresh cilantro – authentic for Mexican street corn, but if you are among the 20% who find that it tastes like dish soap, then just skip it. There isn’t another herb similar enough, and the dish won’t suffer without it.

Crumbled cheese – ah, I saved the best for last! Mexican street corn is traditionally slathered with mayonnaise dressing and sprinkled liberally with cotija, a Mexican hard cheese that is reminiscent of parmesan, but less pungent. Cotija can be a little tricky to find outside of a specialty cheese section, but not to worry— feta, the dry crumbly kind, is a lovely substitute. And that leads me to a funny story…

A side note, on “sending the husband to the grocery store”

I love my husband dearly, and his sensibilities in the kitchen are usually right on target, but sometimes, I still make specific and detailed notes on the list when I send him to the store by himself, and I might even text him a picture of an exact item I need. For this recipe, I was very clear that if cotija cheese was not available, he should get “dry crumbled feta,” and in the margin, I wrote, “PLAIN, NO FLAVORS!” So you can imagine the stink-eye he received when he returned with a “flavored feta that sounded interesting.” My dramatic Leo side went bonkers as I yelled, “Geezus, can you not read???” But then I saw what he found, and of course, it was literally perfect for this recipe! Gotta trust my man sometimes, ya know?

Making this Mexican street corn potato salad

From this point, it’s a pretty standard potato salad in terms of mixing, so I’ll let my photos do the talking while you imagine this deliciousness coming to life in your own kitchen. Find full instructions below in an easy, click-to-print recipe card that you can save for your files. Welcome back, summer! 😎

Mexican Street Corn Potato Salad

• Servings: About 8
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: Average
• Print

This is two of my all-time favorite carbs, together in one really flavorful salad! Plenty of seasoning options, so you can make it as spicy (or not) as you like it!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, skin-on and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream)
• 3/4 cup finely sliced scallions
• 3/4 tsp. ancho chile powder
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Zest and juice of one lime
• 1 tsp. cane sugar
• 2 ears fresh yellow sweet corn, roasted or grilled until charred but tender
• 1/3 cup cotija cheese, divided (you’ll mix some into the salad and sprinkle the rest on top)
• fresh cilantro

Substitution notes: If you don’t have the means to roast or grill the fresh corn, don’t hesitate to pick up a bag of frozen fire-roasted corn. We love the one from Trader Joe’s, and it would work terrific here. If you cannot find cotija cheese, dry crumbled feta is a reasonable substitute; consider chopping it finer if the crumbles are larger than peas. Ancho chile powder is a spice unto itself, without salt or other ingredients. If you can’t find it, or if you want flavor without heat, swap in smoked paprika.

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot with cold water, and heat over medium-low until they are fork tender. Drain gently and return to the hot pot with the lid off, so that excess moisture can escape through the steam. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp. salt over the hot potatoes and cool them to room temperature, then transfer to a large mixing bowl and refrigerate for an hour or longer.
2. In a medium bowl, combine mayo, crema, scallions, spices, lime and sugar. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper. Put the dressing in the fridge to chill until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
3. Stand the corn on end and use a sharp knife to cut the roasted kernels off. Add them to the potatoes and fold in gently with the dressing until the salad is consistently coated. Fold in about half of the cotija cheese and a bit of the chopped cilantro, reserving the rest for garnish.
4. Transfer the potato salad to a serving dish, and sprinkle the top with remaining cheese and cilantro.