Mexican Corn Salad with Lime Dressing is bursting with bright flavors and loaded with fresh vegetables and topped with crispy crumbled bacon.

This salad is perfect alongside enchiladas verdes.

This is a farmer’s market recipe with fresh ears of corn, tomatoes, red onions, and freshly squeezed limes. It’s a must-have side dish for BBQs and cookouts. 

It is also great paired with other Mexican-inspired dishes like Black Beans and RiceSpicy Shrimp Tacos, or Ground Chicken Enchiladas.

Reasons to Love this Recipe

This corn salad is one of our favorites to make in the summertime. I love the simplicity of the ingredients and that it goes with just about any main dish.

  • Fresh – I love the bright, crispy flavor of summer corn fresh off the cob. It has the best flavor. Combined with more freshly chopped veggies and a zesty lime dressing, it’s the best salad for a hot summer cookout.
  • Quick and Easy – Just a few steps to prep the ingredients and you’ll have this salad ready in no time.
  • Versatile – This is a tried and true recipe with a delightful array of flavors. It’s easy to switch up the vegetables to fit your taste. Eliminate the bacon for a vegan corn salad with a lime dressing recipe.

Ingredients

You can cook the corn any way you like. Then add in your favorite summer herbs, and toss in the tomatoes, red onion, and bacon.

  • Fresh corn – This extra step of shucking corn straight from the cob is what makes this such an irresistible recipe. Fresh summer corn has the best flavor. 
  • Cherry tomatoes – Cherry or grape tomatoes work great in this recipe for their sweet juicy flavor.
  • Red onion – You can use white or yellow onions, but red onion has a stronger bite and compliments the fresh corn best.
  • Fresh herbs – I love cilantro, fresh oregano, or parsley. You can also add dill, chives, or spring onion.
  • Bacon – One of the best additions, of course, is crispy savory chopped bacon. 
  • Lime dressing – a super simple and bright dressing. All you need is olive oil, fresh lime juice, and garlic.
  • Cojita cheese (optional) – Cheese is optional in this salad but if you love the sweet and salty combo, definitely add cojita cheese. It has the best crumble and is very similar to feta cheese.

See the recipe card for quantities.

ingredients for corn salad with lime

How to Make Corn Salad with Lime Dressing

Use your favorite method to shuck the corn off the cob and cook for this corn salad recipe.

My personal favorite way to cook the corn is to boil it in water with a splash of vinegar. It turns out juicy and still has a crisp bite.

In a large salad bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, onion, herbs, and bacon.

Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. If desired, stir in cheese.

step by step instructions on how to make lime cilantro corn salad

Recipe Tips

  • Mix up the herbs – You can use a variety of your favorite herbs: cilantro, parsley, dill, chives, and oregano.
  • Use leftover corn – Do you have leftover grilled corn on the cob? This summer corn salad is a great way to use up leftover corn to make another recipe. If using grilled corn, you’ll get that additional flavor from the charred corn.
  • Make-ahead – This fresh corn salad is perfect to make ahead of time. It is a tasty dish to take to BBQs and picnics, so making it the day before is easy to do.
  • Make it creamy! – For a more traditional Mexican street corn taste, or “elotes”, grill the corn and make the dressing with mayo, lime, and chili powder. Chopped jalapenos are also a spicy addition.

Substitutions

This Mexican corn salad without mayo is versatile enough to make adjustments to fit your taste. 

  • Cheese – Cojita cheese is a hard, crumbly Mexican cheese very similar to feta. Feta cheese can be substituted.
  • Bacon – Instead of bacon, try crispy chickpeas, turkey bacon, or tempeh bacon.
  • Dressing – The lime dressing is so simple and full of citrusy flavor. Add a few tablespoons of mayo or Greek yogurt to make it creamy.

Variations

Corn salads can be made in a variety of ways with unique flavors. Try a few of these corn salad variations with the same basic steps as this version. You’ll love the results!

  • Greek Corn Avocado Salad – Made with fresh corn, avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, and olives, tossed in a zest Greek vinaigrette dressing.
  • Corn Zucchini Salad – Much like this Mexican corn salad but with more veggies, this is a creamy zucchini corn salad with cilantro, feta cheese, and creamy zesty dressing.
  • Steak Salad with Corn – Fire up the grill and make a juicy steak to serve over a bed of baby greens with corn, tomatoes, radishes, feta cheese, and herby dressing for a full meal!
  • Chicken Patties with Succotash – Homemade chicken patties with jalapeño and cilantro served over roasted sweet corn succotash. Another weeknight meal that you will love! 
corn cilantro lime salad

Storing Salad

Store leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator. It’s best within the first 2 days. After that corn and veggies will lose the crispness from being dressed in the lime dressing.

To Meal Prep – Divide the recipe into individual servings in meal prep containers with a protein. 

To make-ahead – Make this corn salad with bacon up to 24 hours in advance and store in an air-tight container. If making more than 24 hours ahead, wait to add the bacon and herbs until serving for the best texture.

More Summer Salad Recipes

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corn lime cilantro salad

Corn Salad with Lime Dressing

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Katya
  • Prep Time: 25 min
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Chop
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Description

Light, fresh, and full of flavor! This summer corn salad with a Mexican twist is the perfect summer side.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 4 ears fresh corn, cooked any way you like, cooled, and kernels cut from the cob
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup diced red onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs*
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp + crumbled

Dressing

  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 1 garlic clove, pressed or grated with microplane
  • Cojita cheese, optional**
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a large salad bowl, combine the corn, tomatoes, onion, herbs, and bacon.
  2. Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. If desired, stir in cheese.

Notes

  • Herbs: You can use any variety of your favorite herbs: cilantro, parsley, dill, chives, or oregano.
  • Cheese: Cheese is optional in this salad but if you like the sweet and salty combo then definitely add cheese. I like using Cojita cheese, which is a hard, crumbly Mexican cheese very similar to feta. Feta cheese can be substituted.
  • Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Salad is best served within 2 days.
  • Recipe originally published June 2018

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/2 cup
  • Calories: 223
  • Sugar: 4.6 g
  • Sodium: 137.9 mg
  • Fat: 15.3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 19 g
  • Protein: 5.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 12.3 mg