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Life Currents
Home » Mexican Corn Salad

Mexican Corn Salad

April 28, 2014 by Debi 28 Comments

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Looking for ways to use up that sweet summer corn? Look no further! This simple Mexican Corn Salad hits all the right notes: lots of veggies, black beans for protein, and a nice citrusy dressing!

It’s the perfect light Mexican side dish, salad, taco filling, or appetizer with chips for all your summer cookouts, BBQs, or potlucks.

salad in a bowl with squeezed limes, a mason jar of dressing, and an avocado around it.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Mexican Corn Salad - easy to make and delicious in taco bars, tacos, tostadas, burritos, anything!

Taco bar

For Easter we had a (not so traditional) taco bar with fajita veggies and this easy to make Mexican Corn Salad! 

It’s always a hit – young and old. Vegan, meat eater, gluten-free, everyone loves it!

And, I’ve made this salad many times since then, it’s perfect as a Mexican side dish or a side dish for taco night.

Taco Bar Menu

When we host Easter we always do a taco bar.

Here’s my detailed menu for when we have about 40 people coming.

And, if you’re hosting a taco bar party of any kind, here are my tips and tricks with links to tons of great recipes!

My husband grilled up a big ol’ mess of fajita veggies and carne asada. We had rice and beans, cheese, lettuce, salsa, guacamole, tortillas. Tons of yummy stuff!

And, I thought it was really wonderful that all of the family got into the Mexican theme as well.

Teri even made guacamole deviled eggs! They were so yummy!

One of the things I made for the Easter Taco Bar was this easy to make Mexican Corn Salad.

a blue bowl filled with corn, black beans, red pepper, and cilantro with squeezed lime wedges next to it.

Corn Salad

I really like the bright light salad at the Easter table. It was great on my tacos.

I loved dipping chips into it and eating it like a dip. It could be a salsa or a salad. It’s a great Mexican Side Dish!

Looking for other great corn recipes? Be sure to try my Crock Pot Corn Dip and Creamed Corn recipes!

Variations on the recipe

Super flexible. Serve it how you’d like.

If you had fresh summer corn on the cob, you could grill that and cut the kernels off the cob for a fun smokey taste to your salad.

No black beans at home? Switch ’em out for kidney beans or white beans.

Don’t like zucchini, use cucumbers, or just leave them out.

Want to add some avocado? Yum!

Well, I think you get the idea.

Fits lots of different diets

And, it fits with lots of different eating requirements.

It’s vegan, vegetarian, colorful, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, filled with veggies, good for you, and super yummy!

I didn’t really count how many servings it made because it was on the table for anyone to eat, so I’ve guesstimated it in the recipe.

looking down into a bowl of corn salad, served with lime wedges, avocado, and dressing.

Tostada with Mexican Corn Salad

You can make this corn salad into a delicious corn salad tostada .

“Traditional” Easter taco bar with Mexican Corn Salad

I hope your Easter was great!

Have you ever tried a non-traditional holiday gathering like this?How did it go? I’d love to hear your stories!

lime dressing in a small mason jar with limes around it plus squeezed lime wedges.

The lime dressing can be used on other salads as well. It’s easy to make and delicious with a bright citrus flavor.

Can this be made ahead?

Absolutely this can be made ahead! It’s the perfect summer salad for parties because it’s easy to make, pop it in the fridge, and take it out when you’re ready to serve.

I like to make the dressing in a little mason jar and give it a good shake right before tossing it into the salad.

Be aware that some oils, especially olive oil can solidify in the fridge. If your dressing does solidify, simply leave it on the counter a bit to come to room temperature. If you want to read more about oils solidifying in the fridge, hop over to my Chimichurri recipe and take a gander at the info there.

And, I’ll typically make the salad and store it separately from the dressing so the veggies don’t get too soggy from marinating in the dressing.

Recipes that are perfect for a potluck or summer BBQ

Be the life of the party when you bring these summer side dishes to the potluck. Balsamic Dressing Pasta Salad, Skinny Avocado Ranch Pasta Salad, Loaded Southwestern BBQ Pasta Salad, and Summer Salad.

And if you’re looking for more Mexican Side Dishes, I have a bunch! You’ll love my Roasted Corn Guacamole, 4 layer stuffed avocados, Chipotle Sweet Potatoes, and Tamale Pie.

Pin this recipe on Pinterest

This Mexican Corn Salad pin has been pinned over 27,000 times on Pinterest!

Pin it for yourself, and be sure to read all the “tried it” comments. People love it!

I have a dedicated Pinterest board for Mexican Foods; make sure to follow it for all the yummy Mexican inspired recipes.

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If you try this recipe,
please come back & leave a comment below letting us know how it goes.
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Mexican Corn Salad is a great healthy side dish or even a dip to serve with chips! Perfect for any party or gathering
Don’t forget to pin this recipe!

Mexican Corn Salad Recipe

square crop of corn salad with black beans.

Mexican Corn Salad

Debi
This easy to make Mexican Corn Salad is always a hit – young and old. Vegan, meat eater, gluten-free, everyone loves it!
4.83 from 23 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 20 minutes mins
Course Salad
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6 servings
Calories 168 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups frozen corn defrosted
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 cup red onion chopped
  • 1 can 15 ounce black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 medium zucchini chopped
  • large handful fresh cilantro leaves chopped

DRESSING

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil or light tasting oil of your choice
  • juice of 2 limes
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt more or less to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Place veggies in a large serving bowl, and lightly toss to combine. Toss in chopped cilantro.
  • Whisk the dressing ingredients together or shake in a tightly sealed jar. Adjust the seasonings to taste, and add the dressing to the veggie mixture. Lightly toss to coat. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 203mgPotassium: 414mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 685IUVitamin C: 39.1mgCalcium: 18mgIron: 1.1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword corn, healthy
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!

Mexican Corn Salad by Life Currents

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Filed Under: Appetizers, Gluten-free, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: black beans, cilantro, colorful, corn, cumin, Food, gluten-free, healthy, ingredients, lime, Mexican, olive oil, recipe, red onion, red pepper, salad, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandra Shaffer

    May 5, 2019 at 8:02 pm

    5 stars
    Oooh, this looks delicious and yes, so many ways to enjoy this dish. Great appetizer with tortilla chips, but I think my favorite is to stretch it a bit and serve it over salad like you did. About how long will this last in the refrigerator? I would like to take it to our next potluck.

  2. Debi

    May 6, 2019 at 8:12 am

    Sandra, I think it should last a good 3 days and still be nice and fresh.

  3. Nikki

    June 3, 2019 at 11:15 pm

    5 stars
    On of my favorite salad! Such beautiful color and all the best flavors! I have a whole box of fresh corn just in time to make it!

  4. Holly Mccausland

    June 27, 2019 at 4:15 am

    My family absolutely loved this. My son is a vegetarian and ate it for days and did not get tired of it. I’m actually making again as the huge bowl I made is gone from the days ago already. Thanks a bunch from my family to yours 🙂

  5. Lisa

    July 3, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    5 stars
    Made the Mexican Corn Salad for a graduation party. It was a tasty and refreshing addition to our Mexican themed menu. I did prep too much of it for the party (made 6 times the recipe!! – loaded/layered ALL of the ingredients for a double recipe in a gallon ziploc bag, and stored the dressing, all mixed up and ready to go, separately), but we spent the next few days enjoying the mixed salad leftovers from the party. In fact, we dressed the last bag of salad 4 days later (I was somewhat leery about this!)……. we were so surprised at how fresh it mixed up with the dressing even after those extra days!! A definite do-over for this family! THANK YOU!

  6. Roxana

    July 10, 2019 at 10:10 am

    5 stars
    This sounds amazing. Lots of veggies and nice spices. Reminds me of some eastern Mediterranean and North African salads. Very flavorful.

  7. Marsha BACKELS

    July 16, 2023 at 10:54 am

    Looks fabulous! Wondering if it can be frozen without the dressing added?

  8. Debi

    July 16, 2023 at 1:37 pm

    Marsha, thanks. As for freezing it… I’ve never frozen it but, yes, I think that will be just fine. The only veggie I think might suffer is the zucchini. It may get a little soft and the texture may suffer a bit. So, you could add it in with the dressing, or just go with a little softer texture. Let me know if you try it, I’d love to hear.

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Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read More >>>

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