This corn and black bean salad is inspired by Mexican street corn and packed with delicious fresh flavors. It's quick and easy to make, with a creamy yet light and fresh dressing. Perfect for potlucks, picnics and more.

close up of a bowl of elote style corn black bean salad with cilantro stem to side.

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One of our local taco restaurants has street corn, elote, on it's menu that's a must for any order for me and my youngest son. The delicious grilled corn topped with a gently spiced crema, cotija cheese, paprika and a squeeze of lime is just so good. But let's be honest, it's a bit messy to eat.

There is an off-the-cob equivalent in Mexico called esquites which is typically served in a cup. For that you normally saute the corn then add toppings as you serve it. It, too, is delicious, and this salad captures some of those flavors we so love.

overhead view of a bowl of elote style corn black bean salad with whole corn and half lime above bowl.

The idea of Mexican street corn salad is really more of a US thing, where the dressing is mixed through the corn and often other ingredients are added to the corn base. And while less traditional, it can be delicious and a great easy potluck dish.

In this case, I've kept things pretty simple with corn, black beans, cilantro, cheese and a creamy dressing. But they all work so well and taste delicious.

Should you grill the corn?

As mentioned, for traditional esquites, you typically cook the corn on the stove rather than on the grill, and indeed often for elote as well. Personally, I love the added flavor you get from grilling corn, and since we often have this with other grilled food, I would add the corn on at the same time. That said, for this, you want to grill on the lighter side so the corn is still juicy.

If you are not otherwise grilling, though, then there's really no need to grill the corn. It also works well to saute the corn in a little butter instead and ensures the corn is juicy, too.

Making this corn and black bean salad

This salad is really easy to make and other than cooking the corn, the rest is simply a little chopping (though not much) and some mixing.

Once you've cooked your corn, combine it with the black beans, cilantro/coriander, cheese and scallions/ spring onions. Mix together the dressing ingredients and stir it through.

Here I've used yogurt for the dressing instead of crema to make it a little lighter, but you won't feel you are missing out. Especially with the lime, cumin and smoked paprika mixed in, it's packed with flavor and has a great balance of creamy and fresh.

Fresh corn is always my preference, but you could use defrosted frozen corn and cook on the stove - just cook for less time. I don't recommend using canned corn as I find the kernels often too soft for my liking.

While you could cook your own beans, canned beans are a whole lot quicker and easier and perfectly good for this. However, make sure you use fresh lime juice as the flavor really is so much better.

In terms of cheese, I've used cotija which is a flavorful semi-hard Mexican cheese. You could also use queso fresco which is creamier but with a milder flavor. If you can't find these, then feta makes a great alternative.

Mexican street corn salad ingredients in bowl ready to mix

Ways to adapt and serve this salad

While we love this just as it is, you could easily add a few additional ingredients to bulk it out or for a bit more variety of flavor and color.

Add some diced red bell pepper or halved baby tomatoes for added color and texture.
Use red onion instead of green onion for a slightly more sweet-sharp flavor and color.
Add some avocado in chunks or on the side for a complementary creamy texture (though this does mean the salad doesn't keep or travel as well since avocados brown and are more likely to become mushy).

We use this salad as a side dish to grilled meats often over the summer, but it would work with a broad range of dishes. Since all the pieces are small, you could also serve it as a kind of dip with tortilla chips to scoop it up as more of an appetizer.

It's one that I regularly make when we have people over in summer as it's so easy and always a hit. As mentioned, it works well for a potluck or picnic as it travels and keeps pretty well, as long as you keep it cool.

part view of bowl of elote style corn black bean salad with corn and lime in background and cilantro in front.

This elote-style corn and black bean salad is easy to prepare and packed with delicious, fresh flavor. It's a regular feature in our house over the summer and I hope it will become one for you, too.

Try these other summer salads:

Grilled nectarine salad (easy, colorful and a delicious mix)
Mango jicama slaw (with crunch, a bit of sweet and a bright honey lime dressing)
Israeli couscous salad with grilled vegetables (another salad great for a potluck)
Plus get more summer recipes, from salads to grilling and more, in the archives.

bowl of elote style corn black bean salad with part view of cilantro and lime in front.

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5 from 2 votes