Mexican street corn pasta salad

Name: Mexican street corn pasta salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: Serves 6-8 as a side
Cuisine: Mexican recipes
Ingredients: 3 corn cobs; 1½ tbsp unsalted butter; 350g farfalle pasta; Bunch spring onions, finely sliced; Bunch (30g) coriander, chopped; 100g feta, finely crumbled; Tajín seasoning to serve (optional); For the dressing; 150g mayonnaise; 2 limes (zest of both, juice of 1); 1 large garlic clove (or two small), finely grated; 25g parmesan (or veggie alternative), finely grated

Pollyanna Coupland
Food producer, delicious.

Published: 17 Jun 25
Updated: 30 Jun 25

This crowd-pleasing pasta salad is inspired by the Mexican street corn dish, elotes: charred corn slathered with a creamy, tangy dressing.

Delicious dressing: The traditional elotes dressing of mayonnaise, lime, coriander and grated cheese works perfectly in this pasta salad version.
Year-round dish: This salad can be a year-round winner by using tinned corn when fresh isn’t in season. Use a 340g tin, drained.
How to air fry: Rub the 3 corn cobs with 1 tbsp butter and cook in the air fryer at 200ºC for 15 minutes, turning halfway through.

It’s summer’s easiest, most filling side dish: browse more pasta salad recipes.

Serves 6-8 as a side
Prep time 10 min. Cook time 20 min

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Ingredients

3 corn cobs
1½ tbsp unsalted butter
350g farfalle pasta
Bunch spring onions, finely sliced
Bunch (30g) coriander, chopped
100g feta, finely crumbled
Tajín seasoning to serve (optional)

For the dressing

150g mayonnaise
2 limes (zest of both, juice of 1)
1 large garlic clove (or two small), finely grated
25g parmesan (or veggie alternative), finely grated

Method

Rub the corn with the butter, season with salt and wrap up back in their husks (or in foil if they don’t have husks). Cook on a hot barbecue for around 20 minutes, turning occasionally.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 10-12 minutes or as per the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and run under cold water, stirring until it’s all cold. This step is important to prevent it sticking together.
In the meantime, mix the dressing ingredients together. When the corn is ready, slice it off the cob, then mix it with the pasta along with the dressing, half the spring onions, half the coriander and half the feta. If the salad isn’t already in the serving bowl, transfer it, then sprinkle with the remaining ingredients (including the Tajín, if using) and serve.

Recipe from July 2025 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 371kcals
Fat: 21g (5g saturated)
Protein: 9.6g
Carbohydrates: 34g (2.5g sugars)
Fibre: 2.7g
Salt: 0.4g

delicious. tips

Tajín is a Mexican seasoning that combines lime and chilli. Find it in larger supermarkets. It’s available from MexGrocer and Sous Chef.

Traditional elotes are sprinkled with a Mexican cheese called cotija, a tangy, crumbly cheese reminiscent of feta but with a milder, more aged flavour like parmesan. As it’s hard to come by in the UK, a mixture of feta and parmesan makes a good substitute.

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Mexican street corn pasta salad

Ingredients

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Nutrition

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