Mexican Street Corn Macaroni Salad

This Mexican Street Corn Macaroni Salad is a tasty twist on your traditional macaroni salad for your summer cookouts. Mexican Street Corn is one of my favorite ways to eat corn, so giving it this fun twist makes it even better!

 

Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes | Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

2 15 oz. cans corn, drained or kernels cut from  4-5 ears of fresh corn on the cob

1 ½ cups elbow macaroni, uncooked (certified gluten free if necessary)

¼ cup red onion (can sub with green onion)

⅓ cup chopped cilantro leaves

1 jalapeno, seeds and stems removed, minced

½ cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

½ cup black beans

½ cup queso fresco cheese, crumbled

1 large avocado, seed removed, chopped

 

Sauce:

½ cup mayonnaise

Juice of 1 lime

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha with good results)

Pinch of cumin

Himalayan pink salt and pepper to taste

 

Boil a medium pot of water and cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse in a colander under cold water. Set colander over a bowl and allow the pasta to continue to drip dry while preparing next steps.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. After skillet is completely heated through (about 5 minutes), add half of the corn so it’s in a single layer. Allow it to slightly char, about 5 minutes. Then, brown the remainder using the same process.

Place the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth and combined. Taste and adjust spices if necessary.

In a large bowl, add cooled and dry pasta, charred corn, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, tomatoes, black beans, cheese and fresh avocado. Pour on dressing and toss to combine. Immediately serve.

*If preparing this salad in advance, add dressing and fresh avocado immediately before serving.

*Also, I would not sub the mayo for anything else. I tried plain Greek yogurt and it doesn’t work well!