Let me preface this by saying when I make Mexican Corn and Quinoa Salad at home, I have no intention of sharing it with anyone. It was one of those things I make and then hide in the back of my fridge and pretend it’s not there so no one else (aka my husband or Poppy) will eat it.
No shame in my game – Mexican Corn and Quinoa Salad is so good you won’t want to share it with anyone!
Have you guys ever had that delicious Mexican style corn on the cob, known as Elote, that’s slathered in mayo, chile powder and lime juice? It’s basically the best thing in the world and I’m a BIG fan. The only thing that bothers me about that dish is there is no avocado anywhere to be found. Well, fear not my friends, PROBLEM SOLVED.
Mayo can be substituted for avocado in most any dish in my opinion, so obviously that’s what I did. I just took a perfectly ripe avocado and threw it into the blender with a hint of lime juice and a little water and blended it up until it was the same consistency as mayo. And then I went ahead and mixed it in with all my favorite things like quinoa, monetary jack cheese, corn straight off the cob, some cilantro and scallions and then topped it all off with a healthy shake of chile powder and salt and pepper.
You could easily use some grilled corn too, but I’m really into raw corn as you can probably tell!
Much to my dismay, Thomas discovered it in the back of the fridge and I was forced to share last week, Poppy too. He did however declare it to be one of the best things I’ve ever made! #winning
Mexican Corn and Quinoa Salad (aka Esquites with Quinoa)
Ingredients
- 1 cup red or white quinoa
- 3 cups corn about 4 ears, cut from the cob
- 1/2 jalapeno seeded and finely diced
- 2 green onions sliced
- 1 handful cilantro chopped
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons cotija or feta, crumbled
- chili powder to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
- 1 avocado
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to the package directions.
- Once cooked, add the quinoa and raw corn to a large mixing bowl with the chopped jalapeño green onions, cilantro, half of the lime juice, cotija cheese and a dash of chili powder. Toss to combine.
- Remove the avocado from the skin and discard the seed. Place the flesh of the avocado in a blender or food processor with the remaining lime juice and blend until smooth. Add a few tablespoons of water as needed to make the mixture smooth, it should be a similar consistency to a mayonnaise.
- Remove the avocado mixture from the blender, toss it with the corn and quinoa mixture and top with the shredded jack cheese. Season with salt and pepper as needed and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Such a great side dish or simply just for lunch. We eat this often!
A new favorite summer salad.
How many calories per serving are in the salad?
I’m not sure! We don’t track calories
Hi Gaby, if I meal prep this on Sunday for a few lunches throughout the week, will the avo dressing turn brown?
it will get a little brown but the acid in it will help it from turning like BROWN BROWN
I know it’s not as delicious, but how important is the jack cheese? Trying..
you can sub or omit!
This is so delicious and easy to make – a keeper!!
Can you freeze this?
i dont love freezing avocado, but it should hold up ok
Anther great WGC find. My husband and I adore this salad, fresh, filling with a sweet crunch from the corn. Highly recommend you make this salad. Thanks Gaby!
Can you recommend a good flavor sub for jalapeño for those of us who are babies and can’t handle them? Lol
just omit – will still be delish
Can this be made ahead of time (like 1-2 hours)? Wondering if I can make before kids swim lessons for a quick dinner after or would the Avacado get yucky.
yes absolutely
Would canned corn work?
I would opt for frozen corn if you dont have fresh yet!
I made this w/o cheese and just diced the avocado and the heat of the quinoa “melted” the avocado. It was fabulous. I could eat this everyday!
I saw this on your insta live and knew this would be good but it exceeded expectations. Such an amazing and refreshing, light summer side dish.
Made a double batch for a Texas style BBQ Birthday party. It was very popular. I forgot to buy a jalapeno but had a half of a poblano pepper on hand and that worked great.
This recipe is incredible!! Such a great summer dish. I chose to grill the corn just for personal preference, but love it raw too!
So easy and delish!
Loved it…my hubby is not a quinoa fan but he really liked it. Thanks for another amazing recipe!
Amazing recipe and perfect for summer! I did 3 things slightly differently:
1. I smoked the corn in a pellet smoker for an hour.
2. No Monterrey jack, just more cotija. I did 4 tbsp total.
3. This was subjective, but I liked it more without the quinoa. My wife liked it more with. So we did a ‘pick your poison’ where you could choose to top it or not.
I made this for lunch today and the household literally cannot stop eating it. Every time I walk past the fridge I have to take a bite. It is crisp and a little spicy — I like spice and added way more chile powder and a whole jalapeno — and it’s totally addictive. It is great with some quick-pickled red onions on top.
Insanely simple and delicious! The raw corn is 10/10!!!
This sounds so good that I am revamping what I had planned to make for dinner tonight to fit this in.
DO YOU NEED TO COOL THE QUINOA FIRST
THANKS
you can! but you don’t have to
I have made this so many times, but mostly with frozen organic corn. I absolutely love fresh corn, but the silk, not so much! The frozen corn removes that work and tastes fabulous! Everything else about this recipe is so good, my daughter and I make it when she is here, and I make it all the time for my husband and me. He was not a fan of quinoa before this recipe. Really appreciate all the hard work that went into your “overnight” success! Enjoy! Priscilla
i think you mean avocado is a sub for mayo/mayo can be subbed by avocado? the recipe says it the other way around.
This is delicious! I grilled the corn and it was amazing! Best quinoa dish I’ve ever made
This is delicious, honestly the only thing I’m going to eat till it’s gone. I’m in love, thank you!!!
This is the perfect meal-salad for any time of the year!
SO yummy!! brought to book club and served with tortilla chips. would make again anytime!!
Well this was delish! I didn’t have avocados so I threw in some spicy guac and watered it down a bit. The corn is the best part!!