Last Update: 6/10/2025

Tired of rice and beans with every Mexican dish? If so, try this delicious cilantro-lime corn salad recipe!

It's just the right Mexican side dish for enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, mulitas, carne asada, and so much more.

Cilantro-Lime Corn Salad Ingredients

I have a few tips for some of the ingredients and possible substitutions. Living in Southern California, these ingredients are available in my grocery store year-round. If you have trouble finding any of them, here are some suggestions about what to do.

Corn

Fresh, frozen, or canned corn can be used. If you use frozen corn, make sure it is completely defrosted and dry before putting it in the pan.

Mexican Squash

Zucchini, yellow squash, and summer squash are good alternatives to Mexican Squash.

red Bell Peppers

I love the color the red bell peppers add, but any color can be used.

Red Onions

Similarly, red onions have great flavor and color, but yellow onions or green onions (scallions) can also work.

CoTIJa Cheese

This mild cow’s-milk cheese is somewhere between the Greek cheese, feta, and the Italian cheese, ricotta. If you can’t find cotija, try any kind of farmer’s cheese.

Cilantro-Lime Corn Salad Recipe

Servings: 4

Ingredients

¼ cup lime juice
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon coriander
¼ teaspoon oregano
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 cups corn kernels
2 Mexican squash, sliced into thin half moons
2 red bell peppers
½ red onion, chopped
½ cup crumbled cotija cheese
1 jalapeño, sliced and seeded

Instructions

1. Whisk together lime juice, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, coriander, and oregano. Then whisk in 1/3 cup of the olive oil a little at a time. Retain the rest of the olive oil for cooking the veggies. Stir in the cilantro and set the dressing aside.

2. In a large frying pan or skillet with the remaining olive oil, cook the corn, Mexican squash, and red peppers one at a time over high heat. Each will take just a few minutes to cook and get some nice brown to them.

3. In a large mixing bowl, add each vegetable after it is cooked. Then add the red onions and dressing and toss.

4. Transfer to a serving dish and top with cotija cheese and jalapeño slices.

5. Take photos of your finished creation—we have lots of Mexican food captions!

Serving Cilantro-Lime Corn Salad

Serve this dish warm, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge—it really tastes great at any temperature.

Side Dish

Perfect for summer cookouts, cilantro-lime corn salad not only makes a great side dish to Mexican entrees, it also pairs well with just about any grilled meat or seafood. Try it with our St. Louis Ribs Recipe!

Many of the spices used are also in Mediterranean cuisine, so Greek Meatloaf, Urfa Kebabs, Mediterranean Lamb Chops, and Greek Meat Pies are also great entrees to match up with this corn salad.

Traditional Salad

This salad is a stand-alone salad, but you can make it more of a traditional salad by serving it over a bed of mixed greens, chopped romaine, or arugula.