Street Corn Pasta Salad
One of my favorite things to snack on is a tasty cold salad! This Street Corn Pasta Salad was like a chilled and deconstructed, spicy street corn cob! The jalapeño brought a nice heat, the flavors of the lime, the crunchy corn, the cheese, and the chili powder – it all came together so well! And this pasta salad gets yummier as it sits in its own deliciousness! This would be perfect for a potluck, party, a sunny day on the patio! It was so yummy! It felt like summer – a total vibe!
This post may contain affiliate links
What is the difference between elote and street corn?
Elote is Mexican street corn on the cob, but the cultural meaning goes much deeper than “street corn!” Elote refers to corn on the cob that is either boiled or grilled and served hot with all of the staple street corn toppings. It’s loaded with mayo or Mexican crema, cotija cheese, lime juice, chili powder or Tajín, and sometimes butter or epazote! And when the kernels are cut off of the cob, this would be called “esquites!”
Street corn is like the Americanized version of elote! This would include sometimes swapping the cotija out for cheddar, using sour cream instead of crema, or creating other fusion situations! So, all elote is street corn, but not all street corn is elote! It totally depends on the ingredients! Pretty interesting stuff, right?!
Did you know?
Pasta salad is a sponge for flavor! As the pasta sits in the refrigerator, it absorbs the fat, acid, and salt – which is why it’s way yummier after chilling it for a while! And honestly how cool are those types of recipes – the ones that taste better the second time!? It’s also perfect for parties and potlucks because of this! It doesn’t get all wilty or slimy, and it can be made ahead of time!
What ingredients do I need to make it?
For the dressing:
Mayo
Lime
Lemon
Garlic
Chili Powder
Paprika
Salt
Black Pepper
For the street corn pasta salad:
Rotini
Jalapeños
Corn
Peas
Green Onion
Cilantro
Mexican Style Cheese
Parmesan
For serving:
Grape Tomato
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Chili Powder
What equipment do I need to make it?
How do I make it?
To make the dressing:
To get started on this recipe, we’ll first want to make the dressing! That way it can chill while we make everything else! Mince the garlic cloves, then wash the lemon and juice half of it. Zest and juice the limes. Next, add the remaining dressing ingredients to a mixing bowl.
Whisk to combine, then cover and chill until ready to use! Now let’s get started on the street corn pasta salad!
To make the street corn pasta salad:
Get out a large stockpot and fill it with some salted water. Bring to a boil and cook the rotini to package instructions. While that’s cooking, let’s prep the rest of the ingredients.
Take the frozen peas and corn out to thaw. Then wash the rest of the veggies and herbs. Slice the grape tomatoes in half and thinly slice the green onion. Mince the cilantro and deseed and dice the jalapeños. Then shred the parmesan cheese.
At this point, the pasta should be done. Drain it and rinse it under cold water.
Pro Tip: Making pasta salad is about the only time you’d rinse hot pasta under cold water! This isn’t just to stop the cooking though! It also helps to remove any excess starches on the pasta, which stops it from getting gluey and helps the dressing stick to it better!
Next, let’s assemble the salad! Add all ingredients including the dressing to a large mixing bowl reserving half of the green onion, cilantro, parmesan, and ingredients for serving. Stir to combine. Then, cover and refrigerate for a bit to marry those flavors together!
To serve:
Top with remaining veggies, herbs, cheese, and spices! Enjoy!
Tips:
- This pasta salad wasn’t too spicy and was still family friendly! For more spice, consider leaving some of the seeds in the jalapeños!
- If you don’t have rotini, you could use penne, cavatappi, rigatoni, or other short tubey type of noodle!
- This recipe is vegetarian friendly, but you could certainly add some shredded and cooked chicken if you’d like!
- This will keep for 2-3 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also make it up to 1 day ahead of time, just add the fresh garnishes right before you plan to serve it!
Love those street corn flavors? Check these recipes out!
Have some more jalapeños to use?
Street Corn Pasta Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ¾ cups Mayo
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 3 tbsp Lime Juice (juice from 1.5 limes)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice (juice from about 1/2 lemon)
- 2 tsp Lime Zest (zest from 1 lime)
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Chili Powder
- ¼ tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
For the street corn pasta salad:
- 12 oz Rotini
- 2 Jalapeños deseeded and diced
- 1 Green Onion thinly sliced, divided
- 1 ¼ cup Frozen Roasted Corn thawed
- ½ cup Frozen Peas thawed
- ½ cup Finely Shredded Mexican Style Cheese
- ⅓ cup Cilantro chopped, divided
- ¼ cup Parmesan freshly shredded, divided
For serving:
- ¼ cup Grape Tomato halved
- ¼ tsp Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
- ¼ tsp Chili Powder
Instructions
To make the dressing:
- Add all dressing ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Cover and chill until ready to use! Now let's get started on the street corn pasta salad!
To make the street corn pasta salad:
- Get out a large stockpot and fill it with some salted water. Bring to a boil and cook rotini to package instructions.
- While it's cooking, you can be prepping the rest of the ingredients! When it's done drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Next, let's assemble the salad! Add all ingredients including the dressing to a large mixing bowl besides half of the green onion, cilantro, parmesan, and ingredients for serving.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marry the flavors together!
To serve:
- Top with remaining veggies, herbs, cheese, and spices! Enjoy!
Nutrition
Please be aware that nutritional values are approximate and intended as a helpful guide
Discover more from The Wholesome Spoon
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
