Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

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This Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad turns everything you love about elote - grilled corn, lime, cotija, and chipotle - into an easy, creamy pasta salad. The elote pasta salad is perfect for potlucks, simple as a weeknight side dish, and completely avoids the mayo and crema inevitably smeared on your nose.

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Cooling time30

Total Time55

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings:

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Joanne Stekler

Ingredients

2 cups (227 grams) dried orecchiette or small shells
1 pound (450 grams) corn kernels or two cobs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream or Mexican crema
3 tablespoons lime juice from about 1 lime
1 clove garlic grated or minced
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¾ cup (170 grams) cotija crumbled or chopped into ¼ to ½ inch cubes
2 green onions thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro optional garnish

Instructions

Bring a large pot to a boil, generously salt the water, and cook the orecchiette until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2 cups (227 grams) dried orecchiette
The easiest way to char the corn is to broil the kernels right under the broiler until browned, stirring once or twice.
1 pound (450 grams) corn kernels
To make the dressing, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, garlic, chipotle powder, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired.
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons sour cream, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 1 clove garlic, 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, ½ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
When the pasta and corn have cooled to warm room temperature, add the, pasta, corn kernels, cotija, and sliced green onions to the dressing and toss until evenly coated. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
¾ cup (170 grams) cotija, 2 green onions, ¼ cup chopped cilantro

Notes

This recipe will make 6 generous side salad helpings of pasta salad.

Alternate ways of charring the corn include grilling the corn on the cob or toasting dry, room temperature kernels in a cast iron pan over high heat. Regardless of which way, the goal is to brown the corn quickly so it doesn't dry out and get tough.

Chipotle powder gives this elote pasta salad just a touch of the classic spiciness. You can adjust it down if you are concerned about spice, but I'd encourage you to try it. You can also make the dressing thicker with more mayo or sour cream, or thin it with more lime juice or buttermilk.

If you are not planning to serve this Mexican corn pasta salad immediately, reserve just a bit of the creamy chipotle lime dressing to toss on before serving. I think the pasta salad also deserves about 30 minutes out of the fridge to shake off the chill!

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