Creamy Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is a delicious homemade pasta salad recipe! Packed with traditional elote flavors of corn, chili powder, cotija cheese, and lime. Make it spicy! Mexican side dish recipe for summer BBQ and grilling.
Cook the pasta as per package directions until al dente. Drain and cool in a container in the refrigerator.
In a large bowl, make the sauce. Mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chili powder, juice of 1 lime, and salt. Season to taste as desired.Chill the sauce if not serving soon so it does not get too absorbed by the pasta from sitting too long.
When ready to serve or up to 4 hours in advance, mix the pasta, sauce, corn, cheese, jalapeno, and cilantro in a large bowl. Adjust seasoning as desired including more of the mix ins.
Garnish with additional cotija, chili powder, cilantro, or corn as desired. Serve cold.
Notes
Different shapes of pasta will require a different amount of sauce to make it the creaminess that you prefer. Add more or less as desired. Pasta with more ridges will take more sauce.I like to use frozen corn with its fresh flavor. You can also use canned corn that has been drained.To ensure a completely vegetarian dish, make sure to use vegetarian cheese.You can find cotija cheese at your grocery store in the refrigerated Hispanic section or in the special cheese section. Alternative cheese options include feta or shredded Monterey jack.The heat level on this is mild. Make it spicy by adding additional jalapeno or chili powder.