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.
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Love everything about this! I grew up in San Antonio, and we ate that type of corn ALL the time, but we called it elotes. I love that you used avocado instead here, though – yum, yum, yum!
This does sound “hide me” worthy, Gaby!!! I need to try this – the flavors sound amazing together! Thanks for sharing!
Gotta love a good quinoa salad! This sounds awesome!
Love it! Avocado instead of mayo–brilliant!!
This sounds like a wonderful combination. Bring on summer! This will be my new dish to bring and share. So tasty and easy.
This is my kind of salad! Avocado goes so well in Esquites!
haha! you should totally clean out a can of crisco or something and put your future meals in there – i doubt Thomas would open that 😉 i’d LOVE this salad for lunch right now!!
I can see why you were hiding this, looks amazingly good 🙂
I love quinoa ~ this a great picnic salad!
That sounds like something I’d do! Hide it in the back of the fridge. 😉
Looks delicious, Abby!
I wouldn’t want to share this wit anyone either!!!!
looks awesome Gaby!! I can’t wait to try it!
This sounds excellent! I’m making it this week. Wouldn’t just a little bit of red onion be good in this salad? Just a thought. It would be terrific without it too.
yes absolutely!!
I haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time on the west coast, so Esquites is new to me. I am not a huge quinoa fan, and since that makes me feel like something might be wrong with me, I keep trying different ways to prepare it. I am definitely looking forward to trying this dish. Looks and sounds delicious, as do all of your recipes.
this looks like all kinds of wonderful. Pinning it!
love the idea of subbing mayo for avocado. actually, I could sub a lot of things with avocado…
Gaby! I am eating this right now and it is absolutely to DIE for! I am obsessed! I subbed Greek yogurt for the avocado because I didn’t have enough avocado left… but did have enough to cube some on top! Also added some tequila-lime chicken. Delish!!
yummmmm!! Love those ideas 🙂
Great-looking salad! Love the addition of corn and avocado! Genius. 🙂
Yessss! Corn and avocados are meant for each other!
Finally got a chance to make this. I can’t stop eating! I was forced to make a few changes, but it still the basic recipe. Like didn’t have cotitja or feta so used some gorgenzola. Also added some seeded roma tomatoes. This is perfect for lunch or dinner in the summer. Tonight it is my main meal and I couldn’t be happier. Oh, also I did slightly brown my corn in broiler, but that how I like it. Thanks Gaby, I will be back!
yay!! glad you loved it 🙂
Words cannot describe my absolute love for this dish…. tried it for the first time pretty much the day it was posted and have made it for different folks a few times since. Like others I use the avocado puree and then cube some in the salad as well because you can never ever have too much avocado. Will be my go-to dish from now on for dinner parties!
Would 1 can of corn be ok for this recipe?
sure! Just made sure to rinse it well 🙂
Made this for dinner tonight. What a fabulous, delicious salad. Thank you!!
Will the salad turn color from oxidation of the avocado dressing?
nope – because of the citrus juice we added 🙂
What a great salad!
My kind of dish! I’d hide it from Matt- no sharing. Ha!
I love the avocado idea. I am so doing this for dinner this week!!
Yum! Perfect salad for Spring! And I understand hiding in the back of the fridge too! xo
Now this is my kind of quinoa salad!
YUM- I love the idea of subbing avocado for mayo!
What a great salad for Spring! I have made this during last weekend and I can’t stop eating! I love the avocado till the max! Thanks for sharing this!
I wouldn’t want to share either!!
Love this gorgeous corn dish!!!
Adding this to the must- try list! So bright and fresh for spring!
Sounds amazing but I’m not an avocado fan. How much mayo should I use in its place?
Just ate this for lunch and it was SO GOOD! The perfect ‘make ahead and take to work’ lunch! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
xx Allison @ alwayseatdessert.com
Gaby, I love following you on Snapchat and getting your emails. When I saw this recipe, I knew it was a winner. I have made it multiple times and it is a HIT every time! Recently used it for a dinner party and everyone asked for the recipe 🙂
yayayaya!!! Thank you!
This looks amazing! Sadly, my husband is allergic to avocado. Any idea how much mayo would be used to substitute it?
1/2 cup!