A fresh and simple 6 Ingredient Corn Salsa Recipe for summer that’s ready in 10 minutes! We love corn salsa for tacos, but it’s also delicious as a dip, or scoop, with tortilla chips. Take the spicy up for a little mouth-burn or keep it mellow! This recipe is vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.
Chili Corn Salsa Highlights
Even before Chipotle corn salsa was invented, Taco Time reined supreme in the fast food chili corn salsa department. I discovered them years ago when we moved to the Pacific Northwest. Have you heard of them? Although slightly different, their chili corn salsa is just as crave-worthy as Chipotle’s corn salsa recipe.
But it’s homemade Mexican Corn Salsa that brings home the flavor using fresh, in-season sweet corn and jalapenos. There’s BIG flavor to be had for little effort, ready in 10 minutes.
This Recipe Is:
- made with 6 ingredients
- make ahead ready
- spicy is adjustable to taste
- sweet and spicy
If you love the flavor of Mexican food, and fresh corn recipes, then you’ll love this recipe!
Restaurant Corn Salsa vs My Mexican Corn Salsa
Both are delicious, so what’s the difference?
- One of my favorite restaurant recipes involves roasting poblano peppers. To keep it simple, my recipe requires no roasting or cooking, favoring a fresh raw salsa that includes a green bell pepper rather than a poblano.
- Fresh or frozen corn? In my recipe, I prefer to use in season fresh corn – for the sweetest, juiciest salsa.
- As for the ratio of ingredients, I relied on my Mexican food lovin’ taste buds to create this corn salsa recipe.
About the Key Ingredients
- Fresh Sweet White Corn – right off the cob when in season.
- Red Onion – also known as purple onion, this allium can be a little pungent. If it’s too spicy for your liking, you can soak chopped onion in cold water for about 10 minutes, drain and pat dry. This quells its sharp flavor. Or you can omit red onion and use chopped green onion instead, using the white parts of the onions.
- Green Bell Pepper – mild and not spicy, it adds a nice crunch and flavor to this salsa.
- Jalapeño Peppers – fresh is best in this corn salsa recipe, but you can use pickled jalapenos. Increase or decrease the peppers to taste.
- Cilantro – a must in this salsa. You can increase or decrease to taste.
- Lime – fresh squeezed lime juice is best.
Be bold with that jalapeño, especially with fresh sweet white corn. The sweet balances the heat of jalapeño beautifully!
At a Glance: How to Make Fresh Mexican Corn Salsa
- First, place the corn niblets in a large mixing bowl.
- Next, chop the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and cilantro small. I like them minced.
- Last, transfer all the veggies to the bowl with the corn. Add lime and salt and pepper.
Give the salsa a stir and taste for seasoning adjustment. Store it in the fridge and allow the flavors to marry. Its flavor improves with a bit of time!
This Salsa is a perfect pairing for tacos. Try it on my Cauliflower Tinga Tacos.
Traci’s Tips
- More Color: to add a little color to your Mexican corn salsa, use a red bell pepper rather than green, or a mixture of the two.
- Fresh is Best: use fresh, in season corn in this recipe. It’s sweeter than canned or frozen, and its texture is juicy!
- Adjust the Spicy: heat from the jalapeño is completely adjustable here. The seeds and ribs of a jalapeño contain the most heat. Remove them for a milder salsa.
Recipes to Share Mexican Corn Salsa With
- Homemade Sofritas Recipe – Burrito Bowl Style
- Crunchy Old School Bean and Cheese Tacos
- Mexican Inspired Tofu Tacos
- Rancheros Tofu Scramble
6-Ingredient Mexican Corn Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 C (260g) Corn Kernels fresh off the cob, about two ears
- 1/4 C (35g) Red Onion minced, about 1/4 of a red onion
- 1/3 C (55g) Green or Red Bell Pepper minced, about 1/2 a bell pepper
- 1 1/2 Tbs Jalapeño fresh or pickled, adjust to taste. remove ribs and seeds to quell the spicy if desired
- 2 Tbs + 1 tsp Fresh Lime Juice from about 2 limes
- 3 Tbs Cilantro finely chopped
- 1/4 + 1/8 tsp Fine Sea Salt
- Fresh Ground Pepper optional
Instructions
- Shuck the sweet corn, and use your sharpest knife to remove the niblets. To do this, turn the cob on its end and slice off the kernels in a pie plate so the niblets stay corralled on the plate.
- In a large mixing bowl add the corn kernels (and any corn milk from the fresh corn), red onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Mix well, taste for salt adjustment.
- Refrigerate for at least an our before sharing so the flavors can marry. Up to 24 hours, even better.
Thanks for the recipe. I made it with red peppers instead of green That, canned corn, and I added some diced cactus which was from a jar.
I made with ingredients that I had on hand. I would’ve rather used fresh corn, but it came out delicious.
I used it as a salsa for crispy chicken tacos.
Thank you for your note, Melanie! Diced cactus sounds sooo good! I’ll have to keep an eye out for it. SO glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Absolutely delicious and with NO CHEESE! Who knew? I am going to be making chili this week and think I will make another bowl of this side dish and top chili with it. Great recipe. Thanks, Traci
Top chili with it?! Oh my that sounds delicious, Sally! Thank you for your note and giving the salsa a go!
It’s not required to cook the corn first? Just curious as I’ve never made a fresh corn salsa/relish before. Looks absolutely delectable!
Hi Michelle! Thank you! This is absolutely no cook. You won’t believe how sweet and juicy the corn is right off the cob!