Elote Pasta Salad Recipe (Easy + High Protein)

This Elote Pasta Salad recipe combines high fiber pasta, cojita cheese, and fire roasted corn with a creamy dressing that has all of the delicious elote flavors you love. Bring this elote pasta salad to your next summer BBQ or enjoy it as a main dish for weekday lunches. 

Why You’ll Love This Elote Pasta Salad 

The flavors of elote are alive and well in this elote pasta salad recipe! Elote is a popular Mexican street food that uses grilled or roasted corn on the cob. The corn is usually topped with a creamy sauce, spices, fresh lime flavor, and cojita cheese.

This elote pasta salad is one of the best pasta salads I’ve ever had. It combines flavors that are fresh, zesty, and a little spicy with nutrient dense foods such as chickpea pasta and fire roasted corn. 

I make a few substitutions that increase the nutritional value of this dish such as swapping in chickpea pasta and Greek yogurt. This increases the amount of protein and fiber in this recipe so that it can even be enjoyed as a filling main meal. If I’m eating it as a meal though, rather than a side dish, I prefer to add another protein source on top such as rotisserie chicken. 

With its delicious flavors, this elote pasta salad is the perfect side dish to impress people at your next gathering! 

Ingredients You’ll Need

You’ll just need a handful of simple ingredients to put this elote pasta salad recipe together. Here’s what you’ll need. 

For the pasta salad:

• Pasta of choice – I use chickpea pasta or another high protein pasta option here to boost the nutritional value. I’ve made it with both this chickpea pasta and this high protein pasta and they’ve both come out great. Most people tend to think of elbow macaroni when they think of pasta salad, but you can use whatever your favorite pasta shape is.

• Fire-roasted corn – this is the star ingredient that makes this an elote pasta salad. You could make your own fire roasted corn using fresh sweet corn, however, I usually take an easy shortcut and buy it pre-made. It’s usually available either frozen or canned at most grocery stores. I prefer it frozen, if you can find it – I think it has more flavor. If you can only find canned fire-roasted corn, just make sure to drain it but do not rinse it.  

• Red onion – this adds a sharp flavor to the dish. You can substitute green onions if you prefer those instead. 

• Cojita cheese – this is a traditional Mexican cheese that has a tangy and salty flavor. It has a consistency that’s similar to parmesan cheese so it’s easy to grate it with a cheese grater. You can sometimes find pre-crumbled cojita cheese in the grocery store too. Alternatively, you could substitute queso fresco, which is a softer Mexican cheese and more similar to the consistency of mozzarella cheese.

• Cilantro – fresh cilantro leaves enhance the flavor of this dish. 

For the dressing:

• Greek yogurt – traditionally, people would use sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt. I like to substitute Greek yogurt for a slightly higher protein content and the added probiotics for gut health. If you use Greek yogurt, I’d choose plain whole milk Greek yogurt. 

• Mayo – while mayonnaise often gets a bad reputation for not being healthy, mayo actually provides healthy fats to many dishes. I love this mayo brand that uses avocado oil in it. 

• Fresh lime juice – using a real lime will give you that fresh lime flavor you’re looking for. Do yourself a favor and pick up a lemon squeezer if you juice lemons or limes frequently – it’s a worthwhile gadget to have.  

• Garlic – fresh garlic cloves provide a fresh and sharp flavor. Use a garlic press to make your life easier. You could alternatively opt to use pre-minced garlic or garlic powder but it won’t provide the best flavor compared to fresh garlic.

• Spices – to give this creamy dressing the true flavors of Mexican elote, you’ll need salt, chipotle powder, cumin, paprika, and black pepper. Note: chipotle powder is made from ground jalapeño pepper – if you’re not able to find this type of spice, you can use chili powder in a pinch. 

How To Make Elote Pasta Salad

Like most pasta salad recipes, this elote pasta salad is so simple to make! 

First, you’re going to bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook your pasta to al dente following the package directions. Once the pasta has cooked, drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Set it aside to cool to room temperature. 

Note: It’s key to not overcook your pasta here. I usually will set a timer and cook the pasta for one minute less than the lowest recommended amount of time. For example, if the box says to cook for 6 to 9 minutes, I’ll set a timer for the pasta to cook for 5 minutes in boiling water. This usually ends up being the perfect amount of time in my experience.

While the pasta is cooking, chop any veggies that need to be chopped or grate the cojita cheese if you weren’t able to find it pre-crumbled at the store. 

Next, in a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients: Greek yogurt, mayo, fresh lime juice, garlic, salt, chipotle powder, cumin, paprika, and black pepper. Whisk these ingredients together until they’re well combined and smooth. 

Once the cooked pasta has reached room temperature and your fire-roasted corn is thawed, combine them in a large bowl. Add the other pasta salad ingredients to this bowl: red onion, cojita cheese, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad and gently toss to combine. 

Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Top with additional cojita cheese, cilantro, or a squeeze of lime if desired. 

This Mexican street corn salad is a perfect summer side dish or you can add your favorite protein on top to make it a more filling main dish. 

Store any leftover elote pasta salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days. 

Variations + Substitutions 

• Use any type of pasta you prefer: white pasta, whole wheat pasta, chickpea pasta, red lentil pasta, gluten-free pasta etc. You can also choose any shape of pasta that you prefer.
• Substitute fire-roasted canned corn in place of the frozen or fresh corn. Use one 15oz can in this recipe. Drain the can but do not rinse the corn kernels.
• Use green onions or yellow onions in place of red onions.
• Increase the nutritional value by adding black beans or your favorite protein source such as rotisserie chicken or a tuna pouch to this dish. 
• If you can’t find cojita cheese, you can substitute queso fresco which has a consistency more similar to mozzarella cheese. Feta cheese could also be substituted, although it does have a stronger and more tangy flavor than cojita cheese. 
• To make this dairy-free, substitute a vegan Greek yogurt for the regular Greek yogurt and choose dairy-free cheese crumbles in place of the cojita cheese. 
• To make this vegan, follow the dairy-free advice above and substitute vegan mayo for regular mayo.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

Easy Ground Turkey Taco Skillet

Firecracker Meatballs (Hello Fresh Copycat Recipe)

Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip

Dense Bean Salad with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

If you make this Elote Pasta Salad recipe, please consider leaving a rating and review at the end of this blog post. This is incredibly helpful to me, my small business, and to other readers! 

The post Elote Pasta Salad Recipe (Easy + High Protein) appeared first on The PCOS Nutritionist Alyssa.