Mexican Salad with Grilled Corn and Creamy Jalapeño Dressing
This Mexican salad with grilled corn has the most delicious and creamy jalapeño dressing. Summer is the best season to grill vegetables and make yummy salads. This recipe is perfect for those pool parties near the grill. You can make it in no time and serve it to your guests as an appetizer.
What Do you need to know before you make this recipe
Since this is a Mexican salad recipe, it has to be slightly spicy. The jalapeño in the dressing has just enough spiciness to excite your taste buds.
This recipe is vegetarian. If you want to make it vegan, you can replace the sour cream with a plant based alternative.
If you live a gluten free life this salad is perfect for you. There are no grains in the salad or the dressing. Therefore, it is absolutely safe to consume if you don’t eat gluten.
Helpful tips about working with Jalapeños
Give a little taste of your jalapeño pepper. If it is too spicy it can ruin the entire salad. I recommend using only half of the pepper if you think that is very hot.
I use gloves when I cut jalapeños and remove their seeds. If you use bare hands, avoid touching your face and eyes. That might cause redness and burning.
Helpful tips about making the Mexican salad
One of the first steps is to grill the corn, onion slices and jalapeño. If you don’t have a grill, you can use a griddle or regular cast iron pan. It is important to preheat the grill or pan before you add the vegetables. This will ensure those nice grill marks and enhance the smoky and charred flavors.
For this recipe I used iceberg lettuce, but you can use romaine or a salad mix. Use whatever you prefer.
The cherry tomatoes I used were big. That is why I decided to slice them in half. You can skip that step if it is not needed.
I used an immersion blender to make the dressing. If you don’t have one you can make the dressing in a food processor or a small chopper.
I don’t like cilantro, so I used parsley for that dressing. If you prefer you can use cilantro. I know that Mexican dishes go very well with that herb, but I have that gene that makes it taste like soap.
Mexican Salad with Grilled Corn and Creamy Jalapeño Dressing
Equipment
- Grill or grill pan
- Immersion or other blender
Ingredients
For the salad
- 2 ears fresh corn (on the cob) husks and silks removed
- 1 red onion small, sliced to rounds
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce or lettuce of choice
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ avocado
For the jalapeño dressing
- 1 Jalapeño pepper grilled, seeds and skin removed
- ½ cup sour cream
- the juice of one lime
- ½ cup cilantro or parsley leaves I used parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove the husk and silks from 2 cons on the cob. Peel and slice a red onion to thick rounds.
- Preheat a grill or a grill pan to medium high.
- Add one jalapeño, the corn and the sliced onion rounds on top of the hot grill. Cook for few minutes per side or until you have grill marks.
- Remove the vegetables on a plate and allow them to cool off.
- Cut the lettuce and cherry tomatoes (in needed) and add them in a deep bowl.
- Cut the grilled corn out of the cobs. Add the corn, grilled onions, sliced avocado to the same bowl.
To prepare the dressing
- Remove the skin, seeds and stem of the grilled jalapeño. Add it in a deep jar.
- To the same jar add the sour cream, juice of one lime, cilantro (or parsley), salt and pepper to taste. Use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together until smooth.
- Pour the dressing over the salad. Stir and serve right away.
Other Mexican recipes you might like
Mexican Chicken Salad with Creamy Jalapeño Dressing (Gluten Free)
Mexican Chipotle Meatballs. Super Cheesy and Easy