Street Corn Pasta Salad

Name: Street Corn Pasta Salad
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 ears of corn, 3 cups cooked; ½ cup butter, melted (reserve a couple tablespoons of the melted butter for the salad.); Optional: 1 cup shredded parmesan; 1 Tbsp pepper (Not exact. You may not need that much.); 1 tsp dried oregano; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp salt (you may need more.); Optional: ½ tsp pepper; 1 Tbsp lime juice; ½ cup mayonnaise (you may need more.); 1 cup mozzarella, cubed (or crumbled feta cheese); 1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered (or your favorite tomato); 1 medium bell pepper, diced; 1 lb pasta (use your favorite pasta)

August 25, 2025

Growing up, my favorite way to enjoy corn was slathered in butter with a generous amount of pepper and a small amount of salt. Ah, the memories.

My mom used to buy corn when it was in season from a farm not far from our house. I can see the house still today. There was an older woman who had an open tent and a table displaying all her vegetables. We usually stopped on the way home from running errands.

That sweet corn will always be the perfect Michigan summer memory.

Years later, when my husband and I were living in Tucson, Arizona, I discovered street corn (also known as Elote).

It wasn’t just buttery corn on the cob—it was next-level corn covered in butter, spices, and cotija cheese. Messy + delicious = Perfect.

Fast forward to now, I’m taking those memories and wrapping them up into an easy and fun salad recipe that includes lots of butter and so much flavor. Enjoy!

Street Corn Pasta Salad Recipe by Terra Kelly

Some Book Inspiration:

“What’s this?” Milo walked into the kitchen and grabbed the spoon sitting in a bowl. He lifted a small amount of the contents to get a better look and then stirred it around.

Angie was standing at the stove pulling freshly cooked pasta out of the boiling water with a large spider strainer. She tapped the spider on the side of the pan and turned to face him. “That is a new recipe.”

“You’re having fun making corn recipes this summer.” He walked over to Angie and wrapped his arms around her waist. “We do have a lot of corn this year.”

“So much.” She smiled and leaned up to kiss him. “This recipe could be fun at the Farm Café.”

“Maybe.” Milo kissed her nose and stepped away. “You’ll need to get Chef Nolan’s approval first.” He grabbed a piece of pasta and popped it into his mouth. “That shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Except, he’s passed on the last two recipes I’ve made,” Angie added some butter to the warm pasta and carried the bowl over to the kitchen island to finish prepping the salad.

“In his defense, those recipes were desserts.” Milo joined her and bumped his hip against hers. “He wants more fruit and vegetable recipes. I bet he’ll say yes once he tries it.”

“We’ll see.” Angie leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. “You should find a way to convince him it would be awesome on the menu.”

“Me.” He tried to look shocked.

“Yeah, you.” She laughed and poured the pasta into the prepared street corn salad. “Here, try it.” She stirred the contents, grabbed a fork, and offered him a bite.

“Oh.” His eyes went wide.

“Oh, good or Oh, bad?” She turned her head to the side.

“Oh, good.” He pushed his fork down into the salad for another bite. “Very good.”

“So, you’ll talk to Chef?” Angie’s eyes went wide, and she clasped her hands together.

“Yes, let me take some to him now.” Milo grabbed another bite. “We’d better do it quickly before I eat the whole bowl.

You can read more from Milo and Angie in Defend My Heart (Crystal Shores Book Three). The Crystal Shores series is a steamy romance packed full of food love.

Some Behind the Scenes:

Everywhere I look, I’ve noticed people making some version of a corn salad. Not all the recipes I’ve caught are street corn, but that’s exactly the flavors I started to crave.

I threw together ingredients that make hubby and me happy. Feel free to jump off my recipe and add flavors that make you happy. Most of the recipes I make are versatile. There are no rules when it comes to recipes (yes, that includes desserts).

The idea of adding the baked Parmesan cheese to the salad was a spur-of-the-moment thought. I knew I wanted to add it to the corn to give it a little extra pop of flavor when baking. Once I saw the golden-brown pieces on the sheet pan, I knew they had to be added to the salad.

You may experience something like that, where you feel inspired to add an ingredient to the salad. Go for it.

The recipe is easy to make and tastes even better the second day.

Optional: When enjoying the leftovers, we added ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, and we also tried the salad with hard-boiled eggs. Both were perfect complements.

Have fun making this Street Corn Pasta Salad!

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Street Corn Pasta Salad by Terra Kelly

Street Corn Pasta Salad

Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users

Cuisine

American

Author:

Terra Kelly

Servings

6-8

Prep Time

35-40 minutes

Cook Time

35-40 minutes

Take fresh corn on the cob to the next level with this delicious street corn pasta salad. The recipe is packed full of flavor and, better yet, it's easy to make.

Ingredients

For Corn:

6 ears of corn, 3 cups cooked
½ cup butter, melted (reserve a couple tablespoons of the melted butter for the salad.)
Optional: 1 cup shredded parmesan
1 Tbsp pepper (Not exact. You may not need that much.)

For Salad:

1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp salt (you may need more.)
Optional: ½ tsp pepper
1 Tbsp lime juice
½ cup mayonnaise (you may need more.)
1 cup mozzarella, cubed (or crumbled feta cheese)
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered (or your favorite tomato)
1 medium bell pepper, diced
1 lb pasta (use your favorite pasta)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
On a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a Silpat, add corn on the cob. Brush melted butter on all sides of the corn, then sprinkle all sides with pepper and shredded parmesan cheese. (Use a generous amount of shredded parmesan.)
Bake corn for 35-40 minutes (depending on the oven). The corn should be fork-tender and golden brown. The shredded parmesan will be golden brown.
Cut the corn off the cob. Roughly chop the shredded parmesan cheese. Let them cool slightly.
In a large pot of water, generously salt the water and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and cook (use the directions on the package to ensure you cook it long enough).
Remove the pasta from the water and add it to a large mixing bowl. Add the remainder of the melted butter to the pasta to prevent it from sticking together. Let it cool slightly.
Once the pasta is cooled enough, add the prepared corn, baked parmesan cheese, lime juice, and mayonnaise.
Next, add oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
Then, add mozzarella cheese, grape tomatoes, and bell peppers.
Mix and enjoy. Or refrigerate until you’re ready to eat the salad.
Note: You may want to add more mayonnaise. You don’t need a lot of mayonnaise, though.
Optional: We added ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning. We also added hard-boiled eggs to the salad. Both were added separately, but could be added together.

Recipe Video

Recipe Note

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