Celebrate in-season sweet corn (the BEST of the year) with this healthy street corn recipe! In only 20 minutes, you'll have a creamy, spicy, delicious street corn with Greek yogurt, feta, jalapeños, chipotle seasoning, red onion, cilantro, and lime. Top tacos, taco salads, tortilla chips, or any of your favorite Mexican recipes.
This super simple, 20-minute healthy street corn recipe is based off of my other healthy Mexican street corn recipe! While just as delicious, that street corn recipe uses roasted corn on the cob, which takes a bit longer and requires an oven... not the best for those super hot days! There's a time and place for oven-roasted corn (seriously, so good), but we also need street corn that can be made FAST while keeping our kitchens cool.
Plus, when sweet corn is in season? We MUST eat it in every way that we possibly can.
Ingredients
Below are all the ingredients you need for this healthy street corn recipe! Give it a read, and if you need substitutions and variations, scroll down a little further 🙂
- Extra virgin olive oil - for sautéing the corn kernels
- Fresh sweet corn on the cob
- Fresh garlic
- Red onion
- Jalapeño
- Cilantro
- Limes
- Greek yogurt - 2% or whole milk Greek yogurt is best for richness in this recipe. I don't recommend anything fat free for this one.
- Feta or queso fresco - crumbled, for cheese flavor and salt
- Chipotle seasoning - for a spicy, smoky flavor
- Salt, pepper - to bring out all the other flavors
Equipment
To make street corn, you don't need anything too fancy.
- sauté pan
- spatula or bamboo spoon/spatula (for sautéing)
- knife
- cutting board
- large bowl
- measuring cups/spoons
Instructions
To make street corn (or "esquites" aka street corn OFF the cob), your first step will be cutting the corn kernels off the cob. Completing this step first, rather than roasting corn first and cutting kernels off later, is what makes this recipe so quick!
Then, heat some extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan and add minced garlic and corn kernels. As the corn cooks, sprinkle on some salt and chipotle seasoning to bring out the flavor. Once the corn is done (you'll know it when it's fragrant and a deeper color of yellow; you can even try a couple pieces to make sure they're sweet and cooked through!), place it in a large bowl. Allow the corn to cool for five minutes before combining with other ingredients.
In the meantime, dice up your red onion, jalapeños, finely chop the cilantro, and cut the lime into wedges.
Then, in the large bowl with corn, add in the jalapeños, cilantro, red onion, Greek yogurt, feta, lime juice, salt, and pepper... plus a little more chipotle seasoning if desired.
Mix everything together and enjoy immediately with tortilla chips, on tacos, or by the spoonful!
Hint: When the corn cooks, its cell walls start to break down and open up to seasoning and flavors. That's why we salt and season while cooking!
Substitutions & Variations
The following substitutions and variations
- Cheese - Instead of feta, try cotija or crumbled queso fresco - yum!
- Chipotle Seasoning - I LOVE the kind from Penzey's. If you don't have chipotle seasoning on hand when you're making this, smoked paprika or chili powder will taste delicious too. Smoked paprika will maintain the smokiness but won't be spicy. Chili powder will add nice flavor but won't be smoky or spicy.
- Vegan - To make a vegan version of this recipe, use vegan mayo instead of Greek yogurt, and omit the feta!
- Spiciness - Adjust the spiciness to your taste by keeping jalapeño seeds, adding more chipotle powder, or even a little bit of Cholula hot sauce.
- Kid-friendly - Swap the jalapeños for sweet red pepper, and omit the chipotle seasoning to make this dish a little less spicy and friendlier for the kiddos. Onions can also be omitted or swapped for milder green onions.
As mentioned above, I have another similar healthy street corn recipe on my site that uses oven-roasted corn. If you have more time and want to heat up your kitchen, you can try it!
Storage
You can store street corn in an airtight container in the fridge for up to seven days. The finished/combined street corn salad does not freeze well, but you can freeze raw or cooked corn for a rainy (or snowy) day when you need yourself some delicious street corn!
To freeze corn kernels (raw or cooked), place them in an airtight, freezer-friendly container in the fridge. I'm trying to reduce my use of plastic, so I just use glass containers instead of zip-top bags or plastic containers.
Yes! You can either make corn ahead of time, reheat, and assemble the ingredients later. Or, you can make the street corn as instructed and store it in the fridge to enjoy later.
Yep! To reheat, just pop in it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds (for a single serving) and stir.
Also yes 🙂 It is delicious cold as a standalone salad, in salads, or even on top of tortilla chips the next day.
📖 Recipe
20-Minute Healthy Street Corn
This 20-minute healthy street corn is just what you need to take tacos or any Mexican dish to the next level in a matter of minutes! Instead of mayo, this recipe uses 2% or whole milk Greek yogurt for creaminess, and feta for salty, cheesy flavor. Jalapeños and chipotle seasoning give it some spice!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: ~5 cups
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 4 ears of sweet corn
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chipotle seasoning
- ½ small red onion
- 2 jalapenos
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- juice of 1 lime
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt (2% or whole milk)
- ½ cup feta
- additional salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Sauté corn: Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Heat extra virgin olive oil over medium heat in a large sauté pan. Add minced garlic and corn kernels, and allow to cook for a few minutes, stirring throughout. Add salt and chipotle seasoning as the corn cooks. Once the corn is done cooking, remove from heat and immediately transfer to a large bowl to cool for five minutes.
- Veggies: While the corn cools, dice your red onion, jalapeños, and cilantro.
- Combine: Add red onion, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, feta, Greek yogurt, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine, then enjoy on tacos, chips, or your favorite Mexican dish!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 208
- Sugar: 11.2 g
- Sodium: 513.4 mg
- Fat: 8.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.3 g
- Fiber: 3.7 g
- Protein: 8.3 g
- Cholesterol: 15.8 mg
Leave a Reply