Corn Salsa
Posted Apr 27, 2025
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This corn salsa recipe is a light, flavorful, sweet & salty dip that’s a perfect appetizer for taco nights. Plus, it’s easy to make in 10 minutes!
There’s nothing I love more than fresh summer corn! And if you’re looking for a delicious way to enjoy it – you need to make this sweet corn salsa recipe (also try Mexican corn salad).
It’s healthy and fresh and so easy to make (also try black bean corn salsa, homemade salsa & pineapple salsa)!
In this corn salsa recipe, corn and garlic are toasted until fragrant. Then, they’re cooled and mixed with tomatoes & onions are tossed with a simple lime dressing for an absolute flavor explosion that will keep you coming back for more.
Serve it as an appetizer or even as a topping to your favorite tacos – like ground beef tacos or crockpot chicken tacos.
Corn Salsa Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Sweet corn. fresh corn cooked and cut off the cob, or thawed frozen corn both work well in this recipe.
- Minced garlic. if desired you can add ½ teaspoon garlic powder to the dressing instead of using minced garlic.
- Salted butter. olive oil is a great substitute.
- Tomatoes. Heirloom, Roma, vine-ripened, etc. are all great choices.
- Red onion. white or yellow onion both work well too.
- Olive oil. avocado oil is a good substitute.
- Lime juice. Fresh or bottled are both great choices.
- Honey. you can use sugar in place of honey.
How to Make Corn Salsa
Let’s walk through how to make corn salsa together step-by-step. Be sure to watch the video for further guidance.
I prefer to toast the corn and garlic in butter for a delicious depth of flavor, but you can skip that step if you prefer!
Begin by melting butter in a skillet.
Then, add the corn and garlic and cook 3-5 minutes on high heat, until corn is just begins to lightly brown.
Set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool, stirring occasionally. (this is optional, you can also just use corn that was cooked and cut off the cob, I like the toasted flavor).
In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lime juice, and honey.
Then, combine the cooled corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, cumin, sea salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine.
Next, pour the lime juice mixture over the corn mixture and stir to combine.
Cover and chill the corn salsa for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Serve
After 1 hour, transfer the salsa to a serving dish, garnish with fresh cilantro, corn etc. and serve with your favorite chips.
We love serving this corn salsa recipe with our favorite Mexican recipes. Some suggestions include:
- Serve it as an appetizer or topping for ground beef tacos, chicken tacos, etc.
- Serve it with chicken enchiladas!
- Use it as a condiment on taco bowls or Mexican casserole.
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Corn Salsa Recipe FAQS
Absolutely, it’s easily scalable to your preferences!
I suggest a sweet yellow or white corn. Or sweet corn on the cob that has been cooked and cut off the cob. Frozen corn works great.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Corn Salsa
Ingredients
- 3 cups sweet corn (16 ounces)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- 1 tomato (finely diced, 1 cup)
- ½ cup red onion (finely diced)
- ½ cup fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
- In a nonstick skillet, melt butter. Add corn and garlic and cook 3-5 minutes on high heat, until corn is just begins to lightly brown. Set aside in a large mixing bowl to cool, stirring occasionally. (this is optional, you can also just use corn that was cooked and cut off the cobb, I like the toasted flavor).
- In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, lime juice, and honey.
- In a large bowl combine cooled corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, cumin, sea salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
- Pour the lime juice mixture over the contents of the bowl and stir to combine.
- Cover and chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- After 1 hour, transfer the salsa to a serving dish, garnish with fresh cilantro, corn etc. and serve with your favorite chips.
Video
Notes
- Sweet corn. fresh corn cooked and cut off the cob, or thawed frozen corn both work well in this recipe.
- Minced garlic. if desired you can add ½ teaspoon garlic powder to the dressing instead of using minced garlic.
- Salted butter. olive oil is a great substitute.
- Tomatoes. Heirloom, Roma, vine-ripened, etc. are all great choices.
- Red onion. white or yellow onion both work well too.
- Olive oil. avocado oil is a good substitute.
- Lime juice. Fresh or bottled are both great choices.
- Honey. you can use sugar in place of honey.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
