This LOW CARB MEXICAN STREET CORN SALAD is the perfect side dish for your next taco night! All of the flavors of my eltoe, without all of the carbs! You’re going to love this flavorful side dish!
Have you ever had elote?
It’s a Mexican dish of grilled corn, coated in either mayo or sour cream, and then seasoned with chili powder, lime, maybe a bit of cayenne, and the rolled in cotija cheese before being sprinkled with fresh lime juice.
It’s even more delicious than it sounds, if that’s possible.
Of course, corn is a grain, which means it’s full of carbs and not really the best choice for a low carb life.
Luckily, baby corn is a lower carb option that has some of that same sweet crunch as the mama corn. It’s what we’re using to bring a little more authenticity to this elote salad. I think you’re going to love this one!
What is baby corn?
It’s exactly what it sounds like! Just ears of corn that are harvested before they’re fully grown.
I’ve only ever seen baby corn sold by the can in the US, but I’d love to hear if you’ve ever seen it sold fresh!
I buy cut baby corn by the can and each serving (3 ounces) has 1 net carb. The entire 15 ounce can has just 2.5 net carbs.
Elote vs. Esquites vs. Mexican Street Corn:
Elote is grilled, seasoned corn on the cob as mentioned above and esquites are basically the same thing, but the corn is cut off the cob and is basically served as elote in a cup or bowl. Mexican street corn is just what the tourists call esquties. 😉
This is Mexican street food at it’s finest, in my opinion!
(Please keep in mind that I’m a white girl living in the middle of America, so my knowledge is gleaned from research and I’m open to the fact that I could be wrong here. Please kindly correct me if so!)
How to make it low carb:
Let’s be real…you already know the answer: Cauliflower.
Cauliflower is always the answer. 😉
Basically, we’re just going to chop the cauliflower up finely to resemble corn kernels. We’ll char that in a hot skillet along with some baby corn.
Once it’s got a bit of color on it, you’ll dump it in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and give it a stir.
We’ll be using both sour cream and mayo, along with garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, chili powder, salt, and cotija cheese.
It gets finished off with a squeeze of lime juice.
This Mexican street corn cauliflower salad is so fresh and flavorful. It makes a great side to your low carb Mexican dinners.
Because corn is a grain, this recipe is not suitable for strict keto diets. If you’re doing ‘dirty keto’ and just keeping carbs under 20 a day, this should be great! If you’re doing keto with a focus on ingredients, I would not recommend this recipe.
More low carb Mexican recipes:
- Keto Chicken Fajitas
- Low Carb Taco Casserole
- Low Carb Taco Soup
- Baked Salsa Chicken
- Keto Enchilada Sauce
- Low Carb Taco Bake
Keto Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower finely chopped
- 15 ounces canned cut baby corn
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup crumbled cotija cheese
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno more to taste
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the cauliflower and cut baby corn to the skillet. Cook without stirring for 3-4 minutes until slightly charred on the bottom.
- Remove cauliflower from the heat and add to a large bowl with the remaining ingredients.
- Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Serve immediately.
Berna Valenzuela says
As someone who buys elotes from the elote man walking up the street ringing the bell- I was skeptical! But we’re on a health journey so I gave this a try- AND ITS SO GOOD! I did leave the cauliflower/corn mixture to cook longer than 4 minutes to dry it out a little more and used Tajin instead of chile powder. But this recipe is great as is! Thank you. 🙂
Donna M Jacobs says
I found fresh baby corn at Trader Joe’s…not sure if they always have it
Erica B says
This was great, Karly! I used only one garlic clove, omitted the jalapeño, and cut back on the chili powder because my current bottle seems to have a major kick to it. I’ve never had the real thing, but my husband said this salad tasted almost exactly like it. It was splendid next to carnitas tacos. I’ll definitely plan to make it again. Thank you for the recipe!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you guys enjoyed it, Erica!
Ashley says
Corn isn’t keto friendly…this is misleading
Karly Campbell says
Hi Ashley! Keto is a metabolic state and you can absolutely eat a small enough amount of just about anything and stay in ketosis. If you’re doing strict keto with a focus on ingredients, this wouldn’t be a good option, as I stated in the blog post. Not sure what was misleading about that at all.
Michael says
Do you drain the liquid from the can of corn?
Karly Campbell says
Yep.
Sharon Puett says
How will this hold up if I make it a day ahead? We are having friends over tomorrow for fajitas and I’m wanting an extra side dish.
Also, I’m thinking that I will spread the chopped cauliflower, baby corn and chopped garlic on a sheet pan and roast in a 400° oven for 15 minutes or so instead of cooking on the stovetop. Thoughts?
Karly Campbell says
Hi Sharon! I think roasting the veggies will be fine. As for holding up, yes it should do fine, but keep in mind that sometimes cauliflower smells funky after it’s sat in the fridge. That’s my only issue with leftover cauliflower. 🙂
Sharon Puett says
Roasting the corn, cauliflower and garlic worked well.
I ended up making it the same day and had no leftovers so no idea how it holds up in the fridge…yet I’m making this again for a cook out this weekend; a double batch this time!
KYanko says
Hi, I was wondering what brand of baby corn you bought? I just looked at a label and it says 47g of carbs for the whole can! Yikes! This recipe looks so good, I was hoping to make it soon. Maybe some brands are better than others? Thanks for any insight! 🙂
Karly Campbell says
I believe the brand we see around here is Dynasty. I’ve never seen it that high in carbs before, so I’d definitely look for another brand and make sure it hasn’t been pickled or something funky like that. 🙂
Elizabeth says
Tried tonight — husband and I ate the whole recipe! Brilliant! “Not bad for a white girl in the middle of the country!”
Karly Campbell says
Haha! Love it! 🙂
Stephanie says
I have never thought of this!! Looks delicious and so easy to switch up. Thank you!