Corn Salsa
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If you love Chipotle’s corn salsa, then you’re really going to love this copycat version that’s easy to make at home! This roasted corn salsa recipe is delicious on tacos, burrito bowls or dipped up with chips.
One of my favorite things about grabbing a burrito bowl at Chipotle is piling it up with all of the delicious salsas. The corn salsa has always been my favorite, as I’m a huge fan of all recipes that include corn!
Luckily I’ve cracked the code to find out exactly what ingredients are in this delicious salsa, and now I’ve made an easy copycat version at home. It’s simple to make on the grill, or the stovetop, and so tasty dipped up with chips as an appetizer or snack, or piled up on your favorite Mexican recipes, like nachos and burritos!
In addition to being delicious, it’s also naturally vegan and gluten free. A win-win!
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Corn – for this recipe, I prefer to use fresh corn on the cob, whenever possible, but you can also make it with frozen or canned corn, when fresh is not in season. If using canned corn, you’ll want to use one (15.25 ounce) can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed. If using frozen corn, you’ll want to use 2 cups of defrosted and drained corn kernels.
- Poblano pepper – the poblano is a mild pepper, typically used to make stuffed peppers, like chile rellenos, in Mexican cuisine. It’s also great for roasting, which is what we’re going to do in this recipe. (If you want to learn more about Roasted Poblano Peppers, follow this link to my step-by-step guide, with tons of tips and tricks!) If you can’t find a poblano, you can use 2 jalapeno peppers in place of the poblano pepper, but that will make the salsa slightly spicier.
- Red onion
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime juice – fresh squeezed is always preferred! Now this is where my recipe varies slightly from Chipotle’s. They use a combination of lemon and lime juice, which you can also do at home, but I prefer sticking with just the lime juice for this recipe.
- Black pepper
- Ground cumin
- Kosher salt
Step by step instructions
These instructions will walk you through how to make the salsa with corn on the cob, on the grill. If you don’t have a grill available, or want to make the recipe with canned or frozen corn, follow the instructions in the next section.
- Heat a grill over medium-high heat.
- Place the ears of corn (with the husks removed) and poblano pepper directly on the preheated grill.
- Grill for 10-12 minutes, flipping throughout the cooking process.
- Remove the corn and pepper from the grill and immediately place the poblano pepper in a plastic zipper bag.
- Seal the bag shut and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the kernels from the corn cobs with a sharp knife, when cool enough to handle. To do this, I recommend holding the corn on the cob from the top in a large bowl and using the knife to slice the kernels from each side, so that they’ll immediately fall into the bowl.
- Remove the poblano pepper from the plastic bag. Peel the skin from the pepper, remove the stem and seeds, then chop the pepper and add it to the bowl of corn.
- Add the diced red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and cumin, and stir to combine.
Eat immediately or store the salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
How to make it on the stove
If you don’t have a grill available, or don’t have corn on the cob, you can make this salsa in a skillet on the stovetop.
You’ll want to start by draining and rinsing corn from a can, removing corn from the cob, or thawing and draining corn from the freezer. You’ll also want to remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and dice the pepper.
Next, follow these 4 simple steps to make the salsa on the stovetop.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat on the stove.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or any vegetable oil) to the skillet.
- When the oil is hot, add the corn and diced poblano pepper, cook for 4-6 minutes or until the corn becomes slightly charred.
- Remove the corn and poblano from the skillet and transfer to a bowl. Add the diced onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and cumin, and stir to combine.
What to serve it with
This salsa is delicious to dip up with tortilla chips, serve on top of tacos, or straight up eat with a spoon. No matter how it gets in your mouth, the moment it hits your taste buds, you’re going to fall in love!
Try it with any of these scrumptious recipes!
- Baked Avocado Tacos
- Vegan Burrito Bowl
- Cauliflower Nachos
- The Ultimate Pulled Pork Nachos
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Brisket Tacos
- Mexican Chicken Salad Tacos
Variations
- Make it spicy! Add 1-2 minced serrano peppers to make a spicy corn salsa.
- Make it cheesy! To add an elote feel to the corn salsa, add in 1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- Add in beans. Add a can of black beans, drained and rinsed, to make a black bean corn salsa.
- Make it sweet! For a sweet corn salsa, use sweet corn and mix in 1 teaspoon granulated sugar into the salsa
- Mix in tomatoes! Add 1 cup of quartered cherry tomatoes, or diced roma tomatoes, to make a tomato corn salsa.
- Make it creamy. Add 1 diced avocado to the salsa for a creamy avocado corn salsa!
More salsa recipes
Add even more flavor to your next fiesta with all of these delicious salsa recipes!
Corn Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 ears corn on the cob
- 1 poblano pepper
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh squeezed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Heat a grill over medium-high heat.
- Place the ears of corn (with the husks removed) and poblano pepper on the grill over medium heat.
- Grill for 10-12 minutes, flipping throughout the cooking process.
- Remove the corn and pepper from the grill and immediately place the poblano pepper in a plastic zipper bag.
- Seal the bag shut and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, remove the kernels from the corn cobs with a sharp knife, when cool enough to handle. To do this, I recommend holding the corn on the cob from the top in a large bowl and using the knife to slice the kernels from each side, so that they’ll immediately fall into the bowl.
- Remove the poblano pepper from the plastic bag. Peel the skin from the pepper, remove the stem and seeds, then chop the pepper and add it to the bowl of corn.
- Add the diced red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and cumin, and stir to combine.
- Eat immediately or store the salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 days.
Notes
- If you don’t have a grill available, or don’t have corn on the cob, you can make this salsa in a skillet on the stovetop.
- You’ll want to start by draining and rinsing corn from a can, removing corn from the cob, or thawing and draining corn from the freezer. You’ll also want to remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and dice the pepper.
- Heat a large skillet over high heat on the stove.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil (or any vegetable oil) to the skillet.
- When the oil is hot, add the corn and diced poblano pepper, cook for 4-6 minutes or until the corn becomes slightly charred.
- Remove the corn and poblano from the skillet and transfer to a bowl. Add the diced onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and cumin, and stir to combine.
- If using canned corn, you’ll want to use one (15.25 ounce) can of sweet corn, drained and rinsed.
- If using frozen corn, you’ll want to use 2 cups of defrosted and drained corn kernels.
- If you can’t find a poblano pepper, you can use 2 jalapeno peppers in place of the poblano pepper, but that will make the salsa slightly spicier.
Nutrition Facts
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5 Comments on “Corn Salsa”
Great recipe lady! Love corn & poblano together <3
Yum!! This looks like it would be a great way to turn a ho-hum garden salad into a delicious side dish (if there’s any left over from eating the salsa on chips, thats is!)!