Easy Corn Salsa

This easy corn salsa recipe is a summertime favorite! Made with fresh corn, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice! Enjoy with tacos, grain bowls, or as a dip. Easy, delicious, and best with fresh summer corn!

We’ve entered the ‘hotter than blue blazes days’ here in Miami. One of the only things, besides tropical fruit, that grows in this heat in Miami, is corn. & delicious summertime corn it is. Get ready to add this easy corn salsa to your summertime rotation for get togethers, taco dinners, or simply as a dip with chips if it’s too hot and you don’t feel like cooking.

As the recipe is written, most times is how I’ll throw together this easy corn salsa. However, recipes are loosely written and always adaptable. You can always add something like diced avocado for some creaminess. If you’re using this as a topping for tacos, you can also add a crumbled cheese like feta and/or Cotija. Additionally, you can even add black beans and/or cherry tomatoes to make it chocked full of deliciousness. As far as the spices go, I opted for a dash of chili powder, but you can even add some cumin for smokiness and/or substitute smoked paprika instead of chili powder if you don’t like heat at all. Simply taste and adjust the seasonings before you eat, but know you’re creating a salsa YOU love!

Ingredients: Easy Corn Salsa

• Fresh corn on the cob: You’ll need about 3-4 ears of corn to make this recipe. Most often, I slice the kernels off the cob and leave them raw for a sweet, crisp bite. However, you could also use grilled corn to give it a smoky, charred flavor! If you can’t find in-season sweet corn, thawed frozen corn would work here too.
• Red onion: Soak the red onion in some cold water to offset the onion being too sharp/pungent. While you could leave the onion out, I use it not only for the color but also for some extra depth of flavor.
• Red bell pepper: Either red pepper or tomatoes work nicely with a corn salsa. Opting here for red bell pepper as tomatoes can sometimes be too watery.
• Finely chopped cilantro: Almost forgot to add mine in when I was doing my photo shoot for this recipe. The green adds not only a contrast with color to the corn, but also a ton of flavor. Here’s hoping cilantro doesn’t taste like soap for you!
• Lime juice: Provides a bright, zesty flavor. Aim to use use freshly squeezed lime juice here. Microwave for 15-20 seconds for maximum juice from the lime.
• Jalapeño: *Optional, but highly recommended. Remove the seeds for less spice, keep the seeds for more spice.

How To Make Easy Corn Salsa

1. Soak: add the diced onion to a bowl of cold water for ~10 minutes. Drain well. *this step is optional, but is how I add raw onion to dishes to have less ‘bite’.
2. Assemble: in a large mixing bowl, combine the corn, bell pepper, onion, jalapeño, lime juice, and spices, and mix well to ‘combine’.
3. Marinate: let the salsa sit and ‘marinate’ in the lime juice for at least 15-20 minutes prior to serving.
4. Serve and enjoy! Keep leftovers for 3-4 days in the fridge. To keep longer, freeze portions in a freezer safe container.

Tips for the Best Corn Salsa

Do you have to buy fresh corn?

Fresh corn will have the sweetest and most delicious flavor. If you’ve never had raw corn, it’s delicious. Trust me. Fresh corn will lose its flavor as time goes on. You could use frozen and/or canned corn, however, know that the texture will not be as crisp and crunchy as fresh.

How do I cut the corn off the cob?

There are always ‘hacks’ on social media of how to do this best. However, I’ve found the easiest way is to lay the corn down on the cutting board. Slice off a strip of kernels lengthwise with a sharp knife, and then rotate the cob so that the flat side is now against the cutting board, ensuring the cob doesn’t roll around. If you stand the corn upright, the kernels will fly, and you won’t have a stable base for cutting. Additionally, I’ll wear ‘cut resistant’ gloves when working with a sharp knife.

What else can be added to this corn salsa?

If you have avocado, feel free to add some in for some extra creaminess. Although the corn salsa is really delicious all on its own. The lime juice in the recipe also helps to keep the avocado from turning brown if you were to prep this salsa ahead. Black beans will add some extra depth to the salsa, however, beans can be considered ‘heavy’ in a dish. I’d say depending on what you’re adding this salsa to would help decide to add beans or not. And lastly, tomatoes can be added in as well. I left is simple and really wanted summertime corn to shine all on its own!

Other Salsa Recipes

• Mango Salsa
• Easy Homemade Salsa
• Pineapple Salsa
• Citrus Salsa

Easy Corn Salsa

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This easy corn salsa recipe is a summertime favorite! Made with fresh corn, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice! Enjoy with tacos, grain bowls, or as a dip. Easy, delicious, and best with fresh summer corn!  

• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 8 1x

Ingredients

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• 4 ears of corn (about 3 1/2 – 4 cups), cut from the cob
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced finely
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1 jalapeño, finely diced, seeds removed
• 2 limes, juice of
• 1/4 teaspoon – 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of salt, *optional

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Instructions

1. Soak: add the diced onion to a bowl of cold water for ~10 minutes. Drain well. *this step is optional, but is how I add raw onion to dishes to have less ‘bite’.
2. Assemble: in a large mixing bowl, combine the corn, bell pepper, onion, jalapeño, lime juice, and spices, and mix well to ‘combine’.
3. Marinate: let the salsa sit and ‘marinate’ in the lime juice for at least 15-20 minutes prior to serving.
4. Serve and enjoy! Keep leftovers for 3-4 days in the fridge. To keep longer, freeze portions in a freezer safe container.

• Author: Amy’s Nutrition Kitchen
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 15
• Category: Condiments