Fresh Corn Salsa
This fresh corn salsa recipe is the perfect summer appetizer! It's made simply with sweet corn, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime and a dash of chili powder.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
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It’s blazing hot outside. Let’s make some corn salsa and turn it into a meal! Like Chipotle’s corn salsa, this version with fresh sweet corn goes great in tacos, burritos (or burrito bowls), and quesadillas.
This refreshing corn salsa would also complement grilled mains, like my go-to veggie burgers. You could even pile this salsa onto greens to make it a salad for lunch—just add a drizzle of olive oil and an extra splash of vinegar, if you’d like.
This corn salsa recipe is made primarily with fresh sweet corn, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and lime juice. I added a few basic pantry seasonings for intrigue and oomph—white wine vinegar, chili powder and ground cumin.
This salsa is fresh and bright, and it’s easy to make. The sweet corn steals the show, as it should. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Corn Salsa Notes & Tips
Buy fresh corn and use it promptly. Freshly harvested corn has the sweetest, most delicious flavor, and it loses that flavor as time goes on.
Raw corn is delicious. Yep, I used raw corn kernels in this salsa. The only “cooking” they need is a brief rest (15 to 20 minutes) so they can soak up some lime juice.
You can use any type of sweet corn, though. Want smoky, grilled flavor instead of sweet raw corn? Grill your corn first! Want to save some time, or make this salsa after summer ends? Use frozen corn, defrosted and drained first. Canned corn would be my last resort, but if you like the flavor, by all means!
How to cut corn off the cob: I find it easiest to just lay the corn down on the cutting board (see second photo in this post). Slice off a strip of kernels lengthwise with a sharp knife, rotate so the flat side is against the cutting board, and repeat as necessary. Why? Standing the corn upright sends kernels flying, and doesn’t offer a stable base for cutting.
Avocado is optional. This salsa is nice and simple without it, but the avocado does add some nice creaminess. There is enough lime juice/vinegar in this recipe to keep the avocado green overnight.
Watch How to Make Corn Salsa
More Salsa & Dip Recipes to Enjoy
- 10-Minute Salsa
- Classic Pico de Gallo
- Creamy Avocado Dip
- Guacamole
- Mango Salsa
- Salsa Verde
- Strawberry Salsa
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments section! I’m eager to hear how you serve your corn salsa.
Fresh Corn Salsa
This fresh corn salsa recipe is the perfect summer appetizer! It’s made simply with sweet corn, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, lime and a dash of chili powder (avocado is optional). Recipe yields about 4 cups salsa.
Ingredients
- 3 cups raw corn kernels* (from about 4 cobs of shucked sweet corn)
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion (about ½ medium onion)
- Optional: 1 diced ripe avocado
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
- 1 to 2 medium jalapeños, finely chopped (use 1 for mild-to-medium salsa or 2 for more spicy salsa)
- ¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes), to taste
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a medium serving bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Adjust to taste, if necessary: For more zing, add about 1 teaspoon more vinegar or 1 tablespoon more lime juice. For more flavor overall, add another pinch of salt. For more spice, add more jalapeño.
- For best flavor, allow the salsa to marinate for 20 minutes before serving. This salsa keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
Recipe roughly adapted from my black bean salad.
Corn options: I love raw sweet corn here, but you could also use frozen corn, defrosted and drained. Want more smoky flavor? Grill your corn before making this salsa!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
We just made this for a simple dinner with chips and a drink. Yum! I was apprehensive about raw corn but it was great!
Love your recipes Kate, I just bought your ebook. Turns out that I like the format of the website better than a digital book but I’ve already bookmarked some recipes that I’m looking forward to trying. Your fan, Annie.
Thank you, Annie! I hope you find some favorites in my book.
Do you ever cook the corn before using it?
Hi Katy! I love raw corn, which is what is used here.
This is so good, I preserve it. It’s a wonderful topping for burgers to make them special, but it goes as a side with any kind of meat. It’s also delicious by itself with tortilla chips. My husband says it’s the best corn salsa he’s ever had by far. I wish it would let me give it all five stars, Thank you!
Thank you for your review, Rita! I appreciate your review.
Hi Kate and Rita,
I’m new to canning, LOVE this recipe and would like to know how do you preserve it?
Thank you!
Kathy
Everyone loved this! I omitted the avocado because we had guacamole.
We have made this receipe many times thru the summer…..always a hit with everyone, even the younger kids. Refreshing. Thank you. Carolyn
Have not yet made it but want to can some ,do you have directions for this ? I’ve only had trader Joe’s corn salsa,yumm,now I want to make my own.
Hi! All the instructions and ingredients for this recipe are below the post. If you try it, let me know!
I made this last night and it was super delicious and light. I used pickled jalapenos (not sure if I was meant to use fresh) but they worked really well. Thanks Kate for the fantastic recipe!
I’ve never really had raw sweet corn before and it was delicious! I didn’t have jalapeños so I added cayenne and I added a can of black beans because I was trying to use it up. Really awesome summer recipe!
Wonderful, Kassi! Thank you for your review.
I made this recipe with leftover corn-on-the-cob. Delish!! One jalapeno with all the seeds, one little sift of cayenne, gave it just the right amount of heat…the lime and vinegar kept it bright! Didn’t have cilantro so used flat leaf parsley–and it was just fine.
Just made this to go with blackened cod it tasted amazing!
We had grilled sweet corn one evening for dinner and amazingly had leftovers! I made this Fresh Corn Salsa! It was a huge hit with my family! I blistered the jalapeño peppers on the grill before I diced them. So delicious!
Sounds delicious, Cathie! Thank you for your review.
That corn salsa was delicious! My sister had it in a taco with Cuban black beans and I had a bowl with beans, rice, tomato salsa, and corn chips. It goes with everything.
I’m glad you loved it, Sue!
Love this recipe! We tried it when we made wild game tacos, for the 1st time. The corn salsa was perfect! We made it per recipe the 1st time. Since we have only changed the pepper ratio 1 jalepeno and 1 serano both tossed on the grill for some color. If we do that we toss the corn on also, but you don’t have to, it’s great either way
That is great! Thank you for your review, Shannon.
This recipe is so easy to make a wonderfully delicious! I’ve made this twice and have received rave reviews. I’ve even shared this recipe with 2 of my co-workers.
I will be making this for years to come.
This recipe is so amazing! We served with chips as an appetizer and then on top of the tacos as well. So so so good & full of flavor. I added 2 diced avacados and 2 cloves of minced garlic.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Andrea!
Added diced tomatoes and black beans (drained) and some fresh minced garlic. Perfect!
*not saying it wasn’t already good! Just remembered my friend a while back making something similar with those additions so I threw them in.
I appreciate your review, Brandon!
Great recipe! This the second time I’ve made it and my family loves it, there’s never a lot of leftovers!
Love to hear it, Todd!
This recipe is money!! I put the corn on my smoker for 30 minutes at 225, that smokey flavor makes this a winner!
So awesome!! I love, love, love this recipe and will repeat it often. I used it as a topping for our spicy shrimp tacos but I am finding myself just snacking on it’s own. Delicious!!
I’m glad you loved it, Sally!
I make this every summer during peak corn season, and this year I used Tajin Clásico with lime instead of the Chili powder. OMG. It’s over the top delicious!
Thank you so much for this outstanding and utterly delicious recipe.I have prepared it three times.I just made half a recipe and inhaled it all by myself!For the first time I added an avocado and ate it with some tortilla chips.Fab!Dinner done and dusted!
Made yesterday. Outstanding. Love the tang of lime (I did 1/3 cup) and the bite of jalapeno. Just did one as my wife doesn’t like spicy. Thanks for the recipe. For the winter, I think I will try frozen.
Super easy. Delicious as are all your recipes. Thanks
This is so delicious! I made it for some burgers for dinner tonight. I used one jalapeno but I feel like I could definitely use two next time to balance out the sweetness of the corn.
For the corn I used a Trader Joe’s frozen bag of roasted corn. So easy!
I’m glad you loved it, Kiran! Thank you for your review.
Can this be made one or two days ahead, or is it best same day?
Thanks!
It is best the same day, but should last for a few. Let me know what you think!
I made this recipe exactly as written using 2 fresh raw cobs of sweet white corn and 2 bags thawed frozen yellow corn. The compliments just kept coming! It’s a super refreshing, summer salsa! Will be making as a base & will add various proteins in the future. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you loved it, MD.
This recipe was incredible and was literally eaten within minutes. I chose to not include the avocados. It was absolutely delicious and highly recommend to eat it with MI Nina Chips!
I love to hear that!
I roasted my corn on the grill and combined all the necessary ingredients. We ate it with our sirloin burrito bowls for dinner. Definitely going to make this again.
I love to hear that, Shannon! I appreciate your review.
I made this with all veggies from the garden!! I added tomatoes just because I had them and it was AMAZING!!!
Great to hear, Wendy!
I made this with 2 jalepenos with seeds left in. Had some zing to it, my son and son-in-law would have loved it, but I added a can of black beans, rinsed, and 32 grape tomatoes quartered, and it tamed it down very nicely. Was looking for a recipe to can but I don’t think this one would work well for that. If someone knows how to preserve in jars, please reply!
This recipe wasn’t made to be canned, sorry! But I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Added an orange pepper I needed to use. Got so many compliments! Nice to mix it up instead of always making guacamole
Really tasty.
Love all your recipes!, however this one just didn’t come together for me. I made it for a gathering first time. I tasted after preparing it and thought “meh”, but maybe after sitting in fridge a couple hours the flavors might come together? Before serving I added avocado.
This was just Okay and no one commented on it. Next time I will grill the corn first, add small diced red pepper, a minced clove of garlic, and leave out the vinegar (too much acid for me). I think just the lime juice will be sufficient.
What a simply wonderful and delicious recipe. It has been a mighty palate pleaser in my house and is my new pot-luck bring along. Thanks for another primo recipe.
This is the best ever! It has been saved to my favorites and I use our corn we grow. Absolutely delicious!
Great to hear, Alicia!
cookie and Kate.
everything I’ve tried is wonderful. you are my solid go to as I am hunting online for great things to cook.
Great to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
This corn salsa is amazing! So delicious, fresh and easy to make. Thank you!
So easy and delicious!
I’m glad you loved it, Theresa!
Looks fantastic, I’ll be putting this on my carnitas tomorrow.
I hope you loved it, Duffy!
Love this recipe. So tasty and refreshing.
Great to hear, SG!
I have been making this all summer and it is fantastic! A true crowd-pleaser!
I made this recipe 2 days ago with fresh-off-the-cob sweet corn. It is so fresh and delicious. I think it’s better after marinating overnight. And it’s still good today. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Becky!
Can you can this recipe ?
Hi Denise, What do you need? I want to make sure I understand. Thank you!