Fritos Corn Salad with canned corn, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, and green onion in a creamy spiced dressing and topped with Fritos corn chips! This is one salad that no one will forget!
Be sure and also try these other favorite corn recipes like this easy honey butter skillet corn or this corn, tomato, and avocado salad.Â
FRITOS CORN SALAD
As strange as this Fritos corn salad may sound, trust me when I say it's one of those "salads" that no one will forget and you'll realize you've already had 3 servings of it while contemplating if you love it or not 🙂Â
The corn flavor, thanks to three cans of corn and Fritos corn chips, really shines through. Pair it with a lightly spiced creamy dressing and fresh crunchy vegetables, and you've got a delicious side dish with awesome texture. I also love it cause it's different than the usual side dish salads at get togethers.
HOW TO MAKE FRITOS CORN SALAD
Canned Corn - Be sure and drain this really well! I like to use the canned golden n' white corn but that's just personal preference. All yellow corn is just fine as well.Â
Shredded Cheddar Cheese - Cheddar is best to use in this salad or Colby Jack cheese. You can shred your own or make it easy and buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese.Â
Roma Tomatoes - I prefer to seed tomatoes before chopping so there is n extra liquid in the salad.Â
Orange & Yellow Bell Pepper - I picked these two for the colors but feel free to substitute with a red bell pepper if wanted.Â
Green Onions
Chopped Cilantro
Fritos Corn Chips - I normally use regular Fritos chips because I want my kids to eat it. You can use Chili Cheese Fritos Chips (which is yummy!) but it will have more spice to the salad. No need to run the chips in a food processor to get them chopped. Just take your hands and squish the bag (lightly) to break up the Fritos chips. You don't want fine crumbs, you want the larger chunks in the salad for the crunch.Â
Spiced Creamy Dressing - Mayonnaise, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin.Â
MY TIPS FOR THIS CORN SALAD RECIPE WITH FRITOS CHIPS
- Once you add the chips the salad needs to be served right away. The best part of this salad is the crucnhy chips and creamy dressing, so only add the chips right before serving.Â
- I prefer this salad cold so I will make the salad (minus adding the chips) and refrigerate it for 2 hours. Add the chips right before serving and stir it all together. The salad is just as good served right away. So either way will be fine.Â
- Try serving this Fritos corn salad on top of hot dogs! Sounds weird but trust me, it's one of our favorite ways to eat this salad at a BBQ.Â
- Try to chop the bell peppers and everything else at the same size. I aim to cut everything the same size as the corn kernels.Â
- Don't crush the Fritos chips into fine crumbs. You want larger chunks of chips for the crisp and texture. I just hold the bag with my hands and crush up the chips (lightly!) and then dump into the bowl.Â
 TRY THESE OTHER SUMMER SIDE DISH RECIPES
- lemon yogurt fruit salad
- coleslaw pasta salad
- ranch pasta salad
- mango black bean quinoa salad
- fruity cashew chicken pasta salad
- the best bean salad
- easy greek pasta salad
- mexican street corn saladÂ
- grilled pesto corn
Fritos Corn Salad
Ingredients
Fritos Corn Salad
- 3 cans (15 oz) sweet yellow corn drained well
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 orange bell pepper chopped small
- 1 yellow bell pepper chopped small
- 1 bunch green onions thinly sliced, about ½ cup
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 bag (14.25 oz) Fritos Corn Chips OR Fritos Chili Cheese Corn Chips
Creamy Spiced Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- juice of 1 lime about 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine corn, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, orange bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, green onions, and cilantro. Stir together to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice, cumin, and chili powder until combined and creamy. Pour over the corn salad and mix well.
- If serving right away, take the bag of Fritos chips and crush the chips into large pieces. You don't want to make Fritos crumbs. You want the larger Fritos chip pieces in the salad. Pour the chips into the salad and mix well.
- If you want the salad to be cold, then refrigerate the corn salad (2 hours before serving is best) then wait to add the crushed Fritos chips until just before serving.
- ** Leftovers keep well and the Fritos do get soggy, but somehow even with the soggy Fritos we still eat leftovers until they're gone.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Jessica, this salad looks amazing! I'm just laughing about your dad and the Fritos & bean dip because my dad LOVED that too! We would eat it almost every Saturday with lunch. You actually still can buy that bean dip, I buy it all the time. We love it. I can't wait to try this salad. Looks so delicious!
haha 🙂 I look for it every time I go down the chip aisle. I'll have to look harder next time. I have not had it in years. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Can you make this recipe the night before and add the chips in the next day before you serve it?
Yes! I actually prefer it cold. Add in the chips right before serving so that they will be crunchy and add a nice texture. Enjoy!
This was smash hit at the potluck BBQ last night... something totally different than potato salad and pasta salad.. once folks decided to try it, it was gone! DELISH!!!!
So good to hear! People are always hesitant to try this salad but once they do, it's always gone quick 🙂 I am so glad it was a hit for you at the potluck.
How much does this dip make?
It makes a lot! I would say at least 10-12 adult sized portions.
You could use the individual serving size bags of Fritos and add the corn salad to it for an easy mess free option.
That's a great idea! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Yes or add the fritos to individual salads, let the person decide how many of the fritos they would like! Just place a bowl of the slightly crushed fritos next to salad bowl. I do this when I make Catalina salad.
This salad is amazing!!!! Absolutely a new favorite. I'm soooooo glad I found it. Thank you so much!!!
So happy to hear this! Yes, anything with a bag of Fritos is pretty much the best thing ever 🙂
Delicious!! Great combo of flavors!!
So glad you loved it!
Just made this for a pool party tonight! I haven’t added the Fritos yet because it will be a few more hours before we devour it. But, I really wanted to try it first or course so I used it as a dip for totstitos and I. Cannot. Stop. Eating. It!! It so so delicious, and I can’t wait to try it with the Fritos! Thanks for the recipe!!
So good to hear! I hope the pool party was fun 🙂 I have no self control around this "salad" either haha 🙂
Do you think you could leave the tomatoes out and it would still work?
Yes. I'm sure that would be just fine.
I literally just made this and couldn’t stop eating it! I had to force myself to put it in the fridge! Come on dinner time!
haha love it!! This stuff is addicting for sure.
This corn salad is really, really good. Great to take to potlucks too, and there's seldom any left. I use a purple onion in mine instead of the green onions. Chili cheese fritos are so good in this, but I'm allergic to them so I use regular fritos but put a shake of chili powder on top, probably about 1/4 teaspoon. I love this stuff and had sorta forgotten about it. I'll put it in my rotation again.
Thanks!
Gold star for this one! Love this salad!! Will be making this more!! Thank you for the recipe?
Have you ever used fresh grilled corn instead of canned?
No I have not but I am sure it would be delicious!