Spicy Street Corn Potato Salad

A spicy potato salad perfect for summer picnics.

summer potato salad

Just in time for the 4th of July. Spice up your picnic with a tex-mex twist on this summer staple. The potato salad blends the vinegary/mayo slathered potatoes with black beans, sweet corn, and spicy peppers.

Time You Need

  • ~20 minutes prep
  • ~20 minutes cooking (depends on corn cooking method)
  • ~30 minutes resting

What You Need

  • 4 ears of fresh corn
  • 8-10 red potatoes, washed and quartered (skin on or off is totally up to you).
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup of crumbled cotija cheese
  • 1 minced sweet onion
  • 1 tbsp adobo sauce
  • 1 diced chipotle pepper
  • 1 chopped red pepper, seeded
  • 1 can of diced green chilies
  • A ½ cup of diced green onion
  • 1 can of black beans, drained and dried
  • ½ cup diced canned jalapeno
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Zest of 1 fresh lime

What You Do

  • If grilling the corn: Soak it in cold water for 15 minutes. Then cook on the grill for about 8 minutes while turning slowly.
  • For those without a grill: Use a grill pan or skillet. For this method, you want to cook the corn in boiling water first, for about 8-10 minutes. Then you use the grill pan to get the corn charred before removing it from the cob, or remove the corn from the cob, then char it in a cast iron skillet by cooking it over medium high heat for 5-7-ish minutes.
  • All methods are fine, and depending on which you choose, you’ll end up with a bowl or plate of slightly charred corn off the cob. Place that to the side.
  • In a large pot of salt water, place the quartered potatoes and bring to a boil. Then let them cook for about 20 minutes at a medium simmer, till tender.
  • Remove the potatoes from the heat, drain water, and set to the side.
  • In a big old mixing bowl, toss in mayo, sour cream, crumbled cotija, onions, black beans, your seasonings, the chipotle and other diced peppers, and adobo sauce, the vinegar, the lime zest, and corn kernels. Add the potato cubes and mix well. Cover the bowl and let sit in the fridge for at least a half hour (or more) to let the flavors mix and settle.
  • Serve and enjoy! Feel free to top with more lime zest or cheese.