Mexican Street Corn Barley Salad

Thanks for sharing!

This Mexican Street Corn Barley Salad is packed with the flavors of the street cart favorite, but in a great side for a picnic, potluck or BBQ. Make it ahead for a fun side dish!

It’s Cinco de Mayo week everyone! Of course that calls for a fiesta and plenty of delicious food. So grab a margarita and get comfy because some of my blogger friends and I have been cooking up a storm in preparation for the fiesta!

We love Mexican food in our house.   Really I doubt much of what we have is very authentic at all. Maybe it’s more Tex-Mex.

Perhaps it’s Mexican fusion? At the very least it’s Mexican inspired. Yeah, we’ll go with that!

I am not disciplined enough to actually follow through on a weekly food tradition, but if I was Taco Tuesday would be a strong contender.

We all love them (and fajitas, nachos, enchiladas, burritos, chimichangas and more!) MiMi sometimes does taco bars for family dinners too and that is always a hit.

So it was hard to narrow down what I wanted to share with you for #MexicanRecipes week. In the end, I decided to kick the week off with a flavorful side dish.

As the weather is turning warmer, I have fresh produce on the brain. This is inspired by the street vendors who grill corn on the cob and do it up right.

Of course we don’t have fresh corn on the cob quite yet in the Midwest, but some frozen corn toasted in a hot skillet works almost as well!

This is perfect served alongside some tequila lime chicken or would make a great take along for a picnic or potluck. You can make it ahead which is always a bonus too.

I made a big batch and served it as a side for dinner. Then I stirred in some beans and leftover chicken for quick lunches at work during the week. It was great both ways!

Mexican Street Corn Barley Salad

Carlee

Mexican Street Corn Barley Salad is packed with the flavors of the street cart favorite, but in a great side for a picnic, potluck or BBQ. Make it ahead for a fun side dish!

4.84 from 6 ratings

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Additional Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 12 Servings

Calories 205 kcal

Equipment

• Oneida Casserole Spoon
• Anchor Hocking 2 Quart Glass Batter Bowl With Lid

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup Pearled barley
• 1 Tablespoon bacon grease or vegetable oil
• 2 pounds frozen corn defrosted
• 2 green onions
• 1 can green chiles
• ½ bunch cilantro
• 5 oz. queso fresco
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• ⅓ cup sour cream
• 3 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

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Instructions

 

• Cook barley according to package directions, or bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add barley and return to a boil. Drop heat to low, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 Tablespoon of bacon grease or vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add corn in batches and and cook until there are dark brown bits. Remove the corn and keep toasting the corn until it has all taken a turn in the pan. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together green onions, chiles, cilantro, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, garlic powder, chili powder and salt. Add barley and corn and stir to coat.
• Crumble queso fresco and stir into barley mixture.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Taste and adjust seasoning to your taste.Serve with additional cilantro and queso fresco if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 205kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 277mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4g

Tried this recipe?Mention @carleecooks or tag #cookingwcarlee!

Thanks for sharing!