Just add grilled chicken to make it a main dish!
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Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Jalapeño popper corn salad has all the great flavors of jalapeño poppers with minimal prep time—just mix the ingredients and chill before serving!
- This classic side dish is perfect for summer BBQs, cookouts, potlucks, tailgating, and parties any time of the year!
- Fire-roasted corn infuses Mexican corn salad with a delicious smoky flavor.
Sweet corn, fresh jalapenos, shredded cheese, and salty bacon are all smothered in a Ranch-flavored creamy dressing—need I say more?
This easy jalapeno popper corn salad recipe is guaranteed to be one of your favorite new recipes when you're craving something a little spicy!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- I like to buy frozen fire-roasted corn from the grocery store for faster meal prep. However, y’all can roast fresh corn kernels on the stovetop or grill corn cobs if you want.
- Need a vegetarian side dish? Omit the bacon and bacon grease.
- On the other hand, you can swap the bacon for diced ham, pancetta, or crispy prosciutto, if you want.
- If you like spicy foods, amp up the heat by adding the seeds from the jalapeno peppers, plus a teaspoon of chili powder, cayenne pepper, or smoked paprika.
- If you want less heat, you can replace the pepper jack cheese with Swiss cheese, Monterey jack, or Colby jack cheese.
- Toss in some additional seasonings for more depth of flavor. Onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin would be delicious!
- Add chopped red onion to your creamy, spicy corn salad for extra flavor and crunch.
- You can substitute the bacon grease for olive oil or vegetable oil. Your corn salad just won’t be as rich and savory without it.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Mix the softened cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and dry Ranch dressing mix in a large bowl.
- Blend the mixture with an electric beater until smooth.
- Mix in the sharp cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, chopped jalapenos, chopped bacon, bacon grease, salt, and pepper.
- Stir to combine and refrigerate.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Jalapeno popper corn salad is creamy, juicy, and bursting with flavor—it's best eaten the same day you make it.
You can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. Stir well before serving and enjoy chilled or let it sit at room temp for a few minutes.
I don't recommend freezing—the corn loses its crunch and the creamy dressing can separate after thawing.
Expert Tip:
Some people like to use plain yogurt instead of sour cream and reduced-fat mayo/cream cheese to save calories. However, this makes the dressing watery—I say, with a dish this good, splurge and enjoy it the right way!
💭 Things to know
- If you choose to fire-roast your corn fresh, you’ll need 6-8 ears of corn to get 6 cups of corn kernels.
- Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature so it’s easier to blend with the other ingredients.
- Make sure you use a packet of dry Ranch dressing mix, NOT actual Ranch dressing!
- Always wear gloves while handling spicy peppers. The oils can burn your skin and are difficult to wash off with soap!
- Garnish your corn salad with green onions, cilantro, fresh lime juice, candied jalapenos, or extra bacon crumbles.
- This super delicious creamy corn salad makes an amazing side dish or party dip with tortilla chips, Fritos scoops, or little Naan dippers from your favorite wholesale store.
👩🍳 FAQs
You can, but you’ll miss out on the smokiness of fire-roasted corn! It’s one of the best flavors of jalapeno poppers that makes this corn salad so tasty!
I don’t recommend it. Canned corn is soggy and mushy compared to fresh or frozen corn, even after it’s been drained. It will make your corn salad extra watery—no, thank you!
There are a couple of ways. You can roast them in the husks after removing the silk strands on medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the ears of corn occasionally so they cook evenly. Or you can remove the husks and place foil around each ear of corn.
Yep! Just cook the fresh corn kernels in a large skillet with olive oil on medium-high heat until they start to brown, about 3-5 minutes.
Sure! To roast corn in the oven, place the ears of corn on a baking sheet and coat in olive oil. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 15-20 minutes.
Absolutely! I love the kick from pepper jack cheese, but others are tasty, too. Try it with Swiss, mild cheddar, Colby, Monterey jack, crumbled feta, or crumbled queso blanco.
I don’t recommend substituting the sharp cheddar cheese with a milder cheese since you need at least one with a strong flavor to balance out the delicate sweetness of fresh corn.
📚 Related recipes
- Potluck Frito Corn Salad is a yummy combo of corn kernels, bell peppers, onions, cheese, and Fritos chips in a creamy taco-flavored dressing.
- Tex-Mex Pasta Salad is a delicious black bean pasta salad with fire-roasted corn, poblanos, and other classic southwestern flavors—plus, the Texas-shaped pasta is so darn cute!
- Layered with colorful veggies, cornbread, cheese, and bacon, my Southern Cornbread Salad is a great side dish for potlucks and church dinners!
🍽️ Serve with...
If you’ve already fired up your grill to roast corn, keep it running to make this Easy Cajun Spiced Grilled Chicken Breast. It’s juicy, full of bold flavor, and ready in just 20 minutes!
Enjoy sweet ‘n spicy Dr Pepper Baked Beans on the side—they pair perfectly with grilled meats and creamy corn salad!
Then, delight your potluck guests with my vintage Texas Sheet Cake for dessert. The dense, fudgy chocolate frosting and buttery pecans are always a crowd-pleaser!
📞 The last word
While you might think of this tasty salad as a summer dish I really love it all year long. The flavor is out of this world and it's a delicious side dish with all kinds of meats.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Jalapeno Popper Corn Salad
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 6 cups corn, I use fire-roasted frozen corn thawed
- 2 jalapeños, seeds & stems removed, finely chopped
- 8 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped, reserve 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 ounce Ranch dressing mix, the dry mix not the salad dressing.
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated from a block
- 1 cup pepper jack, grated from a block
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 stalks green onions
Instructions
- Blend the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, and Ranch dressing mix until smooth.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients plus the reserved bacon grease.
- Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or more.
- Serve garnished with sliced green onions.
Notes
- Don't use reduced-fat products.
- If you choose to fire-roast your corn fresh, you’ll need 6-8 ears of corn to get 6 cups of corn kernels.
- Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature so it’s easier to blend with the other ingredients.
- Make sure you use a packet of dry Ranch dressing mix, NOT actual Ranch dressing!
- Always wear gloves while handling spicy peppers. The oils can burn your skin and are difficult to wash off with soap!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Terri H Cogdill says
Can't wait to try this for my husband. He absolutely loves the flavor of jalapeños so he will be excited for a new recipe. I will let you know the verdict!