Frito Corn Salad is out of this world delicious. Using just a few simple ingredients, you will have a crispy, crunchy and creamy salad that is impossible not to binge eat.
Frito Corn Salad is the perfect addition to your next home BBQ spread. Move over potato salad, there’s a new side dish in town! The smoky flavors of the salad go perfect with anything off of the grill. It is also a great dinner option for those hot summer nights when turning on the oven is the LAST THING you want to do.
This “salad” is anything but bland. In fact, my boys beg for it! They don’t even think of it as a salad because their favorite chip is tossed right in. While they happily gobble up a couple servings of veggies, I chuckle like a mastermind in the corner.
Frito Corn Salad
Unlike traditional lettuce-based salads, this salad is all about the texture. Crushed fritos, red onion, corn, red bell peppers, shredded cheddar cheese and creamy mayo come together to make a salad that eats like a chunky salsa. Bye-bye boring lettuce, hello crunchy-goodness!
The first time I tried this salad at a friend’s house, I was hooked by how filling it was. I started dreaming up different ways to make it more satisfying. Read on and I’ll share a couple of ways you can up the protein content and turn this side dish into a full-on meal.
Best Chips to Use For Frito Salad
Chili Cheese Fritos are by far the best type of Fritos to use in this salad. Unlike plain Fritos, Chili Cheese Fritos are seasoned with a mild chili and cheese flavoring that is a little savory, a little sweet. When you toss the mayo into your salad, the seasoning will blend with it and make a nice dressing that tastes similar to a chipotle ranch.
Tips For Frito Corn Salad
Below I will share my tips for making the perfect Frito Corn Salad. You will have all the crunch, without any of the soggy!
- Add Fritos Right Before Serving – Go ahead and crush up the Fritos ahead of time if you’d like. But, don’t add them in until right before you are going to serve the salad.
- Add Dressing Right Before Serving the Salad – Keep the salad fresh by not tossing in the mayo until right before serving! You want all your veggies to keep a nice, crunchy bite, so hold off on adding the dressing until the time is right.
- Dice Bell Peppers and Onion – Dice your bell peppers and red onion into uniform, small pieces. This will make for a prettier salad! It will also allow the veggies to absorb the dressing better.
- Corn for the Salad – You can use fresh corn that has been boiled or grilled. You can also use canned corn that has been rinsed from any excess salt or frozen corn that has been soaked in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
- Add Protein to the Salad – Toss the salad with some ground beef, chicken or turkey that has been spruced up with taco seasoning right before serving. This will make for a filling meal in and of itself. If you want a more filling vegetarian version, add chunks of avocado and black beans instead.
Other Satisfying Salads to Try
- Black Bean and Corn Salad: This healthy, vegetarian salad can be eaten like a salsa with tortilla chips or all on its own!
- Corn Tomato Avocado: One of my favorite summertime salads, chock-full of juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado and crunchy corn.
- Mexican Tuna Salad: Upgrade your boring, old-school tuna salad with this Mexican twist!
Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz corn
- 16 oz red bell peppers
- 1/2 purple onion
- 1 lb cheddar cheese
- 9 oz chili Fritos
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients for the salad. Dice bell peppers and onion into small pieces. Grate cheese on the larger side of the grater. Break up Fritos a bit, keeping it the size that suits you best.
- If you plan to serve the salad later, lay out the ingredients separately without mixing. Add mayonnaise right before serving the salad.
- Toss everything together and serve right away.
This was delicious!! I added green bell peppers for some color and I used chili cheese Fritos. Wow, is it good!
Sarah, I love the idea of green peppers. I bet it made salad so pretty. I need to try your version next time. Thank you for sharing.
can I fix and keep in frig for later, why serve immediately
Hi Anna, Yes, you absolutely can but only add dressing, cheese and chips right before serving. This way you still get a nicely crunchy fresh salad. Enjoy
Has anyone tried this with the chili cheese fritos?
I only use chili cheese Fritos but add them to individual servings, not mixed in
Hi LeeAnn, I have actually tried it. Loved it with chili cheese Fritos. I think you will love it as long as you like the flavor of them.
I made this years ago and it was great, however I don’t remember if I can use miracle whip instead of mayo? Any ideas?
Hi Shelly- I haven't tried using miracle whip in place of Mayo so I'm not sure how the final taste would be altered. Let us know how it turned out with miracle whip if you give it a go!
I did use the miracle whip and it worked out great… such a yummy salad 🎃
Glad you loved it, Shelly. I appreciate the feedback!
I added a mix of ranch and salsa mixed together as opposed to mayo. Gave it mote of a zesty mexican flavor!
Hey Christine- this is a great tip, and a wonderful alternative if someone doesn't eat mayo. Thank you for commenting!
How do you think Greek yogurt in place of the Mayo would be? I’m anti mayo but everything else sounds delicious. 🤣
Hey Crysti- Ooh I haven't tried subbing the mayo out! I wish I had some advice for you. If you try with the greek yogurt, let us know how it tasted! Enjoy!
Do u drain corn
Hey Janice- I normally use fresh corn, but if using canned then make sure it has been drained and rinsed from any excess salt. Enjoy!
This salad was absolutely amazing!!! My kiddos even loved it!!!
Hello Amy- Yay, it's always a great feeling when even the kids love a recipe! Thank you for sharing 😀
Really good. I used honey bbq fritos and added chicken and avocada. I had a little left over for lunch the next day. While the fritos were softer, it didn't bother me and still tasted great.
Hi Margaret! The addition of chicken is a great call, sounds fantastic! Thanks for giving our recipe a try 😀
It seems like this would go soggy at a cookout??? I plan on bringing this to a potluck. Should I wait to mix it until I arrive? Or do the Fritos stay crisp for a few hours???
Hi Laura- Yes, the chips will go soggy if mixed too far in advance. In the post we mention not mixing the chips in until right before serving so that they stay crunchy. Enjoy!
Are you sure you use a pound of cheese? I doubled your recipe and I had to stop at a half of pound. Otherwise delicious and my family was so surprised that they liked it. My daughters had a plate full each. 😋
Hey Denise- Yes, that is correct. You can halve or adjust the quantity to taste! I'm so glad your family enjoyed this recipe.
This sounds delicious! I can't stand mayo so hoping I can switch it out for sour cream (jazzed up with spices). But if I add ground beaf or any other meat, would you recommend the meat be chilled or warm and mix in right before eating?
Hi Cari- I'd say go with room temp or cold meat, I think that would work best with the crisp veggies and crunchy chips. Enjoy!! 🙂
I agree with a previous comment about adding cumin and chili powder. I also added a small can of diced green chiles. The only thing I think it still needed was some chopped cilantro on top. Great recipe, thanks!
Hi Connie, everything you added to your salad sound like wonderful additions! Yum! Thanks for commenting 🙂
To scale up, look at the serving size amount/servings per container on the can/bag of corn and you can go from there.
Thank you for the tip, Andrea!
Is bagged store bought cheese ok or is it better to shred it yourself?
I prefer to shred it myself. Already shredded cheese has a special preservative in it for it to last longer and to prevent moisture clumping it up.
Hi Laura, great question! Either one will work. Enjoy the salad, its so good!
Would it be ok to use ranch dressing instead of mayo? I'm not a mayo fan! 🤪
Hey Stephanie, we can be best friends ... lol.. I am not a fan of mayo but in this recipe I don't mind it. I think it will work with ranch as well.
I need to make 3 gallons of this how do I adjust your recipe below?
Hi Talia - Oh boy, this might be above my pay grade in the math department LOL. My guess would be to make one batch and see how it measures up to a gallon and then go from there. Hope this helps!
Any luck in scaling up the recipe? I would also love to make a large amount, and wondering how it went.
Hey Annette, you can definitely double or triple the recipe. It's a good one, glad you feel the same way. 🙂
Delicious! Made it and used primal kitchen chipotle lime mayo. Perfect
Hi Malissa - OMG! We love that dressing. Such a great brand. Glad you enjoyed this salad. 🙂
Made this for a family birthday party with adults and kids. Went over very well and was very easy to make. Used 3 bags of frozen corn (so about 30 ozs) that I steamed and then cooled. Did as instructed and mixed all the ingredients except Fritos and chilled for 3 hours. Added crushed Fritos right before serving. Only reason I did not give this recipe 5 stars is because I think it needed a little bit more spicing up. I added some onion powder, garlic powder, a little bit of cumin, some Adobo seasoning, and a tiny bit of chili powder. It just needed that little bit of ooomph! Two people asked for this recipe after the party.
Hi Mary Jo - Thanks for such detailed feedback here. We really appreciate it. Glad that the recipe went well overall and you were able to spice it up to your liking. It might be a good idea for us to add a note about adding in some dried seasonings to taste for that extra oomph. Have a great day!
Can I use Miracle Whip?
Did you try the Miracle Whip?
Hi Jan, I haven't tried using Miracle Whip but I'm sure it will work fine as a substitute. Enjoy!
Can I layer the salad topping it with mayo and chips?
Yes, you can layer the salad. That’s a great idea.
This salad was a hit. Added some shredded chicken I had leftover from deep fried thighs we had earlier.. tasted amazing! Thanks. Try it guys!
Great idea on the chicken. Thank you for sharing your feedback, Elena! I'm glad you liked the salad.
I see the nutritional facts below, but checking to see if someone can tel me how much is a serving?
This salad makes 8 servings, its about 1 cup per serving. Enjoy
Natalya, thank you and Tim for your hard work
on creating easy and tasty recipes, and of course for the renewed website --I love it!
I also noticed that your writing style changed, which I also like, but kind of miss those silly typos from the past. 😄
Blessings to your family and lots of inspiration for many years ahead!
I even imagine a restaurant under this brand with small but tasty menu of mom's dishes.
Olga, I read this last night and it literally made my may. The time you took to notice the writing and the little details, it means so much! We did get help with writing, I learned that I can cook but can't write.. lol 🙂 So now someone looks over it before it gets out to the public.
are you supposed to heat up the corn or add it to the salad cold, straight from the can?
Add it cold, just drain and rinse.
Wow! But I have a question, do you mix the salad with mayo or put it on some kind of layer?
I stir in mayo right before serving. Don't put it between layers.
Thanks!