Street Corn Burgers

The bright fresh flavors of Mexican street corn, served like a salad on top of a burger! Each bite gives you the savory juicy burgers, with a bright refreshing kick of spicy and tart corn! This corn salad, also known as esquites, is really the perfect topping for a burger.

The inspiration for this recipe

I love puting salads on burgers. Might seem weird but it is really good! If I had to choose between bright and fresh burger toppings or heavy and over the top burger toppings, I would usually pick the bright and fresh. It creates a balanced burger! I have done it with egg salad, potato salad, and watermelon salad, plus many more! I realized the salad version of Mexican street corn, also known as esquites, would be perfect on a burger!

Make the street corn salad

I have two phases when I make esquites, I like to first add some ingredients when the corn is hot, then add others when the corn is cold. Thaw and cook the frozen corn with some butter to char it slightly, then add it to a bowl. Adding the mayo, garlic, and lime juice now will allow the flavors to really meld into the corn.

Then after it cools, I add more lime, and ingredients like cilantro, cotija, and scallions that would wilt or taste different if added hot. Taste and adjust seasonings until it tastes like your ideal version of Mexican street corn, perfect to go on a burger!

Make the burgers

You could do this on a traditional burger patty. I did it that way in the past. This time I did smash burgers though, and it came out awesome! Especially cause I smashed the burger into a pile of thin sliced jalapenos. The flavor of the charred jalapenos was fantastic on the street corn burger!

Pile up the burgers with layers of cheddar cheese.

Build up the street corn burger

Toasted bun, mayo, double smash burger, and then the street corn salad we made earlier. That’s it! So tasty!

I love the taste of a cool refreshing salad on top of a burger.

The flavors in this street corn salad ae a perfect match for a savory smash burger! It tastes fresh, bright, and crunchy with a little tang.

Twists on the street corn smash burger

I mentioned that you could do this with a regular burger patty instead of a smash burger. You could also adjust the corn salad to your personal tastes! This is the version I often look at when I am coming up with my recipe.

For more twists on elote, esquites, or Mexican street corn flavors, check out my deviled eggs, esquites chicken sub, elote style corn dogs, or this street corn inspired kimchi pancake!