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Creamy, crunchy, with bursts of flavor & tons of color, Frito Corn Salad is a classic potluck, cookout and tailgate side dish. Loaded with zesty bell pepper, onion, cheddar cheese, crisp whole kernel corn and crunchy, salty Frito Corn Chips, this quirky little salad is just this side of addictive!

A wooden bowl filled with large Frtio corn chips, corn, green and red bell pepper, purple onion and a spicy creamy dressing to make a tailgate or cookout salad with lots of texture.

What is Frito Corn Salad?
Have You Made My Other 5 ⭐️ Corn Salad?
What To Know Before Getting Started
How To Make Frito Corn Salad
Serving Ideas
How To Store Leftovers
Making Ahead of Time
Other Potluck Side Dishes You’ll Love

Oh my, this little corn party has it going on! Is it a dip? Is it a salad? It’s wildly both in one glorious bite! The sweet corn against the sharp bite of the peppers and onion. The salty chips. And the cool and creamy dressing with the shredded cheese. If you’ve never, you really must!

Other than it’s addictive taste and fun bits of color (hence the name confetti), the ease in which this perfect side dish comes together is why it’s always tops!

Crowd pleaser! I added diced jalapeños for some kick. Will definitely make this again!

-Morgan

Looking down into Frito Corn Salad in a wooden bowl to show the ingredients and crunchy texture of the salad.

What is Frito Corn Salad?

This corn salad recipe is absolutely my favorite kind of thing- classic get together food! Game days, tailgates, potlucks, backyard bbqs, you name it, if there is a group of people doing something together, this salad tends to be right in the middle!

Get ready for a fun “dip made into a salad” kind of vibe with a distinct southwest flavor! It starts with raw fresh corn or drained canned corn mixed with diced green and red bell peppers, purple onion and a little grated sharp cheddar.

The dressing is one part mayo and one part cool sour cream with a little chili powder, cumin, cracked black pepper, a spritz of lime juice. The special touch is the definitely the Frito Corn chips! It’s what everyone will remember!

Have You Made My Other 5 ⭐️ Corn Salad?

It’s also a reader cookout + tailgate favorite with yummy southwest flavors! Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

What To Know Before Getting Started

The ingredients needed for this fun corn salad, including Fritos corn chips, red and green bell pepper, purple onion and cheddar cheese.

I’ll walk through an overview of ingredients & steps in these next sections along with helpful tips!

Look for specifics at the end of the post in the recipe card.

canned or fresh whole kernel corn
grated sharp cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend cheese)
green bell pepper
red bell pepper
red onion
Fritos corn chips (I like to use the larger “Scoops” size.)

Dressing

real mayonnaise
sour cream
chili powder
cumin
cracked black pepper
lime juice

Want to spice this salad up?

Try adding a diced fresh jalapeño or using Chili Cheese Fritos instead of plain. A sprinkle of Tajin seasoning across the top before serving is also a great flavor boost!
Want a little more color + flavor? Add chopped fresh cilantro as a garnish before serving.

How To Make Frito Corn Salad

A four part grid showing photos of the chopping corn and peppers, making the mayo and sour cream dressing, adding the dressing and folding in the corn chips last for freshness.

Prep the Veggies. If you’re using canned corn, drain in well. If you’re using fresh corn, it can be raw right off the cob!

Dice the peppers and onions. I like to grate my own cheese, but preshredded bagged cheese will do in a pinch.

In a large bowl, toss corn, cheese, bell peppers and onion together.

Make the Dressing. In a 2 C measuring cup (I prefer a measuring cup over a mixing bowl because the cup is much easier to pour from!), whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad & toss again.

Add the Crunch. Before serving, fold in your corn chips. You don’t want to add them any earlier because they will get soft. You want them to be as crunchy and fresh as possible!

Pouring the creamy sour cream and and mayonnaise dressing seasoned with chile powder, lime and cumin over the corn and peppers before adding the chips.

Serving Ideas

If you’re worried that your salty corn chips are going to lose their crunch before your guests will get to taste your Frito Corn Salad, or if you’re going to be at a party or tailgate where your salad is going to sit for a long time, consider serving your chips on the side for some “for real” dipping action. Guests can add their own chips- as much or as little as they like!

This is also a great way to serve your diced jalapeños (if you add them) and Tajin seasoning. Who doesn’t like a little personalization by adding their own “extra” toppings?

A bowl of Frito Corn Salad with a scoop in a serving spoon to show what the salad looks like with the corn chips when served.

How To Store Leftovers

You can store leftover Frito Corn Salad in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 1-2 days. The chips will become soft, but the flavor will still be good.

Making Ahead of Time

To make this Frito corn salad recipe the day before, chop your veggies, grate your cheese, make the dressing, combine. Cover or place in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. Fold in your chips before serving.

If you want to make it more than 1 day ahead, fold in the cheese when you fold in the chips. The cheese will start to break down the longer it sits in the dressing.

A bowl of Frito Corn Salad with someone holding a corn chip full of salad to show how it can be dipped as well as eaten with a fork.

Other Potluck Side Dishes You’ll Love