It’s about that time of the year when people are lighting up the grill for their summer BBQ parties. There’s nothing better than getting the family together, the smell of the local food on the grill, and enjoying the great outdoors. These easy cookout side dishes will go perfectly in any BBQ meal.
Mexican Sweet Corn
For our main course, we had pork taco complete with all the fixings! But our 4th of July Celebration just wouldn’t be complete without corn, so we fired up the grill and made one of our favorite sides, Mexican Sweet Corn.
For this recipe you need:
Shucked and Cleaned Corn
Butter for grilling
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican cream
2 tsp chili powder or ancho powder
Grated Cojita cheese
Lime Wedges
Step One: Mix Ingredients
Mix up the mayonnaise, cream, and powder.
Step Two: Grill the Corn
Set the corn on the grill for about 15 minutes or until it’s slightly charred. Cover the corn with butter.
Step Three: Cover the Corn
You can either remove the corn from the cob and mix with ingredients in a bowl or you can spread the mixture on the corn cob.
Step Four: Finishing Touches
Once each of the corn cobs is covered in the mixture, it’s time to roll in the Cojita cheese.
If you can also add a bit of lime juice for an extra kick. Now it’s ready to enjoy!

Mexican Sweet Corn
Ingredients
- Shucked and Cleaned Corn
- Butter for grilling
- 1/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican cream
- 2 tsp chili powder or ancho powder
- Grated Cojita cheese
- Lime Wedges
Instructions
- Step One: Mix up the mayonnaise, cream, and powder.
- Step Two: Set the corn on the grill for about 15 minutes or until it's slightly charred. Cover the corn with butter.
- Step Three: You can either remove the corn from the cob and mix with ingredients in a bowl or you can spread the mixture on the corn cob.
- Step Four: Once each of the corn cobs is covered in the mixture, it's time to roll in the Cojita cheese. If you can also add a bit of lime juice for an extra kick. Now it's ready to enjoy!
Summer Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Another one of our summer cookout side dishes is black bean and corn salsa. This cool, fresh cookout side dish is a crowd pleaser!
2 c cooked black beans
4 ears of corn, cooked and cut off the cob
2 jalapenos, seeded, and chopped finely
1 small red onion chopped finely
4 medium tomatoes diced finely
2 cloves of garlic crushed
3 T chopped cilantro
1 lime, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste
Step One: Cook Corn and Beans
Start your corn on the stove or on the grill, then start your black beans too.
Step Two: Prep Vegetables
Finely dice your peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic and set them off to the side.
Step Three: Combine Ingredients
Mix beans, corn, peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro. Juice limes over top. Add salt and pepper for taste.
Summer Black Bean and Corn Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 c cooked black beans
- 4 ears of corn cooked and cut off the cob
- 2 jalapenos seeded, and chopped finely
- 1 small red onion chopped finely
- 4 medium tomatoes diced finely
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 3 T chopped cilantro
- 1 lime cut in half
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix beans, corn, peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro. Juice limes over top. Add salt and pepper to taste
Thanks for checking out our favorite cookout side dishes! Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite grilled or chilled summer favorite! Also, grab our 4th of July banner to help decorate your space- download the 4th of July Banner.
Don’t forget to save these yummy cookout side dishes for later!