Mexican Corn on the Cob

Mexican corn on the cob is char-grilled and spiced to your liking. It is the perfect side dish to any Mexican dish.

Street corn, or Mexican corn on the cob is a mouth-watering side, perfect for summer BBQs! Try pairing this with Flavorful Spanish Rice, Mexican Black Beans, or Refried Beans.

AKA Elote

Mexican street corn, also known as elote, is a really popular antojito (street food). It is essentially grilled corn smothered in a creamy mayo sauce and topped with chili powder, cheese and lime.

It’s one of my favorite summer side dishes, and it’s so easy to make at home! It is fresh, flavorful, and the seasonings can be adjusted to your liking.

You can eat it alone as a side dish, cut if off the cob and scoop it up with tortilla chips, or spoon it onto tacos, nachos, or quesadillas. No matter how you eat it, this juicy side is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Fresh + Easy

PREP. Preheat the grill to medium high heat.

SAUCE. In a small bowl add the mayo, lime juice, and cumin together. Set aside

GRILL. Lightly oil the grill grates and place the cobs on. Grill for 7-9 minutes or until hot and the cobs are slightly charred all over.

GARNISH & ENJOY! After removing them from the grill immediately roll the cobs in the butter and then roll it into the mayo mixture. Sprinkle the cheese and chili powder over the cobs.

Tips + Tricks

Ingredients:

• It is typical to use chili powder and sometimes paprika for your best seasoning options. You can switch up what type of chili powder you prefer however!

• While you can use ricotta or feta, cotija cheese really is the best cheese option for an authentic recipe.
• If you don’t have Mexican crema you can easily use sour cream. The only difference between the two ingredients is that Mexican crema is thinner and has added salt.
• To make it healthier, instead of sour cream you could use plain Greek yogurt. This will cut down on fat, but it isn’t recommended because the flavor difference between sour cream and Greek yogurt is pretty extreme. 
• It is best to use fresh corn for the best flavor. Using old corn on the cob, or frozen(and possibly freezer-burned) corn means that it could dry out during the cooking process. 

You can grill the corn for 8-10 minutes until it is charred and cooked through. After this you can spread the crema and cheese mixture over the cooked corn.

You can easily boil your corn, then let it cool for five minutes or so before skewering it and spreading your crema and cheese on top of it.

There is no great way to eat this without it getting messy. Just do your best! Or you can shave off all the corn and make it an elote dip of sorts.

Store + Freeze

Place the corn on the cobs on a plate, cover it with plastic wrap, and STORE in the fridge for 3-5 days. REHEAT in the microwave. It is best to store the corn on the cob before adding your crema and cheese, because trying to reheat it with the cream won’t turn out very well.

This dish doesn’t FREEZE well because the creamy mixture separates during the freezing process. If you want to, you can freeze the corn on the cob and apply the cream mixture after reheating the corn.

This is kind of a make in the moment dish and doesn’t taste quite the same when you make it ahead of time. As soon as the corn is ready the cream mixture, spices, and cheese can easily be sprinkled on top. You can have the cream and cheese in the fridge ready to go throughout the week and cook the corn as needed.

This is a great side dish to pair with:

• Chile verde soup
• Instant pot carnitas
• Black bean tacos
• Chicken enchilada soup