Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)

Learn how to make Mexican Street Corn at home – it’s the perfect corn on the cob recipe for the summer! And bonus: it’s so easy to make! You can grill it or make it in the oven with a garlic mayo, lime juice, cotija cheese, and chili powder for a little heat. Serve it for a barbecue party or enjoy them as a snack!

Corn on the cob ♥

Today we’re making Elotes or essentially, Mexican street corn.

Hello golden corn kernels of flavor! We’ll roast the corn first, brush with creamy garlic sauce, drizzle with lime juice, and finally, sprinkle with cotija cheese and cilantro. You’re most definitely my favorite thing about summer. 

In the spring and summertime, I live for corn recipes. 

Growing up in corn country, aka Illinois, one of our summer activities was to grill corn, squirt it with lemon juice and rub it with salt and chili powder. It’s how my mom always had it back home, and it’s how I like my corn till this day.

Nowadays, I like to add a little bit of Mexican crema, mayonnaise or sour cream in the mix as well. Living in Texas means we have the best Mexican street food at our fingertips, so elote corn and esquites are sold on almost every street corner via a street vendor or a mom and pop Mexican snack store.

If you haven’t heard of Mexican street corn or elotes before, allow me to explain. Mexican street corn is corn on the cob, but loaded with flavor. Seriously. It’s a party in your mouth. The corn is rubbed down with a creamy mayo then rolled around in cotija cheese (or feta if you can’t find cotija), sprinkled with cilantro and chili powder and healthy squeeze of lime juice. Is your mouth salivating? Because I know mine definitely is.

There are probably a million different ways to make Mexican corn. And I’m sure every family has their favorite street corn a little differently.

And so the summer corn tradition continues!

Ingredients for Mexican Corn

• Fresh Sweet Corn: For this recipe, you’ll want to grab fresh sweet corn from the grocery store. Be sure to store the corn in the fridge until you’re ready to grill or bake it in the oven. I like to leave the husk on if I’m making this in the oven, but you can remove the husk if you want grill marks.
• Mayonnaise: Use your favorite brand of mayonnaise for this recipe. It is a substitute for Mexican crema that is readily available in all grocery stores.
• Garlic Powder: I like to add a dash of this to the mayonnaise mixture to give it a bit of flavor, however, you can omit this from the recipe if you’d like.
• Cotija Cheese: Cotija cheese is an aged Mexican cheese made from cow milk. It is similar to a young feta cheese. I have seen parmesan cheese used as a decent substitute for cotija cheese if you cannot find it in your area.
• Cilantro: Chopped cilantro adds both color and flavor. Feel free to omit this from the recipe if you aren’t a fan.
• Chili Powder: You can use Tajin, chipotle chili powder, ancho chili powder or even a dash of cayenne pepper if you’d like. Keep in mind that cayenne will had quite the kick so you may want to go easy on it. You can also use mild chili powder.
• Lime Wedges: You can use lime wedges to give it a bit of an acidic pop. You can also add lime zest to the mayonnaise with garlic powder first for more added lime flavor!

Tips for success! Bought cotija cheese and looking for other ways to use it? Make Blackened Shrimp Tacos, Sheet Pan Street Corn Nachos, Mexican Rice and Corn Salad, and Hearty Chicken Posole.

How to Make Mexican Street Corn Recipe:

1. Baking the corn. If you plan on making this indoors as a side dish for dinner, then preheat your oven ahead of time. You can leave the husk on and as long as you don’t turn the heat up on the oven, you can cook the corn in the husk. Place the corn directly on the wire rack in the oven an let it roast for 35-45 minutes or until the sweet kernels are tender.
2. Roast the corn. In the summer time, I love throwing the corn on the grill. Leave the husk on or remove it together pretty grill marks.
3. Make the garlic mayo. In a bowl, stir together the garlic powder and the mayonnaise. You can also add lime zest to the mayonnaise with garlic powder first for more added lime flavor! I’ve even seen melted butter being added to the mix! Then brush this mixture on the corn.
4. Roll it around in flavor. In a shallow bowl or dish, add the cotija cheese, cilantro, and chili powder. Roll the cooked corn in these ingredients so that they pick up on all that flavor! Then serve with lime wedges to squeeze on top!

Variations on this recipe

• Add Hot Cheetos! It’s very common to get Mexican side dishes topped with crushed up hot Cheetos! So feel free to brush with mayo and then roll the corn around in pulse hot Cheetos for a tangy, spicy twist!
• Prefer to serve this for a party? Why not make a dip version of this!
• Not a fan of mayonnaise? Skip the mayo and brush the hot corn with melted butter instead.
• Need a side dish friendly version? Make a Mexican corn salad.
• Want to serve this all over tortilla chips? Make my street corn nachos!

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