Elote (Mexican Grilled Street Corn)

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

11 Comments

5 from 5 votes
4 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
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Elotes, or Grilled Mexican Street Corn, is an easy side dish topped with mayonnaise, crema, queso fresco, chili powder and lime.

Mexican Corn Salad, BBQ Bacon Oven Roasted Corn and Corn Salsa are just some of the recipes I’ve come up with for  corn, but if you’ve tried all those and still have way too much fresh corn that you need to use up, this is a delicious recipe based off of a favorite Mexican street food.

ELOTE (Mexican Grilled Corn)

Elotes are a type of “antojito,” or street snack, similar to esquites (fried corn) or tamales, and they are the perfect side dish for your next BBQ. This corn recipe is a gluten free dish that you can bring to your next potluck or whip up the next time you have to make a quick dinner. They’re especially great if you got a little overzealous the last time you went to the grocery store and you bought way too many ears of corn.

Elotes are fantastic side dishes and they make great leftovers that you can do quite a lot with. The corn will keep in the fridge for multiple days so you can make it before hand and reheat it when you want to enjoy it. This makes your next BBQ that much easier because the side dish is already done.

HOW TO MAKE ELOTE

  • Start off by shucking the ears of corn.
  • Add the corn to a pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes, then drain it and set aside for later.
  • Mix the mayonnaise and sour cream (or crema) together in a small bowl and then add the chili powder, cayenne powder and salt to the mayonnaise mixture.
  • Sprinkle cotija cheese over the top, add extra chili powder and wedges of lime to serve.

If you liked this recipe and you want some more fun corn dishes, you should check out my Southern Corn Bread, Corn Pudding or Corn Chowder. 

Flavor Variations of Elote:

  • Lemon: If you are out of limes you can serve elotes up with lemon wedges or sprinkle some fresh lemon juice over the top. It gives the corn a fresh, zesty flavor.
  • Parmesan: Trade the cotija cheese for parmesan if you want a milder, softer cheese. You can also crumble feta over the top.
  • Cilantro: Finely chop fresh cilantro and sprinkle it over the top of the corn. The cilantro adds a bold flavor and a pleasant crunch.
  • Crema: Crema is a mixture of heavy cream and buttermilk and it’s delicious on top of corn. Drizzle just a little bit over the top and your mind will be blown. Keep in mind that crema is very rich and a little goes a long way.
  • Tacos: Serve elotes with a big plate of tacos or use your leftover elotes, stripped off of the cob, inside the taco for a delicious dinner and a great way to use up leftovers.
  • Corn salad: Just like the tacos, you can strip your leftover elotes and use the kernels to make corn salad or corn salsa.

What to Serve with Elote:

  • Ultimate Queso Dip: This is a great appetizer that you can whip up last minute.
  • Steak Fajitas: These are easy, fast to make and will keep you full for hours.
  • Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars: These are delicious desserts that are very shareable so you’ll never have to give anyone a bite of yours ever again.

HOW LONG IS IT GOOD?

  • Serve: You shouldn’t leave your elotes out for longer than about 2 hours.
  • Store: Your leftovers will be good for about 5 days in the fridge.
  • Freeze: You can freeze cooked corn on the cob for up to 3 months.

Elote Grilled Corn on foil

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Dinner, then Dessert

Elote

Elote, or Grilled Mexican Street Corn, is an easy side dish topped with mayonnaise, crema, queso fresco, chili powder and lime.
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Side
Cuisine Mexican
Author Sabrina Snyder
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 4 ears corn
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup cotija cheese , crumbled
  • 1 lime , cut into wedges

Instructions

  • Add the corn to a pot of boiling water.
  • Boil for 8-10 minutes then remove from the water and dry well with paper towels.
  • Mix mayonnaise with sour cream and spread all over the corn.
  • Mix together the chili powder, cayenne pepper and salt then sprinkle it all over the corn.
  • Top with the cotija cheese then squeeze a wedge of lime over each ear of corn before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 464mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 421IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 114mg | Iron: 1mg

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Elote with lime

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  3. Such a flavorful way to eat corn! In a perfect world, fresh corn on the cob would be available all year long!

    Reply

  4. I first had elote at the Taste of St. Louis festival, and loved it! So glad I can make it myself now, and enjoy it’s delicious flavor!

    Reply

  6. The directions say to boil the corn for 10 min. When does the grilling come into the recipe? Maybe I missed something ?
    Thank you. It sounds great, otherwise

    Reply

    1. No need to grill this recipe. Just boil as usual and then top and serve. Feel free to grill instead of boiling if you’d like. I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply