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This Mexican street corn dip recipe is inspired by the irresistible flavors of elote: sweet corn: zingy lime, spicy chili, and savory crumbled cheese. No one can resist it!
Looking for a fast and easy dip to impress everyone? Try this Mexican street corn dip! Alex and I are huge fans of elote (Mexican street corn): it’s one of our very favorite taste treats. This dip recipe riffs on the flavors to make a tasty dip for eating with crunchy tortilla chips.
The pops of sweet corn against the tangy lime, zingy green chiles and salty crumbled cheese is truly irresistible! Whenever we make it, people go crazy for this recipe. It’s quick to put together with canned corn, though any type of cooked corn works too (especially grilled corn). It also doubles as a simple side for tacos!
Ingredients in Mexican street corn dip
This Mexican corn dip is inspired by the flavors of Mexican street corn, aka elote or equites: corn that’s slathered in a creamy sauce made with lime and chili powder, coated with crumbly Cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. (It’s up there as one of our top favorite dishes!) Elote is grilled corn on the cob, and esquites is corn kernels served in a cup with a spoon.
This dip recipe is not authentic to Mexican cuisine, but it celebrates the flavors of these traditional dishes in a quick dip you can eat with tortilla chips. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Mayonnaise
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Lime juice
- Chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt
- Canned corn (or cooked corn)
- Green onion
- Red pepper
- Cilantro
- Canned green chiles
- Cotija cheese or feta cheese
For the corn: use canned or cooked
This Mexican corn dip uses canned corn, which has great flavor (we recommend it versus frozen, which can taste rather bland). But if you have fresh corn on the cob on hand and want to cook it, even better! Here are a few easy methods for cooking corn:
- Grilled: Grilled corn adds big flavor to this corn dip! Try Perfect Grilled Corn or Grilled Corn in Foil.
- Boiled: Go for the quick and classic method: Boiled Corn on the Cob.
- Roasted: Roasting is a hands-off method for cooking corn. Try Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob.
You can also microwave corn on the cob, but you can only cook up to 4 cobs at once. This recipe requires about 5 cobs, so it’s a less efficient method. We recommend microwaving when you want to cook 1 or 2 cobs.
Cotija cheese vs feta cheese
You might wonder: why is feta cheese in a Mexican recipe when it’s Greek in origin? Well, it’s a substitute for Mexican Cotija! Cotija cheese is a Mexican cow’s milk cheese: it’s white with a dry texture and salty flavor. You can buy it fresh or aged, but it’s usually easiest to find fresh at the grocery.
Can’t find Cotija? You can substitute feta cheese: it has a similar texture and salty flavor to Cotija. Queso fresco is another similar Mexican cheese, but the flavor is very mild and not nearly as salty as Cotija. We wouldn’t recommend using it here.
Ways to serve Mexican corn dip
This Mexican corn dip is very versatile: you can even serve it as a side instead of a dip! Here are a few ways to serve this recipe once you’ve mixed up the ingredients:
- As a party dip
- Summer appetizer
- Side for tacos
- Side for enchiladas
- As a side (without the chips)
- Over fish (like the fish fillets from Grilled Fish Tacos)
- For lunches
Storing leftovers
This Mexican corn dip stores well: keep it for up to 3 days refrigerated. (You likely can store even longer, but it does become slightly watery over time.) Make sure to bring it to room temperature prior to serving.
Dietary notes
This Mexican corn dip recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Mexican Street Corn Dip
This Mexican street corn dip recipe is inspired by the irresistible flavors of elote: sweet corn: zingy lime, spicy chili, and savory crumbled cheese. No one can resist it!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dip
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon each garlic powder and cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 3 cans corn kernels, drained (or 4 ½ cups cooked corn or grilled corn*)
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1/2 red pepper, finely diced
- 3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
- 7 ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 cup crumbled Cotija cheese or feta cheese
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and kosher salt.
- Prepare the corn, green onions, red pepper and cilantro as noted above. Mix together the drained corn, chopped vegetables, green chiles, cheese, and dressing. If desired, top with a sprinkle more cheese crumbles. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Notes
*This should require about 5 cobs corn, depending on their size.
More dip recipes
Love to dip? Here are a few favorite dip recipes you’ll love:
- Grab Loaded Hummus Dip
- Go for creamy French Onion Dip
- Try Easy Fruit Dip or Quick Veggie Dip
- Opt for Amazing Avocado Dip
Phenomenal recipe!!! My family FLIPPED out over it! A regular fir sure!
Hello,
I really enjoy your recipes and I want to purchase your cookbook ;however, I live in Canada and they want 20.00 for shipping. Is there any other way I can obtain a hardcover copy of your wonderful recipes. I don’t have a reliable computer nor do I own a printer. I need an actual hard copy cook book as trying to do obtain your recipes off of the site is very troublesome.
Kindly
sami
Thank you! The cookbook has 100 recipes not on our website. You should be able to get it at any bookstore in Canada — if it’s not in-stock they can special order it.
Best,