Mexican Street Corn Dip features corn, cotija cheese, cilantro, jalapeno, and other spices in a tangy cream cheese and Greek yogurt base.
I've had an idea to make a Mexican Street Corn-inspired recipe for a while. Coincidentally, I've noticed an influx of Mexican street corn-inspired products lately. From chips to salads, this seems like the hot new food trend.
If you've never had Mexican Street Corn (Elote) yet, now is your chance. The flavorful corn typically features grilled or roasted cobs of corn slathered in a seasoned mayonnaise-based coating, sprinkled with crumbled cotija cheese. If you like corn on the cob, but get bored of eating it with just butter and salt, this really is the dish for you.
The problem is that corn on the cob isn't always in season, especially here in Canada. Enter Mexican Street Corn Dip. Instead of using fresh corn, it uses frozen corn in a creamy base of cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and mayonnaise. Plus, it features the same flavors you know and love from Mexican Street Corn - tangy cotija cheese, cilantro, lime, and chili powder.
While this dip can be served cold, I highly recommend serving it hot. It's perfect for your next game night.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Dip
Start making this flavorful dip by cooking the frozen corn. The fastest and easiest way to do this is by microwaving it. Once the corn is heated through, transfer half of it to a baking sheet and drizzle it with olive oil and salt. Roast the corn until it's browned. This mimics the effect of roasting or grilling the corn cobs of Mexican Street Corn. Note that if you have a toaster oven, you can certainly use that to roast the corn.
While the corn is roasting, you can start mixing up the base of the dip. Stir or blend together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lime juice, chili powder, smoked paprika, and garlic. I use my immersion blender for this, but a food processor (or mini food processor) would work fine too.
Once the base is smooth and evenly mixed, stir in the cooked corn, the roasted corn, the minced jalapeno and cilantro, and the Cotija (or feta).
If you want to serve the dip cold, you can go ahead and serve it now. However, I recommend serving it hot. Transfer the dip to an oven-safe casserole dish. I used a 1-quart (~1L) casserole, or you could split it into two smaller dishes.
Bake the dish for about 20 minutes, stirring it 2-3 times during cooking to ensure that the centre heats evenly. You could also simply microwave the dip, stirring it several times during heating to ensure even heating.
Once the dip is heated through, garnish the top of it with some reserved roasted corn kernels, minced cilantro, jalapeno slices, and/or additional Cotija cheese. Serve with tortilla chips and/or corn chips.
Mexican Street Corn Dip Ingredients
- Frozen corn - I always prefer using frozen corn vs. canned corn for my recipes because it has a fresher flavor.
- Olive oil - or you could substitute a neutral-flavored cooking oil.
- Kosher salt- you don't need much salt in this recipe because the cheese adds enough. You'll just be using a little bit to season the corn.
- Cream cheese - For this recipe, either regular or light cream cheese will work
- Mayonnaise - Feel free to use either regular or light mayonnaise
- Plain Greek yogurt - Any milkfat percentage will work.
- Lime juice - freshly squeezed lime juice is best, but bottled will work here too.
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika - Using smoked paprika will provide a smoky flavor that works well in this dip. You won't get the same flavor from regular paprika, so I really recommend using smoked paprika here.
- Garlic - I recommend using fresh minced garlic, not jarred.
- Jalapeno pepper - You will need one jalapeno pepper, which you will remove the seeds and ribs from, and mince.
- Cotija or crumbled Feta cheese - Cotija cheese is definitely the more authentic ingredient choice here. However, if you're like me and live in an area where it's not readily available, using crumbled Feta is a suitable alternative.
- Minced cilantro
Want more corn recipes?
Mexican Street Corn Dip Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for ⅛th of the recipe. Note that this is for the dip only, and does not include whatever you're dipping into it.
The calculations for the nutrition information use regular cream cheese and mayonnaise (not light), full-fat Greek yogurt, and cotija cheese. Use light or reduced-fat versions of these products to reduce the total fat and calories in the dip.
This recipe is gluten-free as written.
Mexican Street Corn Dip
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the frozen corn in a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes until the corn is heated through.
- Transfer 1-1 ½ cups of the corn to a baking sheet (feel free to use a smaller toaster-oven-sized baking sheet here to avoid heating up the oven, if you have one). Pat the corn dry with a clean towel or paper towel if it's wet. Drizzle the corn on the baking sheet with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Roast the corn at 400°F until it's golden brown (not that if it's not browning after 10-15 minutes, you can switch the oven to broil, and broil for up to 5 minutes, but keep an eye on it to avoid burning. Set the corn aside for now.
- While you're waiting for the corn to roast, start making the rest of the dip. In a medium bowl, stir together 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, ½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 Tablespoons lime juice, 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, and 2 cloves garlic until the mixture is smooth and there are no more lumps of cream cheese. Note that if you're having a hard time getting this mixture smooth by hand, you can use an immersion blender or hand mixer to make it go faster.
- Stir in all of the corn (you can reserve 1-2 Tablespoons of it for sprinkling on top of the dip if you want), the minced jalapeno, ½ cup crumbled Cotija or Feta cheese, and 2 Tablespoons minced cilantro until combined.
- Transfer the dip to a small casserole dish or other oven-safe serving dish. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, stirring the dip 2-3 times during baking to ensure that the middle gets heated through. Alternatively, microwave on high for 2-3 minutes, stirring after every minute to ensure even heating.
- If desired, garnish the dip by sprinkling it with reserved corn, additional minced cilantro, Feta or cotija, jalapeno slices, and/or lime wedges. Serve with tortilla chips, corn chips, or any other crackers or chips that you like.
Nutrition
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