Mexican Street Corn can be made in the grill or oven and seasoned with a zesty mixture of cilantro, lime, chili, and garlic, topped with tangy cheese.
Well, September is here and kids are back to school. Summer is pretty much over, but I'm still holding on. Labor Day hasn't come and gone yet, and it's 30°C out!
In fact, we've decided to book one last summer road trip and head to Minneapolis-St. Paul this final long weekend of summer. We'd been humming and hawing over whether to do this trip for some time now, but when we found out the State Fair is on, it sealed the deal.
It will be my first State Fair ever! So while I'm eating deep-fried food on a stick, you can be making yourself some final days of summer food of your own. Like this Mexican Street Corn.
This is one of Hubby's favorite dishes, and he has been asking me to put the recipe on the blog for some time now. I didn't do it earlier because I make it slightly differently every time, trying to perfect the recipe.
The good news is that this corn is versatile. You can make it either in the oven or on the grill with equally appealing results. So apartment dwellers can make it just as easily as those with a backyard grill. And grill lovers don't have to worry about turning on the oven when it's hot.
How to make Mexican Street Corn
It's pretty fast and very easy to make this corn. If you think you'll be in a rush at dinner time, and you need to make it even quicker, you can make the mayonnaise mixture that you brush on the cooked corn ahead of time and store it in the fridge.
You can also go ahead and get the corn shucked and ready to go. I have tried pre-cooking the corn, and then brushing with the mayo mixture and reheating under the broiler at mealtime, but ended up with dried out corn. Not worth it.
Mexican Street Corn Ingredients
If you're looking at the ingredient list and wondering about the queso fresco or cotija, they are both Mexican cheeses that are pretty commonly available in Latin markets or larger grocery stores.
Queso fresco is a soft, fresh cheese that's fairly salty. Cotija is a harder cheese more like romano. I bought mine pre-shredded. I have used both types of cheeses with great results, and when I used to make this in Canada, I used crumbled Feta with equally delicious results.
So don't hesitate to make this recipe if you can't find the Mexican cheese, it'll still taste great!
- Mayonnaise - either regular or light will work.
- Minced cilantro
- Lime juice - Fresh-squeezed lime juice is best, but bottled will work too.
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Salt
- Large cobs corn - choose the freshest corn you can find.
- Olive oil
- Queso fresco or cotija cheese
Want more corn recipes?
Mexican Street Corn Nutrition Notes:
The nutrition information in the recipe below uses regular mayonnaise and queso fresco for the calculations.
Serve Mexican Street Corn with a food that is high in protein like grilled fish or meat and a green vegetable like garden salad to make a complete meal.
This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian as written.
Mexican Street Corn
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (either regular or light will work)
- 2 Tablespoons minced cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 6 large cobs corn shucked
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ounce queso fresco or cotija cheese crumbled (see note)
Instructions
- In a small bowl stir together ⅓ cup mayonnaise, 2 Tablespoons minced cilantro, 1 Tablespoon lime juice, minced garlic, 1 teaspoon chili powder, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Set aside, or refrigerate until ready to use.
Oven Method
- Move oven rack to highest position and turn oven to broil. Lightly spray or brush corn cobs with olive oil and set on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Place baking sheet on the top rack in oven and broil until tops of corn are browning, about 10 minutes. Flip cobs over and continue to broil until the other side is browning, 5-10 additional minutes.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and brush mayonnaise mixture evenly over each cob of corn. Sprinkle crumbled cheese over the corn. Serve.
Grill Method
- Turn all burners to high and preheat for 15 minutes. Lightly spray or brush corn cobs with olive oil and set on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Place corn directly on the grill. Grill for about 10 minutes until the bottoms are beginning to brown. Turn cobs and continue to grill until the other side of the cobs are browning, 5-10 more minutes.
- Remove cobs from grill and place on a platter. Brush mayonnaise mixture evenly over each cob of corn. Sprinkle crumbled cheese over the corn. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Vicky Cassidy says
This looks awesome. Hopefully there is still corn at the market tomorrow so I can try this one, otherwise pinning for next year!