Elote is a popular street food originating in the beautiful country of Mexico. It goes perfectly alongside Grilled Chicken, Slow-Cooker BBQ Ribs, and Gourmet Beef Sliders. Exploding with flavor and is so easy to prepare. Beautiful, festive, and so delicious!
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🌽 The Ingredients
Simple, fresh ingredients come together in elote to create an incredible taste sensation bursting with bold, savory, and tangy flavors. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
👉 Substitutions and Variations
- Corn – Fresh is always best; however, if you can’t get fresh ears of corn, you can go with frozen. Allow it to thaw completely before grilling it. We leave the husks on for the initial grilling, but you can remove them completely before cooking them, if desired.
- Cream – Mexican crema can be found in the dairy section of many well-stocked supermarkets or at Hispanic markets. Sour cream mixed with a few dashes of cream (half and half or heavy cream) is a perfect substitution.
- Cheese – Cotija can be found in the specialty cheese section, or the dairy section of many supermarkets, or at Hispanic markets. Any crumbly cheese will work, such as Mexican queso, feta, or even grated Parmesan.
- Flavor enhancers – A sprinkling of cayenne on the corn just before serving is traditional, but can be omitted if you want no spice. Fresh cilantro and freshly squeezed lime are essential for the classic flavor.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
👩🏼🍳 How To Make Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
- Step 1: Pull the husks back, remove the silk, and then seal with a string or a strip of husk.
- Step 2: In a bowl, mix together the cream, mayonnaise, Cotija, cayenne, lime juice, and salt.
- Step 3: Grill the corn with the husks on for 10 minutes.
- Step 4: Remove the husks and grill until charred in spots.
- Step 5: Remove the grill and brush the cream mixture all over the hot corn.
- Step 6: Place on a platter and sprinkle on more Cotija, cilantro, squeezed lime, and cayenne
Expert Tip
You can get a head start on preparing the corn by removing the silk two or three days ahead—while it can be a bit tedious, especially when doubling or tripling the recipe, this early step makes the rest of the preparation quick and easy. If you’re short on time, simply remove the husks before grilling and skip grilling with the husks altogether.
🍽️ How To Serve
- This amazing side dish is wonderful served family style, nice and hot.
- We love to leave the stem intact at the base of each ear so folks can use it to hold the corn while they dress their own and eat it.
- There’s nothing much more festive than placing out a platter piled high with freshly prepared elote.
- You’ll want to have plenty of extra crumbled Cotija cheese, as well as chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and cayenne pepper, so folks can customize their corn. Fun, festive, and so delicious!
Expert Tip
Prepare the sauce at least an hour before grilling the corn and chill it in the refrigerator. Then, slather on the sauce while the corn is good and hot.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can boil or roast the corn as alternatives, but grilling gives elote its signature smoky flavor.
To prevent soggy elote, apply the mayonnaise and cheese just before serving, and avoid covering it for too long.
Absolutely! Check out our recipe for esquites! It’s elote without the cobs!
Yes, traditional elote is naturally gluten-free, making it a great snack for those with gluten sensitivities.
🔥 More Amazing Corn Side Dishes
Ready to make the best corn on the cob on the block? Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo of it, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Elote (Mexican Street Cron)
Video
Equipment
- Gas grill, charcoal grill, or electric grill
Ingredients
- 8 ears fresh corn preferably in husks
- ½ cup Mexican crema or creme fraiche, or sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup Cotija cheese crumbled, see NOTES
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper more for dusting
- 1 lime juiced, about 2 tbsp
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cilantro fresh, chopped
- Lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare your grill for medium-high heat.
- Pull the husks back from each ear of corn. Use your fingers to remove as much of the silk for each ear of corn. Bring the husks back around the ear of corn, and use string, or a strand of the husk to tie the tops of the husks so they stay on the corn. (It's okay if some of the corn is visible through the husks).8 ears fresh corn
- In a medium bowl, mix the Mexican crema (or creme friache or sour cream), mayonnaise, ½ cup crumbled Cotija, cayenne, lime juice, and salt.½ cup Mexican crema, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¾ cup Cotija cheese, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 lime, 1 teaspoon salt
- Cook corn in husks on the grill for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the husks have begun to char. Watch them closely, and move them around the grill often with metal tongs. The husks will burn easily, so stay with them!
- Remove the corn from the grill, and when cool enough to handle, remove the husks from each ear of corn, leaving a portion of the stalk in place. Place the corn back on the grill for about 12 to 15 minutes, until kernels are browned in spots, turning occasionally.
- Remove corn from the grill and place on a large cutting board.
- Brush the cream mixture all over the corn while still hot.
- Place on a platter and sprinkle on the remaining Cotija cheese, the cilantro, freshly squeezed lime, and extra cayenne, if desired. Serve at once.½ cup cilantro, Lime wedges
Notes
Nutrition
POST UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in May 2018, but has been updated with improved tweaks to the recipe with new tips and photography, and a fabulous new video in June 2023!
AJ says
A street food favorite! Will be on our grill this weekend!
Kris Longwell says
Yay! It really is the perfect weekend grill-fest side dish! So yummy! Enjoy and let us know how they turn out!
Chris says
This grilled corn looks absolutely amazing. Can hardly wait to try it this weekend.