Mexican Street Corn (Authentic Elotes)

Last Updated August 25th, 2022 at 12:41 pm by Lisa

Authentic Mexican street corn aka elotes is fire grilled and brushed with a creamy cilantro sauce sprinkled with Cotija cheese and dusted with chile powder.

Traditional elotes are served by street vendors and off food trucks all over Mexico and sprinkled with toppings. You hold the corn by the husk handle as you enjoy every delicious, slightly spicy, creamy sweet, and crunchy bite...

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Authentic Mexican Street Corn Recipe "Elotes Mexicanos"

• 6 ears of sweet fresh corn (silks removed, husks tied)
• ¼ cup Cotija cheese (to sprinkle on top)
• 1 pinch of chile powder (or hatch or pinch of cayenne pepper) 
• creamy mayonnaise cilantro sauce
• garnishes: lime wedges and chopped cilantro

creamy cilantro sauce

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• ½ serrano chili fine diced, seeds removed-these are hot!
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

1. In a food processor, blend the creamy mayonnaise, cilantro, lime juice, serrano chile, garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt.
2. Blend until well combined, place in a small bowl, and chill until ready to use.

Elote Variations

All of the ingredients for Mexican corn are easy to find in your local grocery store. To make a more authentic elote recipe, use Mexican crema, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

• serrano chiles are usually very hot, only use ½ of a serrano in this recipe. You could also substitute a jalapeno. 
• for the non-cilantro fans, you can substitute flat-leaf parsley in place of cilantro
• you can swap out Mexican crema for mayo although mayo is commonly used
• you can swap out mayo for American sour cream, but it won't be as creamy
• sprinkle of chili powder - use chile de árbol (hot), hatch chile (hot), paprika, or a tiny pinch of spicy cayenne if you like it hot!
• good substitutes for fresh Cotija cheese are either feta cheese, parmesan cheese, or Romano.
• drizzle hot sauce from Mexico of your choice, like Tapatio or Cholula

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Prep The Elote (Corn)

1. Remove all the silks of the corn under running water but not the husks. Pull the husks back from each ear of corn.
2. Tie with cotton kitchen string and or a long piece of husk to hold the husks back from the corn kernels.
3. Dip or briefly soak the corn with tied husks in water, to help prevent husks and cotton string from burning on the grill.

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Grill The Elote

1. Preheat your grill, gas, or charcoal, to 500 degrees so the flames are at medium high heat. That means It is hot enough when you can hold your hand above the grill for only one second.
2. Grill corn 2 minutes per side, about 8 minutes total. Rotate until all sides have char marks. If the husks burn, just move till the flame goes out. Keep the lid open so you can keep an eye on them and rotate.
3. Remove from the grill onto a platter, and brush the cilantro sauce all over the corn. Sprinkle with cotija cheese, and a pinch of chile powder. Garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges. It's nice to squeeze a lime over the corn too!

Mexican Corn Elotes FAQ

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Grilled Corn Recipe

Make Grilled Corn On The Cob the easy way, it takes just 15 minutes to prep, requires no boiling water, and grills in 10 minutes. There are endless flavor options using spices you have like bbq rub, seasoning salt, or just as good with a little salt and pepper.

This easy recipe is delicious for BBQs and cookouts. A great summer side to make ahead or whip up even at the last minute, everyone loves hot buttered corn...

More Authentic Mexican Recipes

Is there anything better than Mexican food? Here are some of my top favorite recipes. I live just over the border in Southern California, these are ones I have made over and over.

Mexican Pickled Red Onions are an easy recipe with no canning skills needed and ready in 30 minutes. This tasty condiment for Mexican food is just like what they serve you in restaurants for street tacos.

There are so many different ways to make guacamole, this is an Authentic Guacamole recipe with fresh lime juice, grated onion (one of my top secrets), chopped tomato, hot sauce, and spices.

It can be made in a molcajete (a traditional ancient cooking tool) or in any bowl with just a couple of forks. Avocado Salsa (aka Taco Sauce) is a great side dish to drizzle on Mexican foods like tacos, burritos, taquitos, or served with tortilla chips as a dip.

Micheladas are light, refreshing clamato juice (tomato juice) and are Mexican beer cocktails. The rim of the glass is salted with usually Tajin or seasoned salt. The michelada is a popular drink in Mexico and is often enjoyed on hot days or as an easy recipe the morning after a wild night out.