A creamy, crowd-pleaser, gluten-free, and lip-smacking Elote dip aka Mexican street corn dip! corn mixed with a luscious creamy mixture, spices, fresh cilantro, and cheese!
It’s the perfect dip to serve alongside warm tortilla chips, but it can also be eaten as a side dish. It can be made with fresh or frozen corn, so it’s perfect any time of year!
Summer is all about simple and flavorful food! Minimum prep time and fewer ingredients. Like this recipe for elote dip that you can make in less than 20 minutes.
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Elote dip
Elote means “corn on the cob” in Spanish. But it is known as Mexican Street corn that has been brushed with a mixture of mayonnaise, Mexican crema (or sour cream), topped with cotija cheese and sprinkled with chili powder, before adding lime juice and fresh cilantro. It's a flavor explosion in your mouth.
I have been obsessed with it ever since I had it on my Cruise trip to Ensenada.
I Love Mexican Street corn but sometimes, corn kernels get stuck in my teeth. So I started making it in dip form.
Elote dip is nothing but the deconstructed version of Mexican street corn. It's simple but crave-worthy. Serve it during parties and watch it disappear in minutes.
I love making this Elote dip at parties and get-togethers because:
- it requires just a handful of ingredients
- it takes 10-15 minutes
- Perfect make-ahead side dish
- crowd-pleaser
- perfect for all age
- very different dip recipe without putting much effort.
Ingredients required
Fresh corn off the cob - I love making this dip with fresh corn especially when those are in season.
Jalapeno - you can add it according to your spice level. You can substitute it with serrano peppers or can skip it if you are making it for kids.
Seasonings - I have used Trader Joe’s Everything But The Elote Seasoning Blend as a seasoning. You can substitute it with chili powder, salt, and cumin powder.
Garlic - gives great flavors. Chop them very finely or grate them.
Dairy - mayo, and sour cream. Instead of mayo, you can use greek yogurt to make it a bit healthier version. Traditionally, Mexican crema is used to make this dip but since I had sour cream in my fridge, I have used that.
Butter - for sautéing garlic, jalapeno, and corn. You can use oil instead of butter.
Cilantro - a very aromatic herb and must for this dip.
Lemon juice -to balance out the flavors of dairy products.
Cheese - traditionally Cotija is being used. As cojita cheese is not vegetarian, I have substituted it with parmesan cheese. You can also use feta cheese.
How to make this dip? Step by step process
Heat butter in a pan. Add garlic and jalapenos, Sauté for few seconds.
Now add fresh corn kernels. Stir and cook until it gets a little bit caramelized, for about 5 to 6 minutes. Switch off the flame. Let the corm mixture cool down.
Now add Mayo, sour cream, cilantro, elote seasoning, and lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients until well combined. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as per your liking.
Cover it and keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can serve this dip right away too.
Take this dip into a serving bowl, sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese and some chili powder(optional).
Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs
- I suggest you make the dip at least a couple of hours in advance if you can for the best flavors.
- Instead of using all mayonnaise to bind the dip, I add in sour cream, which creates a creamier, lighter texture. But you can use only mayo or only sour cream.
- Feel free to add more jalapenos and chili powder if you like it spicy! You can also add hot sauce.
- I use easy-to-find feta cheese in this dip, but you could use queso fresco instead.
- Leftover Elotes dip can last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.
- This dip has dairy in it so it is recommended that don't keep this out for more than 3 hours.
- You may have seen hot Cheetos elote, you can crush some hot Cheetos or even regular Cheetos to top this dip!
I only recommend fresh corn on the cob. You can use frozen white or sweet corn or a mixture of both. Even canned corn would work for this recipe as long as you drain the cans thoroughly.
I have never tried freezing this recipe. In my opinion, it tastes good when fresh.
It tastes great with tortilla chips but you can serve this dip as a burger topping, on pizza, as a side dish, or use it in wraps.
This dip tastes best when used sauteed corn. But if you are in hurry simply skip that step. In that case, use frozen corn. Thaw them according to the package instructions and use them in the recipe.
As mentioned above, you can use 1 teaspoon chili powder, salt to taste, and ½ teaspoon cumin powder instead of an elote seasoning blend.
More dip recipes
- Jalapeno Popper Dip
- Garlic Jalapeno Alfredo Dip
- Smore Dip
- Avocado Edamame Hummus
- Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Peanut Sauce
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Elote Dip
Ingredients
- 2 cups – Fresh corn kernels
- ¼ cup – Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoon – sour cream
- ½ tablespoon – Jalapeno chopped
- ½ tablespoon – grated garlic
- 2 tablespoon – finely chopped cilantro
- 1 ½ tablespoon – lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon – elote seasoning for substitution, please read FAQ section above the recipe card
- 1 tablespoon – butter
- 1 tablespoon – Parmesan cheese
- A pinch of chili powder for garnishing.
Method
- Heat butter in a pan. Add garlic and jalapenos, Sauté for few seconds.
- Now add fresh corn kernels. Stir and cook until it gets a little bit caramelized, for about 5 to 6 minutes. Switch off the flame. Let the corm mixture cool down.
- Now add Mayo, sour cream, cilantro, elote seasoning, and lemon juice. Mix all the ingredients until well combined. Taste it and adjust the seasoning as per your liking.
- Cover it and keep it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. You can serve this dip right away too.
- Take this dip into a serving bowl, sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese and some chili powder(optional).
- Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
- I suggest you make the dip at least a couple of hours in advance if you can for the best flavors.
- Instead of using all mayonnaise to bind the dip, I add in sour cream, which creates a creamier, lighter texture. But you can use only mayo or only sour cream.
- Feel free to add more jalapenos and chili powder if you like it spicy! You can also add hot sauce.
- I use easy-to-find feta cheese in this dip, but you could use queso fresco instead.
- Leftover Elote dip can last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.
- This dip has dairy in it so it is recommended that don't keep this out for more than 3 hours.
- You may have seen hot Cheetos elote, you can crush some hot Cheetos or even regular Cheetos to top this dip!
- For FAQs, please read the blog post above the recipe card.
- This post is updated with video and new photos, originally published in September, 2018
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know We would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave your comments, ratings, and any ideas or changes you think could help us make our recipes even better. Thank you for your feedback!Warm regards,
Dhwani.
Is parmesan cheese vegetarian? No rennet is used to make it ?
I got vegetarian parmesan cheese from the sprouts grocery store. The brand name is Mauro & Gianni Parmesan Cheese. Whole foods also carry vegetarian parmesan cheese. Hope this helps.
What is elote seasoning?
Hi Sandy!
Elote seasoning is a Mexican spice blend. It is readily available in Grocery stores. If you don’t have it, you can substitute it with chili powder, chipotle powder, salt, and cumin powder.
How much cumin, chipotle powder, and chili powder to make elote?
The FAQ say you use feta but that queso fresco can be used too. But cheese is not listed anywhere in the ingredient list (other than Parmesan cheese garnish)?
Ohh… I am so sorry. I meant to write I have parmesan cheese, but you can use feta or queso fresco too. Sorry for the confusion. And thank you for letting me know.
Does fresh corn mean raw corn? Thanks
Yes.
Top Notch Recipe!!
I made this for a family cookout yesterday and it was an absolute hit. I used queso fresco and mixed it into the mayo/sour cream mixture. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So glad to know. Thanks for the feedback.
Is this supposed to be served hot or cold? I can’t find it anywhere!
You can serve warm or cold. I prefer cold.
So the recipe calls for both sour cream and mayo but in your notes it says you can only use sour cream or mayo
Notes says – Instead of using all mayonnaise to bind the dip, I add in sour cream, which creates a creamier, lighter texture. But you can use only mayo or only sour cream. Hope this helps.
This is must whenever we do Mexican night. We love it more than our fresh guacamole or fresh queso.
We find that it does NOT freeze well. Make it fresh and you’ll keep coming back.
Made this couple time now and it could not be better, thank you
Can I make this the night before ??
Yes, you can. Keep it covered in the fridge.
How much cheese (not the parm) do you use in the recipe?
Can I use mozzarella cheese?
No.