Elote
intro
Chargrilled sweet corn slathered in creamy spiced sauce, topped with salty cotija and bright lime, the beloved classic Mexican street food.
Ingredients
Steps
Preheat grill and prep corn
Preheat your outdoor gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat (200°C / 400°F). Brush each husked corn ear evenly with the 1 tablespoon of neutral canola oil to prevent sticking, then set ears on a clean tray.
Mix creamy elote sauce
In a small mixing bowl, combine 120 ml full-fat mayonnaise, 60 ml Mexican crema, 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir until completely smooth, then set aside at room temperature.
Grill the corn ears
Place oiled corn ears directly on the preheated grill grates. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes total, turning every 2 to 3 minutes with tongs, until kernels are bright golden with scattered dark charred spots across all sides.
Coat corn in sauce
Transfer grilled corn to a clean tray. Use a silicone basting brush to spread 3 tablespoons of the prepared creamy sauce evenly over every surface of each warm corn ear, coating all sides fully.
Add cheese and cilantro
Sprinkle each sauced corn ear evenly with 3 tablespoons (~21 g) of finely crumbled cotija cheese, pressing lightly so the cheese sticks to the creamy coating. Top each ear with 1.5 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro.
Season and serve hot
Lightly dust each elote with a pinch of extra ancho chili powder for color, then serve hot alongside 2 lime wedges per ear, for squeezing over top right before eating.
Tips
2.If cotija cheese is hard to find, substitute finely crumbled feta, and cut the added kosher salt in half to account for feta’s higher salt content.
3.For a spicy kick, stir 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper into the creamy sauce, or set out hot sauce for guests to customize their elote heat level.
OMG this elote is SO good!!! I brought it to our neighborhood potluck last weekend and people were begging me for the recipe before I even left. I used cotija exactly like the recipe said and added a tiny extra squeeze of lime, game changer. Even my super picky 7 year old ate two whole cobs! 10/10 will be making this all summer long.
Love how easy this is! 20 minute cook time is no joke, I threw this together on a busy work night after picking up corn from the farmers market on my way home. Only change I made was a light sprinkle of tajin on top because I love a little extra heat. Perfect quick side for taco nights.
Made this for our Fourth of July cookout and it was the first side to disappear! My only note is that I wish I’d made double the crema mixture — I ran out halfway through coating the cobs. Flavor was spot on though, tasted exactly like the elote I get from the food trucks downtown.
As someone who grew up eating elote from street vendors in East LA, I can confirm this is the real deal. No weird fancy add-ins, just the classic combo of crema, cotija, chili powder, lime, and cilantro. Tastes like home! I’ll be bookmarking this for every family dinner from now on.
Tried this for the first time last night and wow, why did I wait so long to make homemade elote? The recipe is so straightforward even a total beginner can nail it. I didn’t have cotija so I used crumbled feta as a substitute and it still slapped, tbh.
Made this in my dorm kitchen with a little countertop grill and my roommates lost their minds. We ate every last cob while we watched our Sunday night show. Only thing I messed up was forgetting the cilantro, but it still slapped. 10/10 easy enough for broke college kids lmao
So happy this recipe is naturally gluten free! My whole family is gluten sensitive and it’s so hard to find tasty side dishes that don’t require a million specialty swaps. My kids loved it so much they asked for it again for their birthday cookout next month. Only note: I used light sour cream instead of Mexican crema because that’s what I had on hand and it worked great!