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When I think of Grilled Mexican Corn, or Elote, there's no better way to describe it than a little taste of summer.
To me, adding grilled corn to my cookouts is an official celebration of Cinco de Mayo, warmer weather, summer, pool parties, barbecues, and awesome grilled food!
If you thought regular grilled corn on the cob was good, just wait until you sink your teeth in these elotes. They're primed with butter and seasoning for grilling and then slathered in creamy mayo, crumbled salty Cotija cheese, and a sprinkle of chili powder!
A delicious taste of Mexico, Mexican Grilled Street Corn goes well as a side dish for Beef Fajitas or Grilled Mahi Mahi, and is sure to become of your favorite Mexican Food recipes! This recipe also inspired my Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowl Recipe.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Why This Recipe Works
- What Do I Need To Make Mexican Grilled Corn?
- Ingredient Notes
- How To Prepare Corn On The Cob Before Grilling
- How Long Do You Grill Corn?
- How To Prepare Elote Before Serving
- Pro Recipe Tips
- Variations
- What To Serve With Mexican Grilled Corn?
- FAQs
- More Recipes You’ll Love
- Recipe
- Reviews
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bake or Broil Too. You never need to limit your intake of elotes to backyard summer barbecues! Easily cook your corn on the cob in a cast-iron pan or broil them – perfect any time, even in winter!
- Toppings. The quick and effortless mixture of Cotija, mayo, and chili powder instantly transforms ordinary grilled corn on the cob into an addictive veggie side dish.
- Add To Other Recipes. This grilled Mexican corn bulks up any Mexican-inspired summer dish. You can scrape corn off from leftovers and use it as a recipe ingredient in other Tex-Mex recipes too, like my Corn and Black Bean Salad, or Mexican Shrimp Salad, or Mexican Street Corn Salad!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy Instructions. This Grilled Mexican Corn recipe includes step-by-step instructions with photos for preparing, grilling, and coating the corn cobs. This makes following the recipe incredibly easy, ensuring that you end up with the best-tasting elotes!
- Comment Ingredients. Most of the ingredients used in this recipe are likely to already be in your pantry, especially if you enjoy Mexican cuisine. And if they aren't, they are readily accessible in your local grocery store, especially in the summer, when fresh corn is available.
- Recipe Tips Included. You don't need to scroll too far before coming across helpful recipe tips and tricks to make your cooking experience stress-free and enjoyable.
- Tried and True Recipe. I've been grilling Mexican corn over the years for family backyard barbecues, midweek meals, or whenever I need a quick and tasty Mexican-inspired side dish. That means that you can lean on my years of refining this recipe from tried and true techniques and processes.
- Recipe Variations have been included in case you want to substitute ingredients or change things up a bit to better suit the preferences of your family and friends.
- Serving Suggestions are provided in this recipe as a way to pair these elotes with other food.
What Do I Need To Make Mexican Grilled Corn?
Equipment
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Ingredient Notes
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don't have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Chili powder – I've used 2 tablespoons of chili powder to sprinkle on the cooked corn cobs but you could increase or decrease this amount depending on how spicy you like your food to be. You could also use cayenne pepper instead of chili powder.
- Salt and pepper. I like to use freshly cracked black pepper from a grinder and sea salt with these elotes.
- Cotija cheese – Crumble the cheese yourself from a round block of Cotija cheese.
- Butter – You could use unsalted or salted butter depending on your preference. The same quantity of olive oil can also be used if you don't want to add butter to the cobs.
- Mayonnaise – I've only used mayonnaise in this recipe but you could also mix some Mexican Crema with the mayonnaise for an additional creamy sauce coating and flavor.
- Corn On The Cob – The most widely used corn for eating on the cob is sweet, white corn which is what has been used in this recipe.
How To Prepare Corn On The Cob Before Grilling
- Prepare the corn by removing the silk and pulling the husks downwards so you can use them to hold the corn.
- Preheat the grill. In a pot of water, add a little salt and soak the ears in boiling water for 15 minutes.
- Remove the ears of corn from the pot and butter the cobs.
- Sprinkle some salt on the cobs before grilling.
How Long Do You Grill Corn?
- Place the cobs to cook on the grill, over indirect heat, for 5 minutes and rotate when dark spots appear.
- Usually about 2 to 3 minutes or until the ears are uniformly cooked (usually 10 to 15 minutes.)
How To Prepare Elote Before Serving
- Once they are grilled, spread some mayonnaise onto them.
- Sprinkle the cheese on the cob.
- Sprinkle the chili powder all over the corn.
- Lastly add some pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Pro Recipe Tips
- I've made enough sauce from this recipe to coat up to 6 ears of corn. You could easily double the sauce if you want to grill more ears of corn. Simply add another ⅓ cup of mayonnaise or add ⅓ cup of Crema Mexicana in addition to the mayonnaise but then be sure to also increase the seasoning and chili powder.
- Cotija cheese is not always well known to people. If you can't source it, use feta cheese or grate and sprinkle some parmesan cheese over your grilled corn.
- Try serving the elotes with fresh lime wedges on the side so guests can squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the corn.
- To help you remove any stubborn silk from the corn, add the corn to a microwave for 1-2 minutes. This short burst of heat makes the silk come off much easier.
- If you don't want the hassle of shucking the corn (removing the silk) you could buy shucked corn from the stores but then I recommend that you grill the corn that same day as shucked corn will start to dry out and lose its sweet taste if it sits in the refrigerator without the husks on.
- You can insert wooden or metal skewers into the corn just prior to grilling. This helps to turn the corn while it cooks and also gives you something to hold when coating the corn with mayo and spices as well as when eating it. If you use wooden skewers, make sure to first soak them in water for about 25-30 minutes – this prevents them from burning or catching fire.
- Leftover grilled corn can be added to other recipes such as tacos, nachos, salsa, and quesadillas. Simply scrape the corn off each leftover corn cob and add to the recipe of choice.
Variations
- For an extra creamy coating, consider mixing the mayonnaise with some Crema Mexicana or sour cream if you can't source Crema Mexicana.
- If you are serving grilled Mexican corn to children who perhaps won't be able to finish an entire ear of corn, consider cutting the corn in half or even thirds or quarters. You could then insert wooden or metal skewers into each piece of corn for grilling and easy handling for the kids. This is also a great option when catering to a larger crowd as an appetizer.
- Crumbled feta or grated parmesan cheese can be used instead of Cotija cheese (which may be unknown to some).
- For an extra kick of heat, simply increase the quantity of chili powder in the recipe. If you don't have chili powder, cayenne pepper is also great.
- Reduce the sodium in this recipe by reducing the amount of table salt used and using unsalted butter.
- For a vegan-friendly version of this recipe, use vegan mayonnaise and vegan parmesan, and coat the corn with olive oil instead of butter.
- This Mexican corn can also be cooked in an air fryer instead of being cooked on the grill. The corn should be cooked in the air fryer for about 10 minutes at 400F, flipping it over midway.
What To Serve With Mexican Grilled Corn?
This Grilled Mexican Corn is a fantastic side dish option to pair with a variety of Mexican-inspired main meals such as carnitas, chicken or bean chili, burritos, quesadillas, or tacos. Below are some of our favorites to serve with it.
- Skillet Chicken Fajitas
- Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers
- Baked BBQ Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Slaw
- Mexican Rice
- Instant Pot Refried Beans
FAQs
Where Does Grilled Mexican Corn Come From?
Grilled Mexican Corn, otherwise known as Mexican street corn or "elote", is a well established hand-held delicacy that is rooted in Mexican cuisine and the history of maize cultivation and bartering that spread to North America.
Today, you'll find that grilled Mexican corn is a popular street food sold by street vendors with mobile food carts on the streets of busy cities in Mexico, and of course, at most backyard barbecues!
How To Freeze Corn On The Cob In The Husk
Yes, you can freeze uncooked corn on the cob in the husk. Place them in an airtight freezer-safe bag, or container and then freeze up to 3 months.
How To Store Leftover Grilled Mexican Corn?
Leftover grilled corn can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can then reheat this leftover corn to enjoy as is or to add to other dishes in the days that follow.
How To Reheat Corn On The Cob
Reheat your leftover grilled corn either in the microwave, covered, for 20 seconds and then followed by 10-second intervals until warm, or reheat in the oven (also covered) at 350F for 7-10 minutes.
Do I Need To Soak The Corn Before Grilling?
While some recipes do suggest soaking the corn as a means to retain moisture in the corn and prevent it from burning, I haven't found it to be necessary.
If you wish, you could wrap each ear of corn with aluminum foil once slathering with butter and seasoning.
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Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of Chili powder depending on how spicy you want them salt and pepper
- 1 ⁄2 cup crumbled or shredded Cotija cheese
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1/3 cup of Mayonnaise
- 6 ears of corn with the silk removed
Instructions
- Prepare the corn by removing the silk and pulling the husks downwards so you can use them to hold the corn.
- Preheat the grill. In a pot of water, add a little salt and soak the ears in boiling water for 15 minutes.
- Remove the ears of corn from the pot and butter the cobs.
- Sprinkle some salt on the cobs before grilling.
- Place the cobs to cook on the grill, over indirect heat, for 5 minutes and rotate when dark spots appear.
- Usually about 2 to 3 minutes or until the ears are uniformly cooked (usually 10 to 15 minutes.)
- Once they are grilled, spread some mayonnaise onto them. Sprinkle the cheese on the cob, and then the chili powder, and at the end some pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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