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This Mexican street corn dip recipe is inspired by the irresistible flavors of street corn: lime, chili, cilantro and crumbled cheese!

Mexican Corn Dip

Looking for a fast and easy dip to impress at parties or a simple dinner? Try this Mexican inspired corn dip! This recipe celebrates the flavors of elote (Mexican street corn), riffing on them to make a tasty dip for eating with crunchy tortilla chips. The pops of sweet corn against the tangy lime, zingy green chiles and salty crumbled cheese is absolutely irresistible! It’s quick to put together with canned corn, though any type of cooked corn works too (especially grilled!). Serve it as a party dip or a simple side for tacos and you won’t want the bowl to end.

Ingredients in Mexican street corn dip

This Mexican corn dip is inspired by the flavors of Mexican street corn, aka elote or equites: corn that’s slathered in a creamy sauce made with lime and chili powder, coated with crumbly Cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. (It’s up there as one of our top favorite dishes!) Elote is grilled corn on the cob, and esquites is corn kernels served in a cup with a spoon. This dip recipe is not authentic to Mexican cuisine, but it celebrates the flavors of these traditional dishes in a quick dip you can eat with tortilla chips. Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Mayonnaise
  • Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • Lime juice
  • Chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt
  • Canned corn (or cooked corn)
  • Green onion
  • Red pepper
  • Cilantro
  • Canned green chiles
  • Cotija cheese or feta cheese
Mexican Street Corn Dip

For the corn: use canned or cooked

This Mexican corn dip uses canned corn, which has great flavor (we recommend it versus frozen, which can taste rather bland). But if you have fresh corn on the cob on hand and want to cook it, even better! Here are a few easy methods for cooking corn:

You can also microwave corn on the cob, but you can only cook up to 4 cobs at once. This recipe requires about 5 cobs, so it’s a less efficient method. We recommend microwaving when you want to cook 1 or 2 cobs.

Mexican Corn Dip

Cotija cheese vs feta cheese

You might wonder: why is feta cheese in a Mexican recipe when it’s Greek in origin? Well, it’s a substitute for Mexican Cotija! Cotija cheese is a Mexican cow’s milk cheese: it’s white with a dry texture and salty flavor. You can buy it fresh or aged, but it’s usually easiest to find fresh at the grocery. 

Can’t find Cotija? You can substitute feta cheese: it has a similar texture and salty flavor to Cotija. Queso fresco is another similar Mexican cheese, but the flavor is very mild and not nearly as salty as Cotija. We wouldn’t recommend using it here.

Ways to serve Mexican corn dip

This Mexican corn dip is very versatile: you can even serve it as a side instead of a dip! Here are a few ways to serve this recipe once you’ve mixed up the ingredients:

Mexican Corn Dip Recipe

Leftover storage

This Mexican corn dip stores well: keep it for up to 3 days refrigerated. (You likely can store even longer, but it does become slightly watery over time.) Make sure to bring it to room temperature prior to serving.

More dip recipes

Love to dip? Here are a few favorite dip recipes you’ll love:

This Mexican corn dip recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.

Print
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Mexican Corn Dip

Mexican-Inspired Corn Dip


  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x

Description

This Mexican street corn dip recipe is inspired by the irresistible flavors of street corn: lime, chili, cilantro and crumbled cheese!


Ingredients

Scale
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon each garlic powder and cumin
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 3 cans corn kernels, drained (or 4 ½ cups cooked corn or grilled corn*)
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1/2 red pepper, finely diced
  • 3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
  • 7 ounce can diced green chiles
  • 1 cup crumbled Cotija cheese or feta cheese

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and kosher salt.
  2. Prepare the corn, green onions, red pepper and cilantro as noted above. Mix together the drained corn, chopped vegetables, green chiles, cheese, and dressing. If desired, top with a sprinkle more cheese crumbles. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

*This should require about 5 cobs corn, depending on their size.

  • Category: Dip
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: Mexican Inspired
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Keywords: Mexican corn dip

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Meet Sonja and Alex Overhiser: Husband and wife. Expert home cooks. Authors of recipes you’ll want to make again and again.

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2 Comments

  1. Hello,
    I really enjoy your recipes and I want to purchase your cookbook ;however, I live in Canada and they want 20.00 for shipping. Is there any other way I can obtain a hardcover copy of your wonderful recipes. I don’t have a reliable computer nor do I own a printer. I need an actual hard copy cook book as trying to do obtain your recipes off of the site is very troublesome.

    Kindly
    sami

    1. Thank you! The cookbook has 100 recipes not on our website. You should be able to get it at any bookstore in Canada — if it’s not in-stock they can special order it.

      Best,