Elotes (Grilled Mexican Street Corn)

This recipe for Elotes features grilled corn coated with a mixture of Cotija cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, cilantro, chile powder, and garlic. It's a simple take on Mexican street corn that’s flavorful and easy to make.

Prep
5 minutes
Cook
10 minutes
Active
30 minutes
Total
45 minutes
Cover image for Elotes (Grilled Mexican Street Corn) recipe

Ingredients

Serves/makes 4

Instructions

  1. 1.

    Light 1 chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread coals evenly over half of coal grate. Alternatively, set half the burners of a gas grill to high heat. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.

  2. 2.

    While coals heat, combine cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream or crema, cilantro, chile powder, and garlic in a large bowl. Stir until homogeneous and set aside.

  3. 3.

    When grill is hot, place corn directly over hot side of grill and cook, rotating occasionally, until cooked through and charred in spots on all sides, about 8 minutes total.

  4. 4.

    Transfer corn to bowl with cheese mixture and use a large spoon to evenly coat corn on all sides with mixture. Sprinkle with extra cheese and chile powder and serve immediately with lime wedges.

Related

Notes

  • When husking your corn, remove the silk and husk from the cob, but keep a few inches of the stalk end attached to use as a handle. If your corn is already husked, skewer the cooked corn with a wooden skewer.

Adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt on July 27, 2024