I'm throwing it back to my Arizona days, when heading across the border meant one thing: the most delicious Mexican Street Corn on the planet. Elote is grilled corn on the cob slathered with a chile-spiked mayo, showered with salty crumbled cheese, and finished with fresh lime, and this is my version of the real deal. It belongs next to The Perfect Carne Asada at every summer cookout, and if you love these flavors in scoopable form, my Street Corn Queso is dangerous. Need the full spread? My 50 Best BBQ Sides roundup goes deep.
Mexican Street Corn at a Glance
- 🕒 Total Time: 25 minutes
- 👪 Servings: 8 (one ear per person)
- 🍝 Cuisine Type: Mexican / Street Food
- 🧂 Flavor Profile: Sweet charred corn, smoky chipotle-cayenne mayo, salty crumbled cheese, bright lime, and fresh chives
- 📖 Dietary Info: Vegetarian; contains dairy and egg (mayo); naturally gluten-free
- 📦 Storage Notes: Best hot off the grill; refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days and cut the kernels off for a next-day esquites-style corn salad
- ⭐Why You'll Love It: Charred sweet corn plus a spicy, creamy, salty, citrusy topping is a flavor cheat code. It's a 25-minute side that steals the show from whatever main it sits next to. One bite explains why there's a line at every elote cart.
Summarize and save this content on
Why I Love This Recipe
These days I’m a California girl through and through and it’s not as easy to pack up my bags and head across the border for some epic Mexican food on any given afternoon. But c'est la vie and I’m bringing one of my favorite childhood recipes into my kitchen and yours! I've made a lot of corn salads, chili lime creamed corn. And I love corn in all forms. This grilled Mexican Street Corn couldn’t be any more delicious if it tried. Grilled corn brushed with mayo and then dusted with spices, lime juice and crumbled feta cheese…. What’s not to love?
Jump to:
- Mexican Street Corn at a Glance
- Why I Love This Recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions & Swaps
- How to Make Mexican Street Corn with Feta
- How to Store Mexican Street Corn
- How to Use Frozen Corn for Mexican Street Corn
- 🌽🧀🌶️ Tips & Tricks for the Best Mexican Street Corn
- FAQs
- Similar Recipes
- Mexican Street Corn with Feta
Ingredients
- Vegetable Oil
- Ground Chipotle Chile Pepper
- Ground Cayenne Pepper
- Corn husks on
- Mayo
- Feta Cheese
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Lime
*For a full list of ingredients and instructions please see recipe card below.
Substitutions & Swaps
🧀 Cheese
- Feta (called for here) - Salty, crumbly, and in every grocery store
- Cotija - The traditional elote cheese; drier and saltier, use it whenever you can find it
- Queso fresco - Milder and creamier; better for spice-shy eaters
- Finely grated Parmesan - The pantry fallback; salty enough to do the job
🌶️ Chile
- Ground chipotle + cayenne (called for) - Smoke and heat in tandem
- Tajín - Chili-lime brightness with built-in acidity; maximum street-cart energy
- Ancho chile powder - Mild and fruity; the kid-friendly route
- Smoked paprika - All smoke, no heat
🥫 Creamy Base
- Mayo (called for) - The classic cart move; it grips the kernels and melts into a sauce
- Half mayo, half Mexican crema - Richer and tangier; drapes more elegantly
- Greek yogurt - Lighter with a lactic tang; thin with a squeeze of lime
- Sour cream - 1:1 swap when the mayo jar is empty
🌿 Finishing
- Chives (called for) - Mild oniony freshness
- Cilantro - The traditional call; chop fine so it clings
- Thinly sliced scallions - A little more bite than chives
- Extra lime zest - Grate it right over the finished ears
🌽 Corn & Method
- Fresh ears, husks on (called for) - The husk steams the kernels while the outside chars
- Husked and oiled, straight on the grates - More char, less steam; watch closely
- Broiler method - 3 to 4 minutes a side indoors; elote in January is allowed
- Frozen fire-roasted kernels - Skip the cob entirely and make esquites-style corn cups
How to Make Mexican Street Corn with Feta
Step 1: Prepare a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grill grate with oil. Combine chipotle chile pepper and ground cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
Step 2: Grill corn, husks still intact, turning occasionally with tongs, until cooked through and lightly charred, about 10 minutes.
Step 3: Remove from the grill and carefully peel back the husks and tie at the end to use to hold the corn while eating.
Step 4: Immediately brush each ear with 1½ teaspoon of the mayo. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon feta cheese and a pinch of chile pepper mixture and chopped chives. Squeeze 1 lime wedge over each ear and serve.
How to Store Mexican Street Corn
These are best eaten fresh!! I would make these with the plan to eat at the same time. Storing would not be great with all the mayo and toppings. If you have to, leave the mayo and toppings and store the grilled corn as is for a day or two in an airtight container. When its time to heat, pop it back on the grill to heat it, and then follow the last step.
How to Use Frozen Corn for Mexican Street Corn
While this dish is not fit for freezing, you can use frozen corn to make this dish, instead of corn on the cob if thats all you have. You can soften the frozen corn by putting them in boiling water, and once they are drained of excess water, add the mayo, cheese, chile pepper mixture, chives and lime. Give it a good mix and you're all set.
🌽🧀🌶️ Tips & Tricks for the Best Mexican Street Corn
Charred corn, spicy mayo, salty cheese: the cart classic at home
- Skip soaking the corn. Dry husks char faster while the kernels steam perfectly inside. Soaking just delays the char you're actually after.
- Chase real char, not just grill marks. Blistered, blackened kernels in spots are the flavor of the cart. Rotate every 2 to 3 minutes and let a few edges go dark.
- Mix the chile into the mayo instead of dusting it on top. Every bite gets seasoned, and the fat blooms the chipotle so it tastes smoky instead of dusty.
- Slather while the corn is screaming hot. The heat melts the mayo into a sauce and gives the cheese something to grip.
- Crumble the cheese fine. Big chunks bounce off. Fine crumbles shingle onto the mayo and stay put through the last bite.
- Roll, don't sprinkle. Spread the crumbled cheese on a plate and roll each slathered ear through it, cart-style. Full coverage, zero waste.
- Lime at the very end, wedge in hand. Squeeze just before biting so the acid stays loud. Lime that sits gets muted.
- Keep the husks attached as handles. Peel them back, tie with a strip of husk, and nobody needs a corn holder.
- Double the topping batch. The chile mayo keeps a week in the fridge and is unreal on grilled zucchini, smashed potatoes, and fried eggs.
- Turn leftovers into esquites. Cut the kernels off, toss with the remaining topping and extra lime, and serve in cups. Arguably better than round one.
FAQs
What is Mexican street corn (elote)?
Elote is Mexico's iconic street food: corn on the cob grilled until charred, slathered with a creamy chile-spiked mayo, coated in salty crumbled cheese, and finished with lime. Street vendors sell it on a stick or by the cup. My version uses a chipotle-cayenne mayo with feta and fresh chives.
What is Mexican street corn made of?
Grilled corn on the cob, mayo, chile powder (I use ground chipotle and cayenne), salty crumbled cheese, and fresh lime. Chives or cilantro go on top. Five components, huge payoff.
Is it better to soak corn before grilling?
No, I skip soaking entirely. Dry husks char faster and the kernels steam perfectly inside without it. Soaking just delays the char you actually want.
What is the difference between elote and esquites?
Same flavors, different format: elote is the whole cob on a stick, esquites is the kernels cut off and served in a cup with the same mayo, cheese, chile, and lime. Esquites is easier for parties. Leftover elote makes great esquites tomorrow.
What cheese goes on Mexican street corn?
Cotija is the traditional choice, salty and crumbly like a Mexican Parmesan. Feta is the easiest supermarket stand-in and what I use here. Queso fresco works if you want milder and creamier.
Similar Recipes
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Mexican Street Corn with Feta
Equipment
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil for brushing
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 8 ears of corn husks on
- ¼ cup mayo
- ½ cup Feta Cheese crumbled
- Fresh chives thinly sliced
- 1 lime cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- Prepare a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill to high. Brush grill grate with oil. Combine chipotle chile pepper and ground cayenne pepper in a small bowl.
- Grill corn, husks still intact, turning occasionally with tongs, until cooked through and lightly charred, about 10 minutes. Remove from the grill and carefully peel back the husks and tie at the end to use to hold the corn while eating.
- Immediately brush each ear with 1½ teaspoon of the mayo. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon feta cheese and a pinch of chile pepper mixture and chopped chives. Squeeze 1 lime wedge over each ear and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information (estimated)
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
What is not to love here!! Amazing!
I grew up walking to Echo Park and ordering this corn. Yum!
Wow! This looks positively delicious. I haven't tried Sir Kensington products but I am about to! Love corn done like this. Thanks for sharing you tricks.
Love corn done like this!