Level up grilled corn on the cob with this easy elote recipe! Smothered with mayo, chile, cheese, and lime, it's creamy, tangy, smoky, and sweet.
When summer sweet corn comes hits peak season, this elote recipe goes on repeat in our house. I love corn on the cob in all its iterations, but something about elote is especially irresistible. This grilled Mexican street corn is creamy, tangy, sweet, and smoky. If you’ve never tried it—or never tried making it at home—now’s the time. Let’s make it!
What Is Elote?
Also called Mexican street corn, elote is a Mexican preparation of corn on the cob. The ears of corn are grilled, then slathered with mayo or crema, and finally topped with lime, chile, and Mexican cheese such as Cotija.
Commonly sold by street vendors in Mexico, elote makes a great snack. I also love to serve it as a side dish at summer cookouts and BBQs.
Elote Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this elote recipe:
- Fresh sweet corn, of course! Use the freshest corn on the cob you can find.
- Mayonnaise – It creates a creamy coating for the corn and helps the other fixings stick. I love the flavor of 100% mayo on elote, but if you prefer, you can sub Mexican crema or sour cream for some or all of it.
- Fresh lime juice and zest – For brightness.
- Chili powder or ancho chile powder – It adds smoky flavor and a little heat.
- Cotija cheese – For salty flavor and tang. If you have trouble finding Cotija cheese at the grocery store, a little crumbled feta cheese will work instead. It won’t taste exactly the same, but it will still be delicious!
- Fresh cilantro – For a fresh, aromatic finishing touch.
- And sea salt – To taste! Because mayo and Cotija cheese are both salty already, you may not need it. I recommend taking a bite of your elote before you sprinkle on more salt.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Grilling the Corn
The first step in this elote recipe is grilling the corn. I share two methods in my recipe for grilled corn on the cob—with the husks and without.
Either will work here. However, having some char on the corn kernels really enhances the smoky flavor in this recipe. If you choose to grill the corn in the husks, you may want to pull them back for the last few minutes of cooking so that some char marks form on the kernels themselves.
Once you grill the corn, make a simple sauce by stirring together the mayo, lime juice, and lime zest.
Use a pastry brush or butter knife to slather the mayo mixture all over each ear of corn.
Sprinkle with the chili powder, Cotija, and cilantro, and season to taste with salt. Serve with lime wedges on the side. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Elote
Elote is a tasty snack on its own, but it’s also a great side dish for all kinds of summer meals.
- Serve it with classic cookout fare like veggie burgers or black bean burgers.
- Pair it with anything BBQ, such as BBQ tofu or BBQ jackfruit sandwiches.
- Serve it with Mexican-inspired dishes like veggie tacos, vegan burritos, or enchiladas.
How do you like to serve elotes? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Corn Recipes
If you love this elote recipe, try one of these other summer corn recipes next:
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Corn Dip
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Cowboy Caviar
- Corn Salsa
- Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
- Corn Chowder
- Or any of these 25 Fresh Corn Recipes!
Elote (Grilled Mexican Street Corn) Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ears Grilled Corn
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise*
- 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
- ½ teaspoon lime zest
- ½ teaspoon chili powder or ancho chile powder
- ⅓ cup Cotija cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Grill the corn according to this recipe.
- In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise and lime juice and zest.
- Spread the mayo mixture over the corn and sprinkle with the chili powder, Cotija, and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and serve with lime wedges for squeezing.
This is BY FAR my favorite way to eat summer corn!!! So delicious, creamy, flavorful. We grilled the corn outside along with some steak for tacos and it was delicious. Easy side that ends up being the showstopper!
Hi Carrie, I’m so glad you loved it!
That Elote recipe was so delicious!
Hi Claire, I’m so glad you loved it!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I recommend pairing it with tostadas and some arroz rojo 🙂
Hi Kayla, that sounds like such a tasty combo!
So easy and fun to make!
I’ve never made corn like this before, but it was so good ill definitely be making it more often
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. It was our first time making Mexican street corn and using cojita cheese, but it won’t be the last! The corn was scrumptious.
We also found your instructions on how to grill corn in their husk very helpful and they turned out perfectly.
I’m so glad you loved it!
So good and so full of flavor! Made with vegan mayo and vegan Parmesan, it was perfect! The lime zest really adds to it!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is one of my daughters favorite side dishes. She was so excited when she came over for dinner to see me making this. The corn is perfectly sweet with just the right char and perfect seasoning.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed!
Just made this for lunch, used a combo of Mayo and Greek yogurt with feta cheese. Amazing flavor and doesn’t overpower the corn too much which I was afraid of. Also, smoked paprika is the bomb !
I’m so glad you loved it!
I will eat alot of elote this summer.
Hi Vita, I hope you love the recipe!
Delicious and easy to make!
Hi Tova, so glad you loved it!
This was a delicious recipe. I only had feta available and used mint/basil as my husband doesn’t care for cilantro. Next time I may try using crema.
Hi Megan, I’m so glad you loved it!
The best way to enjoy sweet summer corn! I like to use a combo of mayo and greek yogurt and I subbed in feta for the Cotija because I always have feta on hand. Delicious!
Our new favourite way to eat corn this summer !
This was a delicious recipe that is easy to make.
We couldn’t get enough! Already made it twice this month. Yummy
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious Recipe! I’ve never made this before and I love saying Elote 😂😂
It was too hot in the desert to grill out. So, I made it in the fryer. It came out much better than I expected? I will definitely be making this again. Thank You.
I’m so glad it worked out in the air fryer!
I OFTEN LIVE ON MEXICAN STREET FOOD WHEN I SPEND THE WINTERS AT MY ZIHUATANEJO CONDO. THIS RECIPE IS VERY CLOSE TO MY FAVORITE DOWN THERRE. THE ONE SMALL CHANGE I MAKE IS SUBSITUTE BASIL FOR THE COLANTRO.
Hi Jim, so glad you enjoyed it!
I made the recipe. It was delicious. I used smoked paprika and jalapeño tobacco instead of chili powder.
Hi Alan, so glad you loved it!
I love elote, and this recipe is the perfect way to make it at home. The grilled corn is so sweet and flavorful, and the mayo-lime mixture is the perfect balance of creamy and tart. The chili powder, Cotija cheese, and cilantro add the perfect finishing touch. This is a great summer side dish; you can even eat it as a light meal.