Cheesy Mexican Street Corn (Elote) Dip
This perfectly cheesy dip is a cross between Mexican Street Corn, or Elotes, and Korean Corn Cheese. Serve it with tortilla chips for the perfect easy crowd-pleasing appetizer.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 400kcal
Equipment
- 1 large sauté pan or skillet
- 1 8x8 inch square ceramic baking dish or other small broiler safe baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 8oz block cream cheese, softened (1 cup)
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped, plus about 2 tbsp to garnish
- 2 small cloves garlic, crushed, grated or very finely minced
- ½ tsp lime zest
- 2 tbsp lime juice (from one small lime)
- 3 tbsp sour cream (Greek yogurt works too)
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped (see Note 1)
- 2 tbsp pickled jalapeño juice
- ½ tsp salt, or more to taste
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 cups frozen or canned corn (no need to thaw it)
- ⅓ cup Cotija cheese, crumbled (or feta; see Note 2)
- Tortilla Chips, or any chips or crackers of your choice, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉/180℃ and set aside a broiler safe baking dish (see Note 3)
- In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, green onions, ⅓ cup cilantro, crushed garlic, lime zest, lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise, jalapeños, jalapeño brine, and salt and pepper
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; leave it dry and don’t add any oil
- Add the frozen corn and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until lightly charred then remove from the heat
- Add the charred corn to the bowl and mix until well combined
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and smooth it out, then top with the remaining cup of mozzarella
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted, then broil for about 1 minute or until the cheese is golden and bubbling
- Top with the crumbled Cotija or feta cheese and the reserved cilantro
- Serve warm with homemade tortilla chips or any other chips or crackers of your choice
Notes
1. This dip is not too spicy, but if you don’t like spice, reduce the pickled jalapeños by half or omit them altogether.
2. Cotija cheese is a hard, crumbly cheese commonly used in Mexican cuisine. It's the best cheese to use for this recipe because it's the type of cheese traditionally used for Elotes, but it can be hard to find. Feta cheese is a perfect substitute and is very similar in flavor and texture.
3. Make sure the baking dish you use is both oven and broiler safe. Ceramic, porcelain or metal dishes are the best type for this recipe. Clear glass dishes, while oven safe, are typically not safe for the high heat of the broiler and should be avoided.
Nutrition Facts are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate and do not include Tortilla Chips.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 1045mg | Potassium: 391mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 869IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 392mg | Iron: 1mg