If you’re looking for a hot and creamy, absolutely can’t-stop-eating-this dip, then this street corn elote dip is for you.
It has all the flavors of Mexican elote and none of the annoying parts like the corn cob or random pieces of corn silk. You can even use corn chips to scoop it up for maximum corniness.
I love corn
I’m a huge corn fan, a low-key corn star if you will, and ever since our recent foray into picked-day-of-corn from the corn drive-thru (read more about that here) I’ve been eating through our stash of carefully frozen corn. Thankfully, summer me had the foresight to freeze a variety of corn states: on the cob, split cobs, and kernels. Having summery corn in the freezer makes me so happy because I can make things like this dip!
Although, I do admit, it’s getting a bit crazy and Mike isn’t entirely happy with our freezer situation. I told him I want a giant walk in fridge/freezer situation like the kind they have in restaurants and he just looked at me unbelievingly without saying anything. Oh well.
Street corn dip
Back to this corn dip. Trust me when I say that you need to get those corn scoops/corn dipper chips when eating this. The corn-on-corn action is not to be denied! Here’s on to make all your corn dreams come true.
What is street corn dip?
This dip is all the flavors of grilled Mexican street corn, aka elote, in a dippable, scoopable format. Think: sweet, crunchy corn kernels with a creamy cheesy base flavored with tangy lime and a hint of spice. It’s somehow hearty and cheesy while still being fresh, thanks to the garnishes.
Hot elote dip ingredients
- corn – yup, surprise surprise, you need corn. You can go for canned or frozen corn here, either will do. If you’re in the midst of corn season, kernels off the cob work amazingly too.
- cheese – hot dips wouldn’t exist without cheese and we’re going to do a triple threat combo with cream cheese, shredded cheese, and Cotija. For the shredded cheese you can use any kind you like, I tend to go for a Mexican blend, colby jack, or a mozzarella-cheddar mix. As for Cotija, it’s a Mexican cheese that’s crumbly, salty, mild, and delicious. If you don’t have it, you can skip out or substitute it with feta.
- sour cream – we need just a bit of sour cream to loosen everything up and make it more of a molten dippable situation.
- aromatics and garnish – red onion, cilantro, lime, jalapeños, all those classic Mexican flavors to lighten and brighten up this dip, making it the perfect blend of fresh and hearty. Oh, and a bit of hot sauce too, if you like spice.
How to make street corn dip
This is a simple mix everything up, pop it into a dish and then bake it situation. That’s it! Step-by-step wise, here’s how you do it.
- Mix. For hot dips, I like to mix all of the more liquid ingredients first. Grab a large bowl and add the room temp cream cheese, sour cream, fresh lime juice, and hot sauce. Mix until smooth and creamy then mix in the shredded cheese and Cotija.
- Stir. Stir in the rest of the ingredients: corn, diced jalapeno, diced red onion, and freshly chopped cilantro.
- Bake. Scoop everything into a baking dish and top with extra cheese if desired. Bake until hot and bubbly.
- Garnish. When the dip is bubbly and melty, remove it from the oven and finish with freshly chopped cilantro, jalapeño slices, and crumbled Cotija.
- Enjoy. Enjoy warm scooped up with edible dippers of choice!
What to serve with elote dip
Corn dippers! If you haven’t had them, corn dippers are little scoops made out of corn tortillas. They are kind of like an edible spoon and you can scoop so much dip with them. Of course, any other dipper will work too: tortilla chips, crackers, even cabbage chips if that’s what you like.
If you make this for game day, the vibes will be vibing. I just thought of having a little dip buffet right now and I’m pretty sure I’m going to do that for the Superbowl this year. I have no idea which teams are playing but I do know what we’ll be eating!*
Other corn recipes if you love corn as much as I do
- elote, the one, the only, the original
- the absolute BEST corn pudding ever
- corn cheese – another kind of corn dip, but KBBQ style
- corn coleslaw, because corn belongs in everything
*PS – I do know that Taylor Swift’s boyfriend won’t be playing. Thank goodness because I’ve seen Mahomes’ crying face entirely too much for one lifetime.
Street Corn Dip
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese room temp (1 brick)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 lime juice only
- 1 tbsp hot sauce of choice
- 2 cups shredded cheese of choice
- 4 oz cotija cheese crumbled
- 2 cups corn kernels
- 1 jalapeno diced, plus more for garnish
- 2 tbsp red onion diced, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, lime juice, hot sauce, shredded cheese (reserve 1/4 cup to top with), and 1/2 of the Cotija cheese.
- Stir in the corn, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro. Mix well.
- Scoop the mixture into an 8x8 inch baking dish and top with the reserved shredded cheese.
- Bake the oven until bubbly and hot, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and finish with extra cilantro, jalapeño slices, and crumbled Cotija. Serve with corn dippers, corn tortilla chips, or any other dippers you desire.
