Mexican Corn Dip
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Traditional Mexican street corn is turned into the best dip ever. So good you won’t even need chips. Just grab a spoon!
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This is one of those recipes you’ll keep coming back to. For parties, for casual summer gatherings, for holidays – this dip will always always always deliver.
It’s a hot party dip that hits just right every single time – it’s warm, creamy, cheesy, velvety, and just so darn perfect.
With a super short ingredient list – mayo, freshly squeezed lime juice, chili powder, and cotija (or feta) cheese – this dip has just the right amount of creaminess for scoopable abilities with a hint of tanginess and a bit of spice all around.
Serve with your favorite chips/bread/crackers/crisps and dive in immediately, please.
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Mexican Corn Dip: Frequently Asked Questions
You can use plain Greek yogurt (a tad healthier) or sour cream in place of the mayonnaise.
Feta cheese and queso fresco are both great substitutes for the cotjia cheese, and can be found at most local grocery stores.
Tortilla chips, pita bread, bagel crisps, or your favorite brand of crackers are all great choices for this favorited hot party dip.
Mexican Corn Dip
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons crumbled cotija cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet (I use this one from Lodge)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Add corn kernels and jalapeño, and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and slightly charred, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in mayonnaise, cotija, cilantro, chili powder, garlic and lime juice.
- Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Made this tonight for pre-Thankgiving family dinner. It was great! Great app and fantastic as topping on the tacos.
Holy cow! This stuff is amazing! I made it last night and we had a little bit leftover. I was daydreaming about it all morning, but when i went to get it out at lunch time it was GONE!! My husband polished it off as a midnight snack last night. So….i made more for myself for lunch 🙂 I think I am going to nickname it Crack Corn Dip. It is crazy good. This is going to completely derail my weight loss goals…
Hmmm, I am a commercial gardener – have lots of corn now – found your recipe and I super like the idea of cutting the corn off the cob and not having to deal with the corn in the teeth thing. But, it looks to me the corn in the photos anyway is roasted. So, was this corn roasted before being cut off the cob?
I can plainly see the black roasting marks on the corn – which to me would taste pretty good – then cut it off the cob when it cools down and proceed with the rest of the recipe. Is that right?
The corn in the picture is roasted, however, as stated in the ingredients, you can use either frozen, canned, or roasted corn. Whichever you prefer! 🙂
Omg damn delicious… how do you do this? You post an awesome (simple straightforward) recipe and you get 100000000 ridiculous questions about it… you must be the most patient lovely person in the world. Can I use canned corn, yogurt, salted butter, serve it hot, chill the corn, make it a week before, put my finger in my ear…. and so on! How do you do this??? ( I was wondering when people quit experimenting or thinking for themselves)!!! Done ranting… and I thought before this I was patient and lovely.. guess not! Thanks for a great recipe! :-).
DELICIOUS!
What can be subbed for the mayonnaise? Cream cheese? Greek yogurt?
Greek yogurt would be a great (and healthier) substitute!
This looks so amazing and I can’t wait to try it! I’m making it this weekend for my moms birthday and using frozen corn. So now for a silly question: do I thaw the corn beforehand? I feel like yes, but I’ve never cooked with frozen corn before besides throwing it in a pot to boil : )
Thank you!
No need to thaw! 🙂
Made this today. Used grated Parmesan cheese instead of Cotija cheese as someone recommended and it was delicious! Will definitely be making this again. So easy and so yummy! Thanks for another great recipe!
This recipe came out really good! Both my kids loved it, i did too!
This is hands down, the best corn dip I’ve ever made! Like, so good, no one ate the guacamole, and I make really good guacamole! 🙂 I always get asked for the recipe! Thank you for this deliciousness!
Corn with mayo and cotija cheese has become so trendy lately, it’s no surprise I loved this dish. My mother, who is not at all a fan of corn, also enjoyed a few bites of this. It’s something to do with the smoky/sweet/savory bite of combining chili powder, corn, and jalapeno. So good!
And while it tastes great the next day, as well, it certainly doesn’t look pretty. It gets a little muddled, I think. But what a great recipe! Was very happy with the way it turned out.
Has anyone tried this with “light” or “non-fat” mayo or “light” Miracle Whip – it would cut some calories?
Yes, Miracle Whip should work! 🙂
I bought Trader Joe’s Roasted Corn frozen in the bag and made this. It’s incredibly delicious! I will serve it as a side dish tonight along with my famous enchiladas and beer. My cardiologist may not approve but ya gotta live a little while you can!
how about the enchiladas and beer recipe 😉
I love this recipe! I got lazy and use canned corn but it tastes delicious just the same! Thank you!
Absolutely delicious! Thank you!
Just finished a bowl of this for my snack. In Texas this was called Esquites, which is the cut off version of Mexican corn on the cob (Elote). I will eat it either way, although this way doesn’t get my face as messy!!!
You can grill the corn and the jalapeno before you cut them up, which is what I normally do in the summer. In the winter, you can defrost frozen corn kernels and cook them over the stove in a little olive oil or butter until there is a little color to them, then make the Esquites. I sub out Mexican crema for the mayo, but the rest is pretty much the same. All it needs is that last squeeze of fresh lime before I shovel it in – no chips required, just a spoon.
My husband adds it as a topping to his tacos, I will serve it as a cold summer side dish to grilled meat, take it to Summer potlucks for a salad that is gone in a flash, or it’s the BEST snack!!
Thank you for saying it can be served cold as a potluck side dish!!! I’m headed to a large out of town family reunion and want to make something different than the pasta and potato salad I’m sure will be in abundance from everyone else! Can’t wait to try this!
Love it! It’s do easy to make. My family and my co-workers love it!!! We’re addicted to this dip!! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This dip MUST be served immediately to get the full effect. It is totally delicious, I made it with 3 cans of can and it turned out great. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
just tried this recipe and let me just say… wow!!!
It is addicting and dangerously good we loved it. My daughter and I love the traditional Mexican corn on the cob however this was a very delicious alternative.
The recipe it’s self is great but I bought the wrong chili powder and mine had lemon in it (didn’t notice till after) which made the whole dip a little sour with the one fresh lemon. If you have the same chili as mine just don’t add the lemon
This is absolutely delicious! I use quite a few of your recipes, Thank You!!