Mexican Inspired Corn Dip

This Mexican street corn dip recipe is inspired by the irresistible flavors of street corn: lime, chili, cilantro and crumbled cheese!

Looking for a fast and easy dip to impress at parties or a simple dinner? Try this Mexican inspired corn dip! This recipes celebrates the flavors of elote (Mexican street corn), riffing on them to make a tasty dip for eating with crunchy tortilla chips. The pops of sweet corn against the tangy lime, zingy green chiles and salty crumbled cheese is absolutely irresistible! It’s quick to put together with canned corn, though any type of cooked corn works too (especially grilled!). Serve it as a party dip or a simple side for tacos and you won’t want the bowl to end.

Ingredients in Mexican street corn dip

This Mexican corn dip is inspired by the flavors of Mexican street corn, aka elote or equites: corn that’s slathered in a creamy sauce made with lime and chili powder, coated with crumbly Cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. (It’s up there as one of our top favorite dishes!) Elote is grilled corn on the cob, and esquites is corn kernels served in a cup with a spoon. This dip recipe is not authentic to Mexican cuisine, but it celebrates the flavors of these traditional dishes in a quick dip you can eat with tortilla chips. Here’s what you’ll need:

Mayonnaise
Greek yogurt or sour cream
Lime juice
Chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and salt
Canned corn (or cooked corn)
Green onion
Red pepper
Cilantro
Canned green chiles
Cotija cheese or feta cheese

For the corn: use canned or cooked

This Mexican corn dip uses canned corn, which has great flavor (we recommend it versus frozen, which can taste rather bland). But if you have fresh corn on the cob on hand and want to cook it, even better! Here are a few easy methods for cooking corn:

Grilled: Grilled corn adds big flavor to this corn dip! Try Perfect Grilled Corn or Grilled Corn in Foil.
Boiled: Go for the quick and classic method: Boiled Corn on the Cob.
Roasted: Roasting is a hands-off method for cooking corn. Try Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob.

You can also microwave corn on the cob, but you can only cook up to 4 cobs at once. This recipe requires about 5 cobs, so it’s a less efficient method. We recommend microwaving when you want to cook 1 or 2 cobs.

Cotija cheese vs feta cheese

You might wonder: why is feta cheese in a Mexican recipe when it’s Greek in origin? Well, it’s a substitute for Mexican Cotija! Cotija cheese is a Mexican cow’s milk cheese: it’s white with a dry texture and salty flavor. You can buy it fresh or aged, but it’s usually easiest to find fresh at the grocery.

Can’t find Cotija? You can substitute feta cheese: it has a similar texture and salty flavor to Cotija. Queso fresco is another similar Mexican cheese, but the flavor is very mild and not nearly as salty as Cotija. We wouldn’t recommend using it here.

Ways to serve Mexican corn dip

This Mexican corn dip is very versatile: you can even serve it as a side instead of a dip! Here are a few ways to serve this recipe once you’ve mixed up the ingredients:

As a party dip
Summer appetizer
Side for tacos
Side for enchiladas
As a side (without the chips)
Over fish (like the fish fillets from Grilled Fish Tacos)
For lunches

Leftover storage

This Mexican corn dip stores well: keep it for up to 3 days refrigerated. (You likely can store even longer, but it does become slightly watery over time.) Make sure to bring it to room temperature prior to serving.

More dip recipes

Love to dip? Here are a few favorite dip recipes you’ll love:

This Mexican corn dip recipe is…

Vegetarian and gluten-free.