This Mexican Street Corn Dip recipe is hot, cheesy, and delightfully spicy. Inspired by classic Elote, the mix of cream cheese, corn, hot sauce, jalapeños, lime, and feta makes the most delicious party dip for Cinco de Mayo and beyond. Grab the chips and get to dipping!
What’s in this Hot Street Corn Dip Recipe
This recipe kicks street corn up a notch by baking everything into a hot and cheesy Mexican dip. Cream cheese, corn, hot sauce, jalapenos, and more make a deliciously spicy appetizer that’s sure to get the party started!
- Corn: Canned corn works best–be sure to fully drain and rinse it. You can use frozen corn, but you’ll need to fully defrost and warm before adding it to the dip.
- Cream Cheese: This is the base of the Mexican corn dip, which gives it a creamy, cheesy consistency. Use softened blocks of cream cheese.
- Sour Cream: This adds more creaminess and a tangy flavor. You can swap it for plain Greek yogurt or mayo.
- Hot Sauce: Use your favorite hot sauce to add some spice into the cheese dip mixture. You can also use taco sauce.
- Pepper Jack Cheese: Pepper jack adds more flavor and spice. Use freshly shredded cheese for the best melting consistency. You can swap a different type of cheese (like a Mexican blend) if you prefer.
- Feta Cheese: Feta crumbles add more tanginess and texture. You can use Cotija cheese instead.
- Jalapenos: Chopped jalapeno peppers add more heat and spice. Remove the seeds if you want to keep it mild.
- Red Onion: Chopped onions add texture and color. Red onions have a nice bite, but you can use white or yellow onion instead.
- Garlic: Minced garlic cloves add a bit more savoriness.
- Lime Juice: Fresh lime juice adds acidity and brightness into the creamy dip.
Pro Tip: To elevate this hot corn dip, make this grilled Mexican corn to use instead of canned corn.
Variations on Mexican Corn Dip
Switch up this baked Mexican street corn dip with some simple ingredient variations.
- Briefly grill, sear, or char the corn in a skillet before adding it into the dip to enhance the flavor.
- Add some Elote spices, like chili powder, smoked paprika, or cayenne. You can also use a pre-made seasoning blend, like taco seasoning.
- Mix in a can of green chiles for flavor and mild heat.
- To make it less spicy, skip the jalapeños and hot sauce.
- Mix in shredded chicken or chorizo to bulk it up. Be sure any meat you use is already fully cooked.
Often called “Elote”, street corn is grilled and then layered with sauces like sour cream or mayo, layers of fresh cilantro and lime juice, spices like chili powder, and cheeses like feta, parmesan, or cojita cheese.
To make this Mexican corn dip in a slow cooker, place all ingredients in a Crock Pot, cover, and cook on low heat for 4 hours (or high heat for 2 hours). Or try this Crockpot corn dip recipe instead for a slightly different version.
This oven-baked dip is best served hot if you ask me, but it can certainly be served cold if you prefer. Feel free to serve it straight from the fridge.
Bake this dip at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until fully warmed through.
If you’re serving this dip at a party, keep it warm in a slow cooker set to low.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Mexican street corn dip in an airtight container, and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven at 350F until warmed through.
I don’t recommend freezing this dip since it’s filled with dairy, which doesn’t hold up well when frozen and reheated.
What to Serve with Elote Dip
You can’t eat this hot street corn dip without tortilla chips! But of course you can use any dippers you like, from hearty crackers to crisp veggies. It’s one of my favorite hot party dips for all occasions, but especially for Cinco de Mayo parties along with a few margaritas.
Mexican Street Corn Dip (Elote Dip)
Ingredients
- 16 ounces 2 blocks low fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons franks redhot sauce or your favorite wing sauce
- 2 tablespoons juice from one lime
- 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese divided
- 30 ounces canned corn, fully drained and rinsed (2 cans)
- 4 ounces low fat feta cheese (or Cotija Cheese, crumbled)
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped (leave the seeds in for extra spice, or remove the seeds for a milder flavor)
- 2 tablespoons red onion chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- Your favorite chips for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- In a high powered blender or mixer, combine cream cheese, sour cream, garlic, hot sauce, lime juice, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Blend until fully combined.16 ounces 2 blocks low fat cream cheese, softened, 1/2 cup sour cream, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons franks redhot sauce, 2 tablespoons juice from one lime, 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
- Scoop the cream cheese mixture into a large bowl and add the remaining one cup cheese, the corn, feta, pepper, onion, and cilantro. Stir to combine.30 ounces canned corn, fully drained and rinsed, 4 ounces low fat feta cheese (or Cotija Cheese, crumbled), 1 jalapeno pepper, 2 tablespoons red onion, 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- Pour mixture into a prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with more cheese if desired.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is hot and bubbly. Garnish with more cilantro, feta, and hot sauce.
- Serve with chips and enjoy!Your favorite chips for dipping
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
How much smoked paprika would I put,I made it last year and it was really good but think to add the paprika this time
I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and adjust to taste!
I followed the recipe except I used frozen cubes of minced garlic from Target in place of fresh and used half pepper Jack slices, half shredded Monterey Jack because the store didn’t have shredded pepper Jack and I didn’t have time for shredding cheese. With prechopped onions all I had to chop was cilantro and jalapeños so this only took ~10 minutes to put together a double batch for a party. It’s good with a little tajin seasoning on top or in its own.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Sarah!
Amazing. I used TRADER JOES, Frozen ELOTE corn, added a drained can of RO-TEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, 10 oz drained very well, a drained can of black beans and Cojita cheese. Cooked in the slow cooker an hour on high and 3 on low. AMAZING
Thanks so much for sharing what worked for you, Traci!
We LOVE this dip! It’s been our new favorite this fall. I use cojita cheese and put all ingredients in my smaller crockpot. I start it on high for an hour or so , then move to low for a couple hours—- stir again well then put on warm. Works great. Everything melts together wonderfully!
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Looks delicious, Ruth!
Did you just add all ingredients into your crockpot, or did you still use blender? Thank you in advance for letting me know!
Christa you don’t have to use the blender put all in the crockpot at once on high for an hour then low for 2 hours
Can this be made ahead of time? And can it be eaten room temp?
Yes, you can absolutely make this ahead of time. Bake, let it cool, then refrigerate until you’re ready to serve (up to 2 days). You can either reheat it in the oven to serve hot, or serve it cold straight from the fridge. Since it’s filled with dairy ingredients, you’ll want to be careful about leaving it out at room temp for too long. But as long as it’s back in the fridge within a couple of hours, it’s fine to eat lukewarm/room temp.
How many ppl will this recipe work for?
This recipe generously serves 8 as written. In the recipe card, there is a slider to adjust the number of servings up or down to suit your needs!
If I were using fresh corn from the cob, how many ears would you suggest?
I would recommend 6 or 7 ears!
I would not change a thing and i am not into spicy but this was just the right amount not too much.
So glad you enjoyed it, Claire!
Made this for a potluck and it was a hit. Got lots of compliments. I used cotija. It really reminded me of elote from the corn man! My observation for anyone wanting to try it: it’s hard to blend all that cheese! I had to keep adding milk for it to move. I think I added a total of 1/4 cup milk. I had some Velveeta leftover so I tossed it in there too. Unfortunately, I did not transfer to a crock pot so the cheese hardened up after about 1 hr. Will add to recipe box though.
Thanks for sharing, Penny!
My husbands 2 favorite things are corn and anything spicy. He absolutely LOVES this!
I’m not much on spicy but with pita chips it calms down the spicy.
Thanks for sharing, Tabitha!