Wondering what is that Mexican street corn slather for elotes Mexican street corn on the cob or what are the Mexican street corn toppings for equites off the cob corn?
If you’ve ever tasted authentic Mexican street corn on the cob, you know it’s all about the toppings that turn simple grilled corn into that bold, creamy, tangy Mexican recipe.
How To Make Mexican Street Corn Slather
Whether you’re making elote for a summer cookout picnic foods, weeknight dinner side dish, or a fiesta party, I’ll cover the best street corn toppings and recipe variations that you can use for both street corn on the cob elotes and street corn off the cob equites.
Once you’ve had this traditional Mexican street corn slather recipe, you’ll never want to go back to plain grilled corn on the cob again!
Creamy Elote Sauce Ingredients for Street Corn on the Cob
To make this corn sauce, you’ll need:
- Sour cream*
- Cotija
- Mayonnaise
- Garlic
- Fresh cilantro
- Tajin
- Fresh lime juice
- Lime wedges
- Salt
- Pepper
Get the free street corn slather recipe card below.
I also like to add chopped green onions to both my street corn on the cob recipe and street corn in a cup topping, but it’s an optional ingredient.
This can be a messy recipe, so I recommend using those corn skewers (corn holders) if you don’t want to get your fingers covered in sauce.
READ TO ANSWER RECIPE QUESTIONS: Street Corn Toppings Recipe Tips & FAQs
*What is Mexican Crema?
Mexican crema is a rich, slightly tangy cream that’s commonly used in Mexican cooking for both savory recipes and spicy dishes, including as a drizzle for Mexican street corn recipes.
I’ve put sour cream as a substitute for this street corn slather because Mexican crema is sometimes difficult to find. (We almost always use sour cream for this recipe.)
What is Tajin?
Tajin is a popular Mexican seasoning blend made from chili peppers, lime, and salt.
I think it has a really tangy and slightly spicy flavor.
If you’ve never had it before, be sure to taste your street corn on the cob before adding extra as topping on your corn.
RECIPE TIP: I usually find Tajin in the spice aisle or the Mexican food aisle at grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can also use smoked paprika.
What is Cotija?
Cotija cheese, named after the town in Mexico where it came from, is a crumbly, white cheese that you see on street corn.
This is the cheese for both elote corn and esquites corn recipe.
If you can’t find Cotija cheese, you can use queso fresco or feta, but I really think that Cotija cheese is the key to that authentic Mexican street corn taste.
RECIPE TIP: I usually find Cotija cheese in the specialty cheese sections of grocery store deli sections (sometimes around the blue cheese).
Is Cotija cheese the same as queso fresco?
Cotija cheese has a bolder, saltier flavor than the more mild queso fresco.
Keep that in mind when making this recipe for Mexican street corn (or any recipe with Cotija cheese) and adjust salt accordingly!
You may not want to add extra salt until you taste it with the Cotija cheese, especially if you’ve never cooked with it before.
Free Printable Recipe Card for Mexican Street Corn on the Cob Slather
This topping recipe is for that white slather topping on street corn on cob.
It’s an easy 10-minute recipe (no-cook recipe!), so you can whip it together anytime you’re grilling corn or having corn for dinner sides.
RECIPE TIP: This is a traditional Mexican corn on the cob recipe with mayo and the kind of mayonnaise you use matters! I swear by Hellmann’s mayonnaise for this Mexican corn and making the mayonnaise mixture sauce for slathering.
This recipe is enough for about 6 ears of cooked corn on the cob. You can also easily double this recipe (or triple it!) if you’re making recipes for a crowd.
The creamy slather will melt a little on hot corn (just like buttered corn), but that’s OK! You can crumbled Cotija and add more Tajin, to your taste liking.
How to cook corn on the cob for this recipe:
- Boiled corn recipe
- Grilled corn on cob
- Air fried corn on the cob
Mexican Street Corn Slather
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican Crema (if you can find it)
- 1/2 cup Hellmann's Mayonnaise*
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped (reserve some for garnish toppings)
- 1 teaspoon Tajin** plus extra for toppings
- 2 small limes juice one and cut second one into wedges for serving
- 1/2 cup Cotija cheese for topping
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream (or Crema), mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro, Tajin, and the juice from one lime.
- Using a pastry brush or grilling brush, generously brush the street corn slather onto warm cooked corn on the cob.
- Sprinkle with extra Tajin (if desired) and crumbled Cotija cheese.
- Garnish with extra chopped fresh cilantro.
- Serve while corn is warm with lime wedges to add additional lime juice, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition Note
Nutrition calculations are approximate. If you're following a special diet, please calculate your own nutrition values.
I hope you enjoy this Mexican street corn slather!
