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This deliciously cheesy Mexican street corn recipe is perfectly spiced. It’s the perfect side for your Mexican meals!
This savory corn side pairs perfectly with Mexican dishes! We like to add Mexican street corn to our other Mexican sides like Refried Beans and Spanish Rice.
Torchy’s Tacos Copycat
Have you been to Torchy’s Tacos before? Unfortunately, they are only located in a few states so chances are you haven’t been there. It’s a very sad thing because the place has some of the best Tacos and Sides I’ve ever tried.
Torchy’s is best known for its tacos, which we absolutely love. Having said that, the two other menu favorites for us are the Mexican street corn and the queso. I still need to develop a copycat recipe for the queso, but today I’m sharing a copycat recipe for the street corn.
Sometimes street corn is served as an entire cob on a skewer and called “elote”, but this recipe is for Mexican corn off the cob. I personally think it’s easier to prepare that way!
How to Make Mexican Street Corn
This best Mexican street corn recipe is packed with flavor!
CORN. Heat a large skillet on high heat and add the corn. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
SEASON. Remove from heat and add in butter and salt. Stir until mixed. Place corn in a bowl and stir in mayo and lime juice. Add 1 teaspoon chili powder and mix well. Sprinkle the mixture with cotija cheese, chili powder, and chopped cilantro.
Serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
This skillet street corn can be made using fresh corn or frozen corn.
Fresh corn. Although it will be more time-consuming, fresh corn can be used. Husk the cobs and use a grill to cook them. Brush corn with vegetable oil. Grill corn on high heat, turning every 2-3 minutes, until slightly charred on all sides. Cut corn kernels off the ears of corn, and then mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Ingredient substitutions. There are some other ingredients you can use however keep in mind that with every substitute you are in essence creating your own dish and not a Torchy’s Copycat.
- Substitute feta cheese or parmesan cheese for the cotija.
- Use parsley for the cilantro.
- Try Mexican crema, Greek yogurt, avocado mayo, or olive oil in place of the regular mayo, but it will have a slightly different flavor.
- Add lime wedges on the side for an extra splash of flavor.
Serving + Storing Tips
Torchy’s street corn is a delicious side to any of your favorite Mexican dishes, but here are some of our favorites:
Serving Suggestions:
Warm or cold. I prefer this best Mexican street corn recipe served warm, but you can serve it at whatever temperature you like!
STORE. Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Recipe FAQ
This recipe uses drained cans of corn, but you can easily thaw some frozen corn to use just to allow a few extra minutes for the corn to heat up. You can also cut the kernels off of cooked corn on the cob. See above for how to grill ears of corn.
I make my street corn using chili powder. You can reduce the amount for less spice. If you love spice you can easily increase the amount.
For More FAvorite Mexican Sides, Try:
Mexican Street Corn Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 (15.25-ounce) cans corn, drained
- 2 tablespoons butter
- kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons chili powder, divided
- cotija cheese
- cilantro, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat a cast iron skillet on high heat and add the corn. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat and add in butter and salt. Stir until mixed.
- Place corn in a bowl and stir in mayo and lime juice. Add 1 teaspoon chili powder and mix well.
- Sprinkle with cojita cheese, chili powder, and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately and enjoy
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How much cheese do you sprinkle?
It’s honestly however much you like. I’d start with a tablespoon or two, but you could definitely do more!
Just made this for the first time for my dad (Hispanic) and family. Used cotija cheese, only substitute. Everyone loved it! I Loved how easy it was with canned corn too.
Made this for a Father’s Day gathering and everyone loved it! Definitely – recipe worth saving.
Served warm. Loved it. To take to a dinner I doubled the recipe for some lunch left-overs
We loved it. We had it as a side with fish tacos. Definitely an easy and yummy dinner. Thanks for the recipe.
What could I use for a substitute for mayo?
Ingredient substitutions. There are some other ingredients you can use however keep in mind that with every substitute you are in essence creating your own dish and not a Torchy’s Copycat.
Substitute feta cheese or parmesan cheese for the cotija.
Use parsley for the cilantro.
Try Mexican crema, Greek yogurt, avocado mayo, or olive oil in place of the regular mayo, but it c will have a slightly different flavor.
Add lime wedges on the side for an extra splash of flavor.
Crema (Mexican Sour Cream) works really well! Usually I’ll use both, the Mayo adds a richer taste profile. 🙂
You could use a little less mayo and add some sour cream or greek yogurt.
Can this be made a few hours ahead of time and put in a crockpot to keep warm?
Yes!
Took to a happy hour party and was liked very much. Mostly gone. I did add roasted red peppers, as well as one jalapeño, didn’t use cotija but used finely chopped Parmesan. Grilled my own fresh corn and served with corn chips.
Can you use frozen corn?
Yes you could. You’ll want to thaw the corn before so that there isn’t a bunch of extra liquid.
I made this as a side dish to my smoked brisket. The corn outshone the brisket! It was so good and everyone loved it! It was even really good heated up the next day. I’m definitely going to make this over and over again! So yummy!
Great recipe. I took some liberties to make it a lighter mid day snack. Sub olive oil for butter, greek yogurt for mayo, and feta in place of cotija as that’s all I had. I’ve made it both ways but prefer the greek yogurt as mayo makes this recipe a bit rich for me. Thanks for sharing!
A little confused by the number of cans of corn needed to triple the recipe. Recipe says 54.75 cans corn, that can’t be. A little help please.
The recipe algorithm automatically doubles or triples all the numbers so when she put 3 (15.25) oz cans it doubles the number in the ( ) so you need 6 (15oz) cans for 2x recipe and 9 cans for 3x recipe.
The recipe algorithm automatically doubles or triples all the numbers so when she put 3 (15.25) oz cans it doubles the number in the ( ) so you need 6 (15oz) cans for 2x recipe and 9 cans for 3x recipe.