Mexican Corn Dip

5 from 1 vote

Mexican Street Corn Dip is a twist on classic street corn, served in a scoopable form. With cheesy goodness and a bubbly texture, it's perfect for fiestas!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings (4 cups)

Calories: 335kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
½ cup yellow onion small diced
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and fine diced (save a couple slices for garnish)
14.75 ounce can fire-roasted corn liquids drained (DelMonte brand)
4 ounce can mild green chilies
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
8 ounce block cream cheese softened
⅓ cup sour cream
⅓ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped, divided into 2 tablespoons and 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice from ½ lime
2 teaspoons Elote seasoning blend
⅔ cups crumbled cotija cheese divided in half
8 ounce block Colby jack cheese shredded, divided into 1 cup and 1½ cups

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. You will need an 8x8 baking dish for this dip.
In a medium skillet, on medium-high heat, add the canola oil, diced yellow onion, diced jalapeño pepper, fire-roasted corn, mild green chilies, salt, and black pepper. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and most of the liquids have cooked out. Remove from the heat.
In a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and give it a quick stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to soften it up so that it combines easier with the other ingredients.
Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of the fresh chopped cilantro, lime juice, Elote seasoning blend, and the cooked vegetables to the softened cream cheese. Stir to fully combine all the ingredients.
Add ⅓ of the crumbled cotija cheese and 1 cup of the shredded Colby-jack cheese and stir to combine.
Transfer the corn dip mixture into the 8x8 casserole dish and smooth to an even layer. Top with the remaining 1½ cups shredded Colby jack cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes or until the Mexican corn dip is bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Remove from the oven and top with the remaining ⅓ cup crumbled cotija cheese, 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro and reserved jalapeño pepper slices as garnish.

Notes

Yields: 8 servings (4 cups)

Storage:

To Store: Leftover Mexican corn dip can last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container.

Tips:

This Mexican corn dip can be served with Fritos brand Scoops corn chips or Tostitos brand Scoops tortilla chips. Both taste great and are sturdy enough for this dip.
Mexican cotija cheese is a semi-hard cheese that is very salty and crumbles easily. If you can’t find it, you can substitute queso-fresco cheese in its place. The queso-fresco is milder in flavor, but it crumbles like the cotija cheese and is most often the first choice as a substitute. Parmesan cheese is similar in saltiness to the cotija, so it is sometimes used as a substitute as well.
The Elote seasoning spice blend is becoming more and more popular to find in the spice section of grocery stores. Trader Joe's makes a great version that has wonderful flavor. Like most spice blends, different brands will vary in taste, so you will want to choose a spice brand that you are familiar with, and that is of good quality. You can make a spice blend of your own for this recipe by combining 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper. This will not be exactly like the Elote seasoning blend, but it will add great flavor to your Mexican corn dip.
I love using Colby-jack cheese when making hot dips, or any casserole that calls for gooey-melty cheese topping. Use can substitute the Colby-jack for a cheddar-jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, cheddar-mozzarella cheese blend, or any combination of the above. You will need a total of 2½ cups shredded cheese. I like to shred my own cheese from the block as I find that it melts much better.
This Mexican corn dip has a nice level of heat to it without being overpowering. You can certainly add an additional 1 teaspoon of the Elote seasoning, you can use hot green chilies in the can or swap out the Colby-jack for the pepper-jack cheese. Any of these options will add more heat to this dip.
Before you seed and dice your jalapeño pepper, I like to slice off 3-4 thin circles to save as a garnish for serving. Once you cut off your slices, you can cut the pepper in half to remove the veins and seeds before chopping it into a fine dice.
If you can not find the canned fire-roasted corn kernels, you can substitute with southwest-style corn or even a standard can of yellow corn kernels. Any of these options will taste great, but I love the flavor that the charred corn gives this dip.

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