Elotes (Grilled Corn With Cheese, Lime and Chile)

By Melissa Clark

Updated July 2, 2025

Elotes (Grilled Corn With Cheese, Lime and Chile)
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(986)
Comments
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Whole ears of corn are a classic street food in Mexico, where they are either grilled or boiled, then often dressed with some combination of lime, chile, mayonnaise and grated cheese. This grilled version calls for all of the above, which get mixed together into a creamy, bracing topping, and slathered all over the hot, sweet ears. It's not strictly traditional, but it does make it easier to assemble the corn and its dressing before serving. Or place the various topping in small bowls and let guests have the fun of garnishing their own. And if you don’t have a grill, the broiler works too though watch the ears carefully so they don’t burn.

Featured in: Summer Corn at its Tangiest, Spiciest, Messiest Best

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 6ears fresh corn, shucked
  • 3tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 2limes
  • ¼teaspoon ancho chile powder, more as needed
  • Fine sea salt, as needed
  • Black pepper, as needed
  • ½cup crumbed cotija cheese (or substitute feta or ricotta salata)
  • ¼cup chopped fresh cilantro
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

183 calories; 10 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 332 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat your grill to medium-high. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until cooked through and lightly charred, 7 to 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, zest of 1 lime, chile powder, salt and pepper.

  3. Step 3

    Slather hot corn with mayonnaise mixture and sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Cut limes into wedges and serve alongside corn.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
986 user ratings
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Comments

Santosh

My favorite ! I love them so much that I have iterated over this again and again and have settled on this mix: 4 tbsp mayo, 4 tbsp crémè fraîche, 1/2 tsp ancho cilli powder, 1/2 cup of cotija cheese and 1/4 cup cilantro.Mix this thoroughly, baste on corn and then sprinkle some Tajin salt all over. Now squueze a 1/4 wedge lime on it

Kevin

Sometimes I'll grill corn, cut it off the cob and add the rest of the ingredients here to make a corn salad. It's great for summer potlucks.

Marty Rosenbluth

I find that par-boiling the corn in about 8 cups of water with one cup of milk and about a tablespoon of sugar for about 5-7 minutes makes he corn more tender and adds flavor.

Will

Grilling for the suggested. 7-10 min seems waaay too long if you want any sweetness left in the corn. I’d say 3-5 min max depending upon the starting temp of the corn. Have made this many times and love it.

Deb

How do you eat this?

dolcecigno

I really wanted to like this but none of my family did. I wish the recipe would specify a measurement for the lime juice because I'm pretty sure I put in too much. I made the recipe exactly as written and it tasted...unpleasant. Corn is so naturally delicious anyway that a recipe like this seems unnecessary.

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