Mexican Street Corn Popcorn

Mexican street corn popcorn is our version of elotes in popcorn form. Corn on the cob is a popular Mexican street food and elote just means corn cob. The dish, more commonly known as Mexican street corn in the US, is a delicious concoction of mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh lime juice, garlic, chili powder and cheese that gets slathered on roasted corn on the cob. A tiny bit messy for a “walking” snack but many delicious things are. Plus it’s totally worth a few extra napkins.

Typically the cheese used in this treat is cotija, a salty, firm, aged cow’s milk cheese that is popular in Mexico. In fact, it’s named after the town of Cotija, Michoacán. The “young” version of cotija tastes somewhat similar to feta while the more aged version can resemble Parmesan. Cotija is often found in large grocery stores in the US but we actually like feta for this recipe.

Yes, elotes recipes include cilantro and we realize that doesn’t appeal to some people. But no worries because parsley will work just as well.

So, can we translate these flavors to our favorite snack, popcorn? Yes, we sure can. After all, we pour liquid butter on popped corn all the time so is adding some mayonnaise and sour cream all that much different? This is definitely a savory snack with the flavor of garlic and the sharp cheese. The chili powder gives it a great taste but not much heat. If heat is your thing, though, go ahead and add some crushed red pepper to the mayonnaise mixture. Or just sprinkle it on top of your portion if not all the snackers in your family appreciate it.

Make a batch of this interesting treat and we’ll bet it won’t be your last.