This Mexican street corn casserole is a Mexican-inspired dish that’s perfect for taco Tuesdays, summertime, and any time the cravings for Elote appear. This dish is full of delicious Mexican street corn spices, queso fresco cheese, and cilantro. This casserole is the perfect side to our Mexican Lasagna, Mexican quinoa, Ensalada de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Salad), and sheet pan chicken fajitas. It’s also incorporated into my Corn Fries recipe.

A white bowl with Mexican Street Corn Casserole in it, resting on a round wooden board.

Why This Recipe Works

Elote is a Spanish word meaning “corn” and street corn is a pretty famous and delicious treat enjoyed by many. Although that corn is served still on the cob, you can’t deny how much easier it is to prepare in a baking dish and “off the cob” like we’re doing here today.

We love this street corn casserole because it packs all of those delicious flavors into every bite and requires minimal effort to prep. Serve it alongside some tasty tacos like my Baja Taco Recipe or my Roasted Cauliflower Tacos if you want a veggie-filled dinner.

This Mexican corn casserole is actually pretty perfect on its own and doesn’t need much to make it feel like a complete meal. The flavors complement many dishes and meats though so you shouldn’t have too hard of a time planning something fabulous for dinner.

A large serving spoon scooping out Mexican Street Corn Casserole from a white baking dish.

Ingredients

Ingredients used to make Mexican street corn casserole.
  • Corn: You’re going to need corn for a corn casserole, and while you could simply cut corn off of the cob, frozen corn works best. Not only that but frozen corn makes it so much easier to prep!
  • Spices: We use a combination of chili powder, garlic powder, and salt.
  • Cheese: While you could use cotija cheese, we enjoy this dish best with queso fresco Mexican cheese because it gives such a great flavor. 

Step-By-Step Instructions 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. Combine the corn (frozen or thawed) and the mayo, sour cream, 1 ½ teaspoon of chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and 4 ounces of queso fresco cheese in a large bowl.
Corn kernels topped with chili powder, mayo, sour cream, and Mexican cheese in a glass bowl
Mayo and sour cream covered corn kernels in a large glass bowl.
  1. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  2. Sprinkle the remaining chili powder over the top. Bake for 35-45 minutes until heated through and bubbly around the edges.
A white rectangular baking dish full of Mexican Street Corn Casserole that has been sprinkled with chili powder.
A baked Mexican Street Corn Casserole in a white baking dish, garnished with chopped cilantro, white crumbled cheese, and chili powder.
  1. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese and cilantro. Serve warm.
A spoon scooping into a casserole dish that is full of cilantro and chili powder covered corn kernels.

Recipe Tips

Corn: You can thaw the corn or bake it frozen (I didn’t notice a difference when I did it both ways). When frozen it’ll bake longer, around 40-45 minutes. Feel free to use fresh corn cut off the cob as well.

If you want a punch of lime flavor, squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top of the Mexican street corn casserole after it finishes baking. You can even add some lime zest as well if you want a strong lime flavor.

For another delicious corn recipe, try my Honey Butter Skillet Corn.

FAQs

Can I use corn cut off of the cob to make this street corn casserole?

While I have personally not tried it this way, I do not see any reason why it wouldn’t work out. The taste should be incredible and the texture should be even closer to the real deal street corn. I do recommend being careful to cut the corn off the cob so that there aren’t too many hard cob parts in the mixture.

What goes well with Mexican corn casserole?

This dish is best when served with a squeeze of fresh lime juice over the top just before serving. As for main dishes to serve alongside corn casserole, I suggest enchiladas, pork carnitas, steak tacos, and more. If you can picture it going great with Elote, then there’s no doubt it would taste fabulous here too.

Mexican Street Corn kernels garnished with cilantro and chili powder on a white plate against a wooden cutting board.

More Mexican Inspired Recipes

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A large serving spoon scooping out Mexican Street Corn Casserole from a white baking dish.
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4.98 from 288 votes

Mexican Street Corn Casserole

Mexican Street Corn Casserole is a really easy side dish that's whipped up in no time at all!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 40 oz bag frozen corn - thawed, or not thawed (see notes)
  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 2/3 cup sour cream - full fat or light is fine
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder - divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 oz queso fresco - crumbled and divided
  • 3 tablespoons cilantro - chopped
  • fresh limes - optional, for spritzing at the end if desired, see notes

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 13×9 with nonstick spray. 
  • In a large bowl stir the corn (can keep frozen or thaw it), Mayo, sour cream, 1 ½ tsp chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and 4 oz of the queso fresco. 
  • Pour in the pan, sprinkle the remaining chili powder on top and bake for 35-45 mins or until heated through and bubbly on the edges. Remove and top with the remaining cheese and cilantro. Serve warm.

Notes

Corn: You can thaw the corn or bake it frozen (I didn’t notice a difference when I did it both ways). When frozen it’ll bake longer, around 40-45 minutes. Feel free to use fresh corn off the cob as well. 
Lime: Can add some lime juice and lime zest to the top if you’d like a punch of lime flavor!
If you make this recipe and love it, I would be so grateful if you come back to saltandbaker.com to leave a rating and review. Thank you! ❤️

Nutrition

Calories: 295kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 28g (9%)Protein: 7g (14%)Fat: 19g (29%)Saturated Fat: 6g (30%)Cholesterol: 26mg (9%)Sodium: 364mg (15%)Potassium: 385mg (11%)Fiber: 3g (12%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 369IU (7%)Vitamin C: 8mg (10%)Calcium: 120mg (12%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
author: Whitney Wright
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
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