Elotes Style Cornbread (Mexican Street Corn) - Dish with Drew

 Elotes Style Cornbread

This isn’t your average cornbread; this is the ultimate Elotes-style cornbread, a true flavor mash-up inspired by the creamy, tangy, and totally addictive Mexican street corn! This recipe is a guaranteed showstopper that completely levels up your cornbread game, making it the perfect side for cookouts, potlucks, or any dinner where you want to serve something completely unexpected. This cornbread is light, incredibly tender, and just subtly sweet, serving as the perfect base for the rich, savory toppings. We infuse the batter with fresh corn and salty, crumbly cotija cheese, ensuring that delicious corn flavor runs through every single bite. And that final touch, the creamy lime sauce drizzled generously over the top, provides the essential bright, tangy element that makes the whole dish taste exactly like a creamy, high-end street corn experience.

The key to achieving this cornbread's signature light and tender texture is preheating the fat (lard, butter, or shortening) directly in the baking pan, a low-fuss trick that instantly creates a beautiful, crispy exterior crust while keeping the inside beautifully moist. Whether you use fresh corn sautéed in butter or easily drained canned corn, the savory complexity is built into the batter itself. Once baked, the cornbread is crowned with the remaining fresh corn, cilantro, and cotija, and then finished with a drizzle of that zesty cream sauce (a simple mix of sour cream, mayo, and lime). This cornbread is the epitome of high-end, low-fuss baking, providing an exciting twist on a classic comfort food. Save this recipe for your next dinner party or BBQ, it’s a guaranteed hit!

These are the baking rounds I use, they come in a set of 2, I've had them for years and they're still kicking! ➡️ 8 x 3 Anodized Aluminum Round Cake Pans

👇 Ingredients & Instructions 👇

Cornbread Ingredients: 

90g All Purpose Flour

80g of Cornmeal

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

3 T Chopped Cilantro

2 Corn Cobs or One 15 oz Can of Drained Sweet Corn 

1/2 Cup of Crumbled Cotija Cheese

3/4 Cup of Mayo

1 Large Egg

3 T White Granulated Sugar

2 T of Lard, Butter or Vegetable Shortening

1 T Unsalted Butter (if using Fresh Corn)

Sauce Ingredients:

2 T Sour Cream

2 T Mayo

1 tsp Heavy Cream or Milk

Zest of One Lime

Juice of 1/2 Lime

👨‍🍳 Instructions 👨‍🍳

1) Preheat oven to 350F, place 2 tablespoons of lard in an 8-inch round baking dish and place in oven to heat, at least 10 minutes.

2) Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl.

3) Mix mayo, sugar and the egg together in a separate bowl.

4) Mix the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients until well incorporated.

5) If using fresh corn, sauté the corn in butter on medium-to-medium high heat until cooked, about 5 minutes. If using canned corn, drain liquid from can and set drained corn to the side.

6) Add in 3/4 of the corn, 3/4 of the cilantro and 3/4 of the Cotija cheese into the batter, mix to combine.

7) Carefully pour the batter into the hot pan, place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes at 350 F. It is okay if the fat from the preheated pan goes over the cornbread mixture when pouring the batter in the pan. The cornbread is cooked when you can insert a toothpick into the center and it pulls out clean.

8) Prepare the cream mixture by mixing the sour cream, mayo, heavy cream, zest and lime juice together.

9) Let the cooked cornbread cool for 10 minutes before topping with half of the cream mixture, spread evenly.

10) Place the remaining corn, cilantro and cotija cheese on top of the cornbread, drizzle with the sauce to your taste.

YouTube Video:

⚡ Affiliate Note: Some of the links below may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.