Mexican Street Corn in a Cup is inspired by the treat at the Cozy Cone in Disney’s California Adventure. Such a delicious appetizer, snack or side dish.
Mexican Street Corn in a Cup
Mexican street corn, or elote en vaso, in a cup is an easy mess-free way to go when you are craving Mexican street corn. Everything is layered nicely in a cup that can easily be carried around. The first time I saw someone eating Mexican corn in a cup was at Disneyland California Adventure. If you have ever been to Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure, you have surely seen the GIANT orange traffic cones right as you walk in. Each of these cones has a different theme and serves a different kind of treat. If you mosey on down to cone #5 you will find the Champion Corn Cups– Disneyland’s version of a Mexican corn cup. But if you’re not heading to California Adventure anytime soon, you can make this perfect side dish at home.
Be sure to check out all our other tasty Mexican Recipes!
Ingredients in Mexican Street Corn
Making this recipe as is, it’ll taste exactly like the Champion Corn Cups at the Cozy Cone. Here’s all you need for our recipe:
- Sugar – just a couple of tablespoons. Trust me it’s a game changer!
- Frozen corn kernels- see below for tips if you want to use fresh corn on the cob for this recipe
- Mayonnaise – you can use a lower fat mayo for this recipe
- Sour cream – can also substitute plain Greek yogurt
- Lime salt – this is optional. But it tastes so good! If you can’t find lime salt, use fresh lime juice or stir in a crystalized lime packets.
- Cotija cheese – if queso fresco or Mexican crema works great too! You can also substitute parmesan cheese too.
- Chopped cilantro – add a tablespoon or more to taste
- Chili powder – also to taste
- Just a dusting of chile powder can also be used as a beautiful garnish.
- Garnish with one lime cut into wedges
Suggestions for the Best Mexican Corn in a Cup
A lot of you have written in about delicious additions and substitutions you’ve made so we want to share those with our readers as well. Here are some more ideas to spoon on more flavor!
- Cotija cheese can sometimes be difficult to find so queso fresco is a good alternative. Cotija crumbles nicely and has a nice, salty flavor. It is similar to Feta cheese but is a little more dry and crumbly, which makes it great for sprinkling on your favorite Mexican dishes.
- If you want to go all-out and actually grill FRESH corn for this recipe, you absolutely can. You can use THIS recipe for Grilled Mexican Street Corn or use the kernels from fresh, perfect corn on the cob recipe.
- After grilling the corn you can use a knife and cut the kernels into a large bowl and follow the rest of the recipe below as directed.
- If you want to add a little more substance to this corn mixture to serve as a side dish or even as a dip with chips, you can always add some additional ingredients. You can add grilled zucchini, sliced cherry tomatoes, avocado, chopped jalapeños and/or sautéed onion.
- Add a dash of your favorite hot sauce to give this street food a little more kick.
- Serve over greens and some carne asada for a delicious and hearty salad meal.
- Stir in Tajine and a hint of hickory, so it tastes like it would straight off the grill.
- Top each cup with a small pat of butter so it melts in the corn mixture.
We use 9 ounce plastic cups to get four servings from this recipe.
For some, corn is sweet enough on its own, so yes you can leave out the sugar. We just find the added sweetness balances out the spices beautifully.
We serve it at room temperature! It’s delicious!
More Delicious Corn Recipes
Can’t get enough delicious corn in your life? Same here! We’ve gathered a few of our favorite recipes for you to try:
- Southern Corn Casserole
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
- How to Cook Frozen Corn (the right way)
- Sweet Corn Cakes
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Mexican Street Corn Cups
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 pound frozen corn
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha or to taste
- kosher salt to taste
- lime salt optional, to taste
- 1/2 cup cotija cheese or queso fresco, crumbled
- 1/4 cup cilantro to taste
- chili powder to taste
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add sugar. When water is boiling, add corn and cover with lid. Simmer corn for 3-5 minutes or until corn is cooked though and tender.
- While corn in simmering, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, sriracha, Kosher salt, and lime salt in a small bowl.
- When corn is done cooking, drain well and return to pan. Allow to cool for about 3 minutes. Add sriracha-mayo mixture to the corn and until well combined.
- Divide corn into 4 individual cups.
- Top with queso fresco, cilantro, a dash of chili powder, and a lime wedge. Serve immediately.
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Good
I made this for Father’s Day 2022. It was a big hit and disappeared fast. Not a single kernel was left behind. It’s now a on a rotation for sides in our home. Excellent recipe.
Mexican Street Corn was a hit. I made the recipe for our HR at the school district and it took first place! Thank you for sharing! 🤩
Cant wait to try this recipe. It says serve 4, but what size cups?
We usually serve it in clear 9oz plastic cups. Hope this helps!
Should I use sriracha sauce or sriracha seasoning in this recipe?
We use the sauce!
Thanks so much!
This is a great dish !! Some of us ol’ folks can’t eat corn off the cob anymore. I’ve added a hint of hickory to the mix, used Tajine for spice…like it would taste off the grill. I’m adding this to my asked for recipes, Corn Salad & Corn Pudding. How fabulous one can put this together any time of the year !!!
This was absolutely delicious! My family and I enjoyed it. My husband is Mexican and has had his fair share of corn in a cup but he said this one was amazing! We barbecued ribs and chicken and had this as a side.
Thanks so much for this recipe, it’ll now be a staple recipe in our family.
cant wait to try
This has me dreaming of Disneyland more than ever! Going to have to make this to get my fix until they reopen! So delicious!
I think I need a bigger cup!! Love this stuff!! Love the cup idea! Great for parties!
These look so delicious and perfect for my kids! I can’t wait to give this a try!
This is delicious and my partner inhales it each time I make it. The only thing I omit is the sugar. Corn is sweet enough without it for my taste. Other than this, it is great. Oh, one other thought if you don’t have lime salt, use crystallized lime. It tends to be on the concentrated side to add to taste before going all in on it.
Made this in a huge batch for a taco bar party. It was a hit!
What a good idea! Such a fun addition to a taco bar party!
How did you keep it warm? Or, did you serve at room temperature?
We serve it at room temperature!
Can I make this 2 days in advance?
We haven’t made this in advance before so I am not sure how it will affect the taste. If I were to guess I would say they will probably taste best if you make them fresh. Hope this helps!
I usually make the sauce a couple hours in advance so I can let the flavors marry before adding everything else. It’s absolutely fantastic! Try it out.
I just tried a cup of Elote corn a few months ago at a mall – it was so good! This recipe was even better! So creamy and full of flavor.
Thanks for letting us know how you liked this corn recipe! and for the 5-stars! You rock!
Have you tried grilled corn and then cutting it from the Cobb? Seems like a little more effort but wonder if that would work too. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Yessss! We love grilled corn! I agree, a little more effort but soooo worth it! We tried to keep this recipe true to how Disney serves it but yes, kick it up a notch if you are in the mood!