Mexican Street Corn Fritters

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These crispy corn fritters are bursting with the flavors of elote: sweet, tangy and slightly spicy! Make sure to top your mexican street corn fritters with our four-ingredient creamy chipotle sauce to get the full elote effect!

Sweet corn season is just around the corner and, as someone who grew up on farmland surrounded by cornfields, you can bet I’m pretty excited! While my preferred way to enjoy sweet corn is picked straight from my backyard and enjoyed on the cob, I’ve been experimenting with the first batches of fresh corn to pop up in our local markets. My absolute favorite creation so far are these mexican street corn (elote) inspired corn fritters. They’re savory and cheesy, but also full of fresh and vibrant flavors! And when served with this easy chipotle sauce I could definitely eat a whole stack in one sitting!

elote fritters

Mexican street corn or elote is generally made by smothering fresh corn on the cob with mayo and then topping it with lime juice, chili powder and cheese. To get those flavors in the fritters, I added the chili powder and cheese (cotija in this case) directly to the batter and used mayo and lime juice in the chipotle sauce (more on that in the next section).

As for the corn, I used fresh sweet corn, rinsed and then cut straight off the cob. Frozen corn will also work for this recipe, but you’ll need to let it thaw and then drain off as much excess liquid as possible. 

In addition to the sweet corn, chili powder and cotija, the batter also includes flour, salt, baking powder, garlic powder, eggs, milk and diced jalapenos. After mixing up all ingredients to form the batter, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Then drop about ¼ cup of batter into the hot pan, smash it down to form a patty with your spatula and cook until crispy! It should only take about 2 minutes per side. Add a bit more oil as necessary and reduce the heat a bit if you find they’re browning too quickly.

spicy chipotle sauce

This might just be my all-time favorite sauce. Creamy, spicy and with a hint of zesty tartness from the lime juice — it’s perfection in my books!

You’ll need just four ingredients here: sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice and chipotles in adobo. The smoky, dried jalapenos in adobo sauce are a pantry staple for us; I use them in dips, sauces, dressings and marinades! For this recipe, you’ll generally only need one pepper from the can and a bit of the sauce. And definitely adjust that to taste — I like to add an extra chipotle if it’s just Viktor and myself, but if I’m cooking for someone who is more spice averse I tend to use just one pepper and even scrape out the seeds.

To make the sauce, just pulse everything together in a blender until smooth! And if you’re in need of a few recipes to finish up your can of chipotles in adobo, definitely check out these chipotle jackfruit quesadillas or our favorite beef barbacoa tacos!

what to serve with your mexican street corn fritters

These mexican street corn fritters are great as an appetizer or side dish, but we actually tend to make them into our entire dinner. Our favorite way to turn these fritters into a meal? Serve them on top of rice bowls with black beans and fresh veggies! And then of course we drizzle the chipotle sauce over the entire bowl. It’s pure magic!

And while the fritters are best served straight out of the pan, we’ve found that they reheat pretty well in the oven at 400 F (200 C) and retain some of that crispiness!

Looking for more delicious vegetable side dishes? Check out these recipes:

• brussels sprouts with bacon
• za’atar smashed potatoes + cilantro tahini sauce
• roasted radishes and potatoes + creamy dill kefir dressing

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