This air fryer Mexican street corn is an easy short cut for making the delicious and popular treat sold at food stands and food carts on Mexican streets corners.
Mexican street corn, known as esquites (or ezquites, meaning toasted corn), is usually served in individual plastic or paper cups as a snack (antojitos) to hold you over before dinner or for a late night treat.
The ingredients are pretty much the same as elotes (grilled corn on the cob with the same seasonings), but in a less messy form. In fact, esquites are also known as elote en vaso.
Once you've tried esquites, you probably won't want to have corn any other way. It's so simple yet so delicious. It's seriously the best tasting fresh corn dish ever.
Authentic Mexican street corn is made with grilled corn, but using the air fryer is a great shortcut when you don't want to fire up the grill or when it's not grilling weather. Just brush the corn with olive oil and air fry it until it is tender, about seven to ten minutes.
Once you've air fried the corn, strip it off of the cobs and toss it with the mixture of the ingedients that you usually slather on the corn cobs and serve it hot. It's so good.
My favorite tool for stripping the corn is the Oxo Corn Stripper. It makes fast work of removing the kernels from the cobs. No kernels flying everywhere!
Ingredients in Esquites:
Fresh corn on the cob: I used white corn, but use whatever fresh corn on the cob is available.
Olive oil: You can also use a neutral oil.
Mayonnaise: Yes, I know, it seems weird. Trust me, it works.
Fresh lime juice
Garlic: One minced clove should be enough.
Cotija cheese: Cotija is a hard yet crumbly and salty cheese. I like the Cacique brand. It's pretty available in most well-stocked grocery stores but might be hidden in a corner of the cheese aisle. In my store (Ralph's), it's near the Italian cheeses. If you can't find it, you can substitute queso fresco or feta cheese.
Salt, pepper, and cayenne powder
Ancho chile powder: If you can't find it, chipotle chile or, in a pinch, just chile power will work too.
Fresh cilantro: If you don't care for cilantro, while the flavor profile will be different, you can substitute scallions.
More Summer Corn Recipes:
Roasted Corn and Zucchini Salad
Breakfast Strata with Corn and Chiles
More Street Food Recipes:
Air Fryer/Oven Fried Recipes
- Air Fried Teriyaki Chicken Wings from That Recipe
- Air Fryer Chicken Fajitas from Cheese Curd In Paradise
- Air Fryer Corn on The Cob from Palatable Pastime
- Air Fryer Salmon Cakes from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Easy Air Fryer Tortilla Pizzas from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Wings from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
- Oven-Fried Avocado Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Creme from The Spiffy Cookie
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You can make this corn in a standard air fryer in stages, or you can use the air fryer function in a toaster oven.
I used my Breville air fryer toaster oven so that I could have all of the corn ready at the same time. The oven is pretty spectacular. It might be pricey, but I highly recommend it, especially if you don't have double ovens. I've even baked bread in mine.
You can also roast the corn in your oven using the convection function if you have it.
If you'd like to add some char to your corn to make it look grilled, you can broil it just after baking or air frying it. Just watch it very closely.
Air Fryer Mexican Street Corn Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ears of corn, shucked
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- 1 pinch cayenne powder
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 ounces crumbled Cotija cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Brush the ears of corn with the olive oil.
- In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, lime juice, chile powder, cayenne powder, salt, and pepper.
- Air fry the corn at 375 degrees F in an air fryer or air fryer toaster oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the corn kernels are tender.
- Strip the kernels from the cobs into a bowl and toss in the mayonnaise mixture. (I used a paper towel to hold the end of the hot corn ear while stripping it).
- Add the mayonnaise mixture and toss everything together. Top with the cotija cheese and cilantro and serve right away.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
181Fat (grams)
10.06Sat. Fat (grams)
3.45Carbs (grams)
18.27Fiber (grams)
2.98Net carbs
16.27Sugar (grams)
2.76Protein (grams)
5.15Sodium (milligrams)
329Cholesterol (grams)
15.55
No cob? I'm in! Sounds good!
ReplyDeleteLove Mexican street corn! Who knew you could make it in the air fryer.
ReplyDeleteMexican street corn is good no matter how you fix it!
ReplyDeleteThere is a food truck in my area that makes elote corn bowls and it is one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteI loved this recipe so much!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!! I couldn't get enough of it!
ReplyDelete