A creamy, cheesy slow cooker party dip recipe with all the flavors of hot Mexican Street Corn served warm with tortilla chips.
JUMP TO RECIPEYou may remember my recipe for Mexican Street Corn (Esquites), which is an off-the-cob version of Elotes, the famous street food in Mexico where hot roasted cobs of corn are slathered with crema or mayo then dusted with chili powder and cojita cheese then eaten on a stick like a corndog or candy apple.
Man, dang! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
I decided to combine Mexican Street Corn with my Creamy Corn Salsa (equally drool-inducing and currently holding the #1 spot as BOTH my daughters’ favorite dip) to make a hot dip for tortilla chips.
AND make it in a slow cooker because football season and the upcoming holidays mean we’re all going to be reaching for our crock pots and recipe books for some crowd-pleasing party dips!
INGREDIENTS FOR CROCK POT MEXICAN STREET CORN DIP
- Canned Mexicorn or Fiesta Corn
- Cream cheese
- Queso fresco cheese
- Mayo
- Milk
- Diced red onion
- Diced, seeded jalapeno pepper
- Spices: Cumin, garlic powder, chili powder
- Zest & juice of a lime
- Chopped cilantro
NOTES ABOUT CROCK POT MEXICAN STREET CORN DIP
This recipe uses Queso Fresco instead of Cojita (which is traditionally served on Mexican Street Corn) because it is softer and melts better. If you can’t find Queso Fresco, substitute shredded Colby Jack cheese in the dip then top with grated Cojita (or parmesan could be substituted for topping the dip if you already have some on-hand).
The Mexicorn (also called Fiesta Corn) used in the recipe is canned yellow corn with red and green peppers. If you can’t find it, just substitute regular corn.
You can also 4 10-oz bags frozen “steam-in-the-bag” Southwestern-style corn.
You can prepare the dip on the stove, set to low heat, if needed then transfer to a crock pot or chafing dish to keep warm.
The dip is NOT spicy. If you would like some heat, add in some of the jalapeno seeds or add cayenne pepper.
Be sure to set the crock pot to Warm once everything is melty and creamy. If the dip cooks too long the onions and jalapenos become too soft and the cheese could get punky.
Don’t skip the lime. For one reason, it’s a key ingredient in traditional Mexican Street Corn. But also, I have had it both ways and the lime really makes the flavors pop and cuts through all of the creaminess.
Adding the lime juice at the end ensures the acid in the juice doesn’t cause the creamy dip to look curdled or separated.
Recipe for Crock Pot Mexican Street Corn Dip
MORE HOT DIPS TO TRY!
CRISPY BAKED JALAPENO POPPER DIP - Gooey cheese and jalapeno peppers baked under an extra crispy breadcrumb coating that crunches just like the famous fried appetizer.
PIGS IN A BLANKET CHILI CHEESE DIPPERS - Pigs-In-a-Blanket baked around an easy chili-cheese dip for dunking makes for bite-sized chili-cheese dogs.
HOT CHICKEN SALAD - A retro appetizer recipe made with chicken, almonds, cheese and celery topped with crushed potato chips served as a dip or entree.
ROTEL SAUSAGE DIP - A classic party dip recipe with Rotel tomatoes, sausage and cream cheese served with tortilla chips perfect for crock pots, tailgating and gameday!
Crock Pot Mexican Street Corn Dip
Ingredients
- 4 11-oz cans Mexicorn
- 1 8-oz block cream cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, diced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, plus more
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 12-oz block queso fresco, divided
- 1 lime
- 3/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Add corn to a colander and allow to drain well while prepping everything else.
- Add cream cheese then next eight ingredients (through salt) to crock pot.
- Crumble or shred 3/4 of the queso fresco then add to crock pot. Finely grate or crumble remaining 1/4 queso fresco then refrigerate until later.
- Add drained corn then gently stir. The cream cheese can stay on the bottom of the crock pot – no need to try to stir it until it’s melted.
- Heat dip on Low for 3-4 hours or High for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. When cream cheese has melted and everything can be easily stirred, set to Warm until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, zest and juice the lime then stir both the zest and juice into corn mixture.
- Top corn dip with cilantro, reserved queso fresco and additional chili powder then serve with tortilla chips.
Notes
- Mexicorn (also called Fiesta Corn) is canned yellow corn with red and green peppers. If you can’t find it, just substitute regular corn.
- You can also use 3 15-oz cans Fiesta Corn or 4 10-oz bags frozen “steam-in-the-bag” Southwestern-style corn (just whatever gets you about 40-45 ounces… it doesn’t have to be exact)
- Queso Fresco is very similar to Cojita (which is traditionally served on Mexican Street Corn) but it is softer and melts better. If you can’t find Queso Fresco, substitute shredded Colby Jack cheese in the dip then top with grated Cojita (or parmesan could be substituted for topping the dip if you already have some on-hand).
- The dip is NOT spicy. If you would like some heat, add in some of the jalapeno seeds or add cayenne pepper.
- Be sure to set the crock pot to Warm once everything is melty and creamy. If the dip cooks too long the onions and jalapenos become too soft.
- Adding the lime juice at the end ensures the acid in the juice doesn’t cause the creamy dip to curdle or separate.
- 1 lime should yield about 2-3 tablespoons of juice. Don’t use more than 2-3 tablespoons.
- Don't skip the lime. I made this with once without it and it was just sorta… blah. The lime makes the flavors pop and cuts through all of the creaminess.
- This can be prepared on low on a stovetop then held warm in a slow cooker.
