A few years ago, my family went to Sedona and had dinner at a restaurant called Elote Cafe. As a starter, we ordered their namesake dish – an Elote dip. And it was a true game changer for my family. We all devoured it, and soon after our trip, my Mom found and mastered the recipe for her own Elote dip. It has become a staple for my family’s get togethers – always served alongside guacamole.
It wasn’t until I moved to SoCal a few years later that I realized elote is actually an incredibly common Mexican street food. And proper elote is really delicious as well, but it’s a bit easier to eat as a dip. The elote dip my mom makes is delicious, with a really creamy and cheesy sauce that makes it very scoopable. But it also means it’s very rich and… not that healthy. Great in moderation, but… I want to eat it with a spoon, so….
So since I love elote so much, I wanted to make it a bit lighter, so I could eat it more often. I took the ingredients and shuffled around their ratios. The roasted corn still takes center stage, and the creamy sauce gets simplified down to a dressing, with no mayo. Add in some lettuce and avocado. Keep some of the cheese, but use a bit less.
I think this would be a really great complete meal with a protein added – I think some simple roasted chicken or black beans would be great, or even taco meat to make it a taco salad. You can add in tortilla chips for crunch if you want. Like with all savory recipes, this one is flexible. Add spices to the level you want, and add in ingredients to scale it to what you’re making it for – keep it simple for a side salad, or add protein and chips to make it a more filling standalone meal. The recipe below is also for a single serving, but you can scale it very easily!
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Serves 1
Spices are listed without measurement because I don’t measure when I cook, so I suggest you also measure with your heart!
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup Roasted corn (either frozen or fresh. If using fresh, skip the first step the instructions)
- Ancho Chile powder
- Cojita cheese
- 1/2 Avocado
- Romaine
- Protein of choice (optional, but I suggest black beans, chicken, or taco meat)
- Tortilla chips (optional)
Dressing:
- 2 tbsp Mexican Crema/ Crema Mexicana
- splash lime juice
- 1 clove garlic
- paprika
- ancho chile powder
Instructions
With 1 tbsp of butter in a large fry pan, heat the corn on med-high, stir to be sure it all de-thaws and heats through. Season generously with ancho chile powder and salt.
Chop your avocado. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients.
Lay a base of lettuce. Add in your warm roasted corn. Add in the avocado chunks, and sprinkle cheese on top. Drizzle with dressing. Add your protein, if using.
Add crushed tortilla chips, if desired.