Easy Mexican Street Cornbread Muffins

Mexican street corn meets easy moist cornbread muffins for an amazing combination. This is the ultimate side dish recipe that is sweet, savory, creamy, and spicy.   Instead of slathering butter onto your cornbread muffins, this recipe has a heavenly twist. They are topped with similar ingredients to what you would put onto Mexican street corn.  Some may call it elote, but Mexican street corn has become popular recently thanks to how delicious and easy recipes like this can be.

These are not your old-fashioned cornbread muffins.  They are so much better. These are loaded with a combo of cool Mexican sour cream, tangy crumbled cheese, spicy cayenne, and chili powder, plus fresh lime. They are the ultimate toppings for fluffy sweet cornbread.   I also add Tajin and cilantro to mine most of the time.   This recipe does not include mayo but you can add that if you like the traditional elote recipes may have.  If you know me and my husband by now – we are NOT mayo fans. So, like other recipes on the blog, this one is a bit different and is Mexican street corn style but without the mayonnaise.

Easy Recipe for Mexican Street Cornbread

This recipe is extremely easy thanks to a store-bought box of cornbread mix.  I refer to recipes that use ready-made ingredients as “half-scratch” since they are half the work but all the taste.  If you enjoy this recipe, you will also love GREEN CHILE SWEET CORN CASSEROLE. 

The Krusteaz brand that I use is from Costco and only requires water to be added. There are other brands too like Jiffy that will work as a cornbread base for this recipe. Then all you need is a few more ingredients to add into the mix plus all the fun toppings for this fun cornbread muffin recipe.

Though this recipe is based in the oven, Mexican street corn is traditionally started with grilled corn on the cob.  In summer, we have grilled our corn and then cut it off the cob to add to this recipe for a more authentic taste.  You can do this as well or use canned corn.

What to Add to the Boxed Cornbread Mix to Elevate It

This is not just your basic boxed cornbread muffin recipe.  Though, start with the boxed cornbread mix and make it as instructed for 12 muffins. For the box I am using, I just added water. Next, I added the 1 cup of corn kernels, either canned or grilled from the cob.  Then some Tajin and cayenne pepper for added spice and flavor.

Bake the Cornbread Muffins

Bake as instructed by the mix you are using.  It is usually anywhere from 20-30 minutes.  Let them cool about 5-10 minutes so you can handle them easily but they are still warm.   Warm cornbread will absorb some of the crema as you drizzle it over and be simply amazing.

Cornbread Muffins get a Mexican Street Corn Makeover

Now for the fun part.  My kids even like doing this, it is like frosting your own cupcake.  Drizzle each with some of the Mexican crema.  This will be the base for how all the other ingredients will combine and stick to the cornbread muffins.

Now add to each some crumbled cheese, cayenne pepper, chili powder, a squirt of lime juice, and chopped fresh cilantro.   I used queso fresco with my recipe as I could not find the cotija cheese which is more common. They do look like beautiful cornbread muffin cupcakes that you almost do not want to take a bite.

I also cut them in half like you would when you want to add butter to the soft middle.  But instead, I drizzle on the Mexican sour cream and the other toppings to each half.  This is great if you want extra Mexican street corn (elote) flavor.   Just look at all that creamy, salty, spicy, and sweet flavor in one bite.

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Easy Mexican Street Cornbread Muffins

Angela

Mexican street corn (elote) meets cornbread muffins for this fun sweet, savory, salty, and spicy side dish.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 12

Equipment

• muffin pan

Ingredients

  

• 1 box cornbread mix enough to make 12 muffins per box instructions
• ingredients to make the boxed cornbread (water, eggs, etc)
• 1 C canned corn or grilled corn off the cob
• 1 TB Tajin

Toppings

• 1 container crema, Mexican sour cream (can be substitued with regular sour cream)
• 6 oz cotija cheese or queso fresco crumbled
• cayenne pepper to taste
• chili powder to taste
• 12 lime wedges
• 1/4 C cilantro minced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to your cornbread store-bought boxes instructions.
• Mix in a medium-bowl the cornbread mix and all the ingredients as instructed on the box. Add the corn and Tajin, mix thoroughly.
• Divide mixture into 12 evenly filled sections of a nonstick muffin pan. If you need to butter spray yours, please do. Bake according to the box's instructions. Thsi is typically about 20-30 minutes.
• Let the cornbread muffins cool about 5-10 minutes. They should be safe to handle, top, and eat at this time but you want them still warm.
• Drizzle crema or sour cream on top of each muffin to coat most of it. Add on crumbled cheese and cilantro. Sprinkle on cayenne and chili powder to your spice liking. For final touch squirt with fresh lime and sprinkle with cilantro.
• ENJOY!

Keyword bread, easy, spicy, summer

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