Elote Skillet Pasta
Everything you love about Elotes (Mexican Street Corn), but in a creamy, dreamy pasta. Our Elote Skillet Pasta is our new favorite take on this classic street food, and it can be ready and on the table in just 30 minutes!
You’ll also love our Enchilada Skillet Pasta!
Hands down, one of my all-time favorite creamy pasta recipes, to date! It’s creamy. It’s dreamy. It’s packed full of flavor and it’s so easy to make. We’ve taken one of our most popular recipes, our Mexican Street Corn Salad and we’ve made it into pasta! Our Elote Skillet Pasta is everything you love about that classic street food but in an absolutely delicious pasta!
Ingredients Needed
- Corn – The key ingredient. Fresh is always best, but obviously not always an option. Canned or frozen is also delicious, but we prefer using frozen because 1.5 cups is really the best amount to use (at least) which equals 12 oz frozen, but is just short of one can.
- Pasta – Egg noodles are one of our favorites because they cook fast and they’re perfect vehicles for all of the creamy dreamy goodness.
- Red Pepper and Red Onion – Not only does the red onion add a little sweetness, but it also adds the right amount of crunchy texture.
- Jalapeno – For a little (subtle) added heat, but this Elote Skillet Pasta is not a spicy pasta dish at all.
- Cotija – The key Mexican cheese for the classic street food. But if you can’t find it in the store, that’s ok, feta cheese is a great substitute.
- Butter, Flour, and Milk – The base of the creamy sauce.
- Sour Cream and Cream Cheese – The additional cheese of the cheesy sauce and that sour cream is key to the flavor of an elote!
- Paprika, Cumin, Chili Powder, and Salt – The spices for all of the classic flavor.
- Cilantro and Lime Juice – To finish and tie this pasta up in a beautiful delicious bow for you.
Ready Fast!
Build the Flavor
Char the corn and jalapeno and then add onion, red bell pepper, and spices.
Cheesy Sauce
Meanwhile, while all those flavors are building, you can make the creamy cheesy sauce with a roux, milk, spices, sour cream, and cream cheese. All melted into a creamy cheesy sauce!
Add the Pasta and Cheese Sauce
Once the pasta is done and the cheese sauce creamy, it’s time to add it to the veggies and give it a good mix before adding the cotija and cilantro.
All mixed together to create the creamiest, dreamiest, Mexican street corn-inspired Elote Skillet Pasta! Ready in 30 minutes, packed full of flavor, and so creamy and delicious, I totally caught my husband eating it cold out of the fridge on multiple occasions. Now that is when you know it’s good!
Trust me, you will not regret making this pasta. Did I mention that it’s our new favorite creamy pasta?
Recipe Tips
This is an important step because it’s what creates that grilled flavor that a classic elote has. Don’t worry if you get some burning on the bottom of your pan, you’ll want to scrape all of that goodness up when you add the cream sauce and it’ll just add even more flavor!
Fresh is always our first choice, but definitely not an option in the middle of winter, so then our second choice is frozen. You can let it thaw a little bit before adding it to the pan, or just toss is in frozen. This will add a little bit of cooking time. Canned is of course also an option, but you will need more than just 1 can to get the full cup and a half.
Pro Tip: If using fresh corn – grill the corn on the cob first and then use it! See recipe notes.
Feta is a great substitute!
This recipe freezes great (up to 3 months), but be sure that you don’t overcook your noodles! Also, you can make the creamy sauce a day ahead, store it in the fridge, and then add it to the pasta!
You Also Might Like
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Mexican Corn Ribs
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos
- Enchilada Skillet Pasta
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Tacos
- One Pot Creamy Broccoli Pasta
- Easy Homemade Mexican Rice
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
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Elote Skillet Pasta
Equipment
- 3 qt skillet
Ingredients
- 2 ears corn or 1.5 cups of corn. Or 12 oz of corn
- 6 oz egg noodles
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons salted butter divided
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk 2%
- 2 oz cream cheese of 1/4 cup
- 4 oz sour cream or 1/2 cup
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 4 oz cotija cheese or 3/4 cup + more for finishing with
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped + more for finishing with
Instructions
- Prep Water and Seasoning: Heat a pot of salted water on high to bring to a boil.Add cumin, paprika, chili powder, and salt to a small bowl and mix well, and set aside.
- Sear Corn: Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and heat over high to melt. Add the corn and jalapeno to the pan with the butter to let it char. Cook for 1 minute, stirring often as it chars. It's ok if the bottom of the pan burns a little, you'll want that char later! Cook for another minute on high and then turn the heat down to medium-high and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. (If using frozen, this may take a couple extra minutes)
- Saute Veggies: Lower the heat to medium, add the red onion and bell pepper with 1/2 of the spice mixture, and mix well. Saute for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
- Create Cheese Sauce: Meanwhile, add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour to a saucepan and heat over medium. Melt and whisk to create a roux. Slowly add milk to incorporate it all with the roux. Add the other half of the spice mixture to the milk, sour cream, and cream cheese and whisk until all of the cream and cheese is well combined, approximately 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low before adding to the corn and veggies.
- Cook Pasta: Add pasta to the now boiling water and cook for 6 minutes (or 1 minute less than noted on the package or only 2 minutes for fresh pasta). Drain pasta and add to the pan with corn and veggies.
- Sauce: Add cheese sauce to the pan and mix with veggies, and add lime juice and mix well so it's all well coated. Add cotija and cilantro and mix well.
- Serve and Enjoy! Add more chopped cilantro and crumbed cotija then serve and enjoy!
Family really like this pasta. Thanks!
Thank YOU, Rina! So happy to hear that!
Just made this for dinner rather than the Elotes Salad (which is awesome!). I grilled a chicken breast and sliced it thin butotherwise followed the recipe. This is an absolute keeper!
Thanks for sharing this!❤️
Hi Jim! So great to hear, thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to leave a review!
This was fantastic!
So glad you enjoyed it, Alicia!! Thanks so much for sharing 😀
This is divine! Whole family wolfed it down. For my toddler i pulsed it a bit in the blender to make like chunky puree. I skipped the jalapeño altogether just to be safe. Will definitely be making this again and again! Thank you for the recipe!
We love pasta at home and I made this last night the kids love it so much!
Oh my, another pasta dish that will be loved and enjoyed! This looks absolutely delicious and yummy! Kids will definitely love this too! Plus we can never go wrong with pasta!
What a great idea! I love Mexican street corn, so the dish sounds delicious! Excited to give it a try!