Elote Balls
This elote balls recipe is a rockstar appetizer that's easy to make at home. It has all of the flavors of traditional elote, but it's deep-fried to golden perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen corn
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons mayo or vegan mayo
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
- ¼ cup crumbled Cotija or feta cheese
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 jalapeño pepper diced*
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika or chili powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Peanut oil for deep frying
Avocado Crema
- 1 ripe avocado
- 2 tbsp blended cottage cheese or sour cream
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a skillet to medium and add oil. Then add corn and seasoning. Saute 10-15 minutes, until corn starts to brown.
- In a food processor, combine corn, mayonnaise, lime juice and zest, cotija, cilantro, jalapeño, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Quickly pulse a couple of times. Just enough to make the mixture able to stick together.
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper or foil and scoop into balls about 2 tablespoons in size. I used a small cookie scoop/melon baller for this and it worked great! Place into the freezer for 6 hours to overnight.
- In 2 medium bowls, mix eggs for egg wash and combine breadcrumb mixture. Drop elote balls into egg wash, then breadcrumbs and set aside.
- Preheat the cooking oil to 350º. Carefully lower each elote ball into the oil and fry for 4 minutes. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cool.
- Once they're cool and you've made your avocado crema, dip and enjoy!
For the Avocado Crema
- In a medium bowl, mash avocado. Add blended cottage cheese or sour cream, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.