Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Parmesan Sauce

If you’re a fan of Mexican street corn, you’ll definitely fall in love with my grilled corn on the cob with garlic parmesan sauce! The garlic and cheese compliments the corn extremely well, and perfect for the summer!

I’m sure you’re looking for an easy side dish for grilling season, and I’m glad to say you’re in the right place. Well, if you’re just looking for an easy recipe, even without a grill, I got ya! This grilled corn gets slathered with a seasoned mayonnaise, similar to what’s done with Mexican street corn.

What is Mexican street corn?

Mexican street corn, sometimes referred to as elote, is a dish made of grilled corn. Once grilled, a mixture of mayo, crema, and chili powder gets spread on top and sprinkled with cotija cheese. It is sometimes also dusted with additional chili powder, and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice gives it a nice fresh flavor.

My garlic parmesan inspiration:

One of my favorite chefs, Chef Resha, posted a recipe of elote-style chicken wings. She took the mayo mixture that would go onto Mexican street corn and tossed it with air-fried chicken wings. I don’t have an air fryer but tried the recipe out with baked wings. Soooooo bomb! Definitely check out Chef Resha’s elote style wings.

The wings reminded me of street corn having a baby with garlic parmesan wings. So my brain said “Do what Resha did with making the elote sauce for wings, but take the classic wing sauce and put it on corn.” Boom….garlic parmesan corn was born!

How to make grilled garlic parmesan corn

It’s sooooo easy yall! Start by getting your corn on the grill. While they’re cooking, mix together all the ingredients for the garlic parmesan sauce. Once the corn is cooked, slather the garlic parmesan sauce on that bad boy!

How to cook corn if you don’t have a grill

I rarely use my grill. I do have a cast iron pan with grates that I often use indoors that will take the same amount of time for the corn to cook as it would when being grilled.

If you have a regular cast iron skillet, the corn can be seared that way. Preheat your cast iron to medium heat before searing the corn. Let the corn cook for 10 minutes, rotating the corn while cooking to get some color on the kernels on all sides.

There’s also the option to roast your corn! This method does take much longer though, by wrapping the corn in foil and baking for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees. So either grilling or cooking on the stovetop is the best option. 

Corn with husks vs without husks

The corn on the cob can be grilled with the husks on! The husks are dry, so you’ll need to soak the ears of corn for a bit before cooking.

Add the whole ears of corn into a large container (or sink) and submerge them in cold water. Let this sit for 15 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and pat dry. You can then partially peel the husks back and grill the corn.

However, I prefer the corn grilled without the husks for this recipe. I like to bite right into the corn that has grill marks on all sides, and also want to be able to spread more of the garlic parmesan sauce all over. For grilled corn without a sauce, I don’t mind the husks being left on.

Type of garlic to use for garlic parmesan sauce

Now, this is a super garlicky recipe. So raw garlic is what I used. 

I take fresh garlic cloves and grate it with a microplane right into the sauce. 

I also love using premade garlic paste, like the one from Gourmet Garden. 

Use either of the options above. I’d avoid using jarred diced garlic since it’s not as flavorful. But if that’s all that you have access to, it can still be used!

Also, if you’re not a fan of the raw garlic taste, you can use garlic confit. Pretty easy to make and to keep on hand for other recipes that you just want a hint of garlic. 

Other uses for garlic parmesan sauce

Listen yall….this garlic parmesan sauce is GOOD! Like, for real.

If you have some chicken wings and want to jazz it up a bit, make a batch of the sauce in this recipe to toss the wings in. I’ve also used the sauce to dip with my herb roasted smashed potatoes.

Since this is a super flavorful mayonnaise, you can use this on a sandwich too! Whew…..the possibilities are endless! But to start, jazz up your grilled corn first!