A Simple Grilling Step Gives Corn Dip A Major Flavor Boost

I love fresh summer corn! It's sweet, juicy, tender, scrumptious, and endlessly versatile. This bang bang grilled corn dip recipe is an absolute homage to this iconic veggie. As the name suggests, we're riffing off of zesty bang bang sauce, and we play with a lot of bold flavors in this dip. Corn, being the fabulous ingredient that it is, I made sure that it is not overshadowed in this recipe — rather, its flavor is heightened and highlighted.

This creamy, sweet, savory, smoky, and slightly spicy dip starts with seemingly straightforward grilled corn, but we do something unique in brushing it with sweet chili sauce and slathering it in spices before it hits the heat. The grill-charred element caramelizes the kernels for smoky-sweet appeal, infusing the corn's natural sweetness with even more depth of flavor. Classic corn dip components, like mayo, sour cream, and cream cheese, contribute to that essential tangy creaminess that we all know and love from such a good dip, and they help balance out any spicy elements from the Tajín, cayenne pepper, and chili sauce. Since the final dip itself is, for lack of a better word, banging, it doesn't require any fancy dippers — simple tortilla chips or Fritos are the ultimate neutral pairing.

This recipe starts with five ears of fresh corn on the cob, and you can check out our best corn-shucking hacks if your ears didn't already come that way. Next, before grilling the corn, you'll slather it in sweet chili sauce and season it with Tajín, paprika, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Garlic and diced yellow onion add some aromatic goodness to the dip, and you'll also need a little olive oil for sauteing these ingredients. To build the dip, reach for softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, and lime juice, and garnish the dip with extra chili sauce, cilantro, and cotija cheese. 

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium heat.

Brush the corn with the sweet chili sauce. Save any leftover sweet chili sauce to use later.

Season the corn with Tajin, paprika, salt, cumin, and cayenne, coating it evenly.

Place the seasoned corn on the grill and cook it for 5 to 6 minutes, turning it occasionally, until the corn is tender and moderately charred.

Remove from the grill and set it aside to cool enough to handle.

Once cooled, shave the kernels off the cob using a sharp chef's knife.

Transfer the kernels to a large bowl and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.

Once hot, add the garlic and onion to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, place the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro in a large bowl.

Whisk to combine the dip base.

Add the sauteed garlic and onions to the bowl and stir to combine with the dip base.

Add the corn kernels to the bowl and stir to combine. Reserve some of the corn kernels for garnish.

Season the dip to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate until chilled, for about 15 minutes.

Transfer the dip to a serving bowl and drizzle with the remaining sweet chili sauce.

Sprinkle the dip with cilantro and cotija.

Garnish the dip with the reserved corn kernels and serve with chips for dipping.

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There are lots of amazing ways to make corn on the grill, but in this recipe, the pre-grill sweet chili glaze and plethora of seasonings result in a much more interesting ear of grilled corn. I sort of treat the corn cobs like ribs in this recipe, infusing them with flavor before they even touch heat and allowing them to develop a sticky-sweet coating once they do. This sticky seasoning coating will ensure our corn is seasoned from the inside-out, melding into those little kernel nooks for maximum flavor saturation. Cumin and cayenne benefit from a little toasting too — heat releases the spices' oils, making their earthy, spicy flavors more robust.

Now that we've established the benefits of cooking the corn the way that we do in this recipe, let's talk strategy. You'll notice that I'm working on a slightly colder grill, setting the temperature to medium heat as opposed to high heat you might typically grill with. That lower heat gives the sweet chili sauce and seasonings ample time to really sizzle into the corn without burning or charring too quickly. Corn cooks quickly, so stay on top of those cobs and rotate them often to keep any one section from charring too quickly. If you notice any excess or premature charring, temporarily remove the corn from the heat and lower the temperature to avoid further charring or burning.

There's a decent amount of cooking involved in this recipe, from grilling the corn to sauteing the aromatics, though the dip is ultimately served cold. That chilling period before serving helps the flavors of the dip meld a little bit, and the chilled serving approach plays into the summery nature of the dish. All that said, this is one versatile corn dip that tastes just as good hot as it does cold, though you'll need to tweak the recipe a bit to accommodate. 

If you want to take the hot dip approach, assemble the dip up until the chilling point, and instead transfer it to an oven-proof dish. Bake the dip at 375 F for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bubbling around the edges. From there, you can garnish and serve the dip as desired. If you'd like to up the cheesy goodness in the dip before baking, stir 1 ½ cups of melty grated cheese (cheddar, Oaxaca, or pepper Jack are all great options) into the dip base before baking. 

Another way to take a hot dip approach would be to make the whole thing in a Crockpot. To do so, add all the ingredients to a Crockpot or other slow cooker and cook on low heat for a couple of hours, just until bubbly. The Crockpot is also a great tool for keeping a hot dip warm, so it's a great appliance to keep in mind if you intend to serve this at a gathering or potluck.

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