Knock-Out Corn Dip

Here’s an incredible snack dip which is perfect for an autumn football gathering or party. Just open cans! Who would guess that the star of your next party would be “Knock-Out Corn Dip” or that canned corn would make any sort of exciting dip. Watch out. This appetizer can become quite addictive. Our friend, Regina, has been bringing the corn dip to every social event that our little music group has had for the past five or more years — I’ve lost track. Now we tease Regina and remind her to bring the corn dip and chips to parties. The main ingredient is canned Fiesta-style corn which is a colorful medley of corn and peppers. Mix in a sour cream dressing, cheese, seasonings and green onions. Wow. This is a spicy and delicious concoction. I modified the recipe by including fresh corn cut off the cob.

My “Knock-Out Corn Dip” this time is a result of a vist to our nearby Costo’s wholesale warehouse. I love corn on the cob — and purchased a little to much — because this store packages produce in huge quantities. I needed a recipe to use some of my purchase.

Trip to Costco’s

Costo’s is a membership-only wholesale club store; and it reminds me of a candy store for foodies. It is a huge warehouse full of food items, appliances, electronics, clothing, etc. — many foods are available only seasonally and clothing for a limited time. The company undercuts its competition by selling their goods at discount prices. Once, I stumbled upon luscious, juicy plums. They made the best fruit pies. Unfortunately, I haven’t found those plums since that trip. I must be careful not to “impulse purchase.” The foods are packaged in institutional food size containers and it is quite easy to exceed a person’s food budget or space to store the foods in one’s home.

Sometimes we use Costco’s as a walking track. Much easier to exercise in an air-conditioned building rather than 100 F degree heat! My husband recorded that we walked over half-a-mille from the parking lot to the produce section and back. We will have to pick up the pace a bit to turn this into a cardio-exercise!

According to the National Retail Federation, Costco’s was the fifth largest retailor in the world in 2022. And I can believe it. The parking lot is packed every time we visit and shopping cars are full. (See Reference)

My favorite section in Costco’s is the fresh produce and vegetable department. Recently, I came home with a shopping cart full of fresh cauliflower, spinach, Brussels sprouts, corn on the cob, etc. I had plans for using most of this fresh produce. And for no particular reason, I decided to make “Knock-Out Corn Dip” with some of the fresh corn as I had to purchase eight fresh ears of corn. Too much to boil and eat!

Regina’s “Knock-Out Corn Dip” recipe

The “star” ingredient in this recipe is Fiesta-style corn. I used Del Monte brand. It is also known as Mexicorn. This is canned sweet corn with colorful red and green peppers added. For this dip recipe, I added green onions and canned, drained and chopped green chiles for a little “pop.” To make this dip “hot”, I added small amount of canned, chopped jalapeno peppers. I used fresh corn, cut off the cob, in place of one of the cans of corn as I had a surplus of fresh corn from my Costo’s shopping trip.

Over the years, Regina has tweaked the recipe. She adds a “Tex-Mexican” touch by including cumin, lime juice and cilantro in the ingredient list. Her recipe serves a large crowd. For my purposes, I scaled back the ingredients to smaller porportions. I also scaled back on the sour cream/mayonnaise dressing.

To make the recipe, just open all the cans; drain them and and place in a large bowl. Stir in the cumn and lime juice. Add the cut corn kernels off the cob (if using), shredded cheese, green onions. Add cilantra (if using) — not shown.

Gently fold in the sour cream and mayonnaise.

If time allows, refrigerate several hours to overnight to allow the flavors to meld. Serve with corn chip scoops or dippers. That’s it. Such a simple recipe!

This dip is addictive; it grows on you. I laughed the first time Regina said she was bringing “Corn Dip” to our gathering. Now I look forward to it. It is so easy to mix up. Enjoy!

I have included by my adapted recipe as well as Regina’s original ingredient porportions. Her recipe makes a creamier dip. Last, I have provided a recipe with ingredient porportions for a smaller crowd.