Trader Joe's Corn Ribs Are The Ticket To A Quick Mexican Favorite

It feels like Trader Joe's engineered its Seasoned Corn Ribs with an eye towards social media stardom. The corn ribs — corn cobs cut into quarters lengthwise, slathered with vegan butter, and sprinkled with salt — have all the makings of a viral product. A unique twist on an old favorite? Check.

Air fryer friendly? Check. Endlessly adaptable? Check, check, check. Intentional or not, the brand has a hit on its hands.



The ribs are light on actual seasoning (they only have salt and no other spices), so Trader Joe's fans have taken it upon themselves to jazz them up. They seem to be enamored with elote, as corn rib recipes featuring the popular Mexican street food pop up again and again on social media. Even Trader Joe's is an elote advocate; the brand styles the ribs with crumbled cheese, lime, chile, and cilantro on its official site.

Like most regional dishes, recipes for , vary. Standard ingredients are simple and straightforward, though, typically including butter, mayonnaise, crumbly cotija cheese, and chile powder. Mexican standbys like cilantro, lime, and hot sauce are popular, too.

Just slather your corn ribs in any or all of these ingredients, and it's easy to turn them into the street food staple. How to make elotes with Trader Joe's corn ribs Cook your corn ribs as directed (in your oven, microwave, or air fryer). Don't pre-season; your spices could burn if you add them before cooking.

Once the ribs are done, let them cool for a few minutes before topping them with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and seasonings. Feel free to swap out the cotija for parmesan, feta, or queso fresco. Mexican crema and sour cream also make for a nice, tangy addition, or you could use them instead of mayo.

If you're looking for something extra easy — and want to get all your shopping done in one trip — just add a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise and top the corn with Trader Joe's Everything But the Elote seasoning blend. You can also try replicating this mixture at home. It includes dried chile pepper, chipotle powder, cilantro, and cumin, along with sugar, salt, corn flour, and parmesan.

You can skip the disodium phosphate and citric acid — you probably don't have them in your cabinet anyway. If you can't get your hands on Trader Joe's Seasoned Corn Ribs but still want to try out this dish, you can easily recreate them with fresh corn. Slice a cob into quarters ( ), add melted butter and salt, and toss the ribs into the air fryer or oven before finishing them with elote toppings.

For extra points, lightly char the corn beforehand; for extra extra points, . Recommended.