Here’s an easy way to make Calabacitas con Elote (Zucchini with Corn) – a zesty and satisfying side dish to have in your summer menu. The buttery creaminess of the suero (whey) catapults me to my childhood every time. The joy of growing up Mexican!
Calabacitas con Elote
Zucchini season is in town, and that means that it’s everywhere, it’s cheap and it’s plentiful. It also means that it is the perfect reason to enjoy this Calabacitas con Elote (Zucchini with Corn) recipe.
What Is Calabacitas?
Calabacitas is a traditional Mexican side dish that is everyone’s favorite in summer and whenever you can get that healthy zucchini or squash on the table. Traditional recipes include corn, tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, and even pork or chicken if you are making a meat version.
Prefer leaving the meat out? This Zucchini with Corn dish is so impressive that you can serve it both as a side dish or main – it will delight you either way.
Calabacitas con elote can be made with or without cheese. This recipe includes it as an optional topping.
In addition, I love using suero (whey) in calabacitas for its buttery creaminess that catapults me to my childhood every time. But if you don’t have it or prefer using something else, you can substitute it with buttermilk.
What Is Whey?
Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is the byproduct of cheese making.
In fact, whey is the watery cheese liquid you’ve seen in freshly opened containers of yogurt.
No Whey?
If you don’t have whey or sour milk, don’t worry, you can use store bought or homemade buttermilk, but you will need to add some salt.
How to Make Buttermilk?
Here is a very quick way to make buttermilk – it only takes less than 10 minutes. All you need is plain milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
Zucchini with Corn
My garden is overrun with zucchini.
Squash is bountiful in summer and fall and so we had calabacitas con elote quite often while I was growing up. The joy of growing up Mexican!
This Zucchini with Corn is one of those recipes that I find myself longing for whenever I see all the squash varieties available.
But what do you do if you don’t have all the ingredients?
Helpful Substitutes
Fresh Corn
White Cheese Options
Some of the most popular white cheese options are:
- Asadero – developed in parts of northern and central Mexico, asadero is perfect melting cheese.
- Oaxaca – semi-hard cheese from Mexico, similar to unaged Monterey jack, but with a mozzarella-like string cheese texture.
- Chihuahua – semi-soft cheese that originates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.
- Monterey Jack – semi-hard American cheese with a sweet note.
- Cheddar – the hardest cheese from the above, originating in England.
Make This Dish Dairy-Free
Instead of suero (whey) use salsa verde or salsa casera. And don’t add cheese to dish.
- Salsa Verde is one of them. It is very simple to make – all you need are tomatillos, garlic, onion, jalapeño, serrano, and cilantro. It is fresh, tangy, and slightly spicy – just perfect for this Zucchini with Corn recipe.
- Salsa Casera is a fantastic fire roasted green chile salsa and a great dairy-free option in place of suero.
Storing and Reheating
You can store your calabacitas in a fridge for 5 days. Just make sure to use an airtight container for it.
When ready to eat, reheat the leftovers on a stove, in a pot, or in a microwave. Whichever you prefer, make sure to stir the dish halfway through to ensure it warms up evenly. Enjoy!
Love Calabacitas con Elote? Try These, Too:
- Cilantro Lime Rice + Video
- Slow Cooker Borracho Beans
- One-Pot Southwestern Rice
- Shrimp Enchiladas with Salsa Verde
- Mini Chorizo and Cheese Quiches
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and tag @muybuenocooking on social media!
Calabacitas con Elote (Zucchini with Corn)
Ingredients
- 4 ears of corn, shucked and cut from the cob
- 4 zucchini or squash, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups suero, whey or buttermilk can be used as a substitute
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- cheese, grated (Chihuahua, Monterey Jack, or cheddar)
Instructions
- Remove corn kernels from the cobs using a knife on an angle. Set kernels aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; cook and stir the onion in the hot oil, about 2 minutes then add the tomatoes for 2 more minutes.
- Add the garlic for an additional minute until fragrant.
- Mix the zucchini and corn into the onion and garlic and cover until zucchini is tender; about 10 minutes.
- Uncover and stir the suero/buttermilk into the mixture. Season with salt and pepper; stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer.
- Sprinkle with cheese (optional) to serve.
Video
Notes
- Instead of fresh corn use frozen corn but don’t use canned.
- Instead of suero, replace with buttermilk.
- For a dairy free option use salsa verde or salsa casera and do not add cheese.
- White cheese options - asadero, Chihuahua, Monterey Jack, cheddar
- Nutrition facts do not include cheese.
Nutrition
Photos by Jenna Sparks / Video by Pure Cinematography
Originally published: September 2010. This recipe is also published in the Muy Bueno cookbook.
zucchini during the summer… that`s it 🙂
looks great, I love calabasitas!
Beautiful photo and fabulous recipe! A great combination of flavours for summer.
Hello Elizabeth,
Thank you! I just took a peak at your blog…Gorgeous photos throughout. YAY, for beautiful food!
Delicious! I’m tired of zucchini bread, so this will be a very tasty option. Thanks!
WOW…this is so very exciting!!! I’ve been enjoying your blog and reading about your family!! You are such an amazing woman and I’m so very proud to know you. Looking forward to our cook off on Saturday 🙂 Thank you for allowing me to participate in this journey with you!! Hugs…and LOVE this recipe for zuchinni!! Can’t wait to make it 🙂
Hola beautiful lady! Thank you for the very sweet compliments! I’m very excited too! I know you are quite the chef in your kitchen so I look forward to hearing your feedback on any of my recipes.
Yum… loved this recipe! 🙂 Looking forward to Saturday.
i’m glad you enjoyed the marranito post. my fiancée and i fell in love with those from the panaderias down the street when living in southern texas. we’ll be back soon, so i can’t wait! i’m also glad you commented on squirrel bread b/c it gave me a chance to find your blog. i think i’ll find many great recipe inspirations here, including this one for tonight’s meal!
cheers and thanks,
*heather*
I’m glad we found eachother 😉 You can make my savory dish and I’ll make your sweet marranitos.
Oink, oink!
Yvette
Thanks for visiting Cooking in Mexico. It is how I found your lovely blog. This and all the other recipes look very tempting.
It sounds like you are north of the border. The corn here in Mexico is field corn, meant for cattle feed and for being ground when dry to make masa. I bought a small ear the other day, hoping its small size would indicate tenderness. Not! I could barely cut the kernels off the cob. I do miss sweet corn.
Congratulations on the publication of your cookbook!
Kathleen
Hello,
We bumped into your blog and we really liked it – great recipes YUM YUM.
We would like to add it to the Petitchef.com.
We would be delighted if you could add your blog to Petitchef so that our users can, as us,
enjoy your recipes.
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Vincent
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Thanks for the shucking tip, I am giving this a try, might save some fingers.
That looks good! Nice way to enjoy some late summer vegetables!
SO excited to try this recipe! And dying for your cookbook to come out! I want to give it out as Christmas gifts!
p.s. What cheese do you suggest we use with this dish? 🙂
The cheese is optional, but I LOVE it with some asadero or Chihuahua cheese. Enjoy!!!
I love this in the summer, spring, fall and winter. Sometimes I throw some chicken or pork in and have a very tasty complete meal in no time.
Hi Yvette, I love zucchini so i decided to try your Calabacitas recipe. By the ingredients it sounded like the one
I grew up with. I did not have suero, so i bought low fat buttermilk, when I combined the buttermilk into the calabacitas it quickly curled and separated. I thought it might since it’s a hot pan with cold milk. Have you experienced this. What did I do wrong. I still ate the dish but it was not pleased no to the eye, but it tasted good. Help Ugh
Calabacitas recipe: My husband and I LOVE a similar recipe. My mother use to make this and add pork. She would cut it up to small bite size pieces. It’s so simple to make and tastes so nice on a fall evening with homemade flour tortillas.
Thank you for posting your recipe. Now I will have to make ours!
This is the perfect recipe for this time of the year – everything looks so yum! 🙂
This calabacitas con elote is delicious. I absolutely love your videos and recipes. My favorite is the Caldo de Pollo. Thank you so much.
This was delicious and easy to make. I used buttermilk instead of whey and it was so creamy I didn’t need to add cheese. I’ll be making this all summer and sharing the recipe with my zucchini rich friends!