Combine all the flavors you love of Mexican Street Corn and blend them into a delicious summer soup. Sweet corn, lime, chili powder and cheese meld together beautifully to make this luscious and creamy Mexican Street Corn Chowder.
If you love street corn, try this Mexican Street Corn Salad!
Corn. That delicious vegetable that is at peak during the summertime and we cannot get enough of it. I’m lucky I live in Illinois where there is corn EVERYWHERE you look. It’s probably the only thing I like about IL, honest. I’d move outta here in a minute if I could. But the corn, oh the corn, is so delicious. No matter how you cook it there is nothing in the World like corn.
We have a festival every year, at the end of August, celebrating corn and all its yumminess. They served up 19 tons of sweet corn at the festival this year. They had everything from boiled corn on the cob to sweet caramel popcorn and even a corn eating contest. The festival brings in thousands of people each year and it’s something we all look forward to each year.
I, myself, love corn. I’ll put it in salads, salsas, burritos, chilis, anywhere I can squeeze it in. My kids also loved it which is fantastic! Any time I can get them to eat a vegetable, that’s a win in my book. Years ago I was watching the Food Network, no surprise there, and saw them making Mexican Street Corn. Why are them smearing mayonnaise all over that corn and why haven’t I tried it before?! The flavors in Mexican Street corn are some of my favorites. I absolutely love lime, mayonnaise and cheese. Not to mention I’m a huge fan of cheese, garlic and cilantro this Mexican Street corn was happening in my life, immediately.
We just so happened to be in Wyoming, where all good ideas begin. See here, here and here. So we boiled some corn, slathered on the creamy mayonnaise mixture, squeezed on some lime and heavily sprinkled on the cheese. Mind blowing. This Mexican Street Corn or esquites, as they call it in Mexico, is genius. It’s so freaking delicious that I had to make it into a salad last summer.
Fast forward to this summer while I was perusing a magazine and saw a recipe for corn chowder. Lightbulb?! Why not make a Mexican Street Corn Chowder? Oh it was on. Luckily, we have a friend who has a few plots of corn on his field and drops off corn on the regular. Yeah, we got the hook up! He had just delivered 8 fresh ears of corn to our house that morning. I knew exactly what we were having for dinner that night, which was perfect because the weather dipped down to the 70’s for the day! BOOM!
Mexican Street Corn Chowder is super simple to put together and requires 1 pot. Yes, it’s a one pan plan. You saute all the vegetables together until tender, add in some stock, seasonings, a splash of cream, blend together and serve. Oh, and don’t forget the toppings because they are the BEST part.
GUYS, is it a soup or a chowder? I literally pondered this for a good half hour because I want to represent this soup in all it’s glory. I thought about calling it a stoup but you guys might not watch Rachael Ray and then you would wonder what in the hell is a stoup. So here me out on this. Mexican Street Corn Chowder is a Stoup; a soup and a variation of a stew. It’s not quite as thin as a soup and it’s not quite as thick and chunky as a stew…but it’s epic. Like in the most epic Mexican Street corn anything you’ve ever had. I’d like to call it Heaven in a bowl but then again you’d wondered just what in the hell am I actually serving?
Have you ever taken one bite and just sat there in awe for a moment at a taste that has just glazed over your whole mouth in` amazement? I’m not kidding, this Mexican Street Corn chowder is luscious. The corn makes this soup velvety smooth and the combination of lime, chili powder and cotija cheese is amazeballs. You have got to try this soup this summer before all the sweet corn goes away and I start posting pumpkin recipes out the wazoo.
I’m begging you to make this! Although how could you resist with a bowl of soup like that!! ⬆️
Mexican Street Corn Chowder
Cook
Total
Yield 6 bowls
All the flavors you love of Mexican Street Corn and blend them into a delicious summer soup. Sweet corn, lime, chili powder and cheese meld together beautifully to make this luscious and creamy Mexican Street Corn Chowder.
Ingredients
- 6 ears corn, kernels removed, reserving 1-2 striped cobs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup white onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeno, roasted and diced or 1 can diced jalapenos, optional
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Zest of 1 lime
- Juice of 2 limes
- salt and pepper to taste
- Toppings: cilantro, cotija cheese, chili powder, charred corn kernels*, limes wedges and/or sour cream thinned with lime juice.
- *I placed 1 whole corn cob over a gas burner, set to medium heat, and with a close eye, watched until the cobs were blistered.
Instructions
- In a medium pot over medium hear, saute corn in 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil for 5 minutes. Remove.
- Add remaining butter and oil to the pan and add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes.
- To the pan, add 3/4 of the sautéed corn back into the pot with the garlic and onion.
- Stir in jalapenos, chicken stock, chili powder and reserved corn cobs and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and discard cobs.
- With an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese, heavy cream, lime zest, lime juice and remaining sautéed corn.
- Place into bowls and top with desired toppings. I recommend all of them!
Courses Soup
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 6 servings
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 252 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 20 g | 31% | |
Saturated Fat 10 g | 50% | |
Cholesterol 49 mg | 16% | |
Sodium 371 mg | 15% | |
Total Carbohydrates 10 g | 3% | |
Dietary Fiber 1 g | 4% | |
Sugars 3 g | ||
Protein 9 g | 18% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Never have I loved a soup more than I do this one. This Mexican Street Corn Soup is packed with flavor. It had all the components I love in a dish. It was sweet, creamy, cirtusy and had a slight spice with the jalapeno. Being we live in IL, we stock up on corn come late August. I freeze corn off the cob so I can serve it all winter long. as mentioned before, I use corn in various dishes so it’s nice to have a freezer stock.
I will absolutely be making this Mexican Street Corn soup all Fall and Winter long. And it’s too good to wait until the summer months when the corn is the sweetest. You could use a few cans of corn or even frozen corn kernels. I haven’t tried this method so you would need to adjust the seasonings to taste. Possibly adding in a small amount of sugar to mimic the sweet corn taste.
I just know you guys will LOVE this soup! What’s your favorite way to serve sweet corn?
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Michelle says
I love Mexican street corn…this recipe is definitely up my alley! Looking forward to trying it!
Megan Marlowe says
Me too! I hope you love this soup as much as we did!
Lauren @ Sew You Think You Can Cook says
The idea to turn Mexican Street Corn into chowder is brilliant! I bet it’s better than the original. Definitely going to have to try this one as my boys enjoy corn, too.
Also – I totally want to go to that festival!
Megan Marlowe says
The festival is so fun! My kids loved this soup. I might suggest leaving out the jalapeno as it did have a very slight kick to it and my kids can detect that a spoonful away! 😉
Dahn @savor the Best says
I love Mexican street corn, great idea to but it into a chowder and I have to agree the toppings are the best!
Megan Marlowe says
Thanks Dahn! I love a good soup with extra, extra toppings!
Igor @ Cooking The Globe says
Wow, this chowder looks fantastic. Perfect as a weeknight dinner! I love Mexican street corn so there is no way I won’t enjoy this one 🙂
Megan Marlowe says
It’s delicious! Hope you enjoy it! thanks for stopping by, Igor!
Choclette says
Oh yes please. I adore Mexican flavours and this soup sounds wonderful. I’m not sure I’ve ever made corn soup.
Megan Marlowe says
Corn soup is so delicious and to add Mexican flavors takes it to a whole other level!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
We ate so much street corn when we were in mexico, but I am going to have to try it in a chowder – it looks so comforting!
Megan Marlowe says
It’s so hearty and delicious. If you love corn and the flavors of Mexican street corn, you will surely enjoy this soup!
Lucy @ Globe Scoffers says
I love sweetcorn its one of my favourites, this soup looks and sound delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Megan Marlowe says
There truly is nothing better than sweet corn. Thanks Lucy!
Karly says
Two beautiful foods in one. I am completely obsessing over this! The perfect transition dinner to take corn from summer to fall. Love it!
Megan Marlowe says
You’re absolutely right! Gotta love Midwestern corn!
Byron Thomas says
Yes! By far, that’s my favourite way to eat corn – Mexican street style! I need your help though. I’ve never had cojita cheese, in fact, it’s no where to be found here. I’ve gone to too many specialty cheese shops to count! What’s a good substitute in your opinion?
Pam Wattenbarger says
I love mexican street corn, and I love corn chowder. I am pretty convinced that I need to make this dish ASAP!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
The corn chowder is a bowl of sunshine. We live right next door to you — Indiana. We get our share of corn there too. The lime and pepper with the chowder add just the right pop of color. I can’t wait for corn season. Thanks for sharing — I’m looking forward to making this.
Veena Azmanov says
I love corn chowder and I have not made it for so long.. Yours looks so good I wanna run into the kitchen and try some now.. Such pretty colors
Dene' V. Alexander says
Oh..My..Goodness!! This is going on my list!! It’s so bright and colorful and I know it’s full of flavor!!!
Jennifer A Stewart says
I love Mexican street corn and will eat it in all forms! Dip, salad, and now this chowder. I won’t be waiting for cold weather I will be eating this all the time. We get some great fresh corn in South Georgia too!
Tina says
Ah, I used to live in Chicago, and one of the things I miss most about it is the corn! Your post is now making me wish I had some of that IL corn here in London. 😉
Hanady | Recipe Nomad says
I love corn chowder! My all time favorite! And yea I’m going to agree- this is definitely a chowder in my book! Love the addition of the cotija cheese and charred corn kernels.
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ says
This is such a brilliant idea Megan..Love, love, love it. I’ve made Mexican Street Corn Salad which is one of my favorites so can’t wait to try it in this chowder form 🙂
Christine McMichael says
I haven’t had corn chowder in a while, but it sounds and looks delicious! Love it!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks says
I don’t think it matters WHAT you call it – it just needs to be in my belly! I LOVE corn chowder. This looks hearty and tasty – perfect!
Adriana Lopez Martn says
You are talking my language with this incredible flavorful soup. I am Mexican an my most favorite treat are street corn with lots of cheese, lime and chile piquin. I need to try yoru recipe soon. Your photos are so amazing too!
chei says
Wow i will definitely try this street corn! I love eating corn especially when we have a family bonding! 🙂
Molly Kumar says
You just had me at Mexican + Street Corn!! I’m such a huge fan of Mexican style cooking and totally digging the flavors in the chowder. It looks so creamy and filling. I could see myself with this bowl and maybe some hot garlic bread.
Priya Srinivasan says
That looks a like bowl of sunshine!!! I brought some fresh corn from the market yesterday, love to try this!!!
Ashley - Forking Up says
Ever since moving to Austin I’ve been obsesssssed with Street Corn. I LOVE the idea of making it into a chowder! Such a cool take on the classic.
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago says
Love Mexican Street Corn so am loving the fact that you’ve turned it into a soup. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Julie | Bunsen Burner Bakery says
I loooooove elotes! This soup has me dreaming about fresh sweet summer corn!