My recipe for Mexican Street Corn Chowder uses some short cuts but still has all the delicious flavors of elote in an easy hearty soup.
If you like this recipe, check out my Bean and Rice Salad next!
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I love an easy recipe that uses help from the frozen aisle but you’d never know it. This creamy Mexican corn chowder is simple to make but has big flavor. It has the savory flavors of Mexican street corn but in soup form. The smoky spices in this hearty chowder pair really well with something sweet, like a big square of Honey Hush Cornbread. If you’re craving sweet summer corn in the middle of winter, this is the recipe for you. A big bowl of creamy soup is always a favorite and popular dinner solution in our house.
More soup recipes
Ingredients for Mexican street corn soup recipe
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- Frozen Corn – The recipe uses two bags of frozen corn. If you have fresh sweet corn that you froze from the previous summer that would be even better!
- Frozen Potatoes – I love the convenience and time saving step of using frozen cubed potatoes. You can by all means choose to use fresh, like Yukon gold potatoes. You’ll need 2 cups of cubed fresh potatoes.
- Frozen Mirepoix – Again, this is a time saving step! I use a bag of the Cajun mirepoix blend, which contains onion, celery and green pepper. You can use fresh ingredients instead if you want to.
- Butter – I like my chowder to be nice and thickened so I start it with a roux made with melted butter and flour.
- Flour
- Chicken Broth – This chowder is on the thicker side, using 3 cups of broth or chicken stock. You can use the whole box (4 cups) if you like it to be more “soupy”.
- Green Chiles – I love the canned fire roasted green chiles.
- Seasonings – This recipe uses a lot of seasonings for flavor – chili powder, cumin, Tajin, smoked paprika and garlic powder. And also Worcestershire sauce and fresh lime juice.
- Mexican Crema – If you can’t find this ingredient, you can use sour cream instead. There is a difference between the two. Mexican crema is a little sweeter and thinner than sour cream. But both I think are better additions to this creamy chowder than heavy cream. It saves some calories and both Mexican crema and sour cream have more flavor.
- Cotija Cheese – The crumbly texture of salty cotija cheese is similar to feta. So if you can’t find the cotija, which is traditional, you can substitute feta cheese.
- Cilantro – I like to top my soup with fresh cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, use fresh parsley.
Instructions
This is such an easy chowder to make! Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes until it starts to brown. Stir in all the dry seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and frozen ingredients. Cook for a couple of minutes to toast the spices. Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer. Cover the chowder and simmer for at least 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the Mexican crema or sour cream and cook for a few more minutes until hot. Keep scrolling for complete list of ingredients and full instructions in my free, printable recipe card.
Variations
- Add some rotisserie chicken to the soup or even some grilled shrimp at the end. This will make it a complete meal in a bowl. Other good additions are chopped bell pepper and/or black beans. You could also top the chowder with shredded pepper jack cheese.
- To make this chowder a vegan meal –
- use olive oil instead of butter
- vegetable broth instead of chicken stock
- coconut milk instead of Mexican crema
Serving suggestions
Chips and homemade guacamole are a great side dish to serve alongside this creamy chowder. Here’s some recipe suggestions to make this into a complete meal –
Storage directions
Store any leftover chowder in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to one month.
Kitchen tools
- 6-quart soup pot with glass lid similar to what I used to test this recipe
- Decorative set of soup bowls
- Non-stick soup ladle for serving
- Airtight containers for storing the chowder
Mexican Street Corn Chowder
Equipment
- 1 6-quart soup pot
Ingredients
- 20 oz frozen corn
- 2 cups frozen cubed hashbrown potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups frozen Cajun mirepoix onion, celery and green pepper
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 oz fire roasted green chiles
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Tajin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1/2 cup Cotija cheese
Instructions
- in a 6-quart soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour, cook for a couple of minutes, stirring often until it is bubbly and starting to brown.
- Stir in all the dry seasonings - chili powder through salt. Add the green chiles, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, corn, potatoes and mirepoix. Stir until well combined.
- Pour in the chicken broth. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pot. Simmer the chowder for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the Mexican crema (or sour cream) until smooth and combined. Cook for a few more minutes until the chowder is hot.
- Serve bowls of chowder topped with a tablespoon of Cotija cheese, additional Tajin and fresh cilantro.
Nutrition
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