Mexican Street Corn Soup

Mexican Street Corn Soup takes everything you love about grilled elote and turns it into a creamy, spoonable corn chowder. Smoky grilled corn, chunky gold potatoes, and a tangy hit of lime and cotija come together in one pot for a soup that tastes like summer at its peak. If the corn at your farmers’ market is still going strong, this is the soup to make before the season slips away.

Okay, fellow soup fanatics, this is not health soup, lol. I just want to get that right out there. Although it’s loaded with corn and veggies and other nutritious goodness, I wanted to honor/mourn the end of summer by pulling out all the stops and creating an extravagant celebration summer soup.

If you’ve never tried it before, Mexican street corn is the classic, utterly crave-able street food: grilled corn on the cob slathered with mayo and/or crema — a super creamy form of sour cream — then topped with cotija cheese, a spritz of lime juice, and a dash of chili powder. It’s decadent and summery all at once, and takes every advantage of sweet summer corn.

The soup form — and y’all know how I love to turn things that aren’t soup into soup! — is a less messy version, but with all of the flavors and charm of the original elote. I particularly love the timing of summer corn as it relates to this soup: I spend August enjoying all the fresh sweet corn from my Midwestern farmers’ markets, and then the lovely warm and comforting corn chowders that come out of it segue right into Souptember, my favorite time of the year!

If you love summer corn like I do, you might also enjoy these reader-favorite corn chowders, including my smoky Jalapeno Bacon Corn Chowder, my zesty Southwest Corn Chowder, and my meal-level Ham and Corn Chowder. Summer in a bowl!

Key Ingredients

Here are the main ingredients that make this soup special. The full list with quantities appears in the recipe card below.

Sweet Corn — I use both grilled and raw corn in this soup. Raw summer corn is incredibly sweet and crunchy, and complements the smoky notes of the grilled kernels. Note: new since first publishing this post, frozen fire-roasted corn is now readily available at most big-box grocery stores. Which means making this soup in the offseason no longer means sacrificing the flavors of grilled corn!

Potatoes — Sturdy gold potatoes add lots of body to the soup, taking it into corn chowder territory. They hold up well in the heat of the soup, giving you the option for a chunky soup or a smooth soup.

Dairy — It’s just not elote without a creamy dressing-like note! Heavy cream and sour cream — I use a Mexican crema, which is creamier than American with a nice tang — make this soup rich and luscious. Cotija is a must-have topping for this soup!

Chiles — Fresh and verdant, a poblano pepper adds a welcome, Southwestern warmth to the soup without eye-watering heat. Poblanos are often roasted to remove their semi-thick skins, but no need here: sautéing instead softens everything nicely. Don’t forget a dusting of chili powder across the top of the soup for extra flavor.

Controlling the Soup’s Texture

This soup is really flexible, and you can choose how chunky or smooth you want it to be:

• For ultimate chunkiness: leave everything whole in the soup, without blending.
• For a thick soup base, but still lots of texture: mash or blend the potatoes, but leave all of the corn whole.
• Smooth soup with a little bit of texture: after the soup finishes cooking, scoop out a cup or two of corn kernels, and blend the rest of the soup with a stick blender. Return the corn kernels to the pot.
• Velvety smooth: blend the soup in batches in a high-speed blender. You might need to add a small amounts of water or cream to thin it out as you go.

Once you get the texture just right, it’s time to take the soup to the top level of decadent goodness: mix in big pinches of crumbled cotija cheese and swirls of Mexican crema or sour cream. And then finish with a good squeeze of lime.

How to Make Mexican Street Corn Soup

Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to see the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through and summary of making the dish.

Grill the corn

Over medium-high heat on cleaned and oiled grates, grill 4 of the ears of corn until heated through and lightly charred, turning occasionally to get all sides. When the ears have cooled, slice off all of the kernels into a bowl, along with the 5th raw ear of corn. Don’t forget to scrape down the cobs to release the creamy bits left behind. Set the cleaned cobs aside.

Saute the vegetables

Cook the onions, celery, and poblano in some butter until softened.

Cook the soup

Add the stock and corn cobs to the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Note: if the cobs are too large for the pot, cut off the stem end and slice the cobs into shorter lengths. Cook the soup until the potatoes are tender.

Finish the soup

Stir in the corn kernels and dairy. Adjust the texture of the soup to your liking — see the section above. Finish with a shower of cotija crumbles, a sprinkle of chili powder, and a big squeeze of lime juice. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

The salty savoriness of the cheese and the rich tang of the crema make this soup completely irresistible. Also, it’s make-ahead wonderful: It doesn’t seem possible, but the soup is even better the next day.

Pro tip: don’t let those perfect local corn cobs go to waste! Use them to make homemade corn stock for risotto or vegetable soup (or this soup!).

Mexican Street Corn Soup

by Karen Gibson

5 from 1 vote

A decadent end-of-summer soup that features the season’s freshest corn, Mexican Street Corn Soup is the famous street food in soup form.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

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• 5 ears sweet corn , shucked, silks removed
• olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1/2 onion , diced
• 2 ribs celery , diced
• 1 small poblano pepper , diced
• 3/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes , scrubbed, peeled, and diced
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 cup half n half or heavy cream
• kosher salt
• 1 block of cotija or queso fresco cheese
• 1/4 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream)
• 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon ancho or guajillo chili powder
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro , for garnish
• 1 green onion , sliced or chopped, for garnish

Instructions

 

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• Preheat your grill to high. Brush four of the ears of corn with olive oil. Grill the ears of corn, turning occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes, until all sides have a light char on the kernels. Optional: add your favorite wood chips to the grill as the corn cooks. The smoky flavors will enhance the corn very nicely.
• Remove the corn from the grill and cool. When the ears can be handled, cut the kernels from all of the ears (including the 5th, uncooked ear).
• Using the edge of a knife, scrape down the ears of corn to remove the creamy corn. Add to the corn kernels. Slice one of the cobs into three pieces and set aside.
• Heat the butter in a 4 quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium until melted.
• Add the onions, celery, and poblano and saute until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the potatoes, stock, and sliced corn cob. Raise the heat to high to bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife (about 15 minutes). Remove and discard the cobs.
• If a thick soup is desired, mash the potatoes in the pot with a potato masher until broken down (they won't necessarily be smooth at this point). Reduce heat to medium/low.
• Stir in the corn and dairy, plus a couple pinches of salt. Cook for five minutes.
• Observe the texture of the soup. If you want something smoother and thicker, use a stick blender in pulses to smooth out part of the soup. For a completely smooth soup, blend the soup in batches in a high-speed blender.
• Add about 1/4 cup of cotija cheese crumbles, plus the crema to the soup, stirring well. Taste, and add more cheese as needed. It’s salty, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to add more salt at this point.
• Squeeze half of a lime over the soup, and taste. Use the remaining half, if a brighter flavor is desired.
• To serve, sprinkle chili powder over the soup, along with the cilantro and green onions.

Nutrition

Calories: 325kcal

Keyword mexican street corn soup

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