This Mexican Street Corn Soup has all the flavors you love from Mexican street corn all bundled up into one comfort food soup that is to die for!
Who else loves Mexican street corn? I know I do! I’ve taken all those delicious flavors, added a few, and made it into a delicious soup that is absolutely killer! It’s hearty, full of corn, and topped off with bacon, cheese, and jalapeno. What’s not to love?
Not only is this soup absolutely delicious, it’s also really easy to make. It’s read in under 20 minutes! I have a feeling you’ll be making this soup over and over and over again. It’s easy for this one to become a family favorite!
What is Mexican street corn (Elote)?
Mexican street corn, also known as Elote, is grilled corn that is lathered in a mixture of mayonnaise, sour cream, cotija cheese, chili powder, garlic, and cilantro.
How much flour do you need to thicken a soup?
When you want to thicken a soup or stew, use equal parts flour and fat. The flour needs to be mixed into the fat directly for best results. This allows it to evenly disperse into the liquid once it is added. If you’ve already added your liquid and you want to add additional flour in to thicken your soup, whisk your flour into a small amount of the hot liquid in a separate bowl. Once you have a liquid slurry, pour it back into the soup over heat and stir until thickened.
If you liked this recipe you may also be interested in my recipe for Authentic Carne Asada. It’s one of the most popular recipes on my website. If you like Mexican flavors, you can’t go wrong with Carne Asada.
Watch the video below where I walk you through every step of this recipe.
Mexican Street Corn Soup
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 small white onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno minced
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups frozen corn kernels
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream half and half, or milk
- 1 cup freshly chopped cilantro
Toppings:
- 1/2 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
- 1 jalapeno sliced
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add in the onions and minced jalapeno and sauté for about 5 minutes, then stir in garlic and cook an additional 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour, cumin, and chili powder and cook 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken stock until smooth and bring to a boil. Add in the corn, sugar, and salt. Once it returns to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
- Stir in cream and cilantro. Serve topped with crumbled bacon, cotija, and jalapeno slices.
My daughter brought this recipe home from college and made it for us over her Thanksgiving break. First, I was impressed that she was cooking. Second, this soup is absolutely AMAZING!! I couldn’t get enough!!
I’ve made it a few times since. The only change I made was adding shredded, cooked chicken to make it more of a hearty soup.
It’s FANTASTIC!
I added fresh squeezed lime juice and lime zest when I added the cream!
This is wonderful. I blended about 3 cups of the soup and added back, as one reviewer suggested. This made it creamier. I also added shredded chicken.
Love it, and sooo easy to make. I blended one fourth of the pot in a blender and added it back in for a little extra creaminess . Definitely a keeper.
Great recipe! Delicious & easy to make . Big hit with my husband.
I used 1 cup whole milk & 1/2 cup half & half and thought the soup was very rich. I also added one yellow squash & one zucchini after grating both, sautéing them in a little vegetable oil until all the liquid was dissipated. I added the sautéed squash (cooked down to about a cup & a half) to the sautéed onion & garlic, then followed the rest of the recipe.
I used two cans of sweat corn rinsed well then pan fried (olive oil) till some of the kernels started to brown. (The kernels start getting a caramel color and get sweeter. I also just added the bacon right into the soup when I added the milk and cilantro.
I might dial back the cumin a bit.
Lastly I forgot the sugar. Next time.
A big hit. Delicious!!!! Definitely recommend it!!
I made this tonight, using Milk(a little less of it), a little less Sugar, and Tajin Mexican seasoning(like a lot of the Mexican Street Corn that is sold in San Diego County), in place of the Chili Powder, and a bit more of it. I skipped the added Jalapeno slices on top, and instead used Cojita Cheese, crumbed Bacon, and Avocado chunks. So easy, so good, and a smash success! Thank you!
I made it with veggie stock since we are vegetarian. It was so good.
This was, hands down, a 5! I followed the recipe, omitting cilantro and bacon. I used half and half and added shredded chicken. It was delicious!! Everyone at lunch was wondering what smelled so good. I think I’ll try it with milk next to try to lighten it up a bit more.
Thanks for sharing and I am excited to check out your other recipes!!
What did you serve with this? Tortilla strips, cornbread……?
Just made this and it was excellent!! Used feta cheese couldn’t find the cojita and put some rotisserie chicken in it this is a keeper thanks debbie
I used half frozen corn and half canned hominy. Very good! Served with queso fresco since it’s what we had on hand. I like the idea of adding shredded chicken — next time!
5 stars, Easy to make and flavor intense. I made this recipe using grilled corn on the cob kernels. After adding cream and cilantro in step three used immersion blender to further emulsify and get thicker texture. Extremely delicious and satisfying. The cilantroIs intense in this soup so if your guest don’t like Cilantro; don’t serve this to them. I loved the intensity and flavor and will make it again. Thank you
I am a stay at home mom who cooks every day. I’m pretty picky about the quality of recipes I prepare for my family. This one is amazing and I’m going to make it for the second time today! This time, however, I am going to fire roast the jalapeno before adding it into the recipe.
My 18 year old stepdaughter made this for us and we LOVE it!!!!! The spices and seasonings all work beautifully together. I’m not a fan of cilantro, but this recipe is an exception to my no cilantro rule. Sadly, she is gone this weekend, so I’ll be making this because we just can’t get enough of it. We add rotisserie chicken to add a bit of protein. Thank you so much for this easy to follow and inexpensive recipe.
Made this tonite… It is amazngly good!! We already had grill going so we grilled the corn instead of using frozen. We didnt add cilantro to soup while it was cooking, cuz hubby wasnt sure he’d like it, but we added it as topper. I think it made a real difference, it really upped the flavor, but i love cilantro 🙂 I baked the bacon on a sheet pan covered in foil instead of frying, was a lot easier, i made the soup while bacon cooked in oven. Bacon is an optional topper, but The crunch did enhance the soup.… Read more »