Mexican Street Corn Soup

Mexican Street Corn Soup is easy, soul-warming, and absolutely addictive comfort food! This creamy, smoky soup captures all those beloved elote flavors – sweet corn, smoky chipotle, tangy lime, and salty cotija cheese – in one cozy bowl that practically hugs you from the inside out. With tender chicken, perfectly seasoned vegetables, and that signature street corn magic, this slow cooker version makes weeknight dinners feel like a warm embrace.

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My Marry Me Tuscan Chicken Soup or this Hearty Beef Barley Soup next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Literally 10 minutes of work then you go watch Netflix while it cooks itself
• Jake ate three bowls and he’s the pickiest human alive
• Costs less than takeout and feeds us for days
• Freezer friendly so I make double and hide portions for emergency dinners
• Tastes like I actually planned something when really I just got lucky

Ingredients You’ll Need

Stuff You Sauté First:

• 1 white onion, chopped up (I never dice perfectly, don’t stress about it)
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped (jalapeño works but it’s spicier, you’ve been warned)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or that jarred stuff, I won’t tell)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil (whatever oil you have is fine)

The Main Event:

• 2 cups frozen corn (straight from the freezer bag)
• 2 russet potatoes, peeled and chunked (leave the peels if you’re feeling lazy)
• 1 chipotle pepper from that little can, chopped fine
• 2 tbsp of that red sauce from the chipotle can
• 1 lb chicken breast (I buy the family pack when it’s on sale)
• 6 cups chicken broth (store brand is totally fine)
• 8 oz cream cheese (the brick kind, not the tub)

The Toppings That Make It Special:

• 6 strips bacon (real bacon, not the fake stuff)
• 2 limes (buy extra, one always rolls under the stove)
• Cilantro (skip if you think it tastes like soap)
• Cotija cheese (it’s by the fancy cheese, worth finding)

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Why These Ingredients Work

I was scared of those chipotle peppers for years because they looked intimidating in the store. Turns out they’re just regular peppers that got smoked and decided to be fancy. That little can costs two bucks and makes everything taste like you went to culinary school. The red sauce in the can is where the magic happens though.

First time I made this, I used fresh corn because I thought frozen was cheating. Big mistake. The corn turned to mush and looked like baby food. My mother-in-law still brings it up at family dinners. Frozen corn keeps its shape and tastes better anyway since it’s frozen when it’s actually ripe.

The potatoes aren’t just there to make it filling, though my grocery budget appreciates them. They break down a little and make the soup thick without me having to figure out how much flour to use. Cream cheese sounds weird but it’s basically a cheat code for making soup taste rich and fancy.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Big slow cooker, a pan for the beginning part, something sharp to chop with. I use whatever’s clean and my old cutting board that’s seen better days. Don’t overthink the equipment part.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sauté the Aromatics

Heat oil in your pan on medium. Throw in the onion, pepper, and garlic. Stir them around for 3 minutes until they smell amazing and aren’t crunchy anymore.

Step 2: Bloom Those Spices

Add the chili powder and cumin to the pan. Keep stirring for 2 more minutes. This is when your kitchen starts smelling like actual cooking is happening.

Pro Tip: Yeah, you could skip this and dump everything in the crockpot, but then it tastes like sadness instead of restaurant food. Trust me on the extra 5 minutes.

Step 3: Transfer to Slow Cooker

Scrape everything from the pan into your slow cooker. Use a spatula to get all the good bits stuck to the bottom.

Step 4: Add the Main Players

Dump the corn, potatoes, chipotle pepper, that red sauce, chicken, and broth into the pot. Stir it around so nothing’s sitting in clumps.

Step 5: Let It Work Its Magic

Lid on, set to LOW, walk away for 6-8 hours. I start it after breakfast and it’s ready when everyone’s complaining about being hungry at dinner.

Step 6: Finish with Creaminess

Half hour before it’s done, add the cream cheese cut into chunks. Cook the bacon in a separate pan until it’s crispy. Use two forks to shred the chicken right in the pot.

Pro Tip: The chicken will be falling apart by now, so this is super easy. Just poke it with forks and it shreds itself. Cut the cream cheese into pieces or you’ll be fishing out weird lumps.

Step 7: Serve and Garnish

Ladle into bowls. Top with crumbled bacon, cotija cheese, cilantro, and squeeze lime over everything. Taste and add more salt if needed.

You Must Know

Don’t cook this on HIGH thinking you’ll save time. You’ll get tough chicken and vegetables that are somehow both mushy and undercooked. The slow, low heat is what makes everything perfect. Also, cream cheese added too early separates into gross chunks that nobody wants.

Personal Secret: I use way more of that chipotle sauce than the recipe says because we like smoky flavor. Start with what I wrote, then add more if you want. You can’t un-add it once it’s in there.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Cut everything roughly the same size or you’ll have raw potatoes next to mushy vegetables. I learned this when Jake started picking out the hard potato chunks and throwing them on the floor. If you’re paranoid about cream cheese lumps like me, cut it small before adding it.

Sunday night I chop everything and stick it in containers in the fridge. Monday morning I just sauté the vegetables and dump everything else in before work. Monday night I come home to soup that smells like I tried hard all day.

Leftover rotisserie chicken works great too. Just shred it and add it the last hour so it doesn’t turn into chicken confetti.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

My brother adds extra chipotle peppers and sweats through dinner claiming it’s perfect. For less heat, use all poblano and go easy on that red sauce. Sometimes I throw in black beans from a can if I’m feeding teenage boys who eat everything in sight.

Feta cheese works if you can’t find cotija, but it’s saltier. Monterey Jack melts nice if you want cheese melted into the soup itself. I’ve made it with coconut milk instead of cream cheese for my dairy-free sister – different but good.

Vegetable broth instead of chicken broth makes it vegetarian if you skip the meat and bacon. Sometimes I add corn kernels cut fresh off the cob at the end for extra corn flavor.

Make-Ahead Options

This gets better sitting in the fridge overnight. All the flavors mix together and it tastes even more like restaurant soup. I make huge batches Sunday and we eat it all week for lunch.

Chop everything Saturday night and store it separately. Or sauté the vegetables Sunday and refrigerate the whole pan, then dump it in the crockpot Monday morning with everything else.

Freezes great without toppings. I use old yogurt containers and write the date with permanent marker. Defrost in the microwave and add fresh bacon and cheese when you reheat.

What to Serve With Mexican Street Corn Soup

Cornbread from the Jiffy box because I’m not Martha Stewart. Crusty bread works for dipping. Sometimes tortillas if I’m feeling fancy.

Jake likes crushing up tortilla chips on top, which sounds gross but actually adds crunch. I make salad with avocado sometimes but usually this soup is the whole dinner.

Beer if you drink beer. Limeade for kids. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge honestly.

Allergy Information

Dairy in the cream cheese and cotija. Use coconut milk instead of cream cheese and skip the cotija for dairy-free. Check your chicken broth label if gluten matters to you – some brands sneak wheat in there.

Most spices are fine but read labels if you’re dealing with celiac. The chipotle peppers should be gluten-free but double check the can.

Storage & Reheating

Fridge for a week in covered containers. Keep toppings separate because nobody wants soggy bacon. Reheat on the stove stirring occasionally, or microwave it but stop and stir every 30 seconds.

Gets thick in the fridge so thin it with more broth or water. Might need lime juice to brighten it up after sitting overnight.

Emily’s Kitchen Secret: I freeze this in old Chinese takeout containers because they stack better than bags. Label them or you’ll find mystery soup six months later and have to play “what is this?” Old me never thinks about future me when labeling things.

FAQs

Can I use fresh corn instead of frozen?

Yeah, cut 2 cups off cobs. It’s more work and might get mushy but tastes fine. Frozen is easier and honestly tastes the same in soup.

Help, this is too spicy for my kids!

More cream cheese or sour cream cools it down fast. Add more broth to water down the heat. Next time use less chipotle or pick out the seeds.

Instant Pot version?

Sauté vegetables using sauté button, add everything except cream cheese. High pressure 20 minutes, natural release 10 minutes, then stir in cream cheese and shred chicken.

Can’t find cotija cheese anywhere!

Feta is closest – salty and crumbly. Queso fresco works too. Parmesan in a pinch but it’s different flavor. Don’t use cheddar, it’s too melty and weird.

Make this the night before?

Sauté vegetables and refrigerate overnight, then crockpot everything in morning. Don’t add cream cheese until last 30 minutes though.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Did your picky eater actually eat it? Make it spicier? Have to bribe anyone with dessert? I want all the details about your kitchen wins and disasters!